Archaeological remains associated with the loss of this vessel are not confirmed as present at this location, but may possibly be in the vicinity.
Event and Historical Information:
The CHARMING JENNY was a sloop which went ashore at the mouth of the river Crygyll, Rhosneigr. At time of loss on 11 September 1773, the vessel was on passage from Dublin to Waterford and was owned by William Chilcott (also the master). The sloop encountered bad weather and poor visibility, and the Chilcott was mislead by false lights which caused him to steer for the shore. Chilcott and his life were the only surivors to reach the shore.Chilcott was stripped of the buckles from his shoes and all his clothing, and then found that his wife, who had been carrying 2 valuable bank rolls and 7 guineas in her pocket, had been drowned is the process of being robbed. When her body was examined, it was discovered that a finger had been broken to remove her gold wedding ring. The vessel was valued at £19,000. William Chilcott was able to bring action against three men at the County Goal at Beaumaris on Tuesday 25 April 1774. Each man was of significant means and estate, one offering £5,000 in bail to be bound over unconfined until the next Assize. The men escaped being charged after fighting broke out. However, they were committed again at Shrewsbury and two of the men were sentenced to hang. The locals involved in plundering the wreck became notorious as the Lladron Creigau Crigyll (the robbers of Crigyll rocks), wreckers who operated for around 30 years in this locality
Sources include:
Gater, D, 1992, Historic Shipwrecks of Wales, pg33
Gentleman's Magazine Vol 43, 1773 and Annual Register, 1773
Wynne-Jones, I, 2001, Shipwrecks of North Wales, 4 ed, pg45
http://www.rhosneigr.org.uk/History/robbers.html
