Samuel Plimpsoll_'s grave
Samuel Plimpsoll was born in Bristol in 1824.During the 19th century, British trade with the rest of the world was growing rapidly. The large number of ships being wrecked each year caused greater and greater concern. For example, in the year 1873-4, 411 ships sank around the British coast, with the loss of 506 lives. A great number of these losses were due to the poor state of ships and overloading. As a result of the 1871 Merchant Shipping Act seamen were obliged, subject to imprisonment and fine, to go to sea and complete a voyage once they had signed a contract. This made it difficult for sailors to leave a ship once they realised it was unseaworthy. An inspector of prisons reported that nine out of twelve prisoners in the jails of south-west England were seamen, imprisoned for twelve weeks for refusing to sail in ships they considered to be un-seaworthy, or without enough crew. In one case in 1866, the whole crew was jailed, when they refused to set sail on an old ship. As a coalmerchant his research into the coal trade made him aware of the dangers faced by sailors. He was particularly concerned with the negligence of some shipowners by overloading their ships and the indifference of government to the issue of marine safety. He managed to get elected to Parliament and immediately set about campaigning for change. Ship-owners had powerful supporters in the House of Commons and it was argued by them that the government should not pass legislation that restricted the freedom of employers to run their companies. After a number of defeats, he managed [helped by the then prime minister Benjamin Disraeli changing his mind] to persuade Parliament to amend the 1871 Merchant Shipping Act. This provided for the marking of a line on a ship's sides which would disappear below the water line if the ship was overloaded. This line became known as the Plimpsoll line as it is to this day. A further amendment in 1877 imposed a limit on the weight of cargo which vessels were permitted to carry and created rules governing the engagement of seamen and their accommodation on board ship. Plimsoll retired from the House of Commons in 1880 he continued to campaign for reform and in 1890 published Cattleships, a book that exposed the cruelties and dangers of cattle-shipping. In later years he visited the United States to try to secure the adoption of a less bitter tone towards England in the historical textbooks used in American schools. He died in Folkestone in 1898 and is buried in St Martin's churchyard, Cheriton, Kent. It is a shame that his grave under a large tree is not better cared for.
Samuel Plimpsoll_'s grave
Samuel Plimpsoll was born in Bristol in 1824.During the 19th century, British trade with the rest of the world was growing rapidly. The large number of ships being wrecked each year caused greater and greater concern. For example, in the year 1873-4, 411 ships sank around the British coast, with the loss of 506 lives. A great number of these losses were due to the poor state of ships and overloading. As a result of the 1871 Merchant Shipping Act seamen were obliged, subject to imprisonment and fine, to go to sea and complete a voyage once they had signed a contract. This made it difficult for sailors to leave a ship once they realised it was unseaworthy. An inspector of prisons reported that nine out of twelve prisoners in the jails of south-west England were seamen, imprisoned for twelve weeks for refusing to sail in ships they considered to be un-seaworthy, or without enough crew. In one case in 1866, the whole crew was jailed, when they refused to set sail on an old ship. As a coalmerchant his research into the coal trade made him aware of the dangers faced by sailors. He was particularly concerned with the negligence of some shipowners by overloading their ships and the indifference of government to the issue of marine safety. He managed to get elected to Parliament and immediately set about campaigning for change. Ship-owners had powerful supporters in the House of Commons and it was argued by them that the government should not pass legislation that restricted the freedom of employers to run their companies. After a number of defeats, he managed [helped by the then prime minister Benjamin Disraeli changing his mind] to persuade Parliament to amend the 1871 Merchant Shipping Act. This provided for the marking of a line on a ship's sides which would disappear below the water line if the ship was overloaded. This line became known as the Plimpsoll line as it is to this day. A further amendment in 1877 imposed a limit on the weight of cargo which vessels were permitted to carry and created rules governing the engagement of seamen and their accommodation on board ship. Plimsoll retired from the House of Commons in 1880 he continued to campaign for reform and in 1890 published Cattleships, a book that exposed the cruelties and dangers of cattle-shipping. In later years he visited the United States to try to secure the adoption of a less bitter tone towards England in the historical textbooks used in American schools. He died in Folkestone in 1898 and is buried in St Martin's churchyard, Cheriton, Kent. It is a shame that his grave under a large tree is not better cared for.