All sites designated under the UK Protection of Wrecks Act
This is a list of all sites designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. The designated sites are shown on charts and notified to mariners.[1]Historic England (formerly English Heritage) provides administration of the arrangements under the Act in England and publishes information on each site.[2] In May 2011, it launched an online searchable database of all protected wreck sites in English territorial waters, the National Heritage List for England,[3] which includes the location co-ordinates, designation list entry description and brief historical details for each site.[4] The administration of designated historic wrecks in Scotland is managed by Historic Environment Scotland, and in Wales by Cadw.
List of designations under section 1 of the Protection of Wrecks Act (1973)
A References are to the designation order and explanatory note. All statutory instruments since 1987 are available on-line from the Office of Public Sector Information. A concatenation of designation orders including those made between 1973 and 1987 is available on the UNESCO law database site[6]
A1Cattewater: first wrecksite to be designated on 5 September 1973
A7HMS Dartmouth: first designated 11 April 1974, the original designation was revoked after excavation and recovery of finds. The site was redesignated on 25 June 1992:-
A8HMS Anne: first designated 20 June 1974, redesignated 23 March 1992 and 2 Sep 2009:-
A10HMS Colossus: designated 12 May 1975, revoked 1984, after it was believed that all material had been recovered, but note that the stern was discovered later at a different position and has been separately designated (designated site number 53)
A12Rhinns of Islay: designated 1 June 1976; revoked 1984, after determination that the site is the location of multiple wrecks, and there was no longer any wreck left worth protecting.
A13South Edinburgh Channel Wreck: designated 27 May 1977
A28Brighton Marina: designated 18 October 1983, revoked 18 August 2017. The designation was deemed no longer appropriate because recent investigations indicated that the protected area only contained a debris trail from a wreck site outside the protected area, and that the debris trail was no longer present.[7]
B Management of Protected wrecksites designated under section 1 of the Act is devolved to the National Curators of the devolved nations of the United Kingdom. Management of wrecks designated under section 2 is the responsibility of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency
C1HMS Assurance: the Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck[9] originally identified the sinking as 1738, however investigation by a former licensee[10] into historic records dated the loss as 1753, and this is shown as the date of sinking in the site summary of the wrecksite in Appendix A(ii) of the latest report,[11] although Appendix A(iii), The list of current designated sites, still shows the date as 1738.
C2Tearing Ledge The wreck is believed to be the Romney, one of four ships lost on 22 October 1707[8]
C3Rill Cove Wreck: the identity of the wreck has not been determined. The tentative date of 1616 is based on the dates of artefacts recovered.[8]
C4Coronation: the wreck of the Coronation is thought to be split into two sites - the Kennemerland also split into two sites when wrecked. The identity of the offshore site (site 17) was confirmed by finding a plate inscribed with the family crest of the Captain. The identity of the inshore site (site 33) is more controversial. Royal Naval Guns found on the inshore site are consistent with a first or second rate ship of the line of the correct period and there is no other record of a ship of her size foundering in the area.[11]
C5Barthomolew Ledges: it is possible that the wreck is that of the Spanish vessel, San Bartholome which was wrecked in 1597, although this vessel is not recorded as being lost in the Isles of Scilly.[8] The wreck is late 16th century and was carrying lead ingots of a Spanish type. Six recovered coins date between 1474 and 1555, hence dating the wreck after 1555.[11]
C6The Diamond: the wreck is of an early type of composite hull and was initially thought to be the Diamond. The current licensee has identified several anomalies in this identification, including that the wreck appears to be longer than the Diamond; there are discrepancies between samples of materials recovered from the wreck and those listed as being used in the construction of the Diamond, and artefacts patented after the date of sinking have been recovered.[11]
^Bingeman, John. "Historic Wreck Sites of the Solent"(PDF). 10th Annual Public Lecture of the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology. Archived from the original(PDF) on 14 October 2006. Retrieved 6 October 2006.
