As well as having many shipwrecks underwater around Plymouth, there are a large number of ships abandoned on the foreshore, often known as 'hulks'. This research is a collaboration between The SHIPS Project and C. John Cotton from his record of these hulks in the 1980s and our many contributors are acknowledged on the individual pages and photographs.
Click on the map to zoom in to an area and see the hulks:
Click on a link to zoom in to an area:
Tamar | 11 hulks | River Tamar, River Tavy and Tamerton Lake areas, plus Calstock |
Lynher | 5 hulks | Lynher River area, Poldrissick, Treluggan |
Forder | 11 hulks | Forder and Antony Passage areas |
Hamoaze | 15 hulks | Lower Tamar, Hamoaze, Torpoint, Stonehouse, Millbay and Drakes Island areas |
Plym | 19 hulks | River Plym, Cattewater, Cattedown and Oreston areas |
Hooe Lake | 34 hulks | Hooe Lake, a ships graveyard |
Whitsand | 4 hulks | Whitsand Bay, Freathy, Tregantle area |
Yealm | 4 hulks | Andurn Point, River Yealm, Wembury and Newton Ferrers areas |
Total | 103 hulks |
Name | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Alfred Rooker | Hooe Lake, West | - | Ketch [not present, see notes] |
Alice | Hooe Lake, North | Unknown | Steamship, possibly the tug Alice |
Amazon | Hooe Lake, West | 1866 | Ketch |
Anje | Pomphlett Lake | 1968 | French fishing boat |
Anna II | Off Torpoint | 1950 | Ex-Belgian pilot boat |
Antelope | Laira | 1906 | Brixham trawler |
Arthur | Hooe Lake, East | Unknown | Timber lighter, date unknown |
August Smith | Wembury | 1881 | Barque |
Baltic Surveyor | Oreston | 1943 | WWII German torpedo boat, converted |
Beatrice Maud | Treluggan | 1910 | Thames barge |
Bertie | Hooe Lake, East | 1901 | Thames barge |
Bertie | Hooe Lake, North | 1883 | Tamar barge |
Bon Ami | Hooe Boatyard, East | 1957 | Scottish trawler |
Boy Eric | Forder, under bridge | 1921 | Trawler |
Budeaux 1 | St Budeaux Wharf | Unknown | Motor fishing vessel, unknown |
Budeaux 2 | St Budeaux Wharf | Unknown | Timber vessel, unknown |
Budeaux 3 | St Budeaux Wharf | Unknown | Motor fishing vessel, unknown |
Budeaux Barge | St Budeaux Wharf | WWII | Ammunition Barge, WWII |
Bulla | Hooe Lake, West | 1873 | Jersey topsail schooner |
Cattedown 1 | Cattedown | Unknown | Steel barge, unknown date |
Chancellor | Treninnow Beach | 1901 | Steam trawler |
Charles Leake II | Hooe Lake, North | 1946 | 65ft Admiralty MFV |
Cornubia | Hooe Lake, East | 1896 | Millbrook steam ferry |
Coronella | Hooe Lake, off Hooe Quay | Unknown | Ketch, unknown |
Cretabode | St John's Lake | 1918 | WW1 Concrete barge |
Cruden Bay | Carbeile Creek | 1899 | Wooden steam tug |
Daisy | Freathy | 1872 | Steam coaster |
Dignity | Hooe Boatyard, East | Unknown | French trawler |
Dolphin | Hooe Lake, North | Unknown | Schooner |
Drakes Island Barge | Drakes Island, South | Unknown | Unknown |
Emma Christ | Tregantle Beach | Unknown | Ex-Admiralty MFV then diving tender |
Edwin | Pomphlett Lake | 1880 | Tamar barge built in Cattedown |
Excelsior | Sand Acre Bay | 1875 | Schooner |
Flete Lady | Hooe Boatyard, West | 1958 | Trawler built in Plymouth |
Floralie | Hooe Boatyard, West | 1977 | French trawler |
Fowey No. 2 | Carbeile Wharf | Unknown | Timber barge |
Happy Venture | Hooe Lake, off Hooe Quay | 1953 | Salcombe crabber |
Harry Herbert | Sand Acre Bay | 1860 | Schooner |
Harbour Launches | Hooe Lake, East | 1947 | Two harbour launches |
Hooe Boatyard | Hooe Lake | - | Collection of hulks on the south side of Hooe Lake |
Hooe Lake 1 | Hooe Lake, East | Unknown | Fishing boat |
Hooe Lake 2 | Hooe Lake, East | Unknown | Fibreglass boat |
Hooe Lake 3 | Hooe Lake, East | Unknown | Large vessel, possible schooner |
Hooe Lake 4 | Hooe Lake, East | Unknown | Possible Tamar barge |
Hooe Lake 5 | Hooe Lake, South | Unknown | Unknown |
Hooe Lake 7 | Hooe Boatyard, East | Unknown | Fishing boat, unknown |
Hooe Lake 8 | Hooe Boatyard, East | Unknown | Yacht, unknown |
Hooe Lake 9 | Hooe Boatyard, East | Unknown | Fishing boat, unknown |
Hooe Lake 10 | Hooe Boatyard, East | Unknown | Steel barge |
Hooe Lake 11 | Hooe Boatyard, West | Unknown | Small steel tug |
Hopper Barge | Torpoint | Unknown | Unknown timber hopper barge in the Ballast Pond |
Jade | Hooe Boatyard, East | Unknown | Motor Launch |
Laira 1 | Laira | Unknown | Small steel boat, date unknown |
Other Plym Hulks | Cattewater, Laira | Unknown | Other vessels in the Plym and Laira |
Laira Bridge 1 & 2 | Laira Bridge | Unknown | Steel barge and Unknown |
Landing Craft | Forder | 1940 | WWII Landing craft damaged before D-Day |
La Petite Stephanie | Sutton Harbour | 1956 | Guernsey fishing boat |
Leader | Hooe Lake | 1867 | Turnchapel pilot cutter |
Lord John Roberts | Forder | Unknown | Sailing barge? |
Lotus Bleu | Pomphlett | 1967 | French crabber / trawler |
Lynher | Poldrissick, Refloated | 1891 | Tamar barge |
Maggie Annie | Treluggan | 1881 | Ketch |
Maline | Kingsmill Lake | 1912 | Danish fishing ketch |
Master Hand | Torpoint | 1920 | Trawler built in Rye |
Merganser | Hole's Hole | 1887 | Yacht |
Mill Pond 1 | Antony Passage mill pond | Unknown | Unknown |
Millbay Pontoon | Millbay | 1852 | Pontoon built by Brunel for Millbay Docks |
Millbrook 1 | Millbrook Lake | Unknown | Unknown steel vessel |
Millom Castle | Poldrissick | 1870 | Schooner |
Plough | Millbrook Lake | Unknown | Fishing vessel |
NS660 and barge | Sutton Harbour | Unknown | Unknown barges |
Ocean Maid | Laira | 1967 | Scottish fishing boat |
Oreston 1 & 2 | Oreston, Bayly's Wharf | Unknown | Steel barges |
Paris' Pinnace | Sand Acre Bay | Unknown | Pinnace from the WWII French battleship Paris |
Patrina | Sutton Harbour | 1900 | Admiralty steam pinnace |
Pearl | Hooe Lake, East | 1840 | Tamar barge [possible] |
Picket Boat | Antony Passage | Unknown | RN Picket boat, date unknown |
Plym | Cattedown | Unknown | Dredger broken up at Cattedown |
Pomphlett 1 | Pomphlett Lake | Unknown | Unknown fishing boat |
Prince Rock 1 | Laira | Unknown | Unknown timber vessel |
Reine des Flots | Carbeile Wharf | Unknown | French trawler used as the foundation for a wharf |
Reynolds Lighter | St Budeaux Wharf | Unknown | Steel sewage lighter |
Roger | Hooe Lake, East | 1947 | Houseboat, ex-Belgian trawler |
Roy Fra Masnedo | Carbeile Wharf | Unknown | French-built fishing boat |
Saltash | Tamerton Lake | 1864 | Ketch |
Sand Acre Bay 1 | Sand Acre Bay | Unknown | Unknown, possibly a sailing barge |
Silver Seagull | Hooe Boatyard, West | 1964 | Belgian trawler |
Stonehouse 1 | Stonehouse | Unknown | Unknown hulk off Stonehouse |
Swift | Turnchapel | 1877 | Passenger ferry | Tamerton 1 | Tamerton Lake | Unknown | Unknown vessel at the head of the lake |
Tamerton 2 | Tamerton Lake | Unknown | Unknown boat on the south shore |
Tamerton 3 | Tamerton Lake | Unknown | Unknown vessel on the north shore |
Target Floats | Sand Acre Bay | Unknown | Steel towed target floats |
Tavy | Sutton Harbour | 1899 | Smack |
Triumph | Poldrissick | 1899 | Tamar barge built in Plymouth |
Two Brothers | Hooe Lake, East | Unknown | Dutch barge, unknown |
Vectis | Andurn Point | 1877 | Steamship wrecked on the beach |
Wendew | Hooe Lake, East | 1912 | Brixham trawler |
Yealm 1 | River Yealm | Unknown | Unknown vessel in the River Yealm |
Yealm 2 | River Yealm | Unknown | Unknown modern trimaran in River Yealm |
Whitsand 2 | Tregantle Beach | Unknown | Unknown timber vessel |
Wilcove 1 | Off Wilcove, River Tamar | Unknown | Unknown timber vessel |
YMS-378 | Stonehouse | 1943 | D-Day veteran minesweeper broken up at Stonehouse |
Notes about people who undertook previous work on this subject can be found here.
The list of contributors to this study of Plymouth hulks can be found here.
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