List of shipwrecks of Cornwall

The list of shipwrecks of Cornwall lists the ships which sank on or near the coasts of mainland Cornwall. The list includes ships that sustained a damaged hull, which were later refloated and repaired. Around a coast of approximately 250 miles (400 km) an estimated 6000 ships have been wrecked, more than on any other comparable coastline of the British Isles. A traditional saying about the north coast is "From Pentire Point to Hartland light, A watery grave by day and night." The coast of the Lizard peninsula is particularly hazardous to shipping and the seaways round it were historically known as the "Graveyard of Ships".

N.B. For those wrecks in the Isles of Scilly, see List of shipwrecks of the Isles of Scilly and for those on the Seven Stones Reef see List of shipwrecks of the Seven Stones Reef.

In 1621 Sir John Killigrew reported “... a certificate of ye losse of 25 ships there and thereabouts within this dozen or twente years besides a great numbre of others whose ruines lye neare those rocks and cliffs, not knowne of whome or what they weare.”

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