Wreck on Goodwick Beach 200m NE of Ocean Lab Building

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The monument comprises the remains of a relatively small late Tudor/early Stuart period wooden ship, of unknown identity, located in a shallow pool of water on the flat foreshore of the inter-tidal zone at Goodwick, within Fishguard Harbour. Its small size suggests it was involved in coastwise and/or trans-Irish Sea trade. The wreck was first reported in 2012 and has been the subject of marine side-scan sonar and sub-bottom profile surveys in 2012, photogrammetry in 2022 and probe and magnetometry surveys in 2023. The investigations revealed the wreck site measured c. 14.3m in length (east-west) consisting of one side of a coherent hull of 13m in length and 4-5m in width, comprising hull frame timbers, carvel-laid outer-planking, ceiling planking, cross-beams, associated decking and fixings. It is interpreted as lying heeled over on its side. The northern side presents as a curve of exposed timber frame ends and associated outer-planking and ceiling-planking. To the south of this, are a line of degraded timber ends of cross-beams, comprising two 140-150mm2 section beams and nine smaller ones. The presence of a plank edge and probable lodging knee suggest the survival of the original decking and a cargo hatch respectively. The western hull end is complete, but it is uncertain whether it represents the vessel’s bow or stern. Probing indicated the wreck survives to at least 1.25m below the sediment with substantive timber structures beneath that level. The magnetometry survey indicated the presence of associated buried remains to the north-west and south ends of the wreck. Oxygen isotope dating analysis in 2025 identified the felling date for the parent tree to AD 1588-1624, and the known practice of shipbuilding with green oak indicates that the vessel must have been built and operated within or shortly after this date range. The vessel was built of oak, ash and pine.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of Tudor/Stuart trade, shipping, ship building and technological development of smaller regional coastal and trans-Irish Sea vessels. The wreck site is significant as a rare example of a small carvel-built ship from the late sixteenth / early seventeenth centuries. It is the only known example of a ship of this construction type and size within the Welsh archaeological record, and extremely rare in a wider UK context. The vessel was built at a time when construction practices for ocean-going ships were undergoing significant technological change from clinker to carvel construction and the remains of this vessel could provide important information about this process. The site is documented through a series of archaeological investigations.

The monument retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of further artefactual evidence and high potential for associated archaeological remains of the ship’s hull and other contents, relating to the operation of the vessel and its chronology, building techniques and naval architectural detail.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and an area around within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is circular in shape, measures 40m in diameter and is centred on OS NGR 194895 / 238100 (52.0033637°, -4.9895696°).