DE313

Wreck of the City of Ottawa, Rhyl Harbour  

 

Interim Protection  

Denbighshire  

Rhyl  

 

 

Maritime  

Wreck  

Victorian  

The monument comprises the wreck of the City of Ottawa which lies abandoned on the eastern inter-tidal foreshore of Foryd Harbour, Rhyl adjacent to the harbour wall between the Pont y Ddraig footbridge and A548 road bridge. The City of Ottawa was a wooden, medium-sized, three-masted, full rigged merchant ship. Built in Quebec, Canada in 1860 by Jean Elie Gingras, the vessel weighed 884 tons and measured c. 52m in length, 10m in width and 6.5m in depth. The ship was constructed from American larch with the main keel, keelson, stem and stern post of oak and external planking a mixture of elm, larch and pine. It was sold into the British merchant fleet and documentary records demonstrate that the vessel's working career between 1860 and 1890 was global in character, visiting ports in Britain, France, Italy, Canada, the USA, Brazil, Yemen, Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Panama and Australia. Many voyages involved the export of coal from the ports of Cardiff, Swansea and Greenock, particularly to bunkering stations for steamships located at Cape Verde, Aden, Rio de Janeiro and Panama, and the import of timber, particularly from Quebec. The vessel was barque-rigged in 1874. On 20 July 1890 the vessel had loaded coal in Cardiff and departed for Quebec. It sailed as far as Milford Haven and was subsequently moored at Hazelbeach near Neyland until being sold to the War Office for £300 in January 1896 for use as a storeship. Disposed of in 1906, it was sold to Robert Jones and Co. of Rhyl for breaking up whence the vessel reached its current location within Rhyl Harbour. Photographic evidence from 2013 showed that at least 90% of the length of the lower hull was preserved, including the frames, iron reinforcements and related constructional features, whilst the keel and keelson were buried. A photogrammetric survey of the wreck undertaken in 2023 recorded a row of exposed hull frames rising above the sediment to a maximum height of 0.8m with the remainder of the wreck buried under sediment. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of mid- to late-nineteenth century naval architecture and world commerce, particularly the growth of the South Wales coal export industry. It is well-preserved and is an important relic of developing globalised trade systems and the long-distance movement of bulk materials. The vessel is a rare identifiable example of its ship-type in a Welsh context. The City of Ottawa is a good example of the practice of British merchants sourcing North American timber-built sailing vessels when domestic production was transferring to steam powered and iron-hulled ships. The vessel has collective value with the scheduled wreck of the Louisa (GM553) in Cardiff Bay: both are good examples of a group of North American/Canadian built vessels operating and ending their operational lives in Wales, thereby entering the Welsh archaeological record. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The monument’s importance is further enhanced by the survival of contemporary documentation detailing the vessel’s construction, operation, cargos and disposal. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. The scheduled area is a rectangle centred on OS NGR 299595 380725 and measures 70m NNE-SSW by 25m transversely. This monument has been afforded Interim Protection under Section 6 of the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023. It is an offence to damage this monument and you may be prosecuted. To find out more about Interim Protection, please visit the statutory notices page on the Cadw website. For further information about this monument, or to report any damage please contact Cadw.