Maritime record TR 02 SE 313 - 1313 wreck of Spanish cargo vessel which foundered after grounding on a sandbank outside Romney

'Vessel from Flanders, returning to Portugal, grounded on a sandbank near Romeneye, and on leaving the ship, which submerged, the cargo was stolen..'

'Alleged wrecking of the ship...freighted with goods and merchandise...when homeward bound, wrecked and local men took away the goods.' (1)

Source (1) states the date of loss as a reporting date of 28-NOV-1313, whereas (2) clearly puts the reporting date back to 07-NOV-1313.

'Nov. 7, Westminster. Commission to Robert de Kendale, constable of the Castle of Dover amd warden of the Cinque Ports and Henry de Cobeham, the younger, to enquire into the complaint by Dominick de Murray [or Murraz) and Durand Petri, merchants of Lychebone in the kingdom of Portugal. When returning from Flanders, where they had been on business, to their own country, their ship having grounded on a sandbank by the port of Romeneye, they, seeing the danger to themselves and to the others in the ship, and to the ship itself of being submerged, took to their boats and landed at the town of Romeneye, where they made an agreement, as they assert, with the men of that town, and with others of the towns of Lede and Wynchelse, to deliver their ship and goods from danger, for which the men were to receive the value of a fourth part of the goods as soon as they should come ashore with the ship and cargo. Subsequently the salvors, not being content with a fourth part according to their agreement, sought to obtain a third part of the goods, and afterwards, because the merchants would by no means agree to their demand, forcibly, against the will of the merchants, took out of the ship one half of the goods and carried them away, and of the residue of the goods which remained in the ship they took a third part for their own use against the will of the complainants, and to their loss to the sum of 1,000l and upwards, and whereupon the merchants petitioned the king for redress. The justices are to enquire into the entire matter, to make due restitution to the merchants, and to do justice therein.' (2)

'Nov. 28. Westminster. Commission to Robert de Kendale, constable of the castle of Dover, and warden of the Cinque Ports, and John de Haulou, to enquire by oath of good men of the Cinque Ports and of the county of Kent, touching the alleged wrecking of the ship ST MARY of Fontarabia, as the king understands that this ship, freighted with goods and merchandise from Flanders, when homeward bound, was wrecked by the port of Romeneye, and that divers men of that town and the neighbouring ports hastening to the ship carried away the goods against the will of the mariners who were therein.' (3)

'March 26, Westminster. Commission of oyer and terminer to John de Northwode the elder, Robert de Cliderhou and Thomas de Birston, on complaint by Dominick de Murraz and Durandus Petri, merchants of Lichebone in the Kingdom of Portingale, that when they were on their way in a ship of theirs from Flanders to their own country, and their ship was stranded on a sandbank near the port of Romeneye, they, seeing the danger to themselves, to the ship itself, and to their goods of being lost, came in their boats to Romeneye, co. Kent, and made an agreement with the men of that town and of the town of Lede and Dyngemarreys and with others of those parts for the salvage of their ship and goods, and that for their labour the salvors should receive the value of a fourth part of the goods, the latter when they had come to land with the ship and goods, not content with a fourth part according to their agreement, sought that a third part of all the goods should be delivered up to them, and afterwards because the merchants would by no means give their assent to a third part, forcibly took out of the ship one half of all the goods and carried them away and of the residue of the goods which remained in the ship took a third part for their own use against the will of the said complainants, and to their loss to the sum of 1,000l and upwards, and contrary to the form of the agreement.' (4)

NB: Source (1) gives the place of origin as Fontarabia and extrapolates the nationality of the vessel as Portuguese from the fact that she was "returning" and "homeward bound" to Portugal. However, Fontarabia is a version of Fontarabie [French]/Fuenterrabia [Spanish] of the place now known as Hondarribia in Spain. At this period nationalities and national boundaries were easily confused so it is likely that this is the case here, and that the vessel was, in fact, Spanish.

The following appears to be an alternative account of the same incident, bearing in mind that accounts of shipwrecks in State Papers may appear months or years after the initial wreck. The place of loss is in the same area:

1315: SANTA MARIA of Fuenterabia, lost at Dungeness. Goods for Gascony [i.e. the area near the border with Spain and close to modern Fuenterrabia/Hondarribia, and consistent with the vessel being "homeward bound"] wrecked off Dungeness and taken by the men of Winchelsea, Rye and Romsey [sic - for Romney.] [Again, this is consistent with the description given in (1)] (2)

SANTA MARIA of Fuenterrabia was laden with goods for Gascony worth £2,200. When she was wrecked off Dungeness the goods were carried off by men of Winchelsea, Rye and Romney, and when the Warden of the Cinque Ports tried to hold an enquiry the men of those ports assembled in arms to prevent him doing so. (5)

Owner: Dominick de Murraz [Moraes?] and Durand[us] Petri, both of Lisbon - of cargo (2); of ship and cargo (4)

Date of Loss Qualifier: Reporting date of loss

Additional sources cited in NMM Medieval Shipwreck Index:
Rotuli Parliamentorum i, 329; English Trade in the Middle Ages, L F Salzman, Oxford, 1931, p254

<1> Larn, Richard and Bridget, 1995, Shipwreck index of the British Isles, volume 2 : Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Sussex, Kent (Mainland), Kent (Downs), Goodwin Sands, Thames (Bibliographic reference). SKE31910.

<5> National Maritime Museum, 2025, National Maritime Museum Medieval Wreck Index (Index). SKE58552.

<2-4> Calendar of Patent Rolls (Bibliographic reference). SKE56226.