Wikipedia lists 24 shipwrecks off the Sussex coast. I’m not sure it’s an accurate record but it lists 12 off the East Sussex coast and another 12 of what it calls the Sussex coast (not sure why West doesn’t get mentioned). Most of them are from the 20th century but it does include The Amsterdam that ran aground in 1749.
We don’t mention Hampshire here, but if you’re interested, there are six shipwrecks that sank between 1439 and 1794 off their coast and another six from the 19th century off the Kent coast (another place we don’t mention). And in fact, we can now add to the south coast list the Klein Hollandia which sank off the Bexhill coast in 1672.
The Amsterdam
The remains of The Amsterdam are only visible at certain times of the year when low tides and full moons align (or something like that). For those that don’t know, The Amsterdam was an East Indiaman merchant ship owned by the Dutch East India Company that ran aground on Bulverhythe Beach in 1749 on her maiden voyage. She was 44 metres long and carried over 300 people including soldiers, sailors and a few passengers. This is an astonishing fact to keep in mind as you stand at the side of the remains and realise what unbelievably cramped conditions they must have endured.
Her sorry maiden voyage
The Amsterdam set off from Holland in November 1748 destined for Java with a cargo that included wine, fine cloth and silver but westerly winds and bad weather meant the ship wasn’t actually able to leave the Dutch coast until early January. This was the first of three very serious misfortunes and little did the captain of The Amsterdam realise that one of his crew was not well when they set off. The cramped conditions meant that disease spread quickly and by the time they reached the English Channel, 50 were dead already with about 40 more seriously ill. The final disaster for The Amsterdam struck when caught in a storm, the ship’s rudder was ripped off meaning she was now almost impossible to steer. The crew started to mutiny (breaking into the ship’s cargo of wine) and although the captain had turned down an offer of help from a boat at Hastings and hoped to reach Portsmouth, he was forced to run The Amsterdam aground at Bulverhythe Beach.
Her final resting point was both fortuitous and not. To the left and right were rocks that would have probably quickly broken the ship up but as it happens the soft, silty clay and sand channel into which the ship was driven quickly swallowed her and her contents up. What you can see at low tide is the top outline of the ship, with the base buried some eight metres below. Passengers and crew were saved as well as all but one chest of silver which seems to have disappeared into the back streets of Hastings and beyond. Various attempts have been made to salvage the wreck since and what is known is that much of its load including clothing, guns, wine, books and medical equipment remain swallowed up in the sand below.
A visit to the wreck
I’ve been wanting to view this shipwreck for some time because it is undeniably magical to stand in the exact spot of something so vivid, violent and illustrative of a certain moment in time. But there’s also something quite spellbinding about knowing you’re walking in the footsteps of dinosaurs, farmers, looters, sailers, travellers and tourists who have visited this spot from the ice age right through to the modern-day.
The Shipwreck Museum in Hastings runs tours when the wreck is visible. Expecting to be the only person on such a visit, I was surprised when I arrived as the sun finally broke and burnt off the last of the mist, that there were some 60 of us. Our tour guides were volunteers from the museum and their colourful description of the events of January 1749 really brought that fateful day alive as we gathered around the wreckage. You can clearly see the bow, one of the beams of the upper gundeck and what are called the deck knees on the other side. A plan shows where the mast fell but we couldn’t see that.
Protected and preserved
The remains of The Amsterdam are owned by the Dutch government and are protected under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. It is thought to be the most complete ship of its kind in the world. Although research has been done into the possibility of raising both the wreck and its contents and returning them to Holland, the cost has so far been prohibitive. Perhaps the ship’s best protection however is provided by the sea, because as only a little of the frame is exposed and infrequently so, that which we cannot see remains well preserved. It gives us a tease and a taste of what lies below, but for now, that has to be enough.
Bulverhythe Beach
Bulverhythe Beach in itself is a deceptively interesting area and our guide explained the changing shape and erosion of the coastline as well as how it was once densely occupied by dinosaurs. Fossilised dinosaur bones are a common find here and there are a number of notable pieces back at the museum in Hastings. The beach was also the site of a prehistoric forest and the guide shows you where to look for the nuts, trunks and roots of the beautifully preserved Bronze Age forest remains close to the shipwreck.
Klein Hollandia
Sadly, you can’t visit the wreck of the Hollandia which sank on the 13th March 1672 after being captured during a naval engagement between the English and the Dutch. Submerged under 32m (105ft) of sea, it was discovered by divers in 2019. The discovery included the wooden hull, cannons (iron and bronze), Italian marble tiles and pieces of Italian pottery. It’s still submerged and also protected under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. However, if you head to Bexhill Museum they’ve got lots of information about the Hollandia’s journey to Bexhill and this beautiful pot from the wreck. The Klein Hollandia wasn’t finally identified until early 2023. 
The Norman’s Bay shipwreck
Another of the known shipwrecks on the Sussex coast and a little further along the coast at Norman’s Bay, is thought to be the Wapen van Utrecht, a 64-gun Dutch ship lost during the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690. Again, protected by the Protection of Wrecks Act (1973), it’s also thought that it could be the English 70-gun ship Resolution, lost in the Great Storm of 1703.
If all this has piqued your interest in shipwrecks on the Sussex coast, there is a record of shipwrecks held by East Sussex and Brighton and Hove Record Office which contains details and records in relation to lots more ancient shipwrecks. The tour of The Amsterdam starts at the viewing platform which you’ll find at the base of the pedestrian bridge over the railway at the end of Bridge Way off the A259 just east of Bexhill. There’s a little car park a short distance west from Bridge Way. The next tour is on the 4th August and you can book here: Shipwreck tour.
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