Launched in 1796, the Earl of Abergavenny was built in Northfleet, Kent, to carry cargo for the British East India Company.
The ship embarked on a number of successful voyages and was later commanded by Captain John Wordsworth Jnr – brother of poet William Wordsworth.
On 5 February 1805, the ship struck the Shambles sandbank off Portland Bill, in Dorset, during a storm, before sinking in Weymouth Bay.
Of 402 people on board, 263 people, including Wordsworth himself, lost their lives in the wreck.
The disaster was considered one of the worst maritime tragedies of its time.
The wreck still sits just two miles (3km) from the beach at Weymouth.
In August 2024, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport scheduled the wreck for protection on the advice of Historic England.