The Galatea monument, Ballynacally
I’ve just heard from a descendant of the skipper of the Galatea that the people of the Irish village of Ballynacally have recently celebrated the unveiling of a monument depicting the 1886 America’s Cup racing yacht.
The great-granddaughter of Galatea skipper Daniel Bradford, Mrs Barbara Caveney (nee Bradford) reports that the sculpture was unveiled in a village playground by Brigadier Frank Henn, a relation of William Henn, who with his wife owned the Galatea from 1885. The village was also presented with a print depicting the Galatea racing against the American challenger the Mayflower.
Mrs Caveney was very surprised but absolutely delighted when someone in the village sent her information and photos of the event after reading about the Galatea at intheboatshed.net – the post included an appeal from her for information about the her great grandfather, the racing yacht and the family who owned her.
See the original post including and the photos from Jeff Cole’s collection here. I should explain that the Galatea didn’t win the America’s Cup, but the Henns became famous hosts aboard their yacht, which surprisingly wasn’t in fact designed to be an out-and-out racer.
But what was the connection between the little Irish village and the America’s Cup yacht? Mrs Caveney explains:
‘Ballynacally on the West Coast of Ireland is the place where Lft William Henn RN of Galatea fame was born, and is buried in the family graveyard of Paradise House.
In 1885 his wife Susan Henn commissioned J Beavor-Webb to design the Galatea to be built.
There is a lot of information in the archives of the New York Times archives on the lead up to the famous America Cup race in 1886 where Galatea was beaten by Mayflower. My great-grandfather’s name appears quite frequently in the write-ups. He lived in Devon.
The Henns lived on board the Galatea, which was not built to be a racing yacht. There are great pictures of the inside of the yacht in a book by Ian Dear.
Lft Henn unfortunately became ill and died at the young age of 44 in 1894.
From what I can ascertain from the internet, Mrs Susan Henn continued to live on Galatea after her husband`s death.
Skipper Bradford helped her look after the yacht until he dropped dead on board the yacht in Dartmouth Harbour in April 1902 at the age of 52 years.
Mrs Henn I believe continued to live on board the yacht until her death in 1911. The following year the yacht was broken up in Plymouth.
Going back to Ballynacally, apparently the Henn family were very helpful to the people of the village, and this is why the Balnacally Development Association decided to erect the plinth showing the Galatea out of respect to the kindness of the family.
I will add I found most of this information from the Internet in recent years – when I started researching my family history all I knew was that I had a great grandfather who was the skipper on a famous yacht called the Galatea.
Hope this has been helpful.
Regards Barbara C’
That’s very helpful indeed – thank you Mrs Caveney!
If anyone else has information relating to the Galatea, Daniel Bradford or the Henns, I’d sure Mrs Caveney would be very pleased to hear from them. Her email address is in the comments at the end of the original intheboatshed.net post linked above.
The start of the first race for the America’s Cup, September 7th 1886, painted by Admiral Richard Brydges Beechey, RN
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Morning Gavin Nice to see that another of my old pics have stirred a memory. I wonder if the Henn family still have a villiage connection. If one surfaces I'd be happy to send that pic, or a very good print to the family or to Mrs Caveney for that matter.
House passed final inspection last week, a few builders tidy ups and a month of painting to go before we move in. Veggies are growing already, safely fenced off from the wallabies.
Cheers, I'm looking forward to a normal life again soon!
Jeff
Hi all,
I hope it's OK to post a question here (being a newcomer!). I found this site while searching the web for info about steam yachts etc. built by my ancestors at W. White & Sons of Cowes (not to be confused with J.S. White) and White Bros. of Itchen Ferry, Southampton. Does anyone know of any vessels still in existence by these builders?
The only ones we are aware of are "Christoprase" (WW&S) and "Lulworth" (WB).
Any information would be much appreciated. I have a web site up at http://www.vectisworks.com which covers both firms, but the period between 1914 and 1939 is very sketchy.
Thanks in anticipation,
John Cole
For Jeff Cole.
Re your reply to site on 22nd Sept,2009.
Irish village connection to "GALATEA"
You refer to the owner of Galatea as PENN it is in fact HENN. You also mention a print – I would be very interested .
Thanks
Barbara C
I am also the great grand daughter of Captain Daniel Bradford and live in Devon, I live about 20 miles from where he was born. I have a wonderful old photograph of him and also one of his wife Charlotte. I have found all the information very interesting.
Glad to be of help Carol!
Interesting….since I have long been told that I am related to Capt.Bradford on my father’s side.My father grew up on Pier St, in Plymouth.His father was a well thought-of bricklayer/ mason who (allegedly) built the war memorial up on the Hoe.My father was a smart kid who worked his way through Devonport dockyard to Greenwich Naval College.I have a print of the Galatea hanging on my wall in Colorado, where I live. I would really like to know more about
Capt Bradford, where he lived etc.Most of my dad’s family (Penwill)
came from Plympton. Charlie Penwill
How interesting to hear about Pier Street, Plymouth. In the late 1940’s when I was a small girl and in the 1950‘s my father Horace Bradford and mother Dorothy along with my fathers mother Alice Bradford would often visit their relatives on Pier St, my grandfather Francis Bradford had passed away before I was born. We had very happy times meeting cousins and relatives Charles Penwill, Ida, Mabel, Arthur Horrell I have a wedding photograph with them altogether. Several of these people were evacuated to my grandmothers house in Torquay during the bombing of Plymouth docks. I’m sure we are related, my great grandfather was Captain Daniel Bradford, skipper of the Galatea which raced for the 1886 America’s Cup. Carol Brown ( Bradford )
Re my post in 2009 regarding Yacht Galatea and my great grandfather Capt.Daniel Bradford thanks to your site an unknown 2nd cousin who is also a great grandaughter of Daniel has made contact with me and we have just had a very happy meeting together. Thank you. Barbara Caveney
Paul Austin in Texas has added the following to the story. Thanks Paul!
Gavin: I have an old copy of Francis Herreshoff's INTRODUCTION TO YACHTING. This is what FHerreshoff says about Galatea and Mrs. Henn:
Mrs. William Henn who was perhaps the most popular yachtswoman as she and her husband are spoken of very fondly in the writings of their time…Mrs. Henn is the only woman who paid for a cup challenger, for she had Galatea built and sailed her for a couple of years after her husband died. She is the only woman who sailer over and returned on a cup challenger. She lived on yachts for about ten years and spent several winters in the Mediterranean, making her cruising mileage about 60,000 miles. Her racing mileage must have been very great…Galatea was of compsite construction with an outside lead keel of fifty-one percent of her displacement. Galatea was steel plated with her lead run into her trough keel. She was said to have eightyone tons of ballast so must have had a high percentage of ballast…The owners of Galatea were Mrs. William Henn and her husband Lieutenant W Henn, R.N., retired who had served aboard the crack frigate Galatea. They were both great yachting and cruising people who had cruised some forty-nine thousand miles in their eighty-ton yawl Gertrude, which was for some time kept in commission the year around, and they had won a great many races both in England and on the French Mediterranean coast. Mrs. Henn had Galatea built to be their floating home, and she was a fine wholesome craft. Both Lieutenant and Mrs. Henn are said to have been the most popular characters who challenged for the cup…unfortunately Galatea did not turn out to be very fast either in England or here and I believe it was partly because her sails were very heavy and logy in light and moderate weather.
Gavin, there is a picture of Mrs. Henn in this book, unfortunately it doesn't copy very well. She has a long slender face, a handsome woman who looks to be thin and modest. Her hair is very short for the times, and she is wearing a cap. Herreshoff calls the Henns 'characters,' and I can imagine Mrs. Henn enjoying her own unique status as a woman of her times.
Yours,
Paul Austin
Dallas TX
Some info on the Henn family home on my website here:
http://irishwaterwayshistory.com/abandoned-or-little-used-irish-waterways/the-lower-shannon/the-fergus/this-day-thou-shalt-be-with-me/
bjg
I haven’t looked through these old posts for some time, and it’s good to see that the posting of my old pic of Mrs Henn and Galatea has resulted in some faily reunions
Jeff Cole.
I am the great grandson of Captain Daniel Bradford and have two paintings ( painted, with silk sails) of both the Galatea and Mayflower, which were presented to Daniel by the New York Yacht Club after the 1886 races. The paintings have been passed down to the male inheritors of Daniel, after Horace ( Carol’s father), then to my father Frank and thence to myself. Very proud to possess them.