Notorious ship graveyard is littered with boats deliberately abandoned
- This is the largest ship graveyard in the UK
- It’s full of old and rotting ships, boats, and barges
- They were deliberately dumped there for a good reason
Published on Mar 24, 2025 at 4:19 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Mar 24, 2025 at 12:41 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
The UK has a ship graveyard that’s full of abandoned ships and boats that were deliberately dumped along a river bank for a pretty unusual reason.
The Purton Hulks – also known as the Purton Ships’ Graveyard – is situated near River Severn near Purton in Gloucestershire, England.
Back in 1909, a call was put out to beach old vessels and now there are numerous decaying and deteriorating boats lined up.
Some of the ships and boats date back to the second half of the 19th century.
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The ship graveyard is lined with boats for a very good reason
When old ships and boats are no longer fit for purpose, they often end up rotting away in a boat graveyard, like this one in Toronto, Canada, or this packed-out site in Georgia in the US.
However, in the UK, the Purton Hulks exists for a slightly different reason, while it is home to a bunch of old vessels there’s actually an interesting reason why.
Back in 1909, a riverbank collapsed in the area leading to concerns that the barrier between the river and the nearby Gloucester and Sharpness Canal could be breached.
In response to the concerns, the canal company’s chief engineer A. J. Cullis called on ship and boat owners to dump their old vessels along the bank of the Severn, near Purton, to create a makeshift tidal erosion barrier and reinforce that stretch of land between the river and canal.
The boats would be towed out to the dock and then released allowing the tide to carry them along the bank.
Before the boats and ships went out, holes were drilled into their hulls so that they would fill with water and silt.
Pretty smart, right?
The graveyard is packed with maritime history
While the old ship graveyard served a practical purpose, it’s also an interesting bit of maritime history.
The boats along the riverbank came from across the UK and were built in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th.
In 1999, a local historian privately funded a project to record and document each of the 86 vessels, which led to Purton Hulk being recognized as the largest ship graveyard in mainland Britain.
Over the years, numerous investigations have been carried out to try and find out more about the origins of the boats.
One of the barges at the site had been scheduled as an ancient monument and is now included in the National Register of Historic Vessels.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
