Milford Fishing Smacks, 1869-1971
(Over 15 g.r.t.)
SUSAN ANN DH50 and MUMBLES M1 (10 grt) at Tenby, c. 1885
Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum of Wales
Milford was never an important port for the registration of fishing smacks, compared to ports like Brixham, Ramsgate and Yarmouth. The history of sailing trawlers and other fishing vessels in South West Wales up to the 1890s is essentially that of Tenby. In 1328, Edward III gave the town the right to levy dues to pay for the building of a curved pier to protect local craft from NE winds, and George Owen (1552-1613), in his Description of Pembrokeshire, referred to Tenby’s daily fish market (1603). In 1842, the old pier was replaced by a straight one, and the extension of the railway to the town in 1866 enabled regular sales of fish to the industrial valleys of South Wales.
Local catches ranged from herring to oysters, and up to the 1600s the favourite fishing ground for local boats was Will’s March, ten miles S by E of Caldy. Up to the end of the 1890s most fishing from the port took place in Carmarthen Bay, from Worms Head on the Gower, to St.Govan’s Head, and across to Lundy Island. However, fishing was never on a large enough scale to produce great wealth in the town, and a great deal of the industry was in the hands of Brixham fishermen, who usually based themselves in the port during the summer months, although many of them settled in Tenby. The fishing season lasted from April to September, when the Brixham boats left and the Tenby boats were laid up for the winter.
In 1891, there were nineteen trawlers of up to 50 grt based in Tenby; sixteen cutter-rigged, and three ketches. In addition, there were forty-nine smaller luggers between 15 to 25 feet in length, engaged in fishing, oyster dredging and net fishing. However, in the same decade, fishing from Tenby declined, as the town grew in importance as a holiday resort, while Milford steam trawlers came to dominate the fishing industry in South West Wales, and eventually in the whole of South Wales and the Bristol Channel. In 1896, only 32.59 tons of fish were landed in Tenby , and by 1914 this had declined to a meagre 7.9 tons. In 1904, sixty-six steam trawlers and one hundred and fifty smacks were fishing out of Milford.
Fishing vessels under sail are usually referred to as smacks. They were of several types, differing in their rig and their mode of fishing.
The oldest rig still current in the Nineteenth Century was the cutter, which had one mast, with a jib or foresail, and a topsail. As smacks grew larger, the only way to increase the area of the mainsail was to lengthen the boom, which made it more difficult to handle. Many cutters (such as the WILLIE / M 75) were converted to ketch rig, which had two masts, increasing the total sail area by the addition of a mizzen, but with each sail smaller than the cutter’s mainsail. The majority of the Milford-registered smacks in the period covered in the list below were ketch rigged. A variation of the ketch is the dandy rig, with the mizzen mast right aft, carrying a smaller sail than the ketch mizzen sail. Another older rig was the lugger, which usually had two masts, carrying square sails; only the MOSS ROSE / M218, is representative of this type. Many smacks were fitted with an auxiliary motor, especially in the early years of the Twentieth Century. Most Milford-registered smacks were engaged in trawling, usually with a beam trawl, a bottom fishing trawl net, used mainly for catching flatfish with the headrope attached to a beam towed along the bottom on runners at either end.
In the register, vessels are classified into three classes. Only those in the first class, usually of over 15 gross tons, are included in this list. Most have Official Numbers; where these were not allocated, this is indicated by - ; where the allocation of an ON is uncertain, this is indicated by ? . Unless stated otherwise, owners can be assumed to have been living in Milford or Hakin. Most were crewed by two or three men and a boy.
The list below is provisional; it is hoped that more vessels from the earlier years will eventually be added.
Key to type of rig:
Key to mode of fishing:
C Cutter rig (mainsail, topsail, foresail & jib)
Cr Crabbing
Da Dandy rig
D Drift nets
K Ketch rig
L Lines
Lu Lugger
O Oyster
M Auxiliary Motor installed
P Lobster pots
Sl Sloop
T Trawling
Other abbreviations:
< formerly
BU broken up
> became
Xf transferred to
Names in GREEN are linked to technical and historical data; those in BLUE also include details of "Accidents and Incidents" or "Losses", while those in RED include one or more photographs. Unless otherwise stated, transcriptions are from the Les Jones Archive.
Name
Type/ Mode
ON/ Register No. (M ~ )
Built/grt (Or nt)
On Register
Owners and Fate
K/T
93438 / 26
1890/23 nt
1890-1916
G.Rowe, Tenby. Lost 27.03.1916
KM/T
137769 / 25
1924/64.84
1924-30
Hancock & Sons. Engine installed 1929. Foundered Bantry Bay 28.03.30; 6 men lost
M/T
128758/ 119
1911/57.19
1911-17
Rouse Bros., Llanstadwell > RL Hancock (1914). Sunk by enemy submarine, Eng.Channel, 21.03.17
K?/T
137767 / 205
1920/54.87
1921-23
PL Hancock. Foundered Rosslare 03.03.23
KM/T
137768 / 258
1923/60.77
1923-33
Hancock & Sons. Sold for conversion to pleasure yacht under Ecuadorean flag, 15.01.33
KM/T
137771 / 77
1926/65
1926-30
Hancock & Sons. Caught fire and sank off Dunmore, E.Waterford, 24.07.30
K/T
110807 / 45
1899/58.33
1925-33
PL Hancock > Hancock & Sons (1925) No longer fishing 14.11.33 (BU 10.03.53)
C/T
67782? / 19
1875?/27
1877-1899
(<Dublin?) G.Nicholas & W.Pedwell, Tenby (1877) > Edw.Wales, Milford (1891). Ceased fishing 08.11.1899
C/T
15530 / 4
1848 /19
1869-99
D.Jones, Tenby
COUNTESS ? 62155/ 18? 1870 / 34 nt 1878?-83 F.B. Mason, Tenby. Abandoned 35 miles SSW of Hook Head, Dunmore. LoM/TL
132517 / 156
1913/21
1928-31
WC Whittow > CH Whittow & TP Whittow (1931). Sold to Dutch 31.12.31
K/T
114243 / 27
1903/53
1909-17
J Phillips (P Hancock, Mgr.). Sold to French 05.12.17
K/T
71870 / 180
1875/43.7
1903-16
J.J.Smith, Tenby. BU 12.04.10
K/T
128751 / 83
1911/54.06
1911-19
Wm.Farrow > EJ Hellings (1918) Xf. Lowestoft 11.06.19
K/T
78324 / 9
1899/40
1899
PL Hancock. Sank after collision 18 m E of Lundy 22.04.1899
C/T
68344 / 3
1875 / 32
1877-1901
D.Jones & FH Fishwick, Tenby. Ceased fishing 19.12.01
C/T
65024 / 11
1873/34
1874-95
D.Jones, Tenby; D. Davies, Dinas Cross. Ceased fishing 21.01.1895
Da/T
119391/ 118
1905/38.49
1911-15
TI Jenkerson. Xf. Lowestoft (1911) Xf.Ramsgate (1913). Milford Registry closed 14.05.15
K/T
109298/ 233
1898/51.11
1913-15
(< BM34) HM Rowse > J McDonald (J Thomas, Mgr.) (1913) Wrecked 12.11.15
C/T
14670 / 5
1854/48
1881-1911
S Kingdom, Tenby > M.Lewis & C.Ware, Tenby =M2 (1885) > WH Ware, Tenby (1888) BU 19.09.1911
K/T
128770 / 20
1914/56.64
1915-18
Davies, Morgan & Bishop (TG Bishop, Mgr.), Fishguard. Sunk by UB-55 29.01.18
KM/T
121619 / 209
1907/36.2
1907-28
JJ Smith, Tenby Converted to yacht, Xf. Scarboro 01.05.28
C/TL
- / 172
? /26.16
1918-24
C.Faulkner & JK Scott, Burry Port. Xf.Lowestoft 18.06.24
K/T
104114 / 113
1894/42.84
1894-1919
T.H.Lillycrop, Tenby > GP Francis, Pembroke Dock (1907). BU Pembroke Dock 14.05.19
C/T
27632 / 7
? /33
1882-91
(<Plymouth) D Jones & T Prior, Tenby. Foundered 07.05.91.?
C/TL
- / 115
? /16
1895-1904
Wm. Taylor > Millie Jones (1903). BU 12.01.1904.
C/POCr
- / 172
1870/16.68
1902-06
Jas. Way,Tenby. Registry closed 28.04.06
K/T
128757 / 105
1911/56.67
1911-20
Morgan, Davies & Bishop, Fishguard. Xf.Lowestoft 27.07.20
C/TL
20376 / 23
1859/23 nt
1889-90
T, D & W.Jenkins, Broad Haven. Registry closed 1898?
KM/TLCP
- / 136
1905/19
1917-23
Gwyneth STC > RS Longthorpe & A Nicholls. Xf.Brixham 26.06.23 =GENESTA BM162
K/T
128765 / 237
1913/51.01
1913-19
Wm. Farrow > EJ Hellings (1918). Xf.Lowestoft 28.04.19
LuM/TLP
/ 218
1887/17.12
1965-71
D.Krelle, Marloes > S.C.R.Wonnacott & Wm.McGovern, Hakin (1969). Xf.Swansea 11.03.71
K/T
108431 / 144
1898/45
1898-1901
PL Hancock. Xf.Lowestoft 26.01.0901
K/T
65488 / 150
1871/46.02
1899-1906
J.J.Smith, Tenby. BU 06.12.1906
C/TL
/ 30
/15
1890-91
Maj. H.Lancelyn Green, Tenby
C/T
98373 / 74
1891 /
1891-96
(<Ramsgate) Ernest William Hart Peel, Tenby. Xf.Ramsgate 11.12.96
K/T
137761 / 25
1915/59.48
1915-17
Misses Harries, Letterston, & B Davies Johns, Fishguard. Sunk by UC-48 16.03.17
C/T
52992 / 6
1866/19.52
1904-1909
James B.Rowlands > Watkins & Saies (1906) > SI Hancock (1909). Wrecked Fishguard 13.7.09
C/T
29563 / 8
1844/23
1869-90
Wm Francis, Tenby. BU 06.02.1890
C/T
9607 / 17
1874/17.64
1879-1903
S.Kingdom, Tenby > E.Lonsdale, Tenby (1888) > O.Williams, Mumbles (1888). BU Mumbles 04.12.1904.
K/T
28152 / 18
1860/37
1887-1901
G.R.Wood, Tenby. BU 23.12.1901
RECHABITE Lu > Sl 13245 / SA18 1843/19 1868-76 R. Ashman, Tenby. 1885 lost. ?/T
99279 / 10
1892/25.47
1904-24
(<RESTLESS DH343) Thos.H.Lillycrop, Tenby. Ceased fishing, registry closed 19.11.24
Da/T
67676 / 87
1872/67
1891-97
(<GY377) James Tooley, Milford.
K/T
106572 / 51
1896/49.72
1915
(>BM87) JW Setterfield, Neyland. Foundered off Courtown, Co. Wexford, 13.08.15
C/T
- / 31
? /17
1915-18
R.Folland, Tenby > M. & G.Griffiths, Tenby (1917) > A.Kingdom (Tenby). BU 27.11.18
C/T
49509 / 10
? /25
1875-94
(<Wexford) G.R.Wood, Tenby. BU 04.12.94
C/T
62794 / 13
1869/16
1886-96
G. & R.H.Rowe, Tenby. BU 12.1896
KM/T
- / 180
1912/32
1921-23
<BM106 Jas. McLean. Destroyed by fire, St.Bride’s Bay, 30.09.23
KM/T>Cr
99997 / 85 > 103
1893/27.74
1893-1903; 1911-19
M85 – R.Nicholls (1893; ceased fishing 1903) >M103 BGA Scott, Penzance (1911) > J Pollock & Sons, London (1917). Certificate cancelled & registry closed 20.12.19
KM/TL
104115 / 175
1893/18.62
1918-19
E.M.R. Bryant, Tenby. Initially a yacht. 1904-19: trawling / lining; ceased; registry closed 10.12.19
Da/T
110312 / 9
1899/30.72
1904-06
Sarah Isabel Hancock. Xf.Ramsgate 17.10.06
K/T
128761 / 135
1912/56.45
1912-17
AG John et al., Fishguard/Goodwick. (Adm, WW1; Q-ship; sunk by UC-65 off Strumble Hd., 04.05.17)
KM/DL
- / 239
1897/37.04
1919-?
Gwyneth STC. > WH Bowling & T Brown, Pembroke Dock (1919).
C/TL
87595 / 140
1883/17.33
1898-1913
PL Hancock >Eliz. Hancock (1903) > MA McKay & SI Hancock (1913). BU 10.11.13
C?M/P
- / 26
/16.6
1924-25
E.T.Houston & J.Roch. Xf.Carnarvon 10.07.25
K/T
102995 / 63
1895/48.12
1911-18
SI Hancock . Wrecked at Padstow, 23.12.18.
KM/T
109313 / 242
1899/47.44
1921-22
<BM75 CW Cobb. Caught fire and lost near Clovelly, 23.05.22
K/T
137766 / 177
1906/79.76
1921-27
H.Wooding (LC Cockrell, Mgr.) > M Thompson (1925) > EJ Hellings & WE Johnstone (1926) Wrecked at Rosslare, 28.10.1927
CM/T
? / 122
1897/22.69
1917-46
Fransham, Hewer & Legget > C.Cranford, Bristol (1918) > RS Dugdall, Fleetwood (1938) > Brixham Trawlers, Fleetwood (1940) > EG Wright, Fleetwood (1941). Sank in collision, 29.05.46. Registry closed 26.06.46. (Vessel sailing out of Fleetwood)
K/?
17159 / 21
? /50
1888-96
(<Falmouth) R.Ellis & H.Williams, Tenby. BU 16.12.1896
Da/TL
121606 / 125
1906/42.57
1906-18
SI Hancock. Sold to Belgians 06.05.18
C>K/T
98374 / 75
1891/21.91
1891-25
Wm.Geo.Griffiths, Tenby > J.Thomas, Tenby (1903) > PL Hancock (1921). Xf.Shoreham 06.01.25
C/T
56669 / 6
? / 39
1881-91
(<Plymouth) D.Jones, Tenby. Xf.Brixham 05.12.91
K/T
99991 / 94
1892/26.08
1892-1924
Patrick Crockford, Tenby > Thos. Richards, Tenby (1912). BU 13.03.24