Wrecks of the Simon Bayly chart.

The 4 SHIPWRECKS OF THE SIMON BAYLY CHART of 1681

http://www.shipwreckbooks.co.uk/

The first wreck of the Simon Bayly Chart of 1681

 Royall Oake 1665

Going by all previously known writings about this wreck it is clear that its position had not yet been positively identified; its position having been only speculatory at best. Below are my own findings but first one must read the well known contemporary narrative below which is held in the Bodelian Library. (?)- means I could not read or fully understand what was written.

The Manner in which ye ship Royall Oake, Mr Robt’ Locke commander, from ye east indies was cast away upon ye awesome rocks of Scilly, called Ye Bishop and Clerks.

After setting sail from Bantam in ye ship Royall Oake bound for England, wee were attended with faire winds and pleasant weather, insomuch that wee dubled ye Cape of africa and came in seven weeks and odd days of short passage to ye Island of St Hellena, where we refreshed ourselves, gott on board fresh water and wayed anchor. From thence found all our men in perfect health that were aboard, News from St Hellena of wind and weather still favoured us soe much that we crossed the equinortiall and also gott all through night of 17 degrees North Latitude without any assailable wind, butt only on SSE and SE winds now being advanced as afore. So into ye height of 17 degrees North Latitude. These we mett with ye wind Westerly contrarie to our expectations. Yett as formally wee had made Ye best use of faire winds, soe wee did of this unexpected wind and forced to contenned with as best wee could. Wee were gott into ye Latitutde of -(?)- North Lat and by judgment 40 leagues to eastward of ye Island of St Maries. Now here the element faired very much different for ye lighted and thundered with much raine. And often finde terrible gusts of winde, Here for some days wee had ye winde soe variable and furious that wee gained little, the most winds were easterly and carried us into 17 North latitude. And by our reconing west from ye meridian of ye Lizard Cornwall. The wind came easterly with ye very terrible weather that wee were for-(?)- dry and still, yet first of this easterly winde was about ye-(?)- and continued soe faire that we could not hold oure own but were forced more westerly, faire weather presenting wee plyed it. Ye winde sometimes northerly and sometimes southerly, yet at last with much turmoyle wee were gott into ye latitude of 19 40 degrees by  (crossed out here) and by our judgment west of ye meridian of Ye Lizard point. Here wee sounded and gott ground-fine sand ye depth uniform. By reason of much wind and great sea our first striking ground was on ye 14^th January, That night wee had a faire-(?)- ye wind easterly which continued-(?)- that 17-(?)- this 17 att noone by fine of our that-(?)- made 49 53. At 49 40 ye winde being then att WSW wee sailed ESE. When wee had gained by log: 30 miles E by S 40 miles which course -(?)-(?)-(?)- that last-(?)-made us judge ourselves in ye latt of 49 35 North wee diverted our course E, ye winde as afore so. Att WSW soe much winde as forced us to-(?)- In ye morning before daylight wee found ourselves invironed with rocks and beaches which terrible sight made us bestirred ourselves, Some in ye topps to see if there were any passage through, but could find none. Yet cast our best bower anchor after cutting our mast away, but all would not prevail, Ye winde being soe violent cast our ship between two rocks where she in ¼ of an hour splitt all in pieces. Some of us miraculously gott upon ye rocks, ye-(?)-we found ourselves on a low rocke that could not preserve us from being washed away at high water.  Soe wee ventured upon pieces of our ship and gott from ye rocke we first landed into a higher rocke that praysed bee god did nott overflow, butt sheltered us from ye raging waves, Here wee sadly beheld one another , most of us sorely cutt and wounded with ye sharpness of ye rockes, nott having meat? drinke or cloth to comforte us and many of us in a manner naked. -(?)-yet better able to-(?)-wee continued in this sad and lamentable condition from ye 18^th night mourning til ye 20^th in ye morning, in which time some of our pepper and severall pieces of our ship drove one shore to scilly, which signified to ye inhabitants news that some ship was cast away about there islands. Soe they looked out and descried our waste upon ye rocke where wee were preserved. Upon sight thereof ye was thy maier Edward Rosearicke

then Cheefe in Scilly hastened boats to us-(?)- came and tooke us in and landed us at St Maries. On ye next day about noone soe that wee were about 52 houres upon ye shore on ye rockes where wee endured soe much cold that all our leggs and hands were soe swollen that wee could but few of us stand. This is the true relation of our sad passage.

The author performing a magnetometer search for guns etc of the Royal Oak

 in the shallows near Pednathise Head.

Because the above narrative states the “Bishop and Clerkes” in its opening title, it has always been supposed that the Royal Oak was lost somewhere around Bishop Rock itself. However, because the Bishop is awash at high tide and there are no rocks nearby it that stay dry, this scene does not quite fit with the narrative. Because of this fact, various positions of old wrecks, that lie here or there at Scilly, have been suggested as being the Royal Oak. Some divers have even put in some effort into looking for it elsewhere and this includes myself. Had we all failed to find it? Whilst researching another East India Company loss of a similar period in history, I also searched for further evidence to try and take the Royal Oak project forward too. Unfortunately, some of the information I found in the archives regarding the Royal oak is in amongst a 600 page document that’s written in latin, and not being in anyway academic, I could not possibly read through it in order to find anything to do with this wreck. However, among many other things I did come across was the Simon Bayly chart presented here. I believe this chart holds the clue as to where the Royal oak might actually lay. Closer examination of the chart shows that Bayly has clearly written the words: Cap Locke Lost among the western rocks, close to a rock named Pednathise Head. Was Bayly making a reference to Captain Locke the commander of the Royall Oake? There was only one way to find out, and that was to start diving in that area.

Indeed, whilst searching that area, we came across an as yet unidentified shipwreck lying near Pednathise Head by a large rock called the Daisy. This wreck, I believe, was actually first found many years ago by a diver named Chippy Peirce. (now deceased) Later I was lucky enough to be handed drawings and information of all the wreckage, ie cannons and anchors, that Chippy had dived on in the position, during his time. Placing these together with the Simon Bayly chart and the narrative presented above, to me, this wreck site seemed to fit the bill of the Royal Oak.  We visited the site regularly and produced a very basic site plan of it. From this, it is easy to see that this wreck must have been heading in an Easterly direction which fitted with the narrative; and being very close to Pednathise Head, it also fitted well with the Simon Bayly chart. Further to this, there are rocks to either side of this wreckage, a small one just to the north that becomes awash at high tide, and very prominent is the Daisy to the south, where most of the wreckage lies, which is dry at all states of the tide. Again this also appears to fit well with the narrative. The narrative also states the Bishop and Clerkes; a term not commonly in use today. Through time, the Clerkes have been known as being either the Crim rocks or the Western Rocks; or both as a whole. –Pednathise and the Daisy both form part of the western rocks and therefore once known as the Clerkes. Was the Royal Oak lost on the Clerks and not the Bishop rock itself? In the narrative stating the Bishop “and” Clerks, was it just being general? and so simply meant that the ship was lost among the western rocks at Scilly? It appears so.

If I was correct about the wreck near Pednathise, then there must be further wreckage that Mr Pierce was unaware of, surrounding the nearby smaller rock to the north of the Daisy. If so, then that would add further evidence of this being a very good candidate for the site of the Royal Oak. We searched in the shallows around the smaller rock and did indeed find iron ballast (then known as kentledge); numerous iron shot and another iron cannon. With this further evidence in mind, to me, the scene of this wreck fits the narrative well and the chart perfectly. The narrative shows that the ship hit the smaller rock and the men alighted onto it at low water. Their broken ship was then pushed by the sea across the gap between the two rocks and the men ventured over the wreckage to the larger rock (Daisy?) to preserve themselves from the rising tide. The narrative shows that the Royal Oak was lost in shallow water which also fits with this wreck site. Of course, further work is needed on this wreck to prove or disprove my theories, unfortunately this wreck has been well smashed by the sea and long since pillaged by many.  I believe the position of the Royal Oak has now been identified, but I am still working my way through various theories and still looking so time will tell. http://www.shipwreckbooks.co.uk/
Todd Stevens http://www.toddstevens.co.uk/

The second wreck of the Simon Bayly Chart

Shaftesbury

The following is some research I did on a wreck that was not previously known or recorded at Scilly before I discovered the Simon Bayly chart. This chart had not been previously seen at Scilly where it is relevant. The chart was drawn by Simon Bayly who was the surveyor, and possible architect, who helped the then local Steward, Thomas Ekins, to build the lighthouse on St Agnes Island in the year of 1680; a structure which was completed later that year having taken only 6 months to construct. Whilst on Scilly, performing the survey work for the lighthouse, Bayly also found time to produce his chart.

Not only is the chart really quite evocative, it also shows how some of the names of rocks etc, at Scilly have since changed; some only in spelling, others swapped entirely with others.  For instance: current day Gweal is Guitiall; White Island off Samson is Madenboure; Tean is Tecan and  Nonour is called Gunhille and so on. However, If one looks more closely at the chart, one will also find that Mr Bayly has also given the rough positions of four shipwrecks. Two of these are East India Company ships Royal Oak, Captain Locke, lost in January 1665, &  Pheonix, Captain Wildy, lost in January 1680. The Gloden Lyon lost in 1680 and the Hudson’s Bay Company ship Shaftesbury, Captain Thompson, lost in the autumn of 1678. Therefore, not only has Simon Bayly’s chart thrown up new evidence as to the previously unknown positions of three recorded shipwrecks at Scilly, it also sheds light on a totally new and unrecorded one. Researching the wrecks on this chart also shows how one of the early land stewards of Scilly was quite the salvaging entrepreneur and life saver. Read on:

Wreck of the Shaftesbury.

Founded in 1670 by King Charles II, The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) played a major role in the building of Canada as a nation. The HBC completed its first same-year return voyage from and to Hudson Bay in 1676. The ship Shaftesbury, to London with a cargo of beaver pelts, under Captain Joseph Thompson, was the first ship to complete the round trip to and from James Bay, doing it in just six months; May to November. Credit, in the form of a Medal and chain of Gold was duly bestowed upon Captain Thompson for his efforts and in return he handed over his journal of the voyage. Captain Joseph Thompson entered the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company on March 12^th 1674 and was engaged as first mate at £5 per month. He was then chief mate in a ship called Prince Rupert  in 1676, before being employed as Captain of the Shaftesbury just two months later on. He then served for two years in the Shaftesbury completing two successful voyages- the first of which he produced his detailed journal of his then record breaking voyage. Thompson’s journal served as a valuable aid for all future HBC Captains making this same round trip from then on.

Before the famous voyage, the history of the ship was quite unremarkable too. The Navy Records Society archives simply state that: “the ship Messenger, a Dogger, was taken from the Dutch in 1672 and that she was refitted out from Dogger to a Pink, and having her name changed to the Shaftesbury. (Named after the Earl of Shaftesbury the then deputy Governor of the HBC) Her measurements were: Length of Keel 45ft; Breadth by beam17-1/2ftt; Depth in hold 8-1/2ft; Draught 9-1/2ft;Burden 73tons; Guns 4 in peace; 4 abroad in War; 6 at home in War. She was lent to the Hudson’s Bay Company 17^th May 1672. In a fateful twist of irony, the Shaftesbury was lost at Scilly on 5 December 1678 just two years after her record breaking voyage. There were 20 crew and 16 passengers on board at the time. Captain Thompson lost his ship at Scilly using navigational information he himself had gathered previously in his own journal aboard this same vessel. Strangely enough, Thompson’s Journal went unrecognized for the short period while it was being put to the test, as it was recorded that: For the loss of the Shaftesbury Captain Thompson had to hand over his £50 stock in part satisfaction to the company on his bond” (an agreement made before setting sail to bring the ship and cargo back safely. The bond was for £1000) Its not known if his stock was reimbursed to him once the usefulness of the journal was proven.  However, the significance of Thompson's journal, as an aid to navigation of the period, was indeed eventually realized and was entrusted to Prince Rupert, the first Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. Rupert reproduced it for the use of others and placed the original in his own library. (The original is currently kept in the British Museum) 

If one takes a close look at the Simon Bayly chart, one can see the words Capt Thompson lost - written to the west of Anot (Annet island), possibly on the Ranney rocks close to where the huge steel wreck of the tanker TW Lawson (1907) now lies. (see image above) Given the date of the chart is circa 1680, then Bayly must be referring to an incident in or before that year. There is no other wreck yet recorded that fits the bill. It is therefore highly likely that Bayly was indeed referring to the same Captain Thompson presented here, and that the remains of the Shaftesbury must be within the area indicated on the chart by him. What remains of the Shaftesbury, probably now lies either beneath the wreck of the TW Lawson, if not somewhere in the shallows relatively close by it. Yes, the chart shows only a rough position but the following narratives, presented below, show that the wreck must have been fairly accessible to salvage and therefore lying in quite shallow water. This must be the case, as salvage in the 1600's was really rather primitive; a time when deepwater salvage, that is anything deeper than 10m at best, was thought to be impossible.

Further to the above, the Shaftesbury was coming from the north as we know she had put into Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland, just prior to being wrecked at Scilly, and therefore must have been heading in a southerly direction. A ship being wrecked on any of the rocks west of Annet Island, as indicated on the chart by Bayly, can easily be viewed as being consistent with this fact.

The first two correspondences presented below, were sent from the Hudson's Bay Company to a Mr Ekins at Scilly; who was then clearly successfully performing salvage work over the wreck of the Shaftesbury. Mr Ekins was the then Steward at Scilly who not only built the day mark on St Martins Island, but is also said to have introduced the kelp burning industry to the islands. He was behind the building of the St Agnes lighthouse; after a request by the English East India Company in 1680. The third reference is part of a report on the situation with Mr Ekins by the Hudson's Bay Company Committee. The last narrative was found in the London Gazzette by English Heritage, who are also now researching this important wreck, after I brought all this information to their attention.

Scilly. Mr Ekins. Sir. Yours of the 22nd October (1679). 

We have received & note you have recovered ( whatever? ) guns you could, belonging to the wrack't Shaftesbury. We desire you please next to advise their number and their weight, which last you may finde on their breeches, and also your account of their charges, whereof we shall take due care and order you which way you shall send those guns you have in your custody resting. Your Lov. Frds. the Committee for the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Scilly. Mr Thomas Ekins. Feb 11 1679

(Sent to St Michaels Mount & forwarded on to Scilly)

Some months since you wrote to  Aldr. Bence. a letter which signified your care or the interest of the Hudson's Bay Company in taking up foure guns of the Shaftesbury which was wrecked off Scilly, where unto we (who are members of the committee for managment of the affairs of the company) returned you an answer & desired you to give us an account of what charge you had beene at in taking up the said guns, but we have heard nothinge from you since then; as we are enformed you have beene for severall dayes together in this town of which wee had no notice till you were gon. Wee therefore give you the trouble of this letter to repeate our desire to you to give us a speedy account, of the charge you have beene at & wee shall give you our directions how to send the guns hither & take care of your satisfaction as it becomes. Alder Bence hath sold his stock in the Company & therefore you see not his name here upon this occasion.

Friday 11^th  June 1680.

Mr Ekins of the Scilly Islands appeared at the committee and gave us an account of the foure great  gunns taken up by him upon the wrack of the Shaftesbury, and informs that the charge he was at in the weying and saving of the guns amounted to foure pounds two shillings; and as for the gratuity for his owne paines, he leaves it to the committee. We order that Mr Ekins doe send up the guns by the first opportunity and the Company will pay. Together with much personal trouble in the Company's behalf, he is rewarded 5's for his paine.

'Falmouth, Dec. 30 1678. Yesterday came in here about 50 sail of Merchant Ships from Scilly, where they lay some time wind-bound . . . They also tell us, that on the 5th instant there was cast away the Shaftesbury of London, Joseph Thomson Master, homeward bound from the North-West passage, having a good quantity of Beaver on board, which was lost, together with the goods, but the Men saved.'  

Whilst the “foure great guns from the wrack’t Shaftesbury” are recorded by the Company as being sent back and placed in another ship, it is not yet known whether the crew saved themselves from this wreck or if they were actually saved by the locals. Given that Mr Ekins went out and salvaged this, and other wrecks, including the Phoenix and is recorded as saving that ship’s crew, it is highly likely that he was savior and salver in this instance too. A search for this one is still in progress as I feel it is worth finding, if for historical reasons only. It is an important wreck for Canada.

Todd Stevens http://www.toddstevens.co.uk/

Pheonix

Taken from the Simon Bayly chart of 1681.

It shows the Phoenix is somewhere North West of Samson Island, Scilly.

Here is the third wreck on the Simon Bayly chart.

The Wreck of the Phoenix

This is another of those early shipwrecks about which very little is known. She was recorded as a 30 gun, 450 ton, merchantman returning from Bantam with pepper and cloth lost among the western rocks on the 11^th January 1680. (A rumour of there being uncut diamonds aboard also exists)  It appears from East India Company records that most, if not all, of a crew of 90 were saved from the wreck. Some of the cargo was also saved as one Thomas Abney is recorded as paying £202 8s 1d at a salvage sale on Scilly.

Some believe that this wreck now lies next to the Menglow Rock in Smith Sound close to St Agnes Island; others merely state that she was lost to the western rocks. I have not yet seen any evidence that states either of these as being correct. For this wreck I must again point towards the Simon Bayly chart; as therein, to the north west of Samson Island, one will find Bayly has written the words- Captain Wildy Lost. The Captain of the Phoenix was indeed named Wildy and evidence presented below surely shows that Simon Bayly must be correct about the position of this wreck.

Simon Bayly produced his chart within months of the Phoenix being lost. Not only that, Bayly helped Thomas Ekins construct the St Agnes lighthouse, and this structure was built from the proceeds of salvage work done on the Phoenix by Thomas Ekins.

Ekins is recorded by the Hudson’s Bay Company as being paid for salvaging the Shaftesbury, but he is also recorded by the East India Company as having been instrumental in helping the crew off the Phoenix and from that same wreck being paid: ‘for his care & pains in assisting ye Salvage of ye Companies goods”  Moreover, the Trinity Brethren were share holders of the Phoenix so her loss was strongly felt by the Trinity House Corporation. Ekins had saved Wildy and his men from the wreck, the Corporation later turned to Captain Wildy and asked him: “What conveniences was to be had on the island for erecting a lighthouse” Wildy recommended it, and Thomas Ekins for the job. In turn, Ekins went to Simon Bayly.

Wildy, Ekins & Bayly- three men closely associated with each other and all of whom clearly knew the exact last resting place of the Phoenix. I’m not sure if the Phoenix is worth the effort of finding, as steward/salvage man Ekins appears to have got there first. There is also an old wreck, among the nor’ard rocks of Scilly, found by local diver (Peter Carrs) that I felt was  a good candidate for what remains of this wreck., until I found her remins close to Bream Ledge right here Bayly has placed her. I have since raised nearly 400 gold & silve coins from the site none of wghich are dated later than 1673. Also raised over 70 items of gold jewellery too. 

I would like to thank my friend and colleague Ed Cumming for his help in uncovering the facts behind the wreck of the Phoenix. Sadly Ed died  recently so I am now researching alone again. More to come on this wreck. Todd Stevens

http://www.toddstevens.co.uk/

Golden Lyon.           

Here is the fourth wreck on the Simon Bayly chart.

The wreck of The Golden Lyon. (who was guilty?) 

According to a local historical document, Ships, shipwrecks and Maritime incidents around the Isles of Scilly, (Museum publication no 3) the first St Agnes Lighthouse keeper was: “found guilty of negligence” and therefore to blame for the disaster that befell the ship Golden Lyon. However, a closer look into this incident proves a very different story occurred indeed.

The St Agnes lighthouse, erected by May 1680 as a direct result of the wreck of the Phoenix the preceding January, was done so under a proviso that no locals were to be employed as its keeper. This was requested as a result of previous experience of the English East India Company when dealing with the Scillonian’s after the salvage of the Phoenix, when they were forced to get the Admiralty Court involved after salvaged goods from the wreck were: “imbezzled or conveyed away by ye Inhabitants of ye Island.” On learning of the construction of the lighthouse, the English East India Company felt compelled to write to the Trinity Brethren of their concerns, insisting that the new  lighthouse: “be managed by the Society and not by any particular persons permitted or suffered to be employed on the place to look after the keeping of ye said light, that may have advantage or benefit by any goods or ships wreck’d or cast away” As a result of such natural concerns, a mainlander, Mr Samual Hockin,  was recommended to relocate to Scilly and take up the post on St Agnes on an initial 3 year contract. This came with extensions so long as the man performed well enough in the job. Trinity wrote of Hockin that he was: “a very able and fitting man to keepe the light at Scilly”  Hockin took up his new post and on the 30^th October the lighthouse fire was lit for the very first time. Over the following months, Hockin continually complained to the Trinity Brethren of the poor quality of the coal he was given to use; and that he wasn’t happy with the brightness of the lantern as a result.

On the 14^th of  November 1680 a virginia trade ship, called the Golden Lyon, came in sight of Scilly. Its master, Captain Rich, was sleeping below in his cabin with his First Mate, Ralph Bromwell, in command up on deck. (One trinity document states that the Golden Lyon struck Annet Island but as will be shown below, she now most likely lies by the Menglow on the west side of St Agnes.)  Later, after the wreck, Bromwell stated that the light was barely discernable when the ship was 2 miles away from Scilly but became brighter when he fired off his guns in distress. He was basically blaming the lighthouse for the disaster. Thankfully, all the men were saved along with a greater part of the cargo and parts of the ship. Samual Hockin joined with the locals and took part in this salvage. Whether for his own gain, or for some legitimate reason, Hockin took items from the wreck and concealed them in the coal store of the lighthouse. A Mr Veagleman later wrote to Hockin on behalf of Bromwell accusing Hockin: “that you took of the Seamens Cloths & Goods of the Ship as Soap & Serge & hid them in the Coals denying them until they were found by an Officer upon a search”  Hockin then fully admitted his involvement in this regard. As a consequence of this, and the testimony of First Mate Ralph Bromwell about the failure of the lighthouse under the direct control of Hockin, the keeper was then accused of deliberately luring the Golden Lyon in to her final demise at Scilly. Hockin was questioned upon this charge by the Trinity Brethren, whereby he again admitted to taking an active part in the salvage but for legitimate reasons. Nevertheless, this and the charge regarding the dimness of the light at the time of the wreck appeared to be quite damning for Hockin. However, at the actual hearing, the records show that just prior to the wreck of the Golden Lyon, numerous masters had commended Trinity House on the usefulness and state of the light on the day in question. One of those who gave evidence was John Percy Captain of a ship called the Elizabeth, who stated that he was around the islands at the time of the wreck and that he: “saw the Light on Scilly on Saturday night last gone,  six or seven leagues off at Sea and does believe it is the most usefull Light yet Erected and under God would be a means to save many lives.”  This was not a useful testimony for Bromwell. Another witness also added a little weight to the defense, also showing the disaster may not have been caused deliberately by Hockin. A Thomas Freeland stated that he often saw the light and that: “sometimes the light burnt clear and sometimes dull.” He also said that a Dutch ship, also then being lost at Scilly, her crewmen: “seeing the light sent their men aloft who descried the rocks and then ver’d off to the southward, where the ship was then lost. The men saved say that if it had not been for the light they had all been lost”

Trinity warned Hockin that: “all these matters will be thoroughly sifted. The designe of

your placing in the Lighthouse being not to pillage but to Relieve & help the

poor distressed Mariner. Your Letters now received do not Satisfy the Masters for the

hiding & denying of the goods, will make against  you” Due to the above testimonies and his earlier correspondences with the Trinity Brethren throughout the previous year, regarding the coal and brightness of the light, Hockin was eventually found: not guilty of deliberately causing the wreck of the Golden Lyon. He was, however, criticized for taking part in the subsequent salvage of it, as after the hearing Hockin was warned to be: “very carefull to performe your Duty and take heed of Receiving any Wreck’t Goods, East India Goods, or other Goods whatsoever least you runn your self into a primunires”  Although the wrecked goods were indeed supposedly stolen and initially denyed by Hockin to be in his possession: “he delivered them to the Captaine M’chant & others concerned, who gratified him for his Paines” This gratuity also absolved Hockin of any blame or wrong doing.

Fortunately, Hockin retained his post as lighthouse keeper until his replacement in 1684, however, Ralph Bromwell, the First Mate then in command of the wrecked ship, Golden Lyon, came under fire. For although his testimony of the dimmed light may well have been true, the fact that he managed to get his ship all the way to Annet Island, after seeing the light at a distance of two miles off on what seemed quite a clear day,  this threw his account of the disaster into doubt. It seems that the inquiry believed he was merely looking for an excuse for the loss of the ship, but inadvertently got Hockin into hot water as a result and used the situation surrounding Hockin to his own ends, ie. Hockin taking and hiding goods from the wreck, adding weight to the First Mate’s story. Bad navigation/seamanship seems to have been the cause of this wreck and not the “negligence” of Lighthouse keeper Hockin, as reported in the Isles of Scilly Museum publication no.3.  

The site of this wreck is indicated on an old chart I found in the National Maritime Museum. The chart shows the Golden Lyon to be on the west coast of St Agnes Island. And indeed, a very old cannon site wreck lays on the inside of Menglow rock close to St Agnes. This must be the wreck the chart is alluding too. See image below where you can clearly see-'Golden Lyon Lost'  written below the light house on St Agnes Island right by the shore where the Menglow Rock is seen just off shore.  This chart throws into doubt the belief that the Firebrand, lost in 1707, lies close thereabouts as this wreckage could also be part of the Golden Lyon as they are of a similar date and I have seen no evidence that the wreck known today as the Firebrand is actually that wreck. However, the site by Menglow Rock was found by Roland Morris who was known for making assumptions without hard evidence. Nevertheless, what is interesting about the find that Morris made, is that on the site plan he produced of the find there were originally shown to be 9 large anchors on the site. Be it the wreck of Firebrand or not, these could not possibly have all been of this one small wreck. Today only four anchors still exist on the site, so Morris must have removed all the others. These anchors that are no longer present were shown by Morris as being on the northern end of the site and I conjecture that these were originally from the Golden Lyon which arrived on the sea bed first. I think that these anchors were deployed in a last ditched effort in order to save the Golden Lyon from being wrecked on the Menglow; obviously it failed and she dragged onto the rock to be lost; this left her four large anchors on the sea bed for when the Firebrand arrived close by later in 1707. (Why Morris removed these anchors is not a mystery, he was a salvage man who is often known and well recorded for raising guns and anchors from wrecks he found.)  This would explain why we only have guns on the menglow site itself with some others littered across the sea bed to the nearby shore but no anchors in evidence to be seen because these had been deployed and were later removed by Morris. This also explains why there is no other wreckage between those anchors and the Menglow site.  Due to the Simon Bayly chart, I believe this to be the site of the Golden lion and the other site to the nearby south is possibly the Firebrand which arrived around 30 years later. Below is the part of the chart that clearly shows the Golden Lion written close to that western shoreline. This has clearly been written there deliberately. Shipwrecks that occur very close to an inhabited shore live longer in the local memory than those lost out to seaand this chart was produced within months after the wreck so must be correct.     

Todd Stevens

"Golden Lyon Lost"