Barrington Court (1)

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Introduction

Court Line used the name Barrington Court for three ships:

1. Barrington Court (1) - a cargo ship launched in 1906 - the topic of this article
2. Barrington Court (2) - a cargo ship launched in 1924
3. Barrington Court (3) - a refrigerated cargo ship launched in 1952

The first Barrington Court was in service until she was torpedoed in WW1 in 1917.

Basic Data

• Type: Cargo ship
• Registered owners,managers and operators: Court Line Ltd. - Managers Haldinstien and Co
• Builders: Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Co Ltd.
• Yard: Jarrow
• Country: UK
• Yard number: 790
• Registry: N/K
• Official number: 123698
• Signal letters: N/K
• Call sign: N/K
• Classification society: N/K
• Gross tonnage: 4,367 grt
• Net tonnage: 2,834 grt
• Deadweight: N/K
• Length: 355 ft
• Breadth: 50 ft
• Depth: 27.5 Ft
• Draught: N/K
• Engines: Triple expansion steam engine
• Engine builders: Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Co Ltd.
• Works: Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• Country: UK
• Power: 356 nhp
• Propulsion: Single screw
• Speed: 9 knots
• Boilers: N/K
• Cargo capacity:N/K
• Crew: N/K

• Employment: General purpose cargo vessel

Career Highlights

• 1905: Launched
• Sep 1906: Completed
• 1915: Managers restyled Haldin & Co. Ltd.
• 16/02/1915: Requisitioned for war service
• 1916: Taken over by Shipping Controller and managed by Williams and Morden of Cardiff and renamed Margam Abbey
• 01/11/1917: Torpedoed and beached - total loss

Service Pre-War

No information is currently known about her service before WW1.

War Service

Barrington Court (1) was used to transport various cargoes during the WW1:

• RN Collier service from 16/02/15 - 13/10/16
• Transportation of timber to Alexandria and Port Said and wheat from Australia
• Collier service again from 07/05/17
• Transportation of sugar from Cuba

Loss

Barrington Court (1) (then named Margam Abbey) was torpedoed on 1 November 1917 in the Mediterranean 9 miles West of Cape Bougaroni and beached. The owners were paid £98,000 in settlement.

External Resource #2 says that the ship was ".... torpedoed and damaged in the Mediterranean near Collo, Algeria, by the German submarine UB50 whilst on a voyage from Cardiff to Alexandia. Two were lost. She was beached at Collo and became a total constructive loss."

The names of those lost are not known at this point.

Postscript

External Resource #3, says that U-50 was launched on 31 Dec 1915 and responsible for the loss of 27 ships with a total of 92,924 grt., She was herself lost close to the date of the sinking of Margam Abbey. The U-Boat site descibes the fate of U-50 thus: "31 Aug, 1917 - Sunk probably from a mine off Terschelling on or after 31.8. 44 dead (all hands lost)."

This is rather intriguing and there seem to be two possibilities - either another U-Boat torpedoed Margam Abbey, or U-50 was destroyed very shortly after this event.

External resources

1. Norman Middlemiss: Travel of the Tramps - Twenty Tramp Fleets ISBN: 1871128021
2. British Merchant Ships Sunk by U-boat in World War One By A. J. Tennent
3. U-Boat.net Uboat.net

Images

Awaiting an image of this vessel. Anyone having one is asked to contact SN Member Benjidog so it can be added to the entry.

Contributors

1. Initial information provided by Stan Mayes
2. Additional information provided by Clive Ketley
3. Additional research and construction of entry by Benjidog