Maid of England
Maid of England was a sailing barquentine built in Gross Coques, Digby County, Nova Scotia in 1919 by Omer Blinn.[3] Maid of England was the last square-rigged cargo vessel built in Maritime provinces of Canada.[2] Maid of England was owned by F.K. Warren (of Halifax, Nova Scotia) for nine years, and then later abandoned at sea in 1928.[2]
History | |
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Name | Maid Of England |
Owner | F. K. Warren [1] |
Port of registry | Lloyd's Registry [1] |
Builder | Omer Blinn [2] |
Commissioned | 1919 [3] |
In service | 1919-28 |
Out of service | 1928 |
Fate | Abandoned at sea (Atlantic Ocean) in 1928 [3] |
Maid of England was built in 1919, but did not appear in Lloyd’s registry until the 1920-21 edition.[4] Her official number was 141573.[4] She had one deck[4] and was made from spruce and pine.[5] She had three masts, one foremast rigged square, one amidships, and one in the aft end of the vessel, which is why she is classified as a barquentine. Maid of England was the last of the few Canadian commercial vessels to carry a square rig.[6] Maid of England had an initial gross weight of 751 tonnes, with an acceptable weight range of 563-696 tonnes.[4] However, these specifics had changed to a gross weight of 690 tonnes and an acceptable weight range of 543 – 583 tonnes, in Lloyd’s registry in 1923-24.[7] She was 174.7’ long, had a 37.6’ breadth and was 15.2’ deep.[4]
As the Age of Sail had nearly drawn to a close when Maid of England was built, the building crew was composed of elderly and skilled shipwrights.[2] The half model of Maid of England used was cut by W.R. Huntley (a Parrsboro shipbuilder).[2] The model was later used as a representation for the construction of the "Cumberland Queen," later build by Robinson and Pugsley at Diligent River in 1919.[2]
F. K. Warren had owned a number of ships and had established a marine shipping company in 1896, which is referred to as F. K. Warren LTD, and is still in operation today in Halifax Nova Scotia.[8] Among his ever-growing fleet, Warren also owned Earle V. S.,[4] Martha Parsons,[4] Emily Anderson (abandoned at sea in 1919),[9] and Maid of Scotland, which was sunk in a collision.[10] The unfortunate fate of previous ships owned by F. K. Warren make the fate of Maid of England that much more intriguing.
References
- ' 'Lloyd’s Registry ' ' 1920-21, The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.
- Armour, Charles A., and Thomas Lackey. Sailing Ships of the Maritimes: An Illustrated History of Shipping and Shipbuilding in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, 1750-1925. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1975. Print. 208.
- Armour, Charles A., and Thomas Lackey. Sailing Ships of the Maritimes: An Illustrated History of Shipping and Shipbuilding in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, 1750-1925. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1975. Print. 208 and 209.
- Lloyd’s Registry 1920-21, The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.
- American Bureau of Shipping., 1921, The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
- "Sailing Ship Rigs Nova Scotia Museum". Archived from the original on 2013-01-25. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
- Lloyd’s Registry 1923-24, The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.
- Peters, Tom. "Cruise the East Coast" (PDF). Cruise North America Magazine. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-14. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
- Parker, John P.. Sails of the maritimes: the story of the three- and four-masted cargo schooners of Atlantic Canada, 1859-1929.. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1976. 109.
- Parker, John P.. Sails of the maritimes: the story of the three- and four-masted cargo schooners of Atlantic Canada, 1859-1929.. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1976. 162.