History - Prison Ship
The Essex Hulk
Is this the Essex anchor?
During the recent resurfacing work on the East Pier an anchor was uncovered under the old Pier surface, close to the place where the prison hulk Essex was moored in the Harbour from 1824 to 1837. The Essex lay about fifty yards off the East Pier and 100 yards from the shore opposite what is now the National Yacht Club.
Caption: The anchor uncovered during the Pier resurfacing
The anchor that was found had been adapted in a way that would suggest it was used for a permanent mooring. The Essex had been a distinguished American 32 gun frigate built in Salem, Massachusetts in 1799 for the then young American navy. After fighting against the British in the Pacific, and also against British whalers there, it was captured in 1814 off Valparaiso in Chile and towed to Plymouth in England where it lay until being moved to Dun Laoghaire in 1824 where its masts were removed.
The Essex painting close-up
The Essex painting
Prisoners held on hulks around England usually worked on shore based building projects but this was not the case in Ireland. Although it was suggested to the Harbour Commissioners at the time the Harbour was being built that the Essex prisoners might be used in the works, this never took place. Between 250 and 300 prisoners were held on the Essex, most of them convicted and awaiting transportation to Australia for what now seem relatively minor offences.
Below is an 1834 engraving from the Dublin Penny Journal showing the prison hulk “Essex” in the Harbour (the vessel without masts). The cottage in the right foreground is probably
"Jack Kellys", an ale-house of the time. The George IV obelisk is on the left. (source: Colin Scudds, Dún Laoghaire Borough Historical Society)
More images showing the excavation of the East Pier Anchor
Caption: Anchor location
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Caption: East Pier Anchor 2
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Caption: East Pier Anchor 3
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Caption: East Pier Anchor 7
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