Recent survey work of a partially exposed shipwreck on Bamburgh beach has proved the wreck to be older than originally thought. The dendrochronology survey yielded a terminus post quem date of 1768 – meaning that the timber in question was felled in or after 1768. The survey also established that the timber originates from the East of England making the wreck British.
The survey work was undertaken by the Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust (MAST) with local archaeologists and volunteers and with the help of a grant from the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership’s Sustainable Development Fund.
The site lies in the intertidal zone to the south of Bamburgh Castle and is only exposed for roughly one hour either side of low-water slack. The site itself sits within its own scour which, along with the tidal conditions, means that it may never completely dry out. The wreck appears to contain the exposed remains of the port side of a wooden sailing vessel lying on its starboard side with its stern inshore.
The date of 1768 means the ship potentially sailed along the east coast while Dr Sharp, one of the trustees of the Crewe Trust, was in residence at the castle. Dr Sharp was so concerned for sailors in the treacherous waters around Bamburgh that in 1781 he set up what is recognised as the first coastguard system in the world. The first coastguard at Bamburgh did not only warn ships of the coastline but also provided refuge at the castle for shipwrecked sailors, stored their cargo and buried the dead.
This remarkable survival on the beach at Bamburgh is not only extremely rare in terms of the extent of the survival but also because it could provide a direct link to the work of the Dr Sharp. Further research of historical maritime documents might eventually reveal the identity of the ship.
Full report and more information available on the MAST website – www.thisismast.org