Trawler owner’s historic discovery
A19TH CENTURY anchor trawled up from the sea bed by a Brixham trawler could have come from a luxury liner or even one of Brunel’s magnificent steam ships – or it could just be the anchor that tethered a hulk used by Royal Navy gunners for target practice.
A local maritime historian has described the anchor as ‘very rare’ and says it could be valuable, but boat owner Richard Fowler is not making big spending plans just yet.
In a famous episode of the TV sitcom Only Fools and Horses, main characters Del Boy and Rodney find an 18th century timepiece which sells for £6 million and makes their fortune.
“I’d love to think that this time next year we’d be millionaires,” said Mr Fowler, borrowing a quote from the sitcom, “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 Netherton, the West 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.
Richard explained: “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 ten 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.
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. “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.”