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Great Photo of Richie!

THE "YEALDHAM" ("YELDHAM") 1800'S BRITISH MERCHANTMAN AT TRES COCOS JUST OFF SAN PEDRO TOWN

In the 1960's a group of divers did some work on the wreck off Tres Cocos, the large channel immediately north of the town of San Pedro. This wreck was identified by Hamilton Anderson (the then archaeologist in Belize) as the "Yealdham", an English merchant ship lost in 1800. Very little official excavation was carried out at this wreck, but some fine china (Leeds china), silver candlesticks, silver and pewter serving pieces, brass door handles and many cannon balls were found. No large amounts of either gold or silver were apparently recovered from this wreck. David Pendergast (Mayan archaeologist with the Royal Ontario Museum) edited a diary written by a man named Caddy in the 1800's, and subsequently published the diary in the book Palenque. In this book, mention is made that gunnery officers from Belize came to Ambergris Caye and removed the cannon from this wreck. They were refitted and placed for action at Fort George (built 1803) on the mouth of the Belize River. Consequently, modern divers will not see cannon on this wreck. One anchor was removed in the 60's and was placed outside the present Fort George Hotel in Belize City. The other anchor was later placed on display in front of the Paradise Hotel on Ambergris Caye. When the foundation for the Ambergris Lodge was excavated, quite a few cannon balls were unearthed. At Fido's Hotel, proximal to the Ambergris Lodge, many bottles and a bronze barrel spigot (faucet) were found during construction excavations. Perhaps these items were related to the "Yealdham" as it is the wreck closest to San Pedro Town. Off the graveyard, in about 6 foot of water, a gold three tined fork was recovered by a snorkeler. The handle of this fork was about as thick as a little finger and was decorated with three elephant heads. Beachcombing, one finds many parts of old European bottles. Other cannon, anchors and the like are displayed around San Pedro for the visitor to see.