Museum of Island History
Past Exhibition SHIPWRECK
25 March – 3 September 2006
The coastal waters around the Isle of Wight are infamous for their shipwrecks. The exact number will never be known but more than 4,000 shipwreck sites appear on the Admiralties charts.
This exhibition explored just a few of the shipwreck sites from around the Island’s coast, revealing stories of tragedy, heroism and loss.
 Brass buckle from officer’s uniform. Needles wreck site. | Using objects from the museum’s collection we explored two sites. The HMS Pomone, which sunk on the Needles rocks in 1811, and the Yarmouth Roads Wreck believed to be a Spanish sixteenth century carrack. |  A length of rope recovered from the Mary Rose. | The most famous wreck site is that of the Mary Rose that sunk in 1545. We were thankful to the Mary Rose Trust for the loan of objects from their collection. |  ‘Steel Ship ‘Irex’, 2248 Tons, Scratchells Bay, 26 Jan 1890’. Painted by W. Hayman, a coastguard officer who took part in the rescue. |
The exhibition told the stories of numerous wrecks through postcards, paintings and photographs.
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The exhibition included hands on activities for all ages. Including drawing an archaeological plan of a wreck site. Finding out how far a ship can heel over before it begins to sink and identifying the mystery objects.
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