The English barque Spirit of the Age

The beautifully-named barque Spirit of the Age was designed and built by John Pile in Sunderland in 1854. Ordered for T.A. Gibb of London, she was registered at 737 tons (878 old style) and measured 173 feet in length with a 32 foot beam. A handsome and well-proportioned vessel, she could stow 880,800lbs. of tea fully loaded but, sadly, had a lamentably short and rather chequered career. After several creditable round trips to China, she first fouled the Calais to Ostend submarine telegraph cable with her anchor in 1857 although her master was subsequently cleared of blame. Later, in April 1859, when outward bound from London to Shanghai, she collided with the steam tug African in the Thames and had to be dry-docked for repairs at Deptford. Resuming her passage east on 12th May, she then sprang a leak in the Sunda Straits and had to be towed into Batavia where, after inspection, she was condemned on 24th September and broken up thereafter. It has been suggested that the collision damage she suffered a few months before was more severe than had been realised but, whatever the cause of her premature end, hers had been a particularly short life given the acclaim she had attracted upon completion.

This painting by Dutton was later engraved and, with minor changes, sold as a popular lithograph.