Seaton Carew Wreck

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Seaton Carew Wreck is a protected wreck on Seaton Carew beach, in the area between high and low tides. For many years it was buried in sand, but storms uncovered it in 1996 and 2002, and it has appeared regularly since 2004. The wreck is a collier brig, a sturdy coal-carrying ship common in the 18th and 19th centuries, and it is unusually well preserved for the North-East coast. It is protected as a Wreck by Historic England.

On 4 August 1996, locals Derek Hodgson and Joe Howey found the remains after a storm blew away the sand. They contacted Tees Archaeology, who, with help from volunteers from the Nautical Archaeology Society, quickly studied the wreck. The ship lay in the inter-tidal zone, halfway between high and low water, giving only a short window for assessment before the sand covered it again.

The bows face the shore. The wreck is about 25 meters long and 7 meters wide. Its frames are oak and joined with treenails. It appears to be a collier brig, a sturdy type Captain James Cook used for voyages. It looks like parts were cut away for salvage, leaving the masts and the lower hull. A photograph from 1898 by James Pattison seems to show the same wreck after salvage.

The wreck was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act on 8 August 1997. An information panel near the site was first placed in 2000 and replaced in 2005. Tees Archaeology monitors the wreck. It was briefly uncovered in 2002 and again in 2004, allowing more recording. In 2004–2005 it was partly exposed most of the time, but in 2006–2007 it was rarely seen. It has appeared regularly again since 2019.