2016

NU1835 : Unknown wreck, 600m ENE of Bamburgh Castle

taken 8 years ago, near to Red Barns, Northumberland, England

Unknown wreck, 600m ENE of Bamburgh Castle
Unknown wreck, 600m ENE of Bamburgh Castle
This wreck on the beach below Bamburgh Castle appeared overnight after fierce storms in June 2013. By early the following year they had again disappeared below the shifting sands. Early indications were that the ship was sufficiently old and an archaeological survey was carried out in the two hours available either side of low tide. Dendrochronology on the exposed oak timbers showed them to have been felled around 1768 supporting the theory that the wreck is of a coastal trader sailing between ports along the east coast of Britain.

The beach at that time was used to offload cargo for the castle. Ships would have been beached at high tide, the cargo offloaded and re-floated on the next tide so it may have been that something went seriously wrong during these operations.

Interestingly in 1771 Dr John Sharp, who was then living at the castle foresaw a need for a system for dealing with stricken vessels on the coast. He obtained an order from the Trinity House in Newcastle Upon Tyne effectively transforming the keep of the castle into the world’s first coastguard station. In 1786, Dr Sharp launched the first ever lifeboat at Bamburgh.

The full archaeological report of the survey can be found here LinkExternal link

See other images of Unknown wreck, 600m ENE of Bamburgh Castle

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Mick Garratt and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Coastal Derelict, Disused Primary Subject: Wreckage other tags: Beach Intertidal Zone Coast Wreck Shipwreck Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Articles: · Images shortlisted for POTY, 2016 Title Clusters: · Unknown wreck, 600m ENE of Bamburgh Castle [2] ·
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
+
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
TIP: Click the map for more Large scale mapping
Grid Square
NU1835, 543 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Mick Garratt   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 27 March, 2016   (more nearby)
Submitted
Sunday, 27 March, 2016
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NU 18926 35243 [1m precision]
WGS84: 55:36.6255N 1:42.0676W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NU 18926 35243
View Direction
East-northeast (about 67 degrees)
Clickable map
+
NW N NE
W Go E
SW S SE
Image classification(about): Geograph
This page has been viewed about 150 times
You are not logged in login | register