English wine cask units the mediæval French and Italian "botte") or pipe was half a tun, or 1008 pints. Tradition has it that George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV of England, was drowned in a butt of malmsey on 18 February 1478. (However, Josephine Tey in "The Daughter of Time" suggests that "drowned in a butt of malmsey" means rather that George, Duke of Clarence, drank himself to death rather than literally drowning in a container of wine.) In Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado", the narrator claims he has received "a pipe of what passes for Amontillado".
TSS Duke of Clarence Thos W Ward and broken up at Barrow in Furness. then replaced "Duke of Clarence". In the early hours of Tuesday 6 November 1894, whilst making passage from Belfast to Fleetwood, "Duke of Clarence" ran down and sank the steam trawler "Albatross," whilst "Albatross" was engaged trawling on the Bahama Bank to the northeast of Ramsey, Isle of Man. The accident resulted in the loss of the lives of five members of the crew of "Albatross". "Albatross" was reported to have been lit as per the regulations with two lights on her masthead indicating a steam trawler with her nets