Cullercoats, Brown's Bay, Butetown (formerly Cookham)

1917 wreck of English cargo vessel which stranded near Cullercoats Harbour while en route from Blyth for Fredrikstad with coal. Built in 1890, she was a steel screw steamer. Depth: 4-7 metres
Reference: N 55 02.343 W 001 25.472
Brown's Bay, Cullercoats

The BUTETOWN was a steel 1,594-ton British steamship that was registered in London and had a length of 75m. She was built as the COOKHAM at Milford Haven by J R Oswald & Co. in 1890 for the Lambert Brothers, who owned her until 1904, when she was sold to W Cory. In 1916 she joined the Townline Co. Ltd. of London, who were the owners at the time of loss. Her single steel propeller was powered by a three-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engine that used two boilers.

On 4 December 1917, the BUTETOWN was on passage from Blyth for Fredrikstad with a crew of 24 and a cargo of coal, when she stranded on the rocks at Cullercoats during heavy seas and a very strong southerly wind. The Cullercoats 11.4m, self-righting, 12-oared lifeboat, CO-OPERATOR NO.1 was launched at 5.15pm and found one of the ship's boats, containing 14 crewmen, about 1.5 miles from the stranded vessel. The men told Coxswain Lisle that the other ten crewmen were in another of the ship's boats. After some searching they were found, and towed back to shore...

Wreck Site:

The remains of the BUTETOWN lie oriented in a north-west to south-east direction, in a general depth of 4-7m, depending on the size [sic] of the tide. It also lies on the north side of, and parallel to, a large reef, which dries at low water and runs out from the shore for about 400m. The BUTETOWN is totally collapsed and has been heavily salvaged over the last few decades...From her two boilers, which are situated about midships, steel cross-spars or ribs, about 5m in length, run at right angles across the wreck every metre or so, and, with the collection of huge steel plates, provide a guide to the vessel's outline.

Nothing of real interest in the way of artefacts remains on the wreck site, but good finds do occasionally turn up after the pounding of winter storms...Access from the shore is quite easy too, by going down the steps on the promenade near Table Rocks...the wreck site, about 150m offshore. (1)

Stranded; place of loss given as near Cullercoats Harbour. (2)

Essentially the same information as (1) above, with location maps of the site. (3)

Built: 1890 (1)(2)
Builder: J R Oswald & Co. (1)(2)
Where Built: Milford Haven (1)(2)
Propulsion: Screw driven, 3 cylinder triple expansion engine (1)(2)
Boilers: 2 (1)(2)
Construction: single steel propeller (1)
Crew: 24 (1)(2)
Owner: Townline Co. Ltd., London (1)(2)

Date of Loss Qualifier: A