Mostly Irish Sea region, or with links to Liverpool.
See regional lists.
See years of great storms.
See interesting stories.
See largest losses of life at sea.
See salvage diving on wrecks.
To search these pages for a named wreck.
Privateers and Prizes:
Renard 1710;
Eagle 1760;
Mary Ann 1777;
Deux Amis 1779;
Pelican 1793;
Hiram 1799;
Victory 1803;
Hope 1806.
Troop-ships:
Cromwellian troopships 1650;
Prince of Wales; Rochdale 1807;
Sea Horse; Boadicea 1816.
Treasure:
Trevor 1775;
Deux Amis 1779;
Mary Scott 1841;
Royal Charter 1859.
Naval gun battles:
1781 Luce Bay (Smuggling);
1760 Isle of Man (versus French warships)
Wreckers (especially of alcohol):
Pownall 1758;
L'Equité 1778;
Mary and Betsey 1820;
Norah 1835;
Christian 1848;
Elizabeth Buckham 1866;
Llŷn 1868;
Stuart 1901;
Ulloa 1904.
Innovative vessels:
Experiment 1665, twin hulled.
Horse Packets 1817-18, replacing steam
Mersey Ferry Etna 1817, central
paddle wheel.
Early Iron steamships
Rising Star 1818-29, steam warship.
Vesta 1836 "quicksilver"
steam engine.
Liverpool Screw 1842, iron
screw tug.
Queen 1844, double-ended
iron Mersey ferry.
The Test 1855, steam
yacht, Burch propeller
PS Minnow 1857, iron steam yacht: "fish-tail" propulsion
Phantom 1863, first steel screw steamship
Resurgam 1880,
wreck,
steam submarine, Birkenhead.
Shelduck 1885, steam
yacht, Paley's lifting propeller
Porpoise 1886, electric submarine,
Seacombe, Wallasey.
St George 1910, motor boat, Conwy river
Elmarine 1919, concrete barge, Mersey.
Hovercraft VA3-001 1962, Wirral - Rhyl
passenger service.
Great Storms:
Autumn 1770;
Hurricane of 1822.
Great Storm of 1826 [includes
Ulverston owned wrecks from 1811-1826].
Storm of October 1832.
Storm of November 1833.
Storm of February 1835.
Storm of July 1836.
Hurricane of January 1839.
Storm of 1850 - Ship Providence wrecked on Burbo
Storm of October 1859
Storms of January and December 1863
Storm of August 1868.
Storm of November 1890.
Interesting stories of shipwreck.
Pirate gold - Dee Estuary 1779
Cannibalism to survive: Francis Mary, Atlantic 1826
Tiger wrecked on uninhabited island 1836
PS Killarney 1838, passengers stranded on rock
PS Lee - salvage attempt mishap 1840
Regional lists:
MDHB wreck listings [wrecks in the Port of Liverpool].
North Wirral Coast Shipwrecks.
West Hoyle Bank Shipwrecks.
Llŷn Shipwrecks.
Anglesey Shipwrecks.
North Wales Coast Shipwrecks.
Morecambe Bay, Barrow, Duddon Shipwrecks.
Ribble Shipwrecks
Wrecks associated with New Quay, Aberaeron, Aberarth (and my
ancestors in some cases):
Florist 1882 ,
SS Linda 1874,
[also SS Linda 1874],
Madona 1883,
Maggie Cummins 1880,
Kwasind 1877,
Friendship 1893,
Minnie Brown 1894
Associated with Devon ancestor (owner John Haywood):
America 1870.
Associated with descendent of Ladd family of Llangoedmore, Cardigan:
SS Adenwen 1915,1917; SS Haulwen 1917.
Accident involving Port Talbot Pilot-boat 1907 with loss of William Clifford
Ladd.
Wrecks dived by Chris Michael.
Below is a small selection of some of the wrecks for which I have found good illustrations; for which I have found full newspaper descriptions; with significant losses of life; or in locations that I have visited.
Double-hulled Experiment 1665 Bay
of Biscay; 17 lost.
Pilot Boat Two Brothers 1770 Hoyle
bank, 8 lost
Belgioioso 1783, Kish Bank, 147 lost
Newburn 1790 Hoyle Bank, 3 lost
Sloops Betty and Mary 1791; Maria 1791;
Mary 1792; Lovely Peggy 1793 Hoyle Bank, 47+6+6 lost
Pelican 1793 Mersey, 102 lost
Young William 1802 Mallraeth, 0
lost, diver salvage.
Enteprize 1803 Mew Island, 11
lost, diver salvage.
Victory 1803 Hoyle Bank, 54 (or 37) lost
Telamon 1806 West Hoyle Bank, 19 lost
Sparks and Rebecca 1809 Off
Liverpool, all lost.
Prince of Wales; Rochdale 1807 Dublin, 385
lost.
Sea Horse 1816 Tramore, 364 lost.
Boadicea 1816 Tramore, 190 lost.
Tiger 1819 Coningbeg, 26-29 lost.
Mary and Betsey 1820 Leasowe, 8
lost, wreckers.
Hannah 1824 Carlisle ship canal,
sunk by ice, 0 lost
Francis Mary 1826 Atlantic, abandoned, 11
lost, cannibalism, image.
Enterprise 1827 Glenarm, 11 lost; folk song.
Newry 1830 Lleyn, 25-55 lost.
William Neilson; Grecian 1832 Burbo
Bank, many lost.
Packet (of Ayr); Kircudbright Castle 1833 Hoyle Bank, 7 lost.
Sarah 1835 Anglesey, 0 lost, painting.
Intrinsic 1836 Kilkee, 14 lost,
diver salvage.
John Welch 1836 East Hoyle Bank, 14 lost.
Scotia 1838 Penmon, 0 lost, diver salvage.
Athabaska 1838 West Hoyle, 18 lost.
Lady Charlotte 1838 Cape Clear, 9
lost, diver salvage.
Mary Scott 1841 Point Lynas, 9
lost, painting
Euterpe 1845 West Hoyle, 14 lost, refloated.
William Turner 1845 Caernarfon Bar, 28
lost, figurehead saved.
Frankfield 1847 Cemaes Bay, 21
lost, painting
Athena 1852 Maldraeth, 0 lost,
wreckage on beach.
Brig Lily 1852 wrecked Calf Sound, image of explosion,
5+29 lost.
3 large American ships 1856 Burbo,
0 lost. [Silas Wright; Samuel M Fox; Louisiana]
Flat Ann 1858 St. Tudwal's
Island, 0 lost, "Fflat Huw Puw" song.
Ann E Hooper 1862 Off Ribble, 4
lost, painting
Doris 1866 Mersey, 0 lost, diver injured.
PS Bouboulina (ex-Colonel Lamb) 1867
Mersey, 12-40 lost, engraving
SY Aries 1880 Anglesey, 0 lost, model.
FV Emblematic 1883 Leasowe, 0
lost, images
SS Geofredo 1884 Burbo Bank, 0
lost, photo of wreckage.
Primus 1889 West Hoyle, 3 lost, gravestone.
Schooner Snaefell 1902 Pwllheli, 0
lost, refloated, painting
Schooner Bessie Arnold 1908 Arran, 4
lost, figurehead
SS Hebe 1911 Ribble, 0 lost, painting
Barquentine Gaelic 1909, 1917, 1939
Mersey, etc., images
18 Barges and Flats sunk 1920
Mersey; 0 lost, images
Mannin airliner 1948 Mersey,
salvage image, 7 lost.
These have mostly been transcribed to the website Wrecksite.eu