I am grateful to Susan Coney for the b/w photos of Capt. Hitchins and the Crossowen. Capt. Hitchins was her great uncle.
It is not often that you can come across a ship abandoned on the beach with all her sails still set. But that’s what happened to some early morning walkers on 7th May 1908 when they came across the Scottish registered brigantine Crossowen adrift on Yarmer Sands with only three feet of water in her hold. Of the crew there was no sign. So what had happened?
The Crossowen had embarked a cargo of china clay at Parr the previous day and it can only be assumed that when she left port she became enveloped in a dense bank of fog that had blanketed the south west coast that day. She ended up far to close inshore, and struck Burg Island. The crew, thinking that they were sinking, launched the ships boat and rowed for the shore. Unfortunately they rowed towards the mouth of the nearby river Avon and became overwhelmed by the breakers on Batham Beach. All were thrown into the crashing surf, and it was only later that their drowned corpses were plucked from the waters around the river Avon’s mouth.
Six bodies are buried in Thurleston Churchyard together with an unknown boy who, whilst not on the official crew list, was presumed to have been aboard. Their communal grave was erected by public subscription from the local villagers. Later a separate stone for the Captain was placed nearby.
The Crossowen, seen below aground at Yarmer Sands near Thurlestone, was built at Grangemouth in 1878 by Adamson, and originally called the Omega. A 115 feet long with a gross tonnage of 237 tons, she is a sad testament to the old superstition that says, it is bad luck to change a ships name.
Jill says
I came across the gravestone of the crew of the Brigantine Crossowen whilst in Thurlestone grave yard and took a photo of it. I was pointed in the direction of your web-site by a person on a message board.
Thank you for solving the mystery for us.
Regards
Jill
Susan Coney says
I was contacted by an ancestor of the owner of the Crossowen, who told me about the headstone to the crew of ship- thank you John.
George Rogers Hitchens, the captain, was my great * 2 uncle. Bantham is a family favourite Devon beach and will be even more significant now. I shall make a visit to the church yard very soon.
DAVID GREGORY says
I sell antiques on ebay and this week came across a most interesting real photo postcard of what I am certain is the Crossowen aground on the rocks near Thurlstone. The correspondance on the reverse talks of the “Poor little boat on the rocks below my windows, breaking up, 7 men dead” It also reports the “Rotten weather and fogs”. It was posted in Thurlstone on May the 18th 1908. Iam selling it on ebay this week and it is item number 250780535389. I have just found this very fine website whilst researching the Brigatine shown on the postcard.Many thanks for the fine description on this page.
Susan Coney says
David – I have only just seen your comment and expect that you sold the postcard long ago – shame, as would have very much liked to have bought it.
Susan Coney says
A bit more info on Captain George Rogers Hitchens:
GEORGE ROGERS HITCHENS (my great*3 uncle) was born in Gerrans in 1841 and baptized in the church on 9th Feb in the same year.
In 1861 George Rogers was listed as a Merchant Seaman living with his father Henry in Church Town, Gerrans.
George Rogers married Henrietta WARREN in Gerrans Church on 27th Sept 1865.
In 1871 the family lived in Church Town Gerrans. George is listed as a mariner.
In 1881 the family lived in Gerrans next door but one to the Standard Inn. George is listed as Sailor (MS).
In 1891 George is listed as a boarder in a pub in Appledore, North Devon. His occupation is Master Mariner. His wife Henrietta was now living in Charlestown with her 3 children. They lived next door to a family called Walkey the head of which was Joseph Walkey (one of the crew of the Crossowen who also drowned).
In 1901 George Rogers was the Master of a ship called the Miss Thomas which was berthed in the Camber and Dockyard Devonport.
At the time of the disaster, the owner of the Crossowen was William Charles Phillips. The owner’s great grandson told me that the name of the brig had been changed and, as every good mariner knows, it is bad luck to change the name of a ship!
Re the photo of a Captain Hitchens with his crew – if anyone can tell me ON WHAT TYPE OF VESSEL THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN I would be most grateful as it will help me identify which Captain Hitchens it is and maybe the crew. I think it is more likely to be on the deck of a steam yacht – possibly the Steam Yacht Cestria – Official Number 93666.
Also the photo of Captain Hitchens on his own is definitely my great grandfather John Spargo Hitchens (born Gerrans 1860), the nephew of George Rogers Hitchens.
Submerged Comment says
Barry Gillard (timeshift@ntlworld.com) wrote:
I have stumbled across this site by accident. If Susan Coney would like to contact me I have a digital photo record of a postcard that I sold some time ago.
Martika Coles says
Hello Susan,
I’m searching for family history.
My Great-Grandfather was George Cestria Coles, named after his father’s (George William Coles) steam yacht, the Cestria.
I saw that you mentioned the Cestria in one of your previous comments on this page, and I was wondering if you had anymore information about the Cestria and it’s crew?
Susan Coney says
Hello Martika – sorry for not responding to you before but I have only seen your comment. I have found out quite a lot of information about the Cestria -too much to put on this message. I’m not sure how else to get in touch with you as I don’t want to put my email address on this message. Do you have an ancestry account?
Susan Coney says
The photograph of Capt Hitchens on his own above is not George Rogers Hitchens, the captain of the Crossown, but John Hitchens, George Rogers’s nephew. John Hitchens was the captain of the steam Yatch the Cestria.
Richard McGonigal says
Hello,
I came across this post whilst researching my Great Grandfather John McGonigal who was a crew member on the Cestria. I realise it may be a bit late in the day but wondered whether Susan may be able to let me have some of the information she mentioned in an earlier post? I can be contacted at r_mcgonigal@yahoo.co.uk
Best.
R
Martika says
Hi Susan,
I’ve only just started back up with researching my family history.
I don’t mind putting an email address here, it’s one of my spare ones that I don’t use often.
martikacoles@hotmail.co.uk
I, and my now very elderly Grandad, would really appreciate any more information you can provide us. We don’t have much information on the Cestria.
Thanks
JACQUELINE JOYNSON says
I visited Thurlestone Church graveyard after seeing an article about the Crossowen” in the Salcombe & Kingsbridge Gazette in May 2019. The 2 headstones belonging to Captain Hitchens and the Crew weren’t hard to find. I spent about half an hour wandering around the well kept graveyard. There must have been over a hundred graves there. It’s an interesting tale and no-one seems to know why the Captain and Crew abandoned ship.