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Figurehead of

Photo Title: Figurehead of "Lady of Avenel"
Image No.: PF-343.0836
Image Location: munn-godden/pf343_0836.jpg
Date of Creation: [before 1926]
Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 8.5 X 14 cm
Biography/Admin History: The brigantine "Lady of Avenel", official number 65343, gross tonnage 163, was built 1874 at Falmouth, Cornwall, England by H.S. Trethowan and registered to Edward Dixon Anderton of that port. The vessel was used as a freighter for nearly five decades, especially in the granite trade from Cornwall. It may also have been used on occasion to transport saltfish from Labrador to European markets. Ownership transferred to George Henry Hutchings of Dartmouth circa 1900. Four years later, Charles Murray of Arklow, Wicklow, Ireland was the registered owner. By 1920 William A. Jenkins of Swansea Wales, had acquired the vessel. However, the following the year, the "Lady of Avenel" returned to Falmouth under the ownership of Captain Wilfred Harry Dowman and Catherine Dowman who installed an auxiliary engine and used the vessel as a training school for "poor boys of good character". In 1922 when the sailing ship "Cutty Sark" - then known as the "Ferreira", official number 63557 - pulled into port for repairs caused by storm damage, the Dowmans, who owned a boat yard, decided to buy that vessel. Reconditioned and renamed the "Cutty Sark", it replaced the "Lady of Avenel" as Dowmans' training school. Grettir Algarsson of British Columbia purchased the "Lady of Avenel" circa 1926, renamed it "Island", and used it for at least one Arctic expedition. Two years later Marmaduke N. Wright of Clitheroe, Yorkshire had acquired the "Island" and renamed it "Virgo". By 1934 Frederick S. Jackson of nearby Ilkley refurbished the vessel, returned it to its original name, "Lady of Avenel", and based it out of the port of Bridlington. Jack R. Hughes of Chester had acquired the vessel by 1939. He joined the Royal Navy and left the vessel behind in Poole Harbour, stripped of its figurehead and much of its equipment. Partially sunk and considered to be a danger to shipping, the Poole Harbour Authority later towed the "Lady of Avenel" out into open water and set it on fire.
Custodial History: The photographs were owned by Norma Godden, formerly of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland
Collector: Norma Godden
Source Donor: Norma Godden
Collection Title: Munn-Godden Collection
Restrictions on Access: Copyright expired
Copyright: p
Subjects: Lady of Avenel (Brigantine) / Brigantines / Ships--Figureheads.



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