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The Merchant Adventures of John Christopher Farndale the Elder (FAR00244) Master Mariner of Whitby (1802 to 1837)
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John
Christopher Farndale the Elder was probably the grandson of John Farndale (FAR00136) who
sailed colliers with James Cook out of Whitby. It is likely John Christopher
Farndale was the son of Robert Farndale, also a master mariner, and buried in
the churchyard of Dracula fame at Whitby.
John
Christopher Farndale the Elder was a painter when he married Ann Ling in 1825
and until the birth of his third son in 1830. But by 1836, he was a master
mariner of Whitby, captaining a coal brig called the William and Nancy
with cargos of coal largely between Whitby and the north east
and Wisbech in Cambridgeshire and the southeast.
Of his family
of five, John’s eldest son, William Farndale (FAR00289) also
became a master mariner and continued to captain the William and Nancy.
The third son, John Christopher Farndale the Younger (FAR00308)
captained other ships. They all lived lives of adventure, perils at sea, and
travel. His second son, Thomas Farndale was a ship’s broker’s clerk who died
aged only 31. His daughter, Mary Farndale, was a straw bonnet maker and married
a master mariner in Whitby. His fifth child, James Farndale, died an infant.
This was a family of mariners at the heart of the maritime coal industry in the
mid Victorian era. The second generation ventured
widely around the North Sea (often called the German sea at the time) and the
Baltic and further south. But John died young, at the age of only 35.
A
brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig. It had two masts which were
both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the eighteenth
century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then
until the latter part of the nineteenth century. In commercial use, they were
gradually replaced by fore-and-aft rigged vessels such as schooners, as owners
sought to reduce crew costs by having rigs that could be handled by fewer men.
In Royal Navy use, brigs were retained for training use when the battle fleets
consisted almost entirely of iron-hulled steamships. Brigs were prominent in
the coasting coal trade of British waters. 4,395 voyages to London with coal
were recorded in 1795. With an average of eight or nine trips per year for one
vessel, that is a fleet of over 500 colliers trading to London alone. Other
ports and coastal communities were also be served by colliers trading to
Britain's coal ports. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the vast
majority were rigged as brigs, and that rig was retained for longer in the
northeast of England.
The Mary, a
Brig of South Shields painted in 1855
The following articles all relate to “William and Nancy, Farndale”
sailing generally between Whitby or to the northeast and Wisbech in
Cambridgeshire. In the following newspaper extracts, personal names after Ship
Names are the names of the ships' captains. A later article evidences
that this was the older Captain John Christopher Farndale (born 1802) who
became a master mariner in Whitby who died aged 35 in 1837. His son. John
Christopher Farndale Junior, later settled in the Wisbech area.
1826
The Cambridge
Chronicle and Journal, 18 August 1826: WISBECH SHIP NEWS. ARRIVED … William
and Mary, Farndale … from Sunderland, with coals.
The Bury and
Norwich Post, 23 August 1826: WISBECH, AUGUST 21. ARRIVED. … William
and Nancy, Farndale … from
Sunderland, all with coals.
The Cambridge Chronicle and Journal, 6 October 1826: WISBECH SHIP NEWS.
ARRIVED … William and Nancy, Farndale… from Sunderland, with coals.
The Stamford Mercury, 6
October 1826: WISBECH SHIP NEWS to
the 4th October. ARRIVED … William and
Nancy, Farndale …
from Sunderland, all with coals.
1828
Thomas Farndale, son of John Christopher and Ann Farndale, painter
of Whitby baptised 3 Mar 1828 (FAR00300) (Whitby PR).
The Stamford Mercury, 5
September 1828: WISBECH SHIP NEWS to the 3rd
September. ARRIVED … William and Nancy, Farndale … from Sunderland, all with coals.
The Huntingdon, Bedford and Peterborough Express, 6 September 1828: WISBECH SHIP NEWS.
ARRIVED … William and Nancy, Farndale … from Sunderland, with coals.
The Cambridge Chronicle, 10 October 1828: WISBECH SHIP NEWS. ARRIVED. … William and Nancy, Farndale
… from Sunderland, with coals.
The Cambridge Chronicle and
Journal, 19 June 1829: WISBECH SHIP NEWS. ARRIVED. … and William and Nancy,
Farndale, from Sunderland with coals …
The Huntingdon, Bedford and
Peterborough Express, 19 September 1829: WISBECH SHIP NEWS. ARRIVED. … William and Nancy, Farndale …
from Sunderland, with coals.
1830
The York Herald, 13 February 1830: WHITBY
SHIPPING. COASTERS ARRIVED … and William and Nancy, Farndale, from Stockton
…
At Yarmouth on 14 June 1833, The William and Nancy, of
Whitby, slipped anchor and chain, lost stern boat, and received other damage,
off the North Foreland on Tuesday. The Morning
Advertiser, 17 June 1833: YARMOUTH, JUNE 14. The William and Nancy,
Farndale, of Whitby, slipped anchor and chain, lost stern boat, and received
other damage, off North Foreland, on Tuesday … Bell’s New Weekly Messenger, 23 June 1833: YARMOUTH, 14th
June. The ‘William and Nancy’, Farndale, of Whitby, slipped anchor and
chain, lost stern boat, and received other damage off the Foreland on Tuesday
…
In August 1833, John captained a brig called the Felicity
off the west coast. The Sun, London, 24 August 1833: LANCASTER, OCT 22.
Arrived the Felicity, Farndale, and Fame, Wright, from Archangel.
The Morning Post, 25 March 1835: DEAL, March 23 – NE fresh breezes. … Arrived, the William and
Nancy, Farndale, from Newcastle, and remains. The Evening Chronicle, 24 March 1835: SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. THIS DAY. DEAL, MARCH 23. Wind NE,
fresh breezes … Arrived, the William and Nancy, Farndale, from Newcastle, and
remains. The Morning Advertiser, 25 March 1835: FROM LLOYD’S BOOKS OF MARCH 24, 1835. … Arrived, the William
and Nancy, Farndale, from Newcastle, and remains.
The Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser, 28 March 1835: SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. DOVER. Arrived … William and Nancy,
Farndale, from Shields …
The London Courier and Evening
Gazette, 6 June 1835: SHIP NEWS (From Lloyds). DEAL. June 5.
Wind, NNW. … Arrived and remain, the William and Nancy, from Stockton … The Morning Advertiser, 8 June 1835: DEAL JUNE 5. …
Arrived and remain the William and Nancy, Farndale, from Stockton …
The Sun, London, 14 July 1835: FROM LLOYDS. DEAL
JULY 11 AND 12. Wind WSW, fine … Arrived … William and Nancy, Slacklin for Deal …
1836
By this time John
Christopher Farndale Senior was described as a farmer
and Master Mariner, formerly a painter, of Cragg, Whitby. The Cragg is an area
along the waterfront on the River Esk in Whitby.
1837
The York Herald, 4 February 1837: On Wednesday, at
Whitby, Captain John Farndale, master and owner of the William and Nancy, in
the prime of his life. John
Christopher Farndale Senior, aged 35, was buried at St Mary’s, Whitby on 5 February 1837.
The Traditional Song, the
Collier Brig:
Oh, the worst old ship
that ever set sail,
Sailed out of Harwich on a
windy day.
Chorus: Stormy weather,
boys, stormy weather, boys,
When the wind blows the
barge will go.
She was built in Roman
style,
Held together with bits of
twine.
Skipper’s half Dutch and
he hasn’t got a clue,
The crew were fourteen
hands too few.
Cook spilt the dinner on
the galley floor,
Skipper caught his hand in
the wheelhouse door.
Off Orford Ness we sprang
a leak,
Hear our poor old timbers
creak.
We steered our way round
Lowestoft next,
The wind backed round to
the sou-sou-west.
Through the Cockle to
Cromer Cliff,
Steering like a wagon with
a wheel adrift.
Up The Humber and up to
town,
Pump, you devils, pump or drown.
Then on a sandbank we got
stuck,
Skipper’s drunk in the Dog
and Duck.
Up come a mermaid covered
in slime,
We took her down the hold
and we had a good time.
We kept on course all
through the night,
Nearly went aground at the
Apex light.
Coal was shot by a Keadby
crew,
Bottom was rotten and it
went right through.
So when we saw the brig was sunk,
We went to the Barge and we all got drunk.