Swash Channel Wreck Conservation Statement and Management Plan
Authors: Cousins, T.
Publisher: Historic England
Abstract:The Swash Channel Wreck was a large, possibly Dutch, armed merchantman involved in the global trade between Europe and the tropics, which wrecked on Hook Sand in the approaches to Poole Harbour in the 17th century c.1630. The find assemblage parallels that of several Dutch East Indiamen; however there are no records of a VOC wrecking in the location of the Swash suggesting that the vessel was either a ship belonging to the West India Company or an interloper. The most likely historical candidate is the Fame of Horne which wrecked on the Hook in 1631.
The presence of large timbers was noted in the area in 1990 when a dredger brought up a small 1pdr cast iron gun and several timbers adjacent to no.3 buoy in the Swash Channel; however the gun appears to be of a later date than the Swash Channel Wreck. Several timbers which cross match with the Swash timbers have also been found washed up on Studland Beach. In 2004 during an archaeological survey in preparation for the deepening of the Swash Channel, Wessex Archaeology identified an anomaly and undertook an undesignated wreck assessment recording a zone of structure some 20m in length with further remains known to exist in the area, and noted that the site may be eroding from the seabed. Bournemouth University (BU) took over the management and monitoring of the site for PHC in 2005, noting that it was rapidly degrading and eroding out of the seabed. A rescue excavation was conducted by BU in 2010, excavating and photographing the first 18m from the bow and the final 12m of the stern. The bowcastle, the first 6m of the bow, and the rudder were dismantled underwater and raised between 2010 and 2013 with the raised timbers being digitally recorded at the Newport Ship Centre.
Source: Manual