The three masted tall ship Ditton was built by T.R. Oswald & Co Milford Haven in 1891 for R.W. Leyland of Liverpool. She the came under Norwagian ownership, with various name changes;
1911 sold to Carl Bech & Co Tvedestrand Norway and re-named Nordfarer
1918 sold to Christiansands shipping Co. and re-named Bragdø
1920 sold to Lars Jorgensen Kristiansand
On the 2nd November 1921 whilst on voyage from Liverpool to Kristiansand in ballast she was stranded on the beach at Harbøre on the west coat of Denmark. In line with Danish tradition, salvaged goods were auctioned off on the beach, where the current owners great grandfather bought the deck house and figurehead, both of which have remained in the family.
With the figure now over 100 years old, she was in need of restoration, which at the wish of the owners, was carried out on site close to where the ship was wrecked in Denmark
In restoring the figure, it was assumed that being an English built ship, that the figurehead would have been constructed in the traditional manner, with the carving block built up in laminates. But in attempting to dismantle the figure, it turned out to have been carved from one solid block, which is very unusual, for a figure of this size.
The first step was therefore to saw through the figure to remove one quarter, giving access to the internal condition of the figure. Rotten wood was then removed and faces squared up to insert new sound timber.
Allowance had to be made for shrinkage that had occured within the figure, causing longitudinal cracks distorting some detailing, here additional timber was added, to bring the figure back to its original shape. Missing sections to the scrolling plinth were also added, along with a new knee, where the original carving had been lost.
