The incredible Hull shipwreck undiscovered for 168 years
BRIG REGARD LAY IN ITS WATERY GRAVE UNTIL 2016
A GROUP of Finnish divers have solved a Hull maritime mystery 168 years in the making with the discovery of a wreck off the Åland Islands in the north Baltic Sea.
Jerry Wilhelmsson of the Baltic Underwater Explorers (BUE) first discovered a mysterious wreck off the southern archipelago of autonomous Finnish islands in September 2016.
He and fellow BUE member Magnus Melin explored the contents of the wreck finding many bottles, which gave rise to its nickname, the Bottle Wreck.
For four years, Jerry, Magnus, the BUE team and a wider support network pulled together to try and identify the mystery ship that was sitting in such good condition at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
In March 2020 they cracked the case and discovered that the ship was built in Hull and was even captained by a Hull local on its final voyage.
The key piece of the puzzle came from researchers in Finland who discovered that in 1852, a transom (a piece of the stern) had washed up nearby bearing the name of Luke C Taylor.
With help from the University of Hull, Taylor was discovered to have been the Captain of the Hull brig Regard.
Captain Taylor was a 62-year-old widower and he and a crew of around eight men had sailed from London on October 4, 1852, with a cargo of raw sugar, rough iron, rice and other goods.
The ship entered the strait between Denmark and Sweden known as the Sound on October 17, and was last seen off the island of Öland heading eastwards.
The only record of the ship being acknowledged as missing comes some three years later in 1855 and the report makes no reference to the location of its watery grave where it lay for more than 150 years.
BUE said on the discovery of the ship’s identity: “We are happy to reveal the identity of the until now unidentified so called “Bottle wreck.”
“It is the brig Regard from Hull, England that came to rest in Ålands south archipelago in the autumn 1852.
“On the wreck we found artefacts that all pointed toward England and Hull. Gingerbeer bottles from Hull, English china with Willow pattern likely from the Devonport factory (thanks to the comments on the pic of this).
“We also found an English clay pipe from a pipe-maker in London.
“All of this together with a notification from the Degerby custom house pointed that the ship was from England and Hull.
“After a great teamwork between BUE, Samuli Haataja and Ilkka Järvinen, dive team Nautic Turku, and thanks to Hanna Hagmark at the Åland Maritime Museum who connected us to Dr Robb Robinson and Peter Chapman at the university of Hull, we could finally close the gap between the wreck and its home town of Hull.
“Ilkka and Samuli are working constantly with old archives related to maritime casualties. They came up with a notification from Degerby custom house, dated December 1852, about a sunken ship south west from Björkör pilot house and contacted BUE immediately.
“After the first clue was found, the joint work continued with old British newspapers, Lloyds archives and Öresund sound toll registers.
“Finally, it was concluded that the best candidate would be the brig Regard from Hull.
“The name of the captain and the cargo of the wreck matched perfectly with the data from Öresund toll archives. Dr Robb Robinson from the University of Hull provided invaluable help in tracing original register papers of the ship.”
BUE explained that the wrecks they find in the Baltic are much better preserved than those that we might find here in the North Sea because of the unique conditions of the water.
The most common cause of wreck destruction, the shipworm, can’t live in brackish (slightly salty) water so the wood of the sunken ships can remain intact for hundreds of years.
BUE said that the Regard was particularly well preserved, which they have put down to nearby small islands that have protected the wreck from the waves and currents.
Dr Robb Robinson of the University of Hull wrote to BUE to confirm: “I have now had the opportunity to look at the Shipping Register Entry for the Regard in Hull History Centre.
“The Regard’s measurements were as follows: length 82 feet and 7/10ths (7/10ths is about ten inches) two masts, breadth 20 feet and 7/10ths, depth in hold 14 feet and 5/10 ft. Square Rigged, standing bowsprit, square sterned, carvel built, no galleries, female bust.
“Vessel’s ownership descriptions are given Luke Coburn Taylor was one of the owners from the first registration of the vessel.
“The vessel was actually built by Edward Gibson in Hull and Luke
Coburn Taylor is down as the master in 1852.
“The register records that the vessel foundered at sea and not heard of.
“This had been copied from a letter from the Registrar General of Seamen dated October 27, 1855. The vessel had thus been missing for a long time by that date.”
BUE would like to thank Samuli Haataja and Ilkka Järvinen, dive team Nautic Turku who were a big part in the identification process.
They said they won’t forget the help of Hanna Hagmark at the Åland Maritime Museum who connected them to Dr Robb Robinson and Peter Chapman at the University of Hull who found the brig Regard and the captain in the archives in Hull.