CCSC Cruisers (Past) » A Freezing Horror: the wreck of the Halsewell, 1786

One of the most dramatic shipwreck disasters on an English shore will be the subject of a talk by Dorset writer, Philip Browne. Drawing on his recent book, 'The Unfortunate Captain Peirce and the Wreck of the Halsewell', he will describe the terrible events that shocked the nation when a huge East India Company ship was wrecked on the Purbeck coast in Dorset. On board were the Captain's teenaged daughters, his nieces and several other young ladies, bound for India in search of rich husbands. Despite the dramatic rescue of some of the crew, Captain Peirce and all the young ladies were drowned. In 1786, the peculiar circumstances of this disaster caught the public imagination and filled the newspapers for weeks. More than two centuries later, the story of the Halsewell still has the power to move us.

In 2018 The Unfortunate Captain Peirce won the Dorchester Literary Festival Writing Prize, sponsored by Hall & Woodhouse Brewery. Copies of the book will be on sale after the talk at a discount price of £10.

The bar will be open at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start.

There will be a small fee to cover the cost of the speaker, so please bring a couple of quid in change.