The remains of an 18th century shipwrecked sailor are due to be laid to rest at a local cemetery, and a special headstone is being commissioned to mark the grave.

In November 2022 the skeletal remains of a male were discovered on the cliff above Newtrain Bay, Trevone, on the north coast. Radiocarbon dating indicated that the remains most likely date from the 18th century.

Human remains are often exposed along the shoreline of Cornwall following winter storms. These tend to the remains of storm-washed individuals who died at sea and were historically buried along the coastline by local communities.

There is a requirement from the Coroner’s Office for all human remains found in this way to be either reinterred in an appropriate cemetery or retained in a museum collection. Padstow Town Council has agreed to reinter the person within the town cemetery. The reinternment is due to take place in Spring 2025.

It is the intention to reuse the grave plot for further storm-washed remains as and when they are discovered within the parish.

Cornwall Council is commissioning a headstone for the plot. The Council is inviting expressions of interest from artists and masons. You can find more details Let’s Talk Cornwall.

The money for the headstone will be raised from local events and donations. Any additional funds will be donated to the RNLI.

Councillor Martyn Alvey, portfolio holder for Environment and Climate Change at Cornwall Council, said: “I am really pleased that we will be able to give this individual a proper burial and lay him to rest. In Cornwall we are all too familiar with tragedies off our coast and this is an opportunity for us to show our respects to all those lost at sea.”

Chairman of Padstow Town Council Councillor O’Keefe said: “This individual was sadly a life lost at sea, whilst unknown he lived and for that, we pay our respects. Padstow Cemetery has a sad history as the final resting place of a number of unknown men and women from the early 1900s, two of whom we know were also sailors.”

Expressions of interest for the headstone should be sent to ann.reynolds@cornwall.gov.uk by 12 noon on Wednesday, September 18 2024.

What we know about the shipwrecked sailor so far

• Radiocarbon dating indicate the remains most likely date from the 18th century, potentially as early as 1580 but no later than 1800 in date.

• Analysis of the remains revealed he was somewhere between 25 to 40 years of age at the time of death.

• The bones suggest he had done a lot of very heavy manual labour, like pulling and hauling, and had well-developed upper body muscle.

• Wear patterns on his teeth are consistent with a sailing lifestyle, suggesting repeated holding of cord or rope in his mouth.

• He had a probable healed soft tissue injury to his left shoulder and a possible healed injury to the nasal region, suggesting a broken nose.

Photo Credits

Analysis of the remains - Cornwall Council
The excavation at Trevone - Cornwall Council