Poorly Located Monument record ORF 355 - Remains of the Kentbrook

Probably very broken or buried fragments of the lower hull and boilers of an English cargo steamer which stranded 1.4 miles north of Orford Ness following engine trouble. Built of steel in Bideford in 1923.
Status: Site

Vertical datum: LAT
Horizontal datum: OSGB 36
Quality of fix: Position precisely known, fixed by horizontal sextant angle. Stranded vessel sighted in charted location.
Charted as KENTBROOK, 'entire wreck' on the beach north of Orford Ness.

Vessel structure:

Recorded in position 52°06.35N, 001°35.35E 'entirely above the drying line.' (1, 17.3.59)

Her position was fixed in 1966 and in 1969 the wreckage comprised her 'lower hull and boilers, only 12ft high.' (1, 6.3.69)

By 1977 she was 'no longer visible' and the status of her position was amended to DEAD. (1) Source 2 states that she was 'cut up for scrap' before the Cobra Mist installation was built (1967-71), but it is possible that some remains still lie buried beneath the sand, and there is some indication of buried features near her recorded position in Source 3.

Documentary evidence:

'Stranded after engine trouble' (1), her crew rescued by Breeches Buoy. (4)

'On the 12th February 1954 the collier, SS KENTBROOK, came ashore about half way between the lighthouse and Aldeburgh. It came ashore on a very high spring tide and proved impossible to refloat. The hulk remained until the Cobra Mist installation was built, when everything made of metal in the immediate area had to be removed. It was then cut up for scrap and carted away.' (2)

Built: 1923 (1) (5) (6)
Where built: Bideford (5) (6)
Builder: Hansen Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Company Limited (5) (6)
LBD: 57.9 x 9.2 x 4.01 (5) (6)
Tonnage: 873 (1) (5); 867 (6)
Propulsion: screw-driven 3-cylinder triple expansion engine. (5)
Boilers: 2 (5)
Machinery: Aft, by Lytham Shipbuilding and E Company Limited, Lytham. (5)
HP: 107 (5)
Speed: 9 knots (6)
Additional structural information: 1 x deck; well-deck; quarter-deck 120ft; forecastle 26ft. (5)
Crew:
Ownership details:
1923, Built as No.6 registered to Hansen Brothers. (7)
1924, Re-named MONIKSTONE and registered to Stone and Rolfe. (7)
1946, Re-named SUSSEX ELM and registered to GW Grace and Company. (7)
1651, Re-named SAPPHO and registered to Bristol Shipping Company. (7)
1653, re-named KENTBROOK and registered to Comben Longstaff. (7)

Source 8 shows a photograph of the vessel as the SUSSEX ELM.

Sources 5 and 6 state that she foundered 4 miles South of Orford Ness, offshore; but given the positive identification of the vessel on the beach north of the light house it seems unclear how this confusion arose.

No further information about the vessel can be found.

Date of loss qualifier: Actual date of loss

Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
Lloyds Casualty Report 1954 p4; Lloyds Register 11954-5 No.66021 (K).