A British merchantship of 1072 tons, which was mined 3-and-a-half miles north-east of Tynemouth pier. She sank in 40 metres of water. The wreck is in two parts and covers an area of around 350m. N 55 04 03 W 01 18 56 (Collings). Steel, 1,072-ton, 68.58m long, 10.16m beam, 4.31m draught British steamship, registered in Aberdeen. She was built at the Denaby by S.P. Austin & Son at Sunderland in 1891 and owned at the time of loss by Ellis & McHardy. Her single steel propeller was powered by a three-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engine, which employed one boiler. Her machinery was built by J. Dickinson of Sunderland. She had one deck, four watertight bulkheads and a superstructure consisting of an 8.5m poop-deck, 15.2m quarter-deck and a bridge-deck of 13.4m.
On 14 April 1917, the Spray was in ballast on passage from Aberdeen for Sunderland, under the command of Captain C.O. Lawrence. At 06:15 she was steaming south at a steady ten knots when a huge explosion rocked the ship near to her stern. Some sources suggest this was a mine exploding! (including Spokes) The aft section of the vessel was totally destroyed and as shattered steel plates a debris filled the air, she immediately began to fill up and go down by the stern. Captain Lawrence gave the order to stop the engine and abandon ship and she went down within twenty-five minutes. A torpedo-boat destroyer arrived shortly after and rescued all of her crew and landed them at North Shields.
The wreck lies orientated in a north-east to south-west direction, in a general depth of 46m (Spokes records it as 40m). She is still fairly substantial, but is mostly well broken up, with some superstructure still visible on the North side of the wreck, which stands around 7m high amidships, where her boiler and engine are located. Wreckage is spread over an 86 x 20m area of seabed and lots of copper pipes, brass valves, pieces of broken derrick, anchor, windlass and broken air-ducts can be seen. Her boiler, condenser and engine are both visibly exposed and soft corals have established themselves on the highest structures, while shoals of pout-whiting have adopted the boiler as a haven. Master: C.O. Lawrence
Owner: Ellis & McHardy
Built: 1891
Builder: S. P. Austin & Son
Where Built: Sunderland
HP: 136
Boilers: 1
Propulsion: Screw driven, 3 cyinder triple expansion engine
Crew: 17
Crew Lost: 0
Two entries given on NMR database 908775 and 1002349 with 2 separate NMR numbers NZ 47 NW 2 and NZ 36 NE 398.

Grid reference conversion made 04.03.2011 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 55 04 01 W 01 19 01

A collier which sank on 7th January 1878. Her boilers come close to the surface at low tide. There are boilers, plates and girders scattered around. In 1988 a large bronze makers plate was recovered from the wreck (Collings). Iron, 680-ton, 66.87m long, 8.94m beam, 4.36m draught, three masted British steamship registered at Newcastle upon Tyne. She was owned by J. Elliot of Newcastle upon Tyne and built in 1873 by Smith at North Shields. Her single iron propeller was powered by a two-cylinder, compound-steam engine, using one boiler and her machinery was built by Revenhill, Eastons & Co. She had one deck, four watertight bulkheads and a superstructure consisting of a 21.3m reinforced quarter-deck and a 6.4m poop-deck. The vessel was also classed as A1 by Lloyds.
On 7 December 1878, the Longhirst was in ballast on a voyage from London to North Shields, under command of Captain B. Blasby, when wind conditions north-east force six stranded and wrecked her on the reef known as the Outer-Bells, just north of St. Mary’s Island.
What remains of the Longhirst lies in two gullies on the Outer-Bells reef. She is totally collapsed and well smashed up among the kelp, with her prop-shaft, lumps of iron plate and iron ribs concreting into the surrounding rocks, along with some very dispersed and broken machinery. Her boiler, which is now starting to disintegrate, lies close to the surface on a very low tide. A small pleasure yacht called the Nora struck the boiler and sank a few years ago, but was subsequently raised and salvaged.
Grid reference conversion made 04.03.2011 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 55 04 38 W 01 26 56

A 2529 ton vessel, built in Hartlepool, which sank in 1891. A photograph of the grounding shows her stern on Bait Reef (where some of her cargo of Appitite can be found) and her bows in Smugglers Creek. The wreck site was confirmed in 1988. Only flattened plates, some framework and girders remain. Most of the wreckage is well embedded into the rocks. The ship's wheel can be seen in the Watchtower at Tynemouth (Collings). Iron, 2,529-ton, 91.87m long, 11.58m beam, 7.21m draught, British steamship registered at West Hartlepool. She was owned by C. Furness MP and built in 1884 by E. Withy & Co. both at West Hartlepool. Her single iron propeller was powered by a two-cylinder, compound-steam engine, using two boilers. Her machinery was built by T. Richardson & Sons of Hartlepool. She had two decks, three watertight bulkheads and a superstructure consisting of an 11m poop-deck, 23m bridge-deck and 8.7m forecastle.
Under the command of Captain John Harrison, the Gothenburg City sailed from Montreal for Newcastle upon Tyne on 13 June with a cargo of deal, animals, cattle and phosphate rock. On 26 June 1891, she encountered heavy fog when close inshore off Northumberland and her speed was cut down to half, but she ran aground at St. Mary’s Island. Tugs were brought in to assist and Penny ferries unloaded 150 cattle out of the total 476 animals on board, while another vessel took off part of her 400 standards of deal and 300 tons of phosphate rock. The ship’s hull was badly damaged under her engine room and the amount of water that flooded in made the attempts by three tugs to pull her clear of the rocks, rather fruitless.
The following day, her remaining cattle were offloaded to lighten the ship with a view to refloating her, but by this time her hull had filled up with water and it was found that her engine and boilers had actually moved! During the operation a diving boat sank near the ship and a hard-hat (standard) diver was drowned. Heavy weather and rough seas eventually caused the ship to written off as a total loss.
What remains of the Gothenburg City lies just out from the north-north-western side of St Mary’s Island, in about 8m of water (NMR says 6m). She is well broken up, with one boiler still remaining, lots of scattered iron plates, ribs, an anchor and chain and the propeller shaft.
Two entries listed on NMR (1371189 & 1196351) with two separate monument numbers NZ 37 NE 10 and 12.
Grid reference conversion made 04.03.2011 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 54 04 24 W 01 26 54

The wreck lies at right angles to the reef onto which she ran aground. The stern section sill has the prop and shaft in place. A second prop lies within the hull. A solitary boiler stands 12 feet high off the starboard side. Built in 1883 by Workman, Clark and Company in Belfast. On route from Drontheim (Trondheim?) to Swansea on 24th December 1894, she ran ashore at St. Mary's Island. Weather conditions were foggy. She was carrying a cargo of copper ore. The owners were S.S. (steam ship) Jane Clark and Company, J. Bruce, Baptie and Company, Glasgow Managers. Lloyds list the captain in 1893 as J. Kerr. Richard Larn (author) says that at the time of the sinking the captain was H. Park and there was a crew of 14. The ship was registered in Glasgow. Lloyds register records damage repairs carried out in 1893 but the ship was certified 100A1 (in good condition) in November 1893 at Cardiff. Dimensions - 208 feet x 29.1 feet x 14.1 feet. 803 tons. The quarter deck was 114 feet and the fore deck 27 feet. She had a 7 inch bar keel. The Jane Clark was an iron single screw schooner rigged steamship. She had 1 iron deck, 4 bulkheads cemented. Two cylinder compound engines by V. Coates and Company Ltd of Belfast. 24 inch and 48 inch diameter cylinders with 36 inch stroke generating 96HP. 1 single ended steam boiler with two corrugated furnaces. The shell, screwstays, endplates, furnaces and combustion chamber of the boiler were made of steel. The longitudinal stays were made of iron. Water ballast - double bottom aft 53 feet, 120 tons. Fore peak tank 63 tons, aft peak tank 20 tons. Ian Spokes (diver) reports that the wreck lies in 7-10m of water off the east side of St. Mary's Island. The stern is largely intact, with a single cast iron propeller still attached. It is possible to follow the prop shaft forward past a second spare propeller on the remains of the deck. The engines are still in position. The boiler is now off the north side of the wreck by about 5m. Forward of the engines, little remains of the wreck. There is a gully further west, separated from the wreck by an area of reef, which has some more scattered plating and girders. This may be part of the bows of this wreck. Peter Collings records this wreck as the Janet Clark. Ian Spokes says that there is no such ship listed in Lloyds register and that the correct name is Jane Clark (Collings & Spokes).
Iron-hulled, 406-ton (Spokes database records the weight as 803T and the length as 208 x 29.1 x 14.1?), 40m long, British steamship, registered in Glasgow. She was owned at the time of loss by J. Bruce of Glasgow and built on the Clyde in 1883. Her single iron propeller was powered by a two-cylinder, compound-steam engine that used one boiler.
On 24 December, 1894, the vessel was on passage from Drontheim in Norway for Swansea, under the command of Captain H. Parker, carrying fourteen crew and a cargo of copper-ore and iron pyrite, when she stranded at St. Mary’s Island during dense fog and a light south-westerly wind. The voyage should have taken just a few days, but severe gales set in shortly after she left port and the weather conditions delayed the ship for ten days, during which time food ran out and her crew had to go hungry. The storm is said to have worsened and waves breached the vessel, carrying away her wheelhouse, bridge equipment and compasses. Sixteen hours prior to stranding she was completely at the mercy of the wind and weather. She drove ashore around 03:00 and despite attempts to refloat her, broke in to and was totally lost that evening.
The wreck lies at a right angle to the reed and is now totally collapsed, broken up, decayed and rather dispersed in a general depth of 5m (NMR database records the depth as 7m). The fore section is well smashed up and partially obscured by boulders and a jungle of kelp, while the stern-end with the propeller, is said to be almost complete and clear of the rocks in deeper water. Her boiler stands upright and separate, just off the starboard side, while lots of iron plates lie scattered about, more or less at the base of the reef. The wreck covers an area of around 30m in length.
In the Spokes and NMR database under Jane Clark.
Grid reference conversion made 04.03.2011 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 55 04 15 W 01 26 36

A 2461T Russian Iron Barque measuring 300ft? which sank in 1912 (an alternative date for sinking is January 1913 NMR) in very shallow water just south of St. Mary's Island at N 55 03 51 W 01 26 49. The remains show above water at low tide (Collings). which ran aground 14th January 1913. The wreck lies under 2m of water around St. Mary’s Island. VLB won gallantry awards for rescue. This iron sailing vessel, built in 1882, was en route from the River Tyne to Rotterdam with coal and iron. Built: 1882
Crew: 16
Crew Lost: 8 The NMR has two entries for this ship (908773 & 1371830) with 2 separate NMR numbers NZ 37 SE 13 and NZ 37 SE 14.

A Swedish steamship, 266 feet long and 1877 tons. Built in 1924. She was enroute from Kopmanholnen to London when she struck a mine on 20th December 1939. She lies in 23 metres of water. Salvage has produced evidence of her identity (makers plates etc) (Colings). Steel, 1,877-ton 80.97m long, 12.85m beam, 5.38m draught Swedish steamship, registered in Stockholm. She was built as the ‘Ida’ by Bergens Mek. Vaerks, Bergen, in 1924 and owned at the time of loss Rederi A/B Iris. Her single screw propeller was powered by a three-cylinder, triple-expansion, using two boilers and she had one deck. On 20 December 1939, the Mars was on passage from Kopmanholmen for London with a cargo of rough wood pulp, when she detonated a German-laid mine. After the explosion the vessel foundered almost immediately and all of her crew of seven went down to the bottom with her.

The wreck lies orientated in an east-north-east, west-south-west direction on a seabed of hard sand, stone and shingle in a general depth of 27m (Spokes recorded the depth as 23m). She is quite substantial, but totally collapsed and well broken up with the highest point being around 4m at her boilers and engine amidships. The wreckage covers a 90mx30m area of seabed. The boilers are upright and exposed close the remains of her three cylinder steam engine and brass condenser; her bows and stern are both still recognisable.

Grid reference conversion made 18.01.2011 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 55 03 49 W 001 24 11

A 115 feet long trawler, which struck a mine on 13th December 1939. She lies in 37 metres of water. N 55 03 45 W 01 21 18 (Collings). Steel, 202-ton 35.05m long, 6.7m beam, Strath-class steam trawler. She was built in 1918 by Forest, Rennie and her single propeller (possibly bronze) was powered by a three-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engine which used one boiler. She was sold again in 1921, but retained the name. Then in November 1939 she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted to an armed patrol vessel. On 13 December 1939 this RN trawler was on patrol off the River Tyne, when she foundered and was lost after detonating a German-laid mine. The only survivor of the ten members of the crew was Charles Hobson (42) of Stafford Street, Sunderland.
The wreck, probably that of the William Hallet, lies orientated in a north-north-east to south-south-west direction on a hard sand and stone seabed, in a general depth of 38m (depths of 37-40m recorded in the Spokes and NMR database). She stands about 4m high at the stern end, which is fairly intact, but is broken in two and collapsed down onto the seabed in a jumbled pile amidships.
Grid reference conversion made 18.01.2011 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 55 03 45 W001 21 24 (Spokes database also records the grid ref NZ 2570 8305) Built: 1918
Builder: Forest, Rennie
Construction: single propeller [bronze?]
Propulsion: Screw driven, 3 cylinder triple expansion engine
Boilers: 1
Owner: Royal Navy
This ship is listed three times on the NMR database the alternative NMR numbers are NZ 46 NE 115 and NZ 47 SE 5.

Cargo Vessel, 1487 tons and 240 feet long. Built by the Goole Ship Building and Repair Company for the Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation Company 1919. She was driven by triple expansion engines, giving her a speed of 11 knots. She left Hull for Blyth on 26th January 1940. Several days later one of her seventeen crew and a lifeboat were washed ashore. The wreck wasn't positively identified until 1977. The Eston is almost intact and lies in 23 metres of water, 2000 yards east of Whitley Bay at N 56 03 24 W 001 24 56. Parts of the wreck stand 10m high. Several portholes have been removed (Collings). Steel, 1,487 ton, 73.15m long, 10.97m beam and 4.8m draught. British Steamship. She was built by the Goole Ship Building & Repairing Co. Ltd at Goole in 1919 and owned at the time of loss by the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. Her single steel propeller was powered by a three-cylinder, triple expansion engine using two boilers. Her machinery was built by Earles of Hull. The vessel left Hull on January 26 1940 on passage for Blyth and two days later was sighted at sea just off her destination, but then she ‘just disappeared’. Several days later a man’s body washed ashore and it was assumed that she had detonated a German laid mine and foundered. No one knows for certain.

The wreck lies more or less in an east-south-east to west-south-west direction on a seabed of rocks and stone in a general depth of 22m (NMR 23m). She is about one mile straight out from the ‘Spanish City amusement park’ at Whitley Bay. It was positively identified in 1978 when someone recovered the ship’s bell on the bow section of the wreck The Eston used to be fairly substantial around 1990 and was standing up to 4m high, but the elements have taken their toll on it and it is totally collapsed and well broken up. It lies in three sections with the bows to the North and the boilers and the engine about 50m to the south, while her stern is some 60m south-west of the boilers and engine. The wreck is well dispersed and in jumbled heaps of steel frames, plates and pipes.

The Ian Spokes database states that the wreck lies at a depth of 23m.

Grid reference conversion made 18.01.2011 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 55 03 28 W 001 24 38

A 2200 ton Swedish steamship. Sank off Whitley Bay in 30 metres of water, having been attacked by a German U-boat on 9th June 1917. She has been heavily salvaged and her bell recovered. N 55 03 812 W 01 24 191 (this reference converts to a grid ref to the north of the T&W boundary NZ 3484 9807) (Collings). The 2200T steamship Ida lies at a depth of 30m near Spanish City. She was sunk by torpedo 9th June 1917. Her bell has been salvaged.

A British steamship of 500 tons, which struck a mine on 14th December 1939 and sank in 44 metres of water at N 55 02 30 W 01 15 16 2, two miles east of Cullercoats. Steel, 506-ton, the James Ludford was a Mersey-Class steam trawler that was built in 1918 by Cochrane for the Admiralty. She had a single screw that was powered by a three-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engine. After the war James Ludford was laid up in reserve in 1921. She was brought back into commission in 1930 as an anti-submarine trawler. When war broke out again in 1939 the vessel was converted into a mine-sweeper. On 14 December 1939, HMT James Ludford was on patrol five miles east of Tynemouth, when she foundered and was lost after detonating a German-laid mine.
The wreck lies in a south-east to north-west direction on a seabed of hard sand and shell in a general depth of 50m. She is reported to be very substantial, standing upright, with the highest point at 6.7m, but her bridge structure and decks have partially collapsed. The boiler and machinery are all visible, along with her winces and lots of flattened copper pipes that protrude through the mound of wreckage.
The Spokes database states that the James Ludford was a Royal Navy armed trawler or possibly an Admiralty Trawler. The database also states the depth of the wreck as 44m.
Grid reference conversion made 08.12.2010 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 55 02 2 W 01 16 17 Built: 1918
Builder: Cochrane
Propulsion: Screw driven, 3 cylinder triple expansion engine
HP: 45
Boilers: 1
Construction: single screw, possibly bronze
Owner: Royal Navy