Maritime record MDO19920 - West Bay Wreck
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Summary
Map
Type and Period (2)
Full Description
The site, reported to English Heritage in 2004 by local diver, Richard Edmonds, lies just to the west of the Outer Pollock Reef in the approaches to West Bay harbour in Lyme Bay, Dorset. Two dive investigations by Wessex Archaeology confirmed the presence of a bronze gun as well as a large quantity of iron bars, a small iron gun and a small anchor.
Designated on 19 July 2005 under the Protection of Wrecks Act. Designated area is a 50 metre exclusion zone around 50 42.244N 02 46.708W
DESIGNATED WRECK SITE
Emergency designation 20.07.2005, Order No. 1974/2005
Radius 50 metres from Statutory Instrument Co-ordinates 50 42.244N 002 45.708W.
Summary:
Thought to be a 17th century wreck, dating reliant on a bronze gun in situ, thought to date from as early as 1627 and no later than 1750. The gun is of European or eastern origin. (1)
The date is thought unlikely to fall outside the range 1550 to 1750 if the guns found were carried as armament, although the range can be extended forward 100 years to 1850 if they were cargo.
The bronze gun is thought to be a falcon and was probably cast in the period 1550 to 1700. (2)
Archaeological History:
2004: discovered by recreational divers from a local club diving on the reef. (1)
Subsequently reported by Richard Edmonds to Gordon Le Pard of the Dorset Coastal Forum and EH. (1)
2005: Undesignated site assessment by Wessex Archaeology, the contractor, on 9th and 10th July. (1)
Current Interpretation:
The dating of the site is currently reliant on the bronze gun which is unlikely to be much later than 1750, and possibly as early as 1627, and thought to be of European or Eastern origin. (1)
A large quantity of iron bars found on the site indicates they were cargo, and the remains may therefore represent a cargo vessel, or be a cargo dump. Some hard slate and quartzite samples from the gravel within the mound may represent ballast. (1)
Site thought to be probably a shipwreck, probably a small to medium-sized wooden sailing cargo vessel, with a cargo apparently of pig iron and possibly scrap guns.
The wreck is thought to have been lost as a result of being embayed on a lee shore, or attempting to enter or depart West Bay Harbour in adverse weather conditions.
The identity of the wreck is currently unknown and the known documentary evidence does not provide a good match for the identity of this vessel. (2)
The site is located too far offshore to make it likely that it is anything other than a dump [ballast, for example] or a wreck site, and the value of the artefacts found would appear to preclude the former.
The relative disposition of the iron bars suggests that they are still in the same relative position as when packed in the vessel, suggesting that they were lost with the vessel, rather than jettisoned in extremis.
No fragments of the vessel they came from have been found, although some may survive under the mound or in the vicinity. However, the occurrence of the guns, cargo and anchor together fairly plausibly indicate a wreck site.
The vessel may have broken up either during the wrecking event or shortly thereafter owing to close proximity to the exposed shore, and a debris field may exist around the site. Distribution of any remains may also have been affected by littoral drift from west to east.
The site may have been more deeply buried in the past, supported by the fact that the local diving community appeared to be unaware of the wreck until 2004. The uncovering of the site may be due to any or all of the following factors: a step change in the level of the sand to the north-east, modern onshore activity such as recent harbour improvements, and exceptional storm waves causing short-term erosion.
There is little matching evidence in the known documentary records and the site may therefore plausibly be that of a hitherto unrecorded wreck. (2)
Site Environment and Archaeological Remains:
The remains lie in 11 to 12 metres of water and the seabed surrounding the site to the west, north and south comprises fine, fairly flat sand with evident scoured areas of gravel. To the east the concreted iron bar mound lies on an area of large cobbles and small boulders with sand infilling. Scour is also evident around this mound, being deep enough in one area for the mound to be in free-span. (1)
The mound itself consists of heavily concreted iron bars and measures approximately 7.5 metres x 4 metres. A small muzzle-loading gun, apparently of cast bronze, is located under the free-span of the mound with only the trunnions, reinforce and cascabel clearly visible. Another heavily concreted iron gun is present among the iron bars. Similarly a small concreted iron anchor with a shank length of 2.23 metres and a beam of 1.42 metres lies approximately 2 metres east of the mound. (1)
Hard slate and quartzite samples from the gravel within the mound have been recovered; this is not local to the area and probably originates from south-western England or Northern France, and is thought to represent ballast. (1)
The site consists of a low, irregular mound 7.5m long x 4m wide, the top lying approximately 1.1m above the general level of the surrounding seabed. The mound contains heavily concreted iron bars together with a small iron gun, a small bronze gun, and a small iron anchor.
The bars are thought to represent a stacked cargo of pig iron or possibly ballast. A parallel is drawn with the iron bars on board the Princes Channel wreck dated to the late 16th century.
The bronze muzzle-loading gun is located under the freespan of the mound, with the chase and muzzle directly underneath the mound and therefore inaccessible. The gun appears to be missing its button and is also thought to lack dolphins, therefore may indicate that it was no longer in service, and thus it may have been carried as scrap metal. The cascabel of the gun has relief mouldings in the form of petals radiating from the centre, with a possible parallel in two Portuguese cannon perriers founded in Macao, 1627, although smaller than either. 1550 to 1650 is possibly the most likely date range.
The cast iron gun is heavily concreted and partially exposed, so that little can be deduced other than that it is unlikely to have been able to fire more than 6pdrs.
The concreted anchor lies approximately 2m east of the mound. Exact dimensions were impossible to ascertain owing to concretion. (2)
<1> Site designation (Scheduling record). SDO20566.
<2> Scott, G, 2006, West Bay, Dorset. Undesignated Site Assessment, Final Report (Unpublished document). SDO15144.
<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1437873 (Digital archive). SDO14739.
Sources/Archives (3)
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (0)
Location
Grid reference | SY 45150 89650 (point) |
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Map sheet | SY48NE |
Protected Status/Designation
Other Statuses/References
- Legacy UID: Dorset Sites and Monuments Record: 9 000 0793
- Legacy UID: National Monuments Record: SY 48 NE 21
- Legacy UID: National Record of the Historic Environment: 1437873
Record last edited
Mar 10 2024 5:20PM