Erme Estuary Wreck
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | Erme Estuary Wreck | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | shipwreck | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nearest coast | England | official dataset |
| Position | 50.3074, -3.9543 | Historic England Protected Wreck Sites, listed latitude/longitude (OGL v3) |
| Protected Wreck | List entry 1000071 | Historic England |
| Designated | 1991-05-01 | Historic England |
| Restricted area | 19.62 ha | Historic England |
| Grid reference | SX 60933 47103 | Historic England |
About the wreck
The Erme Estuary wreck is a shipwreck site containing the remains of potentially more than one wreck that was discovered in 1990 on Mary Reef in the Erme Estuary in Dorset. The site was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act on 1 May 1991. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.
Diving & visiting
This is a designated Protected Wreck under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. Under the Act, diving on or otherwise interfering with the wreck inside its restricted area requires a licence; see the Historic England list entry for details.
The site was discovered in 1990 by snorkeller Steve George who found four cast iron guns, a wrought iron swivel gun, and an anchor. Further artefacts were recovered after the site was designated under a licence.
Previous investigation in 1982 produced one cannon, approximately 9 ft in length.
Location
- Recorded position: 50.3074, -3.9543 (Historic England Protected Wreck Sites, listed latitude/longitude (OGL v3); may be approximate)
- Nearest coast: England
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Erme Estuary Wreck (revision 1374293117), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Discovery and investigation”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Protected Wreck data © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- Erme Ingot Site 1 km
- Louis Sheid 1939 · 8 km
- Cattewater Wreck 14 km
- HMS Coronation 1691 · 18 km
- Salcombe Cannon Wreck 18 km
- Moor Sand site 19 km
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