Nelson & His World

One often comes across references to fishing communities, particularly on the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, indulging in 'wrecking', i.e. taking the cargo from ships that had foundered. Was this merely opportunistic, taking advantage of ships that had already foundered or did they really use 'false lights' to lure ships into danger? Surely a light was likely to signal rocks or land and therefore would be a hazard to avoid?

Are there any records of warships as opposed to merchant ships falling victim to wrecking? Is anything known about the consequences to offenders?

I understand that the lights used were small lanterns that were allowed to sway gently, imitating the swing of a ship's anchor light on a vessel in safe harbour.

Amongst various pop/rock/country bands with the same name or similar, I found this in Wikipedia (click on 'wrecking shipwreck' at top of list). It appears to be mainly US, but there is reference to Great Britain lower down:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrecking_(shipwreck)

the area frequented by wreckers in the US was the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The area known as Nag's Head got its name from wreckers hanging a lantern around the neck of a horse and walking it up and down the beach, the gentle bobbing motion giving the illusion of the stern lantern of a ship at anchor, to lure other ships onto the shoals and sandbars.

Sir Cloudesley Shovell (1659 - 1707) comes to mind. I think he was a Norfolk man.

"English admiral and commander of the Mediterranean fleet during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701 - 14). Sailing for home in October 1707, his flagship, the Association, and three other ships met bad visibility in the Channel and were unable to determine their position. Swept by a strong current, four ships, including the flagship, were wrecked near the Bishop and Clerk rocks off the Scilly Islands, with the loss of more than 1,400 men. Shovell's body washed ashore and, years later, a woman wrecker confessed on her deathbed that she had found him alive and had murdered him for his emerald ring." Dean King, A Sea of Words, A Lexicon and Companion to the Complete Seafaring Tales of Patrick O'Brien, Third Edition

N.A.M. Rodgers states in The Command of the Ocean:
" Shovell was perhaps the only truly popular English admiral of the age, beloved by officers and men, respected by politicians of all parties. His death caused a profound shock, and led in due course to the 1714 Longitude Act, offering large prizes for a practicable method of fixing longitude at sea."

All these posts are most interesting; thanks to all.

I also had a quick Google to see if I could locate court records of the period as they might contain records of trials - that is, if any wreckers were brought to justice. Fishing communities are notoriously tight-mouthed, and unless caught in the act, it wouldn't surprise me if perpetrators very largely went unapprehended. These records seem to be scattered in various locations and would be time-consuming to track down except for a professional researcher. However, I have come across a book entitled 'Cornish Seafarers: the smuggling, wrecking and fishing life of Cornwall' by A.K. Hamilton Jenkin, published in 1931, which might give further insight into this subject. Another book! So much to know, so little time!

I believe du Maurier's 'Jamaica Inn' is the most authoritative book on the subject.

Having spent many childhood holidays in Cornwall, I can confirm that the many very readable booklets on the subject (which cost about 1/6 or maybe considerably less then, I think) also described the method mentioned by Bill of hanging a lantern from a horse's head, or alternativey a donkey's tail. What the horse or donkey thought of that, I don't know