The City of Madras vessel was an iron hulled, full rigged ship of 914 tons burden launched from the yard of Robert Steele & Company, Greenock on 19th February1855 (Yard No.2). Designed for general cargo use by her owners George Smith & Sons of Glasgow she measured 184.3′ x 27.5′ x 11.5’.
She left Glasgow for Calcutta on Friday 27th February 1857 under the command of Captain James Stobbo with a valuable general cargo. By the following Sunday, 1st March, she had reached the Irish Sea and the Maiden’s Light off the Antrim coast was sighted around 6.30pm.
Around this time the captain went below leaving the first mate, Matthew Reed, on watch. The weather conditions at the time were fair with variable winds and cloud, it was therefore strange the City of Madras was to run aground on the Galloway coast shortly before midnight. The crew managed to safely abandon ship reaching the shore near Mark Farm, some 3 miles south of Dally Bay, but the vessel was almost fully waterlogged.
The City of Madras remained ashore and over the following two weeks began to break until, on the 16th March, Lloyd’s List reported that she had completely broken up. The wreck was sold on the 14th June at an auction in Stranraer, it is not know how successful the new owners were at recovering any of the cargo or ships fittings.
A subsequent Board of Trade Inquiry at Stranraer found the mate to blame for not properly taking soundings when navigating close to shore and had failed to make and appropriate allowance for the strong tides that run along this stretch of coastline. Matthew Reed had his certificate suspended for six months.
