Giant relic fished out of sea may be worth £10k
AHUGE, rare ship relic off the Dorset coast has been hauled in by a fisherman – and it turns out it could be worth thousands of pounds.
The two-ton giant anchor, which was brought into Bridport, dates back to around 1860 and local experts estimate that the relic could fetch £10,000.
A local maritime historian has described the anchor as “very rare” and says it could be valuable. But boat owner Richard Fowler isn’t making big spending plans just yet.
“I’d love to think that this time next year we’d be millionaires,” he said. “But I’ve got a feeling it’s just going to turn out to be a rusty anchor.
“It does seem to be creating a bit of a stir, though.”
The two-ton giant is a Trotman Anchor from around 1860. It gets its name from John Trotman, who patented the design in 1852, and was made by a firm in the Midlands that also created the anchors used by the Titanic and the Lusitania.
A similar anchor forms the centrepiece of a garden on the walkway near Brixham’s waterfront Grenville House.
The latest one was hauled up off Bridport on the Dorset coast by skipper Dean Thomas and his crew on board Richard’s boat Rebecca.
Richard said the crew knew they had caught “something heavy”, and thought the nets could be clogged with rocks and sand.
They were unable to lift the haul, and faced with the prospect of losing the entire net, they spent more than 12 hours slowly bringing it back to Brixham in Devon.
Richard said: “They managed to raise it off the seabed but it’s an extremely heavy weight.
“They rang me and I advised them to try and get back to Brixham. It’s a very small boat – just 10 metres – and the anchor is four and half metres long and weighs two tons.
“There was a real risk of capsizing but they did an amazing job.”
With permission from the harbourmaster it was brought into Brixham, where Rebecca came alongside one of the port’s bigger beam trawlers to lift the anchor out of the water.
Now the formal paperwork has begun, with the official Receiver of Wreck informed about the find.
Richard has to hang on to the anchor for 12 months while its origins are investigated, at which point it becomes Crown Property.
But if its owner is not found, the anchor will be his. The experts estimate it could fetch £10,000.
“It could be from a White Star or Cunard liner from the 1800s, or even from one of Brunel’s ships,” said Richard.
“Or we know there was an old hulk in the same area that was used by the Navy for target practice, so it could even be from that! It would be amazing if we could actually find out where it came from.”