View source for Blenden Hall

{{Short description|British ship}}
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country= United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}}
|Ship name=''Blenden Hall''
|Ship namesake=[[Blendon, London|Blendon Hall]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=John Tyson & Richard F. S. Blake, [[Bursledon]], Hampshire{{sfnp|Hackman|2001|p=254}}
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=20 July 1811{{sfnp|Hackman|2001|p=254}}
|Ship acquired=
|Ship owner=*1811: Swan
*1812: Anderson
*1813: [[Spring Hill, East Cowes#Robert Shedden & Sons|Sheddens]]
*1814: Anthony Greig 
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
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|Ship honours=
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Wrecked 1821
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship tons burthen= 450,<ref name=LR1814>''[[Lloyd's Register]]'' [http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015005689354?urlappend=%3Bseq=78 (1814), Seq. №B308.]</ref> 472,<ref name=LR1811/> or 473{{small|{{frac|35|94}}}},{{sfnp|Hackman|2001|p=254}} or 475 ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]])
|Ship length={{convert|123|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}} 
|Ship beam={{convert|29|ft|1|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|18|ft|0|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (laden)
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship sail plan=[[full-rigged]]
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|Ship complement=24
|Ship armament=2 × 9-pounder guns + 14 × 12-pounder [[carronade]]s<ref name=LR1814/>
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'''''Blenden Hall''''' (sometimes '''''Blendon Hall''''') was a [[full-rigged ship]], launched in 1811 at [[Bursledon]], [[Hampshire]], England.{{sfnp|Hackman|2001|p=254}}{{efn|Lloyd's Registers 1811-1815 list the ship as built at "Brlntn", supposed to be an abbreviation of [[Bridlington]], but corrects this in 1816 to "Shmtn", Southampton, which is near to Bursledon.<ref name="LR1816">{{cite book |title=Lloyd's Register (1816) |publisher=Gregg Press (facsimile) |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/HECROSU1816/page/n82/mode/1up |access-date=7 December 2022}}</ref>}} A French frigate captured her in 1813, but then abandoned her. After her recovery she returned to trade. She was wrecked in 1821 on [[Inaccessible Island]] in a notable incident.

==Career==
''Blenden Hall'' first appears in ''[[Lloyd's Register]]'' in 1811 showing owner as Swan & Co and J. Farrier, master,<ref name=LR1811>[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015005667806?urlappend=%3Bseq=599 ''Lloyd's Register''] (1811), Supplement, Seq.№B69.]</ref> with ownership changing by 1812 to Anderson & Co.<ref>{{cite book |title=Lloyd's Register (1812) |publisher=Gregg Press (facsimile) |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/HECROSU1812/page/n75/mode/1up |access-date=11 December 2022}}</ref> In 1813 her master changed from Farrier to J. Barr, and her owner from Andersen to [[Spring Hill, East Cowes#Robert Shedden & Sons|Sheddens]].<ref>[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015005689347?urlappend=%3Bseq=87 ''Lloyd's Register'' (1813), Seq.№ 332.]</ref>

On 27 November 1813 ''Blenden Hall'', bound for [[Bermuda]] with naval stores, and four other merchant vessels, left [[Portsmouth]] in a [[convoy]] under escort by {{HMS|Severn|1813|6}}. Due to a heavy storm, the five merchantmen lost contact with the convoy and its escort. On 5 December the French frigate [[French frigate Clorinde (1808)|''Clorinde'']] captured all five merchant vessels,{{sfnp|Senior|1911|pp=180-182}} in the Atlantic Ocean ({{coord|44|30|N|10|30|W}}).

The French took off the crews of four vessels and scuttled three. They kept [[Lusitania (1805 ship)|''Lusitania'']] as a [[cartel (ship)|cartel]] and put all their captives aboard her. In their haste, they failed to sink ''Blenden Hall''. They then permitted ''Lusitania'' to sail to a British port.{{sfnp|Senior|1911|pp=180-182}}

On 12 December the [[Post Office Packet Service|Falmouth packet]] ''Eliza'', homebound to England from Malta, found ''Blenden Hall'' drifting.{{efn|''Eliza'' was an American-built brig of 166 tons (bm), launched in 1804. Her master was Stevens and her owner Slade. She was armed with fourteen 6 and 9-pounder guns.<ref>[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015005689347?urlappend=%3Bseq=644 ''Lloyd's Register'' (1813), Falmouth Packets, Seq.№12.]</ref>}} ''Eliza'' put a 10-man prize crew aboard and both set off for Falmouth. Bad weather intervened and the two separated. On 16 December {{HMS|Challenger|1813|2}} came on the scene and under a dubious pretext put her own prize crew aboard ''Blenden Hall'' as well. On 18 December {{HMS|Challenger|1813|2}} brought ''Blenden Hall'' into [[Plymouth]]. There, ''Blenden Hall'' was reunited with her crew, which had arrived that same day.<ref>''[[Lloyd's List]]'' [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015005785830?urlappend=%3Bseq=219 №4831.]</ref> ''Challenger'' sued for salvage on ''Blenden Hall'', but the Admiralty Court pointed out that ''Eliza''{{'}}s crew had not required ''Challenger''{{'}}s help and dismissed the case.{{sfnp|Senior|1911|pp=180-182}}

Barr resumed his voyage. On 1 March she was off [[São Miguel Island|St Michael's]] in company with ''Venelia'', Parget, master, and a convoy under the escort of {{HMS|Bulwark|1807|6}}.<ref>''[[Lloyd's List]]'' [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015005785830?urlappend=%3Bseq=285 1 April 1814.]</ref> ''Blenden Hall'' arrived at Jamaica on 8 June 1814 from London and Bermuda.

In 1814 Captain Anthony Greig purchased ''Blenden Hall''. At that time she received a license from the British [[East India Company]] to sail east of the [[Cape of Good Hope]].{{sfnp|Hackman|2001|p=254}}

==Loss==
[[File:P 097--Lost ships and lonely seas.jpg|thumb|The cottage on Tristan da Cunha where the survivors took refuge]]
On 18 May 1821 Greig sailed ''Blenden Hall'' for Bombay; she left at the same time as {{ship||Ogle Castle|1821 ship|2}}, which arrived there on 5 October.<ref name=LL5685>[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015005730638?urlappend=%3Bseq=109 ''Lloyd's List'' №5685.]</ref>

On the way ''Blendan Hall'' encountered the merchant ship {{HMS|Daphne|1806|2}}, which was on her way to [[Chennai|Madras]]. The weather being dead calm, Greig spent a day on ''Daphne'' and had a "Most excellent dinner".{{sfnp|Greig|1847|pp=34-35}}

''Blendan Hall'' was reported to have been at [[Cape Verde]] on 8 June, but by 1 December she had not arrived at Bombay and there had been no further word of her.<ref name=LL5685/> The reason for the lack of news was that on 22 July the weather was foggy and ''Blenden Hall'' had drifted on to the rocks at [[Inaccessible Island]] in the [[Atlantic Ocean|South Atlantic]]. Two seamen drowned trying to swim to shore. However all the passengers and the rest of the crew reached shore safely. Once there, they were marooned for four months.<ref name=LL5692/> They subsisted on celery, penguins, albatroses, birds' eggs, and seal meat.{{sfnp|Greig|1847|pp=70, 89–87, & 115–116}} On 19 October six men sailed for [[Tristan da Cunha]] on a boat or raft that the survivors had constructed; this party was never heard from again.{{sfnp|Lockhart|Greig|1930|pp=176–185}} The survivors constructed a second boat that with three men aboard reached Tristan da Cunha on 8 November. Two boats set out from the island and rescued the remainder of the survivors.{{sfnp|Lockhart|Greig|1930|pp=186–193}}

After two more months the British [[Snow (ship)|snow]] ''Nerina'' called at Tristan da Cunha.{{efn|''Nerina'' was a snow of 206 tons (bm), launched at Sunderland in 1813. Her master was Laucchlan (or Lackland, or Lachlan), and her owner was Dixon & Co.<ref>[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015005690477?urlappend=%3Bseq=910 ''Lloyd's Register'' (1821), Seq. №271.]</ref>}} On 8 January 1822 she left the island with the survivors (a sailor and a woman servant stayed behind); she landed them at Cape Town on 20 January.<ref name=LL5692>[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015005730638?urlappend=%3Bseq=137 ''Lloyd's List'' №5692.]</ref>

==Post script==
''Blenden Hall''{{'}}s second mate was Thomas Lyell Smyers, and her surgeon was his brother George. Thomas Smyers became a merchant in [[Albany, Western Australia]], and owner and master of {{ship||Caledonia|1829 ship|2}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://history.albany.wa.gov.au/files/persons_vertical_files_biographical_summaries_31.03.2009.pdf |title=Albany Public Library, Albany History Collection: Persons Biographical Summaries. |access-date=2018-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313071204/http://history.albany.wa.gov.au/files/persons_vertical_files_biographical_summaries_31.03.2009.pdf |archive-date=2018-03-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
==Citations==
{{reflist|30em}}
==References==
* {{cite book|last=Greig|first=Alexander M.|year=1847|title=Fate of the Blenden Hall, East Indiaman, Captain Alexander Greig, bound to Bombay: with an account of her wreck, and the sufferings and privations endured by the survivors for six months, on the desolate islands of Inaccessible and Tristan d'Acunha, by Alexander M Greig, one of the passengers [and son of Captain Greig], from a Journal kept on the Islands and written with the Blood of the Penguin|location=New York|publisher=W. H. Colyer|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044019421171;view=1up;seq=21}}
* {{cite book |last=Hackman |first=Rowan |date=2001 |title=Ships of the East India Company |location=Gravesend, Kent |publisher=World Ship Society |isbn=0-905617-96-7}}
* {{cite book|last1=Lockhart|first1=John Gilbert|first2=Alexander M.|last2=Greig|year=1930|title=Blenden Hall; the true story of a shipwreck, a casting away and life on a desert island|location=London|publisher=P. Allan}}
*{{cite journal |last=Senior |first=W. |year=1911 |title=The Rivals |journal=Mariner's Mirror |volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=180–182|doi=10.1080/00253359.1911.10654516 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/2041998 }}

{{1813 shipwrecks}}
{{1821 shipwrecks}}
{{Portal|Transport}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blenden Hall (1811 ship)}}
[[Category:1811 ships]]
[[Category:Captured ships]]
[[Category:Age of Sail merchant ships]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1813]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in July 1821]]
[[Category:Full-rigged ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Hampshire]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:History of Tristan da Cunha]]