The English Cemetery (Camariñas, Spain)

The English Cemetery (Cementerio de los Ingleses) sits on a windswept point of Galicia's Costa da Morte, in Camariñas, marking the graves of sailors lost in one of the worst shipwrecks ever recorded off this coast.

What happened here in 1890?

On 8 November 1890, the Royal Navy vessel HMS Serpent left Plymouth with 175 men aboard, bound for naval stations at the Cape of Good Hope, Madeira and Sierra Leone. Two days into the voyage, a violent storm and thick weather threw the ship off course near Cape Vilán. A faulty lighthouse in the area failed to give the crew reliable warning, and the Serpent struck the rocks off Punta do Boi. Only three men survived out of the entire crew.

How did the local community respond?

Word of the wreck reached Camariñas quickly, and fishermen and villagers went out to help, though for almost everyone aboard it was already too late. Over the following days, bodies were recovered from the sea, and rather than leaving them unmarked, the townspeople chose to bury the foreign sailors with dignity, despite differences in nationality and religion. A small walled cemetery was raised on a rocky outcrop away from the village, and it is this act of compassion that gave the site its name and its purpose.

What came after the tragedy?

The British government later thanked the people of Camariñas with a series of gifts in recognition of how they had cared for the graves of its citizens. The disaster also exposed how dangerous this stretch of coastline was and how unreliable the existing lighthouse had been. As a direct consequence, a new and more effective lighthouse was built at Cape Vilán, one that still operates today and remains a landmark of this part of the Costa da Morte.

Why visit the English Cemetery today?

The site is now included in the European Route of Distinctive Cemeteries (Ruta Europea de Cementerios Singulares), a network recognising burial grounds of particular historical and emotional weight. Overlooking the Atlantic, this small stone enclosure draws travellers interested in maritime history and the long list of shipwrecks that have earned the Costa da Morte its grim name. It stands as a quiet reminder of solidarity between strangers, shaped by tragedy but sustained by the memory a small fishing town chose to preserve.

Frequently asked questions

Which ship wrecked near Camariñas in 1890? The British Royal Navy vessel HMS Serpent, sailing from Plymouth toward naval stations at the Cape of Good Hope, Madeira and Sierra Leone.

How many crew members survived? Only three of the 175 men aboard survived the wreck.

What caused the disaster? A severe storm, poor visibility, and a faulty lighthouse that failed to warn the crew in time.

Who buried the victims? Villagers from Camariñas recovered the bodies and built a small cemetery on the coast to bury the sailors with dignity.

Did the wreck have any lasting consequences? Yes — the British government thanked the town with gifts, and a new, more reliable lighthouse was later built at Cape Vilán.

What is the cemetery used for today? It is part of the European Route of Distinctive Cemeteries and is visited by travellers interested in the maritime history and shipwrecks of the Costa da Morte.