Captain John Wordsworth set out to sea with a plan - to make so much money that his brother William could continue writing poetry.
John was captain of a trading ship called The Abergavenny. Instead of a salary, he was allocated a space on the ship to store his own goods to sell during the voyage.
William Wordsworth wrote about saying goodbye to his brother John near their home in Grasmere:
Here did we part, and halted here / With One he lov’d, I saw him bound / Downwards along the rocky ground / As if with eager cheer. / A lovely sight as on he went, / For he was bold and innocent
Bad weather hit as the The Abergavenny set sail from Portsmouth. Trying to find shelter in Portland the ship hit rocks and began to take on water.
The Abergavenny sank in Weymouth Bay on 5th February 1805 with a loss of over 250 lives, including Captain John Wordsworth.
William was devastated.
He wrote three elegies to his brother that year: To the Daisy, I only look’d for pain and grief, and Distressful gift! this Book receives.
William began collecting artefacts from sunken ships. He owned several wooden boxes made from the salvaged timbers of wrecks.
All valuables on board the Abergavenny were salvaged shortly after it sank. The remaining artefacts were left under the sea for more than 200 years.
When divers explored the ship in the late 20th century they found navigational tools including compasses, sliding rulers and ruling pens.
And an odd pencil.
Researchers have determined it isn’t the type of pencil that would typically be used alongside the other navigational tools.
And it’s nothing like the pencils we know today.
This pencil has a hollow wooden casing that slides open to hold a graphite stick.
Fragments of other pencils were found elsewhere in the wreck so it’s assumed that pencils were among the goods to be traded and sold.
So maybe that’s the story. Maybe this pencil was just stock.
Or maybe the story is that John Wordsworth bought those pencils to resell? After all, he knew how valuable a pencil could be in the hand of an artist.
One odd pencil though.
On it’s own. Away from the rest of the stock . . .
Isn’t a pencil and paper something a poet would carry? Wouldn’t he have them with him as he said goodbye that day in the Vale of Grasmere?
Could he have handed his brother a pencil and reminded him to write?
That can’t be the story though.
Can it?
Perhaps you recognised the type of pencil found in The Abergavenny? It’s the exact same type of pencil that was found in The Princess Carolina in Manhattan.
If you spotted it give yourself three pencil points ✏️ ✏️ ✏️
If you don’t know the true story of The Princess Carolina check it out, it’s a good one:
All my posts are remaining free and open for the foreseeable future! If you fancy getting me a cuppa tea that would be amazing! Totally up to you, we’ll still be friends!
Sources:
Absolutely fascinating as always! And how very sad about Wordsworth’s brother…
Love your pencil posts Nanette!! ✏️