The barquentine Queen was on passage from Liverpool to the West Indies with general cargo. When off Malin Head, she was caught in a severe north westerly gale with blinding snow. All her sails were blown out so she was no option but to put about to run before the storm with bare poles. How long it took her to reach Rathlin is not known but she eventually ended up on the rocks below the Manor House. (I might add, there was no harbour on that side of the bay, at that time).

As soon as it became known that there was a shipwreck, islanders rushed to the scene to render any help they could and no doubt, to se if there was any wreckage of which they could make use of. However, being so close to the landlord’s house, it was highly unlikely that they would manage to get their hands on anything. The landlord Mr. Gage gave the survivors warm clothing and shelter until his boat was able to transport them to the mainland.

Over the following days, the Queen broke up. Mr. Gage had all the timber which could be made use of salvaged and put into one of his stores. He later allowed it to be used in the building of the R.C. Church on the island, which was in the course of erection at this time, and indeed some of the ribs and beams can still be seen supporting the roof. This ship’s bell from the Queen used to hang from a branch of a tree in Mr. Gage’s yard and whose whereabouts now is unknown.

Nothing now remains of the wreck as the new harbour was built over the site.