The Little History of Devon by Suze Gardner

Author:Suze Gardner [Gardner, Suze]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: history, Europe, Great Britain, General
ISBN: 9780750996891
Google: 1fUeEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: History Press
Published: 2021-03-01T00:14:35.803523+00:00

Wrecking

The rugged coasts and rough seas of north Devon were ideal locations for a notorious activity – wrecking. This was the deliberate act of using lights to bring floundering ships too close in to shore so that they were wrecked on rocks. In many cases the lights were deliberately placed to look like markers for a safe channel. Hundreds of sailors drowned because of wrecking. There are even stories of local people murdering any sailors who managed to get to shore. This was partly to stop them claiming a share of the ship’s cargo, but mostly to make sure that they couldn’t complain to the authorities! People from coastal villages would flock to the beach when a ship was wrecked, gleefully collecting any cargo that floated close to the shore. At low tide the wrecked ship would be stripped of usable materials. Many houses in coastal villages had tables, doors and beams made from ships’ timbers. Valuables such as navigation instruments were sold. Buyers didn’t usually ask too many questions! In 1870 a law was passed offering rewards to those who rescued shipwreck victims. At Hartland Quay visitors can admire the starkly beautiful, but dangerous, coast.

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