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23 February 1886 Survey of Partridge - Detail
23 February 1886 Survey of Partridge - Detail

“Partridge” was built in 1885 by ‘the oldest leisure marine company in the world’, Camper and Nicholson, in Gosport, England. Camper and Nicholson was then a shipyard in Gosport  but today has evolved into a yacht and marina management company.

Partridge is recognised as a UK National Historic Ship and was designed by John Beavor-Webb. Partridge was launched on the 2nd June by Miss Nora Lapthorn. To put things into historical perspective, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor 15 days later, on 17 June 1885.

John Beavor-Webb began his career in England but later worked in the U.S.A. In 1885, when Partridge was launched, his cutter Genesta competed in the America’s Cup and he was already working on the designs for a 90 ton cutter (Galatea) for a Lt. William Henn which subsequently challenged for the 1886 America’s Cup. There is every chance that at some stage the designs for these different yachts will have been stacked together on John Beavor-Webb’s drawing board. The similarity of their elegant lines in inescapable.

Nora Lapthorn was the daughter of Edwin Lapthorn who ran the Ratsey and Lapthorn sail loft in Gosport at that time. Edwin Lapthorn’s Mother’s name was Mary Partridge. Partridge embodies the Victorian enthusiasm for cruising in yachts but also for extremely competitve amateur yacht racing as can be witnesssed by the America’s Cup, which has its roots in the UK in 1851. 

Partridge 1885 Sail Plan

Partridge and the Lloyds Register

She was built to Lloyds 100A1 and subsequently appeared in the Lloyds register up until 1923. Her original first entry certificate and survey report, including a midship section drawing, are to this day still in the Lloyds archives in London. Unfortunately, virtually all other records of her existence were destroyed during Second World War bombings which  destroyed the vast majority of documents and records held by Camper and Nicholson’s and Ratsey and Lapthorn.

Lloyd’s Register however has Partridge on its records until 1923 during which period, she had three name changes. These were:- 1886: name changed to Rupee; 1889: name changed to Pollie and 1921: name changed to Tanagra. Her last entry in 1923 states that she was sold to a Belgian gentleman and converted into a houseboat. Hunt’s Yachting magazine reports of a race held by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club on July 17th, 1886  : “in a steady south-westerly breeze the race produced capital competition”. Yachts were to be steered by bona fide amateurs and only regular crew were allowed. First prize was £10, second £5 and third £3. The entries were: Minnow, 10 tons; Tiger, 11 tons; Mackerel, 18 tons and Partridge (now in fact named Rupee), 18 tons. All tonnages given are Thames tonnages. The start was at 10:30 am and the course was three times round a mark off Brixham. Partridge was away first with Mackerel second and Tiger third and won the £10 first prize.

The Field (magazine), in which Dixon Kemp (British naval architect, founder of the Yacht Racing Association today known the Royal Yachting Association) and founder of The Lloyd’s Register of Yachts) wrote a yachting column, mentions Partridge as she sailed up and down the south coast of England to the various regattas and anchorages.

Her launch was recorded: “Yacht launch at Gosport: On Tuesday 2nd June 1885 the new 18 ton cruising cutter Partridge, built to the order of Mr J.H. Baillie, was successfully launched from the yard of Messrs. Camper and Nicholson of Gosport. The yacht was designed by J.B. Webb and is a sister to Polyanthus, built last year by the same firm for R.H. Baillie.

The christening ceremony was performed by Miss Nora Lapthorn”. Then later an entry states: “Gosport, June 8th. Polyanthus cruising yawl, Mr R.H. Baillie, for Weymouth. Yachts fitting out: Partridge, cutter, Mr J.H. Baillie”. And a few months later: “April 17th 1886: Gosport, the cutter Rupee, Mr C.P. Henderson, jun., will be put afloat”. And April 24th: “The Rupee, cutter, was launched off Messrs. Camper and Nicholson’s upper slip on Thursday”. Rupee then sailed to Torquay and was reported as being on station in that port on every weekend up until October 30th 1886.

From the day of her launch up until 1923 Partridge’s owners are set out on the Right:

Owner Address
Mr J.H. Baillie Portsmouth
Mr Charles P Hendersone Pine Cliff, Torquay, Devon
Francis Fitzpatrick Tower 66 Princes Gate, London, Middlesex
Albert Wood Bodlondeb, Conway, N. Wales
James Stuart Goold 185 Lodge Lane, Liverpool, Lancaster
Henry Bunster Harris No.8 Hyde Park Mansions, London, Middlesex
John Goldsmid 56 Redcliffe Gardens, South Kensington, London
William Henry Goldsmid 11 Bentinck Street, Cavendish Square, London
Ebenezer Southgate The Nook, Church Road, Brightlingsea, Essex
Frederick Backhouse Hulke Admiralty House, Deal, Kent
William Mansfield Clark William Wren, Essex Road, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex
Henry Tompson Holloway 840 Salisbury House, London EC
Ralph Cudworth Romer Westons, Rusper, Sussex
L.H.F. Damen c/o Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Burnham-on-Crouch
1885, The lady buried in the mud of Tollesbury

The Mysterious Lady in the Mud and “Harry 1885”

When Partridge was first discovered lying on her side in the Tollesbury mud on the East coast of England in 1979, an air of mystery surrounded her. Very little was known as to her provenance. Her previous owner was only able to provide two pieces of cryptic information concerning her past. The first was that the boat had once been called Tanagra and the second was that a previous owner, upon removing an old deck beam had come across the word “Harry 1885” crudely cut into the wood with a knife or similar instrument. On the basis of these two meagre clues, a great deal of naval detective work ensued to discover her myserious identity. The Lloyds Register in London was searched with a fine toothcomb for the name “Tanagra”. After much ado, it appeared that, in 1923, a yacht with a suspiciously similar length and tonnage had been registered with Lloyds. Upon further examination, her name was confirmed to be Tanagra.  Once this was established, the Lloyds list provided her previous names year-by-year until 1885  (the date carved by “Harry” with his knife) when her identity was confirmed as Partridge, built at Camper and Nicholsons in Gosport. All relevant measurements matched the mysterious  and graceful Tollesbury hull so that subsequently,  a full 100 years later, she was re-registered in her original name in Southampton as the port of Registry.

When finally located, Partridge’s First Entry Certificate at Lloyds in Fenchurch Street, London, reconfirmed her identity and contained a full specification of her construction materials and scantlings plus a midship section drawing showing the lead keel, floors, planking, bilge stringers, shelf, deck beams and deck. The full-length greenheart keelson, that was discovered buried under the mud where the hull was lying was also drawn on the midship section of this Certificate.

Under “general remarks”, the surveyor, in 1885, wrote: “Secretary’s letters dated 18th March, 13th and 20th April: this small yacht was from time to time examined by the undersigned during her construction; after her launch, she was at once hauled up and was fitted out; the keel, bottom and sides have now been cleaned down, ballast shifted at (unreadable), an examination made and all placed in good and efficient condition. It will be observed that the collective weight of the two anchors is under the weight given in the suggested tables but when attention was called to this, the master stated most strongly that they could not find room, or use heavier, and would if allowed to follow their own views, take even lighter; at the same time the builders desire me to state, that if the committee cannot accept then they shall be removed and heavier ones supplied on being informed accordingly, but trust that in the meantime the fig.1 will be granted. Having regard to the fine bow of this yacht together with the views above referred to, I beg respectfully to recommend that the anchor be approved to remain for the fig.1 particularly seeing that they are of the pattern known as Thomas patent which for holding power cannot be surpassed.”

1886 Survey of Partridge : Signature Details
1886 Survey of Partridge : Signature Details