South Shields, Greenwood

South Shields, Greenwood

HER Number
13823
District
S Tyneside
Site Name
South Shields, Greenwood
Place
South Shields
Map Sheet
NZ36NE
Class
Maritime Craft
Site Type: Broad
Transport Vessel
Site Type: Specific
Cargo Vessel
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Form of Evidence
Wreckage
Description
ron, 928-ton, British Steamship registered at Newcastle upon Tyne and owned at the time of loss by J.E. Tully of Newcastle. She was built in 1869 and had a single iron propeller that was powered by a three-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engine, employing one boiler.
On 20 August 1900 the Greenwood was on a voyage from London to the Tyne in ballast, under the command of Captain J. Wilson, with a crew of fifteen and one passenger, when, just outside of the Tyne entrance, she was in a collision with the London-registered steamship Ulysses. Both vessels were seriously damaged, but the Greenwood was holed below the water-line and lost her power. The tide and light north-north-east wind blew her in against the South Pier wall, where she foundered and was lost before tugs could puller her clear.

The remains of the Greenwood are only about 50m away from the wreck of the destroyer Witherington, but further out towards the pier end. She is now totally collapsed and well smashed up like that of the destroyer. Her boiler stands upright in the midst of broken iron ribs and frames protruding from the silty sand, along with lots of thin, brass tubes scattered around the seabed that have come from the brass condenser that burst open. Not far away from these is an old iron anchor and iron propeller. Like the destroyer, she has lots of fishing lines, complete with weights and hooks criss-crossing over the wreckage.
Owner: J. E. Tully, Newcastle upon Tyne
Built: 1869
Propulsion: Screw driven, 3 cylinder triple expansion
Boilers: 1
Crew: 15
Passengers: 1
Master: J. Wilson
Easting
438430
Northing
568540
Grid Reference
NZ438430568540
Sources
Young, R. (2000) Comprehensive guide to Shipwrecks of the North East Coast (The): Volume One (1740 – 1917), Tempus, Gloucestershire. p. 159, Ian T. Spokes Wreck Database; National Monuments Record (1365976); Richard and Bridget Larn 1997 Shipwreck index of the British Isles, volume 3. The east coast of England : Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, County Durham, Northumberland Section 6, County Durham