Significant Hulks and Foreshore Wrecks

As well as having many shipwrecks underwater around Plymouth, there are a large number of ships abandoned on the foreshore, often known as 'hulks'.

The importance of each of the hulks is a subjective measure loosely based on a number of factors such as rarity, technological features, completeness and historical value. The importance of a hulk can change over time; perhaps initially unimportant when newly abandoned because of its age it gains importance as it gets older and others of its type are disposed of, eventually being one of the last of its kind the hulk can be considered significant. A hulked vessel can be immediately significant if it is one of only a few examples or perhaps unique, such as the timber lighter Arthur in Hooe Lake or the Target Floats in Sand Acre Bay. Vessels that are unknown are automatically significant on the understanding that they could be a rare type, but once identified they may cease to be considered important if they are a common type of ship. Vessels in good condition are considered more important than ones in poor condition because there is usually more to be learned from a better example. For example, the remains of a number of Tamar barges on the foreshore in the waterway however Edwin in Pomphlett Creek is the best preserved so is considered worth preserving. A vessel with a notable history is also significant for cultural reasons, examples here include the D-Day heroine YMS-378 off Stonehouse as she was one of the first vessels to engage the enemy on D-Day. Another example is the steam ferry Cornubia in Hooe Lake, she is both a rare surviving example of a local steam ferry and a vessel of note because of her battles with a rival ferry called the Lady Ernestine whose expoloits were often reported in newspapers.

A 250 page illustrated book about these hulks, 'Historic Ships on the Foreshore in and Around Plymouth Sound National Marine Park' by Peter Holt and C. John Cotton is now available on the Publications page.

Click on the map to zoom in to an area and see the hulks:

List of Significant Hulks and Wrecks

Name Location
Date
Description Significance
Amazon Hooe Lake, West
1866
Westcountry ketch Keel and floors remain, not recorded
Arthur Hooe Lake, East
Unknown
Timber lighter Unique vessel, part recorded
Batten Bay 1 Mount Batten
Unknown
Unknown Unknown, not recorded
Bulla Hooe Lake, West
1873
Jersey topsail schooner Keel and floors remain, not recorded
Chancellor Treninnow Beach
1901
Steam trawler wreck Steam trawler, bottom remains
Cornubia Hooe Lake, East
1896
Millbrook steam ferry Steam ferry, keel and floors remain, rare example
Coronella Hooe Lake, Quay
Unknown
Ketch Unknown, unrecorded
Cretabode St John's Lake
1918
Concrete barge Rare concrete barge, recorded, rare example
Daisy Freathy
1872
Steam coaster Steam coaster, not recorded
Edwin Pomphlett Lake
1880
Tamar sailing barge Tamar barge, buried, 75% survives
Excelsior Sand Acre Bay
1875
Schooner Keel and floors remain, part recorded
George Murray Forder
Unknown
Sailing barge? Unknown, part recorded
Harry Herbert Sand Acre Bay
1860
Schooner Keel and floors remain, part recorded
Hooe Lake 3 Hooe Lake, East
Unknown
Large vessel, schooner? Keel, floors remain, part recorded, well preserved
Hooe Lake 4 Hooe Lake, East
Unknown
Possibly Alfred Rooker Keel and floors remain, part recorded
John Sims Hooe Lake, North
1873
Schooner Keel and floors remain port side, part recorded
Prince Rock 1 Laira
Unknown
Unknown timber vessel Unknown, part recorded
Stonehouse 1 Stonehouse
Unknown
Unknown iron vessel Possibly a paddle steamship
Stonehouse 2 Stonehouse
Unknown
Unknown timber hulk Unknown, keel remains
Target Floats Sand Acre Bay
Unknown
Steel towed target floats Unique? Not recorded
YMS-378 Stonehouse
1943
YMS minesweeper D-Day veteran

 

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