A wooden shipwreck is located on the seaward side of 'The Ridge' at the entrance to Angle harbour. The wreck is orientated SW (bow)/ NE (stern), and is c.20m in length, 5.5m in width, and comprises the keel, keelson, lower frames, outer planking, lower stern-post, and fragmentary stem-post of the ship. The wreck is fastened with iron keel bolts, brass bolts, and wooden treenails. The presence of brass fastening bolts indicates a date of construction, or repairs after c.1840 when the use of such fastenings became commonplace.

The wreck has been previously associated with the loss of the PROGRESS (NPRN 273277). This identification is now discounted due to the wreck being visible in the background of historic photos of the PROGRESS while the latter was beached within Angle Harbour in the 1960s. 

The wreck is reported by local residents to have been carrying a cargo of china clay, with links to St Austell in Cornwall, when it was abandoned at its current location. The wreck is visible in its current location in RAF aerial photos from April 1946, and is characterised by a large pale/grey area within the black and white photographs, which may be consistent with reports of a china clay cargo. The stern post of the wreck was reduced in height in c. 1964 because it was a navigational hazard for vessels using the harbour. At that time it was noted as having a tube in the stern post for the prop shaft of an auxiliary engine.

The HER record (PRN 35032) describes the site as a timber revetment, but a site inspection and survey (link below) by RCAHMW in September 2024 has confirmed that it is the remains of a wooden ship.

Sources Include:

Don Edson, Angle Resident, Personal Communication, September 2024

Dyfed Archaeological Trust HER PRN 35032: https://archwilio.org.uk/her/chi3/report/page.php?watprn=DAT35032

RCAHMW Aerial Photo Archive, Archive Number 6075882: https://coflein.gov.uk/en/archive/6075882/

RCAHMW Photogrammetry Survey, 19/09/2024: https://skfb.ly/prpqO

J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, September 2024