4777) Did You Know Series (158): 1) Ann Francis shipwrecked over 400 years ago was a trading vessel that was returning from Spain in 1583 had a small chest containing valuable Spanish Silver & Gold Coins and other valuables; 2) The code of the lock protecting the valuables was finally cracked as "ANCE":
The Ann Francis was an English merchant ship wrecked near Margam in Wales in 1583. Various artefacts thought to be from the wreck have been found around Margam since the 1970s, including a trove of more than 800 coins uncovered by the metal detectorist Peter Hughes between 1996 and 2017.
The Shipwreck:
The northern side of Sker Point, near where the Ann Francis was wrecked
The ship delivered its cargo of wheat to Spain returning to Wales, England at the time of the shipwreck:
The Ann Francis was built for Francis Shaxton of King's Lynn, a cloth merchant and smuggler, probably no earlier than 1580; it was his newest ship.
The ship had delivered a cargo of wheat to Spain in October 1583, and was on its way back with the payment when it was driven onto Margam Beach by a storm on 28 December and wrecked just north of Sker Point.
(Great Britain still used the Julian calendar at the time; the date of the wreck in Spain, which had already adopted the Gregorian calendar, would have been 7 January 1584.)
The ship was returning to Norfolk: it could have ended up in Glamorgan after being blown off course to the north, as a result of navigational error, or both.
Casualties:
The parish register listing
the deaths of the 14 men who may have been the crew of the Ann Francis.
The number of crew aboard the ship and their names are not known for certain. A parish register from Wells-next-the-Sea, near the Ann Francis' home port of King's Lynn, records the deaths of 14 men who "perished upon the west coast coming from Spain" in December of 1583 and who may have been the ship's crew.
Their deaths were blamed on the "detestable working" of a local woman, Mother Gabley, who is recorded as being arraigned for witchcraft but whose fate is not known.
Legal dispute:
The local landowner, Edward Mansell (also spelt Mansel and Maunsell), claimed the wreck and accused George Williams, a steward to the Earl of Pembroke, of illegally looting it; Williams in turn claimed that the wreck was actually on land belonging to the Earl and that he had legally impounded it on his lord's behalf.
Both Mansell and Williams took cargo and fittings from the wreck and kept them while the legal dispute was happening. Francis Shaxton, the owner, also came forward to claim his property back (while claiming the ship had only been to Hartlepool, rather than Spain.)
The case went to the Star Chamber in 1584, where it was eventually settled in favour of the Earl of Pembroke. Mansell agreed that he would return two anchors, two cables, six cannon, and a quantity of money.
Other goods recorded as being taken from the wreck include bolts of calico; nutmeg; cloves; and two boxes of marmalade. The records of the case are preserved in the National Archives as Maunsell v. Williams.
Treasure recovered include a “Combination Lock":
A Spanish doble excelente gold coin, of the same type as some of those recovered from the wreck.
Sixteenth-century maritime artefacts began to be identified on Margam beach in the 1970s, and research in subsequent decades determined that the Ann Francis was the most likely source.
Between 1996 and 2017, local detectorist Peter Hughes uncovered the bulk of the finds now associated with the wreck, including spoons, compasses, ship's equipment, a brass combination lock and more than 800 gold and silver Spanish, Portuguese and German coins.
A padlock recovered:
A 400-year-old brass padlock, discovered in the 1583 Ann Francis shipwreck off the Welsh coast.
The security device belonged to the Ann Francis, the treasure-loaded vessel that sank off the coast of South Wales in December 1583 after getting caught in a fierce storm while returning from Spain.
It’s yet unclear what the padlock was protecting, but researchers speculate that it could’ve been guarding captain’s chest filled with Spanish silver, high-value textiles, or sensitive maritime documents.
The lock was recovered from the Ann Francis, the shipwrecked trading vessel that returned from Spain in 1583.
The discovery of this lock is significant as it provides a direct link to the shipwreck and its contents, offering a glimpse into the historical value of the items contained within.
While the loot was recovered and donated to the Museum Wales in 2017, Hughes failed to hack the ancient safeguard after years of trying.
“I tried to unlock it for about 20 years, I tried moving the dials, finding the right combinations, and I failed,” the 69-year-old lamented, comparing the caper to the “Da Vinci Code.”
Researchers believe the padlock could’ve been guarding gold and silver coins, which had been recovered from the shipwreck.
By recreating a detailed 3D image of the lock’s internal mechanism, the safecracker was able to see “how the notches lined up with the letters and identify the exact combination.”
This was no mean feat given that the inside featured four rotating rings, each bearing six different letters, yielding a total of 1,296 different combinations (the ancient equivalent of encryption perhaps).
Then, recently, a collaborative team from Museum Wales and Cardiff University finally managed to decipher the gadget’s four-letter password: ANCE.
The four-letter combination "ANCE" is believed to have secured a small chest containing valuable possessions, such as Spanish silver coins and other valuables.
It was decoded using data from CT scans in 2026 with the open position revealed to be “ANCE”.
Amgueddfa Cympu Museum - now displays the recovered gold,Silver and other artefacts including the recovered padlock:
Hughes turned the trove over to Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, considering it to be part of the "heritage of Wales", and it is now kept at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea.
It went on display as part of the Trysorau'r Tonnau / Tides of Treasure exhibition in 2026.
The discovery is described it as "a remarkable piece of Welsh history".
More Artefacts yet to be discovered:
It is believed that there may be more artefacts from the ship as yet undiscovered. To protect the area where they would most likely be, two areas off Margam were together designated a scheduled monument under the name "Wrecking site of the Ann Francis" on 4 July 2025.
The hoard was acquired by Amgueddfa Cymru with Welsh Government support.
The lock is now displayed at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea alongside other finds from the Ann Francis, including gold coins from the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and a boatswain’s whistle.
The exhibition, "Tides of Treasure", runs until June 2027.
Mary Celeste, an abandoned Ghost Ship:
Turkish Shipwrecks:
Shipwrecks from Spain:
The Clipper - Cutty Sark:
Links to more posts on Morocco on this Blog:
No comments:
Post a Comment