Setting the Scene: Rhossili Bay exhibits a true wild romanticism that is matched by less than a handful of other locations on the whole of the Gower Peninsula. This really is an evocative and impressive place to visit and a walk out to the spray-swept oaken remains of the 'Helvetia' shipwreck - which still stands proud of the sands here like the bones of a long dead leviathan -can truly raise the imagination to dizzying heights. Watch the sun set in a magnificent blaze of colour behind this brooding wreck, then wait until the dusk threatens to surrender to the night and you will encounter a true sense of both the eerie and the spectacular.
View the darkening carcass of the 'Helvetia' shipwreck silhouetted against a dusky, perhaps moonlit sky. Listen to the sound of the rough Atlantic Ocean pounding on the bay as you stand close to this grand sentinel of the past. Let your hands embrace its dark, wet timber and feel the wind as it swirls the sand around both the wreck and your feet. Under these conditions, one can almost hear the cries of the ship's crew as this vessel veered toward its doom one stormy night of yesteryear. I really would tell everyone, native and visitor alike, that they have not truly experienced Gower's full, sublime power without visiting this, Gower's most famous shipwreck, both towards and late after sunset.
The Helvetia Shipwreck, Rhossili BayOver a century has now passed since the barque 'Helvetia ' came to ground on one of the peninsula's most picturesque beaches. Today, its mysterious bare ribs raise curiosity and awe from all who visit it. So striking are the remains of the 'Helvetia ' that it has become, for many, the very icon of Gower itself. Within its image are represented both the peninsula's dark maritime history and its scenic splendour. That such a strange and beautiful object should have been sited upon one of Gower's most spectacular bays, and in the foreground of the equally inspiring elongated islet of Worm's Head, marks it as one of those rare and highly lauded instances of nature mimicking art. Look at most paintings, or more latterly, photographs of the 'Helvetia ' shipwreck and it will be noted that it is most often twinned with the curiously serpent-like islet of Worm's Head. What other conglomeration of wonders have 'connected' like this in one natural and sublime vista?
Today, it is difficult to imagine Rhossili without the wreck of the 'Helvetia'. Standing upon the cliffs here, and gazing down upon the bay, the shipwreck seems to punctuate the immense tableaux of sand like a comma in some grand Romantic prose, offering a moment's rest for the eye amongst the bay's full sweeping grandeur. But the 'Helvetia's presence is not a permanent feature. Each day, the mighty Atlantic Ocean - which spat the barque from its furious spumes so many years ago - continues to feed upon the wreck. In only the last decade or so, the wreckage has reduced considerably. Who knows how many future generations will have the fortune of gazing upon this shipwreck and have raised from their breasts the stirring of emotions which the 'Helvetia ' is still able to draw from present day visitors?
Imagine the loss of this most fantastic of attractions - this signal to the imagination to kindle wonderment. Catalysts of such brooding intensity as the 'Helvetia' are scarce and grow more so by the year. They should be treasured whilst they remain. Whilst the shipwreck continues to prompt questions from those who regard its presence, let's take a few moments to answer at least a few of them.
The History of the 'Helvetia': During the night of October 1st 1887 and throughout the following day, a fearful gale swept over much of southern England and Wales. The storm was so severe that it interrupted telegraphic communications, damaged a huge number of properties and left a wake of great destruction across the country. Casualties were high.The 'Western Mail' reported the following day that a hurricane had torn down the full length of the Bristol Channel. It reported that just hours before the storm, the "evening was beautifully bright, scarcely a cloud dimming the lustre of a full October Moon, which shone with unusual splendour."
A little after midnight, however, and the scene had completely changed and the wind suddenly picked up into savage gusts, whipping the rising tide into a frenzy. Ships caught at the centre of this furore stood little chance and incidences of vessels being wrecked filled the local newspapers over the following days. Many sailors lost their lives, making this a black day indeed in the annuls of British maritime history. With the huge loss of life recorded in the numerous shipping incidences recorded over South Britain that day, the crew of the ' Helvetia ' were comparatively lucky in their encounter with the hurricane.The 'Helvetia,' of Horten, Norway, and another ship - both carrying a heavy cargo of timber from Campbelton, New Brunswick, to Swansea, became stranded off Mumbles Head on the morning of November 1st 1887. With the violent weather that day, the ships were unable to navigate the Bristol Channel to dock at Swansea Harbour. The ' Helvetia's' companion somehow managed to retreat and find anchor safely off Lundy island, but the barque 'Helvetia' caught the notorious submerged Gower sandbank known the Helwick Sands. Struggling free of this treacherous sandbank, and losing some of its cargo to the sea in doing so, the 'Helvetia' was then swept around Worm's Head and into the shallow waters of Rhossili Bay.
Dropping anchor here, the Captain of the 'Helvetia' was taken ashore by the coastguard. The captain left his crew aboard the ship, however, believing it to be now safe and afraid that the barque and its contents might be stolen if abandoned. Unfortunately, the wind refused to ease that day and, during one sudden change of wind direction, the 'Helvetia's' anchor was torn from the sand and the ship loomed ever closer to the beach. It was dusk now and reluctantly, the Captain finally gave orders for the crew to abandon ship.The following morning, when the Captain came to assess the 'Helvetia', he found it laid to rest upon the sands of Rhossili Bay, where the remains of it can still be found today. Scattered about the 'Helvetia ,' and to some considerable extent along the tide line of much of the bay, was its cargo of 500 tons of wood. During the next few weeks, this timber was collected from the sand and put for sale at auction (though Rhossili villager's are said to have refurnished much of their homes at that time with the 'free supply of wood' to be found on their sands). At auction, the timber was purchased at a rock bottom price by South Wales timber merchants.
It was primarily the duty of the steamboat Cambria, a Llanelli vessel, to load up the collected timber from the 'Helvetia' and ship it to its new owners. During one of its early operations, however, it got beached broadside of the 'Helvetia ' - the result of another flash storm to hit the area. Whilst on this occasion there were also no casualties, the steamboat did lose its anchor during its refloating and it was this incident that was to lead to real tragedy.
On Sunday 18th March 1888, the Cambria's Master, Captain John Hopkins, made the ill fated decision to reclaim his ship's anchor. Some local men had already been paid to carry the anchor at low tide to Kitchen Corner, an area of cliffs and sand close to Worm's Head. With the anchor attached to a buoy to mark its location at high water, it was believed an easy task for Captain John Hopkins and his five crew mates to now sail out to the anchor and to pull it up into the boat so it could then be ferried back to the Cambria. After a day's drinking at 'The Ship Inn', the men set out in their small boat and headed round the cliffs to reclaim the awaiting anchor. Unfortunately, Captain Hopkin's crew were paid hands unfamiliar with the vagaries of the sea and despite the Captain's expert guidance, catastrophe could not be avoided.
The boat made it to the buoy easily enough and the men at once started to haul in the anchor, piling its thick chain into a coil in the boat as they did so. With a full crew, the boat was already floating low in the water and with each further yard of chain they brought into the boat, the more unsteady the vessel became. With the anchor almost retrieved, the Captain suddenly realised the folly of the mission and ordered that the anchor be released. Unfortunately this sudden loss of weight rocked the small boat, capsizing it and tossing all six occupants into the ocean. Only one man, William Thomas, made the distance back to the shore. Captain John Hopkins and the other four men drowned. The 'Helvetia' or, more accurately, events tied to the wrecking of the ' Helvetia ' had finally claimed its victims.
