Charles Spalding (29 October 1738 – 2 June 1783) was an Edinburgh confectioner and amateur engineer who made improvements to the diving bell. He died while diving to the wreck of the Belgioso in Dublin Bay using a diving bell of his own design.
Early life
Charles Spalding was born in Canongate in Scotland on 29 October 1738, the son of Charles Spalding and Ann Findlay. His father was a bookseller in Canongate. As the son of a merchant, the younger Spalding eventually became a shop-lad.
Possessing a natural inclination towards mechanics, Spalding spent much of his free time as a youth exploring this interest. Spalding eventually became the proprietor of a sugar refining and confectionery shop across from the Royal Exchange on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.
Improvements to Halley's diving bell
Spalding's introduction to diving was more the result of necessity than choice. Heavily invested in the brig Peggy, Spalding suffered a severe financial blow when she sank en route to Scotland at the Farne Islands on 4 December 1774. Elected by his Edinburgh trade guild to recover as many goods as possible, Spalding came up with the idea of diving to the wreck.
The prevailing diving bell design in 1775 was that of Dr. Edmond Halley (1656–1742), who had computed the orbit of the comet named for him. Using his background in mechanics, Spalding read every book he could find on the design of Halley's diving bell, eventually proceeding to trial dives in the port of Leith, Dunbar Bay and at Dundee. Based on these trials, Spalding determined that Halley's design had weaknesses that added unnecessary risk to the divers. To correct the deficiencies, Spalding added a system of balance-weights to ease the raising and lowering of the bell, along with a series of ropes for signalling the surface crew. The redesigned diving bell weighed and could accommodate two divers. Spalding also added ropes inside in the bell as seats and thick glass windows to admit light.
Spalding never recovered any of his own cargo from the wreck of the Peggy. However, in 1776 Spalding was recognised by The Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, London, with a nominal monetary award for his modified diving bell design.
With this success, Spalding founded Spalding & Co. of Edinburgh for his diving operations. Spalding was assisted in his diving efforts by his brother Thomas (b. 1740), George Small, who was married to Spalding's sister Ann, and his nephew, Ebenezer Watson.
HMS Royal George
On 29 August 1782, the warship capsized while under repairs and sank off Spithead, near the port of Portsmouth. HMS Royal George was the pride of King George III's navy and one of the last British Man-of-war to be primarily outfitted with more expensive bronze guns rather than iron. The ordnance alone was valued at £17,000.
One of the first people on the scene with a diving background was Thomas Spalding, Charles' brother. As a surgeon on an East Indiaman, Thomas happened to be in Portsmouth shortly after the sinking occurred. He immediately proposed to the Admiralty that he and his brother should be allowed to recover as much valuable stores and ordnance from the wreck as possible using his brother's diving bell design. The terms of the salvage arrangement were that Spalding would receive one-third of everything he recovered.
Thomas Spalding initially completed several reconnaissance dives before Charles arrived at the site on 2 October 1782 to begin diving. Charles worked on the wreck through most of October 1782 until the beginning of November. Spalding's dives were complicated by weather, the inexperience of the crew in working with the bell, and the amount of debris at the dive site. Overall, Spalding raised 15 guns from the wreck, 9 bronze and 6 iron. Spalding's proceeds from his salvage of HMS Royal George were approximately £400. Spalding later learned that the Admiralty had awarded William Tracey of Portsea, Portsmouth the salvage rights to the wreck for the following spring.
The Belgioso
Undeterred, Spalding turned his attention to the wreck of the Belgioso.
In March 1783, the Belgioso or Count de Belgioso Imperial East Indiaman was sailing from Liverpool en route to China when it sank in a storm at Kish Bank near Dublin Bay in the Irish Sea. The cargo of the Belgioso was valued at £150,000, with £30,000 in silver and lead. The salvage terms agreed to by the owners were that Spalding would keep one-fourth of all silver and lead recovered and one-half of all other cargo. Additionally, if Spalding failed to recover anything, his entire expense for the operation would be defrayed.