The following information is from a 2005 survey carried out
by Plymouth and Bristol universities:
Identification of group of 4 hulks opposite Topsham Quay
Vessels 1-4 can be seen on photographs in Topsham Museum and in the collection
of the Trout family, which were dated to before and after the Second World War.
The vessels were identified from these photographs by Daniel Trout and Eric
Voysey.
Vessel no. 1 is thought to be either the Three Sons, a fishing cutter owned by
James Voysey (information supplied by Eric Voysey) or the ketch-rigged Brixham
sailing trawler Lynx BM 217.
In 1988 Langley & Small also identified vessel no.1 as the Lynx. At the
time most of her after-frames had collapsed around the keelson. Enough remained
of the forepart of the ship (and her sternpost) at that time to identify her as
a Brixham trawler.
The Lynx was built in Brixham by J.W. & A. Upham in 1903 with a tonnage of
53.28 gross and 46.67 net. The registry entry for the Lynx was cancelled on
15th October 1932 and the vessel was sold for breaking.
Vessel no. 2 is believed to be either the Brixham trawler Lynx or the Gloucester
Trow Oliver renamed Topsham (built in 1871, 63 tons reg.).
A photograph in Topsham Museum (D Box 16) dated Sept 1987 showed the winch and
structure in the background of vessel no.2 and identified the vessel as the
"British trawler 'Mystery". No supporting evidence was given. The
Mystery was a sailing smack owned and sailed by the Voysey family.
Vessel no. 3 may have been the Sunderland trawler Lydia which was built in 1886
and owned by the Voysey family, who renamed her Exe (identification supplied by
Eric Voysey).
Vessel no. 4 is believed to be either the Trow Oliver! Topsham or the
barquentine Leader, built in Salcombe in 1869 as a 3-masted schooner, of 185
tons reg., for the sugar trade and abandoned sometime after 1918.
A photograph in Topsham Museum (D Box 16) dated Sept 1987 showed the remains of
vessel no.4 much as found and identified the vessel as the 'Schooner Leader'.
No supporting evidence was given.
William Trout bought the Leader and stripped out all the new and recoverable
timber. The vessel was left in the river, but was becoming an obstruction, so
was towed across the river and left to rot in the mud. Daniel Trout (1914-)
could remember rowing over the river to saw firewood off the ship for the fire
and to sell in Topsham.
The Oliver/Topsham and Leader can be seen abandoned on pre World War II
photographs, when the Leader was already partly decayed/dismantled. The Three
Sons, Lynx, and Lydia/Exe also appear to have been abandoned by 1939.
Post World War II, four vessels can be seen together on the 1947 RAF ariel
photograph of the area. The vessel no.4 (Topsham/Leader) can be seen mostly
dismantled and drawn further up the foreshore. The RAF photograph led to the
discovery of the remains in the reedbed, most of which have remained covered
and unrecorded.
50.68158, -3.46777
15 March 2025
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