Monument record MHG19728 - Mariners Grave, Portskerra

See also:
NC86NE0029 Snow Admiral
JHooper, 3/10/2002
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NC86NE 24 8738 6629.

Shipwrecked Mariners' Graves (NAT)
OS 6-inch map, 1964.

The graves of two seamen washed ashore, marked by two small erect slabs bearing incised patterns, one an anchor.
Visited by OS (JM) 7 July 1977.
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An account is given in "Tales of The North Coast", of this event.
On 28th Jan 1842, the British ship "Snow Admiral" or "Admiral", of Sunderland, was wrecked on the rocks of the Beri Geo at Portskerra. The crew were Norwegian. The wreck was found the next morning as well as 10 bodies. They were taken to the church in Strathy and buried in the graveyard there. Later 4 more bodies were found which were buried above the shore at the head of the Beri Geo. The bodies were thought to belong to the captain and his family. It is believed that at least two of them were children. Today only two gravestones remain, there may be more? They can still be seen on the hillside. The inscriptions are not totally worn away but are difficult to read. There are later stories associated with this tragic event relating to flashing lights and ghosts.
See assoc. docs. File.
J Aitken : 29/03/01.
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Situation : The two gravestones are in a SW-NE line, some 5m back from the top of the break of slope at the back of Berry Geo. The area forms a hummocky, grass-covered level area of cliff top, to the north west of a fence line bounding an area of croft land from the sea cliffs.
Grave A - the Northermost of the two (Grid Ref. 287389 966301), this grey sandstone headstone is 85cm tall, 24cm wide and 11cm thick. The base carries some worn away inscriptions, however the upper line begins SNO, maybe from "Snow Admiral", the next line begins MD, maybe from a date and the lowest line reads SUNAERD, probably the first seven letters from "Sunderland".
Grave B - approx. 6m to the SW of grave A (Grid Ref. 287387 966296). This headstone is 73cm tall, 29cm wide and 8cm thick. There is no visible inscription on any face apart from a carved cross.
It is unusual that the tombstones are some 45 degrees off a W-E alignment and that the inscriptions are on the SW-facing face. It is usual that the inscriptions on tombstones face the E.
Information from Site Visit by Nick Lindsay, date : 09/04/01.