Ann Francis

This treasure is now on display at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea until June 2027.

What was the Ann Francis shipwreck?

The Ann Francis was an Elizabethan merchant ship returning home to Norfolk from Spain, and wrecked on Margam beach (near Port Talbot) in December 1583. This article tells the story of what happened in the immediate aftermath of the wreck, and its rediscovery 400 years later, as well as looking in detail at some of the objects.

What has been discovered from the Ann Francis shipwreck?

Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales has just acquired a spectacular collection of coins and artefacts. These were discovered by Peter Hughes, a metal detectorist, between 1996 and 2017. They include about 870 gold and silver coins, as well as personal belongings, ship’s equipment, and cooking, eating and drinking utensils, all dating to the late-15th to 16th century.

These add to previously acquired items found at the same beach as far back as the 1970s, such as navigational compasses, more coins and a bosun’s whistle, all indicating the presence of a 16th-century wreck. Research by local historians, archaeologists and curators in the 1970s to 1990s revealed the wreck to be from a ship called Ann Francis.

Where was the Ann Francis sailing before it wrecked?

Francis Shaxton, the owner, claimed that the Ann Francis had sailed to Hartlepool from King’s Lynn, but in truth, the Ann Francis had set sail for the Iberian Peninsula in October with a cargo of wheat. At the time, Spain relied on imports of grain as well as other goods. It paid for these shipments with gold and silver bullion, which had been shipped from Spain’s recent conquests in South and Central America. The Ann Francis was returning home to Kings Lynn from Spain with payment for the grain along with other tradeable goods when it was driven onto the shore by a storm and violently wrecked. A navigational error or strong southerly winds may have led its captain to enter the Bristol Channel instead of the English Channel.

Map of Glamorganshire from The theatre of the empire of Great Britain. 1616

Why did Francis Shaxton lie about the ship’s destination?

It turns out that Francis Shaxton and his father, also Francis Shaxton, were merchants based in King’s Lynn and notorious smugglers. Smuggling at the time was rife and many coastal communities were involved in it. Francis Shaxton senior was even elected mayor of King’s Lynn twice. Clearly the people of King’s Lynn didn’t mind that Shaxton was a known smuggler. Francis Shaxton junior took over the business in 1582 by which time the family had amassed a fleet of 8 merchant ships.

Are there historical records of the Ann Francis wreck?

Yes, there are! Accounts from the Star Chamber court [https://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/law-histcom/starch] reveal that a ship was wrecked on the Glamorgan shore on 28th December 1583 (that’s the Julian calendar, so 7th January in the Gregorian calendar we use today). At the court the local lord Sir Edward Mansell claimed legal right over the wreck. He accused the Steward of Afan George Williams and 100 others of arming themselves and plundering the wreckage. Williams denied this, saying that the wreckage was on land belonging to the Earl of Pembroke and that he had taken over the wreck on behalf of his lord. Both sides impounded goods and parts of the ship and held onto them while the case was ongoing.

Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (c.1531-1604)

What was recovered from the Ann Francis wreck in 1583?

Mansell made an inventory listing all the items he impounded: various cannon and firearms, anchors, rope, sail, pieces of mast, the ship’s boat, three chests with their locks broken, cloves, marmalade, textile, a whistle and 12 pounds 6 shillings of Spanish silver. The Star Chamber records reveal that Williams had confiscated several items from a looter, including spices, a pewter spoon and a pewter cup. Six people were arrested in possession of loot from the wreck.

Williams and Pembroke won the case, but by March 1584, Francis Shaxton, the owner of the ship had come forward to claim the wreck. It was agreed that Mansell would return some of the impounded goods, specifically, two of the best anchors, two of the best cables, six cannon and their carriages, and half of the money recovered from six looters.

Who was on board the Ann Francis when it wrecked?

A parish register in one of King’s Lynn’s subsidiary ports may reveal the names of the sailors onboard the Ann Francis. The Wells-next-the-Sea parish register records the loss of 14 sailors on the west coast in December 1583, the same time the Ann Francis was wrecked. It says:

“Perished upon the west coast coming from Spain: Richard Waller, Christopher Dodd, John Bunting, William Craven, George Page, Gregory Baxter, Christopher Baxter, Thomas Ayre, Henry Gouldsmith, Walter Marshall, Robert Archer, Oliver Cobb, William Barret and Richard Dye, whose deaths were brought to pass by the detestable working of an execrable witch of King’s Lynn whose name was Mother Gabley, by boiling or rather labouring of certain eggs in a pail full of cold water. Afterwards approved sufficiently at the arraignment of the said witch”

We don’t know what happened to Mother Gabley. She was apparently the first person condemned in Norfolk under the 1562 Act Against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witchcrafts. As her supposed crime involved murder, her fate may have been execution by hanging.

The Wells-next-the-Sea parish register 1548-1793, with kind permission from the Norfolk Record Office – PD 679/1.

What coins were found at Margam beach?

Gold coins

A Portuguese gold São Vicente, named after the depiction of Saint Vincent of Saragossa, patron saint of Lisbon and sailors, on the reverse (tails) of this coin. It was struck in 1555-1557 during the reign of John III.

A Spanish gold doble excelente depicting the so-called Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, who united Aragon and Castille, the two largest provinces of Spain. They sponsored Christopher Columbus’s expedition to the New World. They reigned together from 1474 until Isabella’s death in 1504. Ferdinand continued to reign on his own until 1516. Their coins were very successful so many of the coins inscribed with their names were struck posthumously.

Silver coins

A Spanish silver eight reales, one of the famous pieces-of-eight, also known as a Spanish dollar. Most of the silver coins were struck in the names of Ferdinand and Isabella. They range from the 8 reales down to the half real, though most are 4 reales. The reverse on all these coins shows the symbols of Aragon and Castille, a yoke for Aragon and a bundle of arrows for Castille.

A rare Spanish silver three reales, struck during the reign of Charles and Joanna at the newly created mint in Mexico City in 1536-7, making it one of the very first coins struck in the Americas. The reverse shows the Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar. Over 120 Mexican silver coins have been discovered on the beach.

A taler of the Maurice Elector of Saxony. This is one of many different talers minted in the German states and counties of the Holy Roman Empire in the mid-16th century, which have been found on the beach. Their name evolved into “dollar” and came to refer to all silver coins of that size including the Spanish piece-of-eight.

International currency and trade

A silver sixpence of Elizabeth I dated 1580. This may have been dropped by one of the looters or it may have been pocket change belonging to one of the crew. Other small denomination silver and copper Spanish, Portuguese and German coins found on the beach may have been picked up in the ports of the continent as change.

The silver and gold coins form part of the payment for the wheat. Interestingly, most of the coins were several decades old by the time of the Ann Francis’s last voyage, yet many are in an unworn condition, set aside in store for many years. Perhaps some had been transported in bulk as previous payments for goods and services. This would explain why German talers, Spanish and Mexican silver, and Portuguese gold are all associated with one wreck.

What was else has been found from the Ann Francis shipwreck?

A brass combination lock. It was found among the scatter of silver coins. It is likely the lock for one of the chests containing the coins or important ships documents, perhaps one of the coffers listed on Mansell’s inventory. The lock code has yet to be cracked. One contemporary Elizabethan combination lock seems to have used the code “open”, much like using 1234 as your pin code or the word “password” as your computer password, but this one appears more complicated.

Two coin-weights, used for checking the weight of gold coins from the reign of Henry IV, which were still in circulation internationally. Tradesmen would want a variety of these weights to hand so that they could check the different currencies they might be paid in.

Navigational equipment

Sounding leads, lead weights that were dropped over the side of the ship on ropes to determine the depth of the water. They have concave bases which would be filled with tallow, to determine the form of the sea bottom from sand stuck in the tallow or the impression of rocks or coral.

Nautical dividers or compasses, used with charts to determine the ship’s location based on a known starting position and heading, a process now known as a dead reckoning.

A boatswain or bosun’s whistle. It was used for giving orders on board – its sound could be heard above the noise of the sea.

Parts of the ship

Several copper nails, rivets and lead sheet fragments which may have held the ship together or acted as repairs.

Defence

Cannonballs with cube-shaped recesses inside them, indicating that they are likely dice shot. Each ball held an iron dice, possibly intended to cause more damage or make the projectile spin.

Lead shot has found on the beach which may have been ammunition for smaller firearms.

Mansell’s inventory tells us that the ship was armed with a range of different guns, a sensible precaution considering the risk from pirates and privateers.

Feeding the crew

A brass pestle and four pewter spoons, including one engraved with identifying marks.

A pewter tankard handle and lid.

Spigots and taps, which would be hammered into casks of beer or wine.

Several fragments from a cauldron.

Small rolled up lead pieces appear to have been net weights for fishing.

Personal and miscellaneous items

A brass candlestick, and various personal items and dress accessories, including a thimble, buckles, a button and a spur possibly belonging to the crew or lost during the looting of the wreckage.

What should I do if I find the contents of a shipwreck?

As historic wreck material, the finds are protected by UK law. Under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, there is a legal obligation for finders of wreck to report wreck material to the Receiver of Wreck. There are different definitions and categories of wreck, but the Ann Francis finds count as “wreck material washed ashore in tidal waters”. Legally, the finds belong to the crown and the finder is entitled to a salvage award. It is the Receiver of Wreck’s responsibility to find an appropriate museum to take the finds. For more information visit Wreck and salvage law - GOV.UK.

Since these discoveries, the Ann Francis wreck site has been scheduled, meaning that it is legally protected under the Historic Environment (Wales) Act, 2023. It is an offence to metal detect or conduct invasive archaeological investigations on a Scheduled Monument without consent from Cadw.

Come and see these items on display at the National Waterfront Museum until June 2027.

Further Reading

• Blundell, J. 1994, ‘A Tudor wreck near Aberavon in Glamorgan’, Cardiff Naturalists’ Society Newsletter 22, 1-3.
• Redknap, M. and Besly, E. 1997 ‘Wreck de mer and dispersed wreck sites: the case of the Ann Francis (1583)’ in M Redknap (ed.), Artefacts from Wrecks. Dated assemblages from the Late Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution, Oxbow Monograph 84 (Oxbow Books, Oxford), 191-207.
• Redknap, M. 2019, 'The Ann Francis', in Redknap, M., Rees, S. and Aberg, A (ed), Wales and the Sea: 10,000 Years of Welsh Maritime History, (RCAHMW/Y Lolfa, Talybont), 240.