St Anthony (ship)

St Anthony (ship)

St Anthony or "Santo António" was a Portuguese carrack which foundered in Gunwalloe Bay, Cornwall, in 1527 en-route from Lisbon to Antwerp. She had a mixed cargo including copper and silver ingots. The wreck was recorded historically, because the salvage of the cargo was the subject of an international dispute that led to a Court of Star Chamber, but the location of the wreck was unknown until 1981. The wreck is designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act [ [http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/ACHWS_annual_report_2005.pdf Advisory Committee on Historic Wrecks Report for 2005] ] .

hip

The "St Anthony" was the personal property of King John III of Portugal and the flagship of his fleet. She was a carrack; these were largest ships of the time and the first truly ocean going vessels. The cargo was particularly valuable, estimated to be worth at the time £18,800 (about 4,000 times a man's annual wage), and it is thought to have included the dowry of Princess Katherine, bride of King John III and sister of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor [ [http://www.pengersickcastle.com/portugal.php Pengersick castle] ] . The cargo manifest survives.

Wrecking and salvage

The wreck occurred on 15 January 1527 in a storm described, in contemporary evidence, as "great and urgent tempest of winds and weather and by the great outrages of the sea" [Randall, Tony, "A Castle and a Carrack" in Nautical Archaeology, the newsletter of the Nautical Archaeology Society, 2005.3 pp7,8] .

There were 45 survivors from a crew of 86. On the morning after the wreck, the winds receded, and at low tide the wreck was in just six feet of water. Both the survivors and the local people attempted to salvage property from the wreck. King John III of Portugal, demanded the return of the cargo, and King Henry VIII set up a Court of Star Chamber. Some of the evidence that was given at the court survives, but not the outcome. However manorial rights of the time would have included an assumed right to goods from wrecks on manorial lands and three prominent landowners were able to improve their status and their manors in the years that followed. William Godolphin was knighted and Godolphin house was considerably improved. St Aubyn of St Michael's Mount was a Justice of the Peace. John Milliton of Pengersick Castle became High Sheriff of Cornwall and Pengersick Castle was also improved around this time. There is some evidence that Henry VIII ordered that the salvaged cargo should be returned to Portugal, but much of it was missing.

Discovery and protection

Despite the existence of the historical records, the actual position of the wreck was unknown. In the 1970s a a copper ingot was recovered by a shellfish diver, but the significance of this find was not understood until 1981, when a copper ingot was found on the beach. A team was sent to investigate and discovered that the location matched the contemporary accounts.

The seabed at this location consists of rocky gullies, exposed to the full force of Atlantic surf. There is no sediment to protect historic material and there are flint pebbles which help to smash and grind artefacts. Unsurpisingly therefore, the timbers of the ship have not survived, nor have any ferrous artefacts. The site was designated on 15 February 1982 under the Protection of Wrecks Act and local diver Tony Randall was made licensee. As conservation in situ was impossible, a license to conduct a rescue operation of any surviving artefacts was granted, and the surviving remains were recovered. Examples of copper and silver ingots were acquired and analysed by the British Museum [Fenwick, Valerie and Gale, Alison (1998), "Historic Shipwrecks, Discovered, Protected and Investigated", pp 50-51, Tempus Publishing Limited, ISBN 0-7524-1473-9.] There are public displays of recovered artefacts at Charlestown Heritage and Shipwreck Centre and at Pengersick Castle.

Following a report in May 2005 by English Heritage's archaeological diving contractor, that there was wreck material from the St Anthony lying outside the protected area, and evidence that this material was vulnerable to interference [ [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/em2006/uksiem_20062535_en.pdf Explanatory Memorandum to the Protection of Wrecks (Designation) (England) (No. 7) Order 2006, 2006 no 2535] , Office of Public Sector Information] the site was redesignated on 21 September 2006 under an emergency designation order. The centre of the designation area was moved to the South East and the radius of increased from 75m to 150m [ [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/20062535.htm Statutory Instrument Order 2006 no 2535] , Office of Public Sector Information] [ [http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Press_notices/archive_2006/dcms119-06.htm Press release on the redesignation of the St Anthony] , Department of Culture Media and Sport, 22 September 2006] .

After five years searching the gullies of Fishing Cove, material had been identified during the season of 2006 by Jason Roseveare. This proved that the designation order set back in 1983 did not cover the remains of the St Anthony 1527. Subsequently, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport issued the new designation to prevent further study without licence.

ee also

* List of designations under the Protection of Wrecks Act
* Archaeology of shipwrecks
* Maritime archaeology

References

External links

* [http://www.cornwall-online.co.uk/restormel/chas-her.htm Charlestown Heritage and Shipwreck Centre]
* [http://www.ukdiving.co.uk/wrecks/wreck.php?id=318 UK-diving website] description of wreck
* [http://www.divernet.com/wrecks/lizwrek.htm Divernet website] description of lizard wrecks part 1
* [http://www.cornwall-calling.co.uk/gazetter-cornwall/gunwalloe.htm Gunwalloe]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Anthony Cornero — Anthony Admiral Cornero (August 18, 1899 July 31, 1955) was an organized crime figure in Southern California from the 1920s through the 1950s. During his varied criminal career, he bootlegged liquor into Los Angeles, ran gambling ships in… …   Wikipedia

  • Anthony de la Roché — (spelled also Antoine de la Roché , Antonio de la Roché or Antonio de la Roca in some sources) was an English merchant born in London to French Huguenot father and English mother. During a commercial voyage between Europe and South America he was …   Wikipedia

  • Anthony DePalma — Anthony Federico DePalma (October 12, 1904 ndash; April 6, 2005) was an orthopedic surgeon, humanitarian, and teacher at Thomas Jefferson University, as well as the founder of the orthopedic department at University of Medicine and Dentistry of… …   Wikipedia

  • Anthony Coote — is an English musician (guitar/bass guitar/keyboards/vocal) who has worked with a number of groups/individuals.He was recruited to Ruby Blue in 1988 following an advertisement in the Melody Maker magazine and was present on their best known album …   Wikipedia

  • Anthony Cottrell — (21 March 1806 4 May 1860) was a farmer and one of fifteen investors in the Port Phillip Association. The son of Ellen and William Cottrell, a farmer living in the South Esk County of Cornwall, Tasmania. He immigrated to Tasmania in 1824 on the… …   Wikipedia

  • Anthony Grey, 9th Earl of Kent — Anthony Grey (1557 9 November, 1643) was Earl of Kent from 1639 to his death. He was a son on George Grey and Margery Salvaine. His paternal grandfather Anthony Grey was a son of George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent and his second wife Catherine Herbert …   Wikipedia

  • Anthony Manetta — is the Vice Chairman of the Suffolk County Independence Party of New York in which he was selected in December 2007. Mr. Manetta also holds the position as Senior Advisor to the New York State and National Independence Party Chairman Frank MacKay …   Wikipedia

  • Anthony van Diemen — (also Antonie , Antonio , Anton , Antonius ) (Culemborg, 1593 ndash; Batavia, 19 April 1645), Dutch colonial governor, was born in Culemborg in the Netherlands, the son of Bartholomeus van Diemen [Diemen is a small town near Amsterdam.] and… …   Wikipedia

  • Anthony Stewart (disambiguation) — Anthony Stewart may refer to several people:*Anthony Stewart, is a professional ice hockey player *Anthony Stewart (rugby league), is a rugby league player who plays for the Salford City Reds *Anthony Stewart (businessman), owner of the ship… …   Wikipedia

  • Anthony T. Rossi — Anthony Talamo Rossi (September 13, 1900 ndash; January 24, 1993) was an Italian immigrant who founded Tropicana Products, a producer of orange juice founded in 1947 in Bradenton, Florida in the United States which grew from 50 employees to over… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”