Wreck of ship captained by William Wordsworth’s brother given protection

John Wordsworth drowned when East India Company ship sank off Dorset in 1805 and its story is important, says Historic England

The government has granted protection to the wreck of a ship that was captained by the brother of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth.

The Earl of Abergavenny, part of the East India Company fleet, sank in stormy weather about 1.5 miles off the Dorset coast of Weymouth in February 1805.