Maritime record KSS 173 - Wreck of the La Maries De Lescluse

1352 wreck of Flemish cargo vessel which stranded in the Kessingland area en route from Sluis to Berwick-upon-Tweed with goods, which were plundered by local people, resulting in legal action. The general cargo included cloth, iron, and steel. Constructed of wood, she was a sailing vessel. Two other Flemish ships were lost in the vicinity at the same time [see also TM 59 SW 53 and 54.]
Status: Casualty

'Loaded with 'avoirdupois' and other goods, was driven ashore by the violence of the sea and broken to pieces...master, mariners and merchants came to land alive. William de Parys, Roger Reymund, John Randolf, James Scot, Edmund Mellyng, William Hert and others, all carried away the said goods.' (1)(2)

'Grievous complaint by merchants of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Berwick that some ships laden at Lescluse in Flanders, were driven ashore between a place called Oldekirkelay and Laystoft and elsewhere in the County of Suffolk and broken, the goods and merchandise cast up on land and the men for the most part escaped alive. Men rushed upon many of the men, as they came to land, under the pretence that they were Scots and enemyies of the King, killed some of them in the sea, as they were swimming to land or on pieces of wood and some on the seashore. Goods driven ashore at Covehith, Kessyngland and Eston.' (1)(2)

Source (2) gives the name of the vessel as LA MARIE; the full form, LA MARIE DE LESCLUSE perhaps indicating that the vessel was 'of Lescluse'; the port of registration is therefore given as Sluis. Source (2) states the port of registration as being Nieuwpoort. However, Nieuwpoort appears from source (4) to have been the home town of the master, not the vessel's home port.

The nationality of the vessel at the time of loss was Flemish, but Sluis is in the modern state of the Netherlands, and the nationality has therefore been indexed as Dutch.

Source (2) additionally cites the reporting date of loss as 28-APR-1353, but source (3) clearly refers to this incident, in which LA NICHOLAS and LA GODBERAD were also involved, as does source (5).

'1352. Nov. 20. Westminster. Commission to Thomas de Drayton, lieutenant of the admiral of the king's fleet of ships towards the north in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, and William de Irland as follows; on complaint by the men of Berwick on Tweed the king has heard that some ships freighted with their goods and merchandise coming from Flanders were lately by a storm at sea broken near the coasts of those counties and a great part of the goods and merchandise having been washed ashore was salved by the men of the said coasts and is unjustly detained from the complainants although many men of the same ships came to land alive, for which they have prayed the king to provide a remedy, and he, willing to do this for the men of Berwick on Tweed, who stay continually in the munition of the town and whose absence, if they were to sue for restitution of their goods at such distant counties, might result in the loss of the town, has appointed the said Thomas and William to inform themselves by the oath of good men of the counties as well as by such other ways and means as shall be expedient of the said goods and merchandise, to arrest the same and deliver them to the petitioners and to compel those found detaining the goods to restore the same; provided that, if they find among them goods of the king's enemies of Scotland, they cause these to be kept safely for the king's use.

'Vacated because otherwise below.

'Nov. 20. Westminster. The like, on complaint by the men of Berwick on Tweed and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, as above.' (5)

'1353. March 5, Westminster. Commission to Robert de Thorpe and Henry Grene to make inquisition in the county of Suffolk touching a grievous complaint by merchants of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Berwick-on-Tweed that, whereas some ships laden at Lescluse in Flanders with their goods and merchandise, while on the voyage to the said towns were driven ashore between Oldekirkelay and Laystoft, and elsewhere in the county of Suffolk, and broken, the goods and merchandise therein cast up on land and the men of the same ships for the most part escaped alive, as has been testified by letters patent under the seals of the commonalties of the said towns of Newcastle and Berwick shewn before the King and Council, Edmund de Eingrave "chivaler", Edmund de Thorp and others rushing upon many of the said men as they came to land, under the pretence that they were Scots and enemies of the King, killed some of them in the sea as they were swimming to land on pieces of wood and some on the sea shore, wounded some and left them for dead on the sand, and claiming the goods and merchandise as wreck as though no one had escaped alive out of the ships carried away the same; then seeing that they could not justify their deed in this behalf, they sold the goods and merchandise to Mary late the wife of Thomas, late earl of Norfolk and marshal of England, to exclude the merchants from recovery of the same, and procured her to obtain, by a suggestion in the chancery that some of those parts had carried away her goods at Leystoft, Pakfeld, Kirkele, and Cressynglond, a commission of oyer and terminer and so Edmund...[illegible]...Edmund and their accomplices are striving to usurp the goods and merchandise, and to hinder the merchants in the recovery of their own and to have them outlawed by the processes to be made by such commission, for which the complainants have prayed the king for a remedy; and to certify him of the whole truth of the matter.' (3)

'1353. April 28, Westminster. Commission of oyer and terminer to Richard de Wilughby, Robert de Thorpe and Henry de Grene, on complaint by William Gretheves, Christopher de Coloigne, Robert Colle, and John de Ederstene, merchants of Berwick-on-Tweed, that, whereas they laded at Lescluse in Flanders, a ship called LA MARIE DE LESCLUSE, whereof Claisius Somer of Neuport in Flanders was master, with avoirdupois and other goods and merchandise to make their profit of in Berwick, and on the voyage the ship was driven ashore by the violence of the sea and broken to pieces at Kessynglond, co. Suffolk, and the goods were cast on land at Kessynglond, Covehith and Eston, and the said master, the mariners of the ship and the said merchants came to land alive, William de Parys, Roger Reymund, John Randolf, James Scot, Edmund Mellyng, William Hert and others carried away the said goods and merchandise.' (4)

Avoirdupois = goods sold by weight [OED, earliest citation 1691, but this would appear to be the meaning intended here.]

'Commission to Robert de Thorp and Henry Grene. Westminster 5th March 1353. By C[ouncil]. Inquisition, Beccles, Suffolk, Thursday 28th March 1353.

'On Friday 2nd November 1352...Shortly afterwards on the same day three ships were wrecked in the lordship between Kessyngland and Old Kyrkelemylle:

'One was called LA MARIE and belonged to Clays Somer of Nieuport in Flanders. From her came alive to land William Gretheved, chief merchant, Christopher de Coloyne, Robert Colle and John de Ederston, merchants, and the sailors; the cargo, consisting of drapery, general goods ("avoir de pois"), mercery, iron ("foer") and steel ("asser") was worth £400.' (6)

NB: Not to be confused with another ship named LA MARIE DE LESCLUSES, wrecked on the coast of Lincolnshire the same year; in source (6) the present MARIE DE LESCLUSES is said to belong to Nieuwpoort.

Master: Claisius Somer (2)(4)
Owner: of cargo, William Gretheves, Christopher de Coloigne, Robert Colle, and John de Ederstene, merchants of Berwick-on-Tweed (4); William Gretheved, chief merchant, Christopher de Coloyne, Robert Colle and John de Ederston, merchants (6)
Owner: of vessel, Clays Somer of Nieuwpoort (6)

Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss

Additional sources cited in source (6):
Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous, 1348-77, No.148 (C145/170, No.7)