02/04/2025
Did you know - Plas Llechylched is the owner of a beautiful ships bell from the steam ship Olinda that was wrecked off the North shore of Anglesey in 1854 - the owner of Plas llechylched , the sheriff of Anglesey claimed salvage of the bell and it has sat in our clock tower ever since, it used to chime on the hour it’s an amazing piece of Anglesey history - read below for the full story !!! 👇👇
The Olinda is universally pronounced to have been among the best appointed and furnished ships that ever left the British coast.' The ship was only on its second voyage, having left the Mersey on 26 January 1854 under the command of Captain Haram.
The OLINDA was carrying mail, a mixed cargo valued at some £50,000 and 20 passengers. The ship had taken on an experienced pilot for the beginning of the voyage leaving the Mersey. A southwesterly gale was developing and it was too rough for the pilot to disembark and so he remained onboard and in charge of navigation. A report in the North Wales Chronicle stated that the pilot 'kept close to the Anglesey coast instead of standing outside the Skerries'.
Consequently the OLINDA drove onto the Harry Furlong's Rocks (about 200 yards from the high water mark) at 8.45 pm on the 26 January 1854, where the ship suffered serious damage to her starboard bow. The wind and tides turned to ship around through 180 degrees and, at the same time, the rocks make even more holes in the ship's lower plating. The crew fired the ship's gun to signal of distress. Its blue lights were seen by the Rev James Williams, founder of the Anglesey Association for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, at 9.30pm. As a consequence, the Cemyln lifeboat was launched.
The lifeboat's crewmembers included the Reverend's son and Augustine Vincent, of the P&O Steam Navigation Company. The lifeboat rescued eleven women and children. The remainder of the passengers and crew utilised the OLINDA's own boat or waded ashore at low tide. The loss was investigated by the Board of Trade who found the pilot at fault. The mail, ship's chronometer and other valuables were recovered, but the vessel itself was too damaged and was abandoned. The ship was valued at £35,000.
