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R.M.S. "DUNOTTAR CASTLE"

Builder:             Fairfield S.B. & E., Co., Ltd., Glasgow

Yard No.:          348

Official No.:       98152

Launched:        1890, May 22nd.

Delivered:         August 1890

Dimensions:     Length 420 ft.x Beam 49.8ft

Engines:          Triple expansion, 1,100 h.p., 6,700 i.h.p. 16 kts.

Passengers:     170 1st Class, 100 2nd., 100 3rd.

details from Union-castle, A Fleet History by Peter Newall

R.M.S. ‘Dunottar Castle’ painted by Harold Ing.

Seen in this painting about to sail from Southampton with almost certainly the Union Line’s ‘Gaika’ sailing with troops going out to the Cape to fight in the Boer War.   The ‘Dunottar Castle’ is flying the Union-Castle line house flag, the new flag was run up on the 10^th of March 1900 and simultaneously broken out on the ‘Gaika’ lying astern, sailing soon after.   The painting was undoubtedly made to celebrate the occasion.

Built for Donald Currie’s Castle Line in 1890 by Fairfield’s of Glasgow and launched by Lady Currie on the 22^nd of May 1890 she was the first two funnelled ship built for the company.   Of 5,625 grt, length 433ft, her triple expansion steam engine driving a single propeller gave a speed of 17 knots, she challenged the up to that time Union Line dominance on the Cape run with a passage time of 17 days 19 hours and 50 minutes, Dartmouth to Table Bay.   She carried 160 first, 90 second and 100 third class passengers.

As built she carried yards on her fore mast and was barquentine rigged, the idea of reliance on a propeller had yet to take hold and with some justification.   Steam propulsion was emerging from the pioneer days of the 1830’s when ships ran out of coal but more frequently the boilers developed leaks.   And then the wind was free!   If the ship had a favourable wind why not use it?   Another hang over from the days of sail was that the first class passengers were accommodated under the poop,

A curious feature of the ship, and the cause of many jibes at Sir Donald Currie was the spelling of the ship’s name.   For some reason the name Dunnottar was given only one ‘n’ and spelt Dunottar.   It could not have been, as many claimed the meanness of Sir Donald in not wanting to waste money on the paint for an unnecessary letter!   Granted he was not given to over lavish spending of money on his ships unless it gave a good return, and the superior quality of the Union Line vessels in comparison to Castle Line’s was frequently remarked upon, they were of austere appearance lacking the Union ship’s more graceful lines.   It was almost certainly one of those foibles of human nature, the painter most likely misspelled the name, either all who saw it were ignorant of the correct spelling or it simply passed unnoticed, whatever once done nobody wanted to be the one to say ‘you’ve miss-spelled the name’!

The ‘Dunottar Castle’ was refitted in 1897 when the yards were removed from her foremast and funnels heightened in order to improve the natural draft for the boilers, in later developments fans forced air into the stokehold greatly increasing the efficiency of the boilers but at the time of the ‘Dunottar’ reliance was placed in the funnels for exhaust and ventilators for natural air intake.    

On October the 14^th 1899 Sir Redvers Buller sailed in the ‘Dunottar Castle’ from Southampton to take command of the British forces in the Cape at the outbreak of the Boer War.   On board was Winston Spencer Churchill going out to cover the war as a journalist for the Morning Post.

With the amalgamation there was much redundant tonnage, the older ship’s soon found themselves at laid up at anchor once the Boer War ended.   In 1904 the ‘Dunottar Castle’ was laid up at anchor off Netly in Southampton Water, in 1907 she was chartered out to a company called the Panama Railroad Company, a travel organisation of Sir Henry Lunn.   Under this umbrella in 1911 she cruised to India in connection with the Delhi Durbar, an extravaganza organized to try to keep the idea of Empire alive.

In 1913 the ‘Dunottar Castle’ was sold to the Royal Mail Line, renamed ‘Caribbean’ and in 1914 requisitioned by the British government and served as a transport for a time before being converted to an armed merchant cruiser.   Not surprisingly for the ship was then twenty five years old she must have been found seriously wanting in this role for she was shortly after converted again into an accommodation ship.   On the 26^th of September 1915 whilst on a voyage to Scapa Flow she foundered off Cape Wrath in extremely heavy weather with the loss of 15 lives.

I came by the print on the "Edinburgh Castle", the ship's printer must have been on the thrifty side and wanting some card had printed the fire patrol's key points on the reverse side of what may have been a menu.   One wonders what has become of the original as I would have thought the painting would have been reproduced in at least one of the many books on the Company, representing as it does such an important occasion.