More information : 'Dengemarsh is...part of the Wye lands in Kent belonging to Battle Abbey, Sussex...The wreck is referred to in the Battle Abbey Chronicle, translated by Lower in 1851; the original was in BM Cottonian MSS. Extract:
"About this time (c.1105) there happened a wreck in Dengemarsh, a member of Wye. A ship laden with royal ornaments and works, and much shattered by the waves, was cast ashore at that place, and as it could not be repaired within the time allotted by custom, the king's collectors came to seize the vessel with its treasures for the crown. This Master Gaufried (Abbot of Battle Abbey from 1102 to 1107) and his men opposed, upon which a complaint was laid before the king. But he [the king] willing to observe the custom of the country and cautious of doing anything that might injure his Abbey, waived his own claims, and commanded the shipwrecked commodities to be given up to the Abbey. Master Gaufried therefore disposed of them as he thought best, giving the royal vestments to the servants, while he applied the rest of the cargo to the use of the Abbey." ' (1)
NB: The description of the cargo as "royal ornaments and works" and their conversion to ecclesiastical use may indicate objects made of precious metals ("ornaments") and of building materials ("works").
Date of Loss Qualifier: Approximate date of loss |