Historic England to investigate shipwreck that washed up on Yorkshire coast during Storm Babet - which could be Whitby whaler

Its construction suggests a vessel from the 18th or early 19th centuries, and speculation is rife that the materials have come from the Esk, a Whitby whaling ship that ran aground in a gale off Marske while returning from Greenland in 1826, with the loss of more than 20 sailors.

The Esk had completed many successful whaling voyages before it sank, and at one point was captained by famous Arctic explorer William Scoresby’s son, also William. Many of the crew came from the Shetland Isles, a port of call on both legs of a journey to the whaling grounds in the far north, but most lived in Whitby.

It loss was said to herald the end of the whaling industry that Whitby was famous for in the Georgian age. Scoresby, by then a church minister, conducted a memorial service for the crew at St Mary’s Church attended by over 3,000 people. The doomed vessel had only been carrying four whale carcasses, and had had mixed seasons since it was launched.

However, Historic England has cautioned that there is no firm evidence that the hull is the Esk’s, as the seas around the Tees Estuary are the resting place for hundreds of wrecks, including at least 20 from the era when vessels were still predominantly made from timber. The Esk was built in 1813.

A Historic England spokesperson said: “Following the recent storms, part of the hull of a wooden shipwreck has appeared on the beach near Marske-on-Sea. This is a region noted both for its tradition of maritime industry and seafaring, but also the dangers of such work in the age of sail. Through historic research, recording the modes of construction, and using the latest scientific dating Historic England hopes to reveal more information about the ship this fragment came from, including when it was built and possibly linking this to a known historic shipwreck event.”