Latest news with #shipwreck
Telegraph
5 hours ago
- General
- Telegraph
Shifting sands reveal more of ‘remarkably preserved' 1600s English warship
Shifting sands have uncovered the hull of a 17th-century English warship off the Kent coast. The Northumberland shipwreck is said to potentially be one of the best preserved wooden ships, and was found 20 metres (66ft) underwater and nine miles off the Kent coast in 1980. Now wooden decks, lengths of rope, copper cauldrons and wooden chests with some preserved cannonballs inside, which have survived 'particularly well', have been uncovered by a survey organised by Historic England with MSDS divers. The near 350-year-old protected wreck is at high risk of deterioration as shifting sands expose it to processes that may erode the well preserved wreckage, Historic England said. Dan Pascoe, its licensee who monitors the site, said: 'The Northumberland has the potential to be one of the best-preserved wooden warships in the UK. However, at 20 metres underwater and nine miles offshore, it is out of sight and mind to most people.' The Northumberland was a third-rate 70-gun warship built in Bristol in 1679 as part of Samuel Pepys's regeneration of the English navy. It sank during the 'Great Storm' of Nov 26 1703 off Kent along with three other warships, including The Mary, the location of which is still unknown. They were all part of the fleet of Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch, who reigned from 1702 to 1714. A film made by streaming service History Hit, detailing the new survey and the initial construction of the Northumberland, airs on Thursday. Creator Dan Snow said: 'Northumberland is the missing link. Built roughly halfway between the Mary Rose and HMS Victory, this wreck can fill in crucial details of shipbuilding and life at sea at that pivotal moment in our history. 'We have the Mary Rose, the Tudor time capsule – well, here's a Stuart time capsule to sit alongside it.' Future work on the site may include taking wood samples or dendrochronological sampling to find out more about the ship's construction and confirm its identity. Paul Jeffery, the marine leader at Historic England, said: 'The completeness of the Northumberland wreck site is remarkable. It is a race against time as more of the Northumberland wreck becomes exposed.'
Sky News
12 hours ago
- General
- Sky News
HMS Northumberland: Experts face 'race against time' to study shipwreck
Experts face "a race against time" to study the wreck of a 17th century warship which is deteriorating because of the elements. HMS Northumberland sank off the Kent coast more than 320 years ago but is said to be "exceptionally well-preserved". However, Historic England has warned it is at "high risk of deterioration" due to "shifting sands, strong currents and marine boring organisms". According to the heritage group, divers surveying the wreck, which is twenty metres deep underwater and nine miles off the coast, have discovered that it is more complete than first thought. They have found multiple wooden decks, well-preserved wooden chests and coils of rope, preserved by being "covered by sand and seabed sediments for hundreds of years". And experts say the Protected Wreck Site could "tell us more about shipbuilding during the Stuart period". But it also said to be "fragile" and "unstable", and more of it is being exposed every day. Paul Jeffery, the conservation body's marine team leader, said: "The completeness of the Northumberland wreck site is remarkable. "It is a race against time as more of the Northumberland wreck becomes exposed." Built in Bristol in 1679, the Northumberland went down during the Great Storm of November 1703 on the treacherous Goodwin Sands off the Kent coast, along with three other warships, the Restoration, the Stirling Castle and the Mary. They were all part of Queen Anne's fleet, the last Stuart monarch, reigning from 1702 to 1714. Since then, there have been six ships named HMS Northumberland, the last being a Type 23 frigate that was launched in 1992 and decommissioned earlier this year. The wreck lies nine miles offshore over a large area of the seabed between 15-20m (49-65 feet) deep and is covered by concretion (irregular mineral masses formed by chemical precipitation) or marine deposits. There is evidence of an "extensive hull structure on the seabed possibly lying on its port side, including exposed deck planks and the wooden skeleton or frame of the ship," according to Historic England. Divers have also uncovered "exceptionally well-preserved organic material, such as coils of rope on a timber deck, multiple wooden chests - some containing musket balls and one completely sealed". There are 13 cannons around the site, seven of them made of iron, as well as part of a wooden gun carriage, swords and muskets and copper cauldrons. Dan Pascoe, licensee of the Northumberland, who carried out a survey to monitor its condition in partnership with Historic England and specialist archaeological consultancy, MSDS Marine, said it has the potential "to be one of the best-preserved wooden warships in the UK". Historian Dan Snow, who has visited the site and made a film about the latest survey work, called the Northumberland "THE missing link", as it can "fill in crucial details of shipbuilding and life at sea at that pivotal moment in our [Stuart era] history". First designated as a Protected Wreck Site in 1981, the Northumberland has been on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register since 2017. Future work on the site may include taking wood samples to find out more about the ship's construction and help confirm its identity.
The Independent
12 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
18th century shipwreck among ‘best preserved' of its time, experts say
Latest diving surveys have revealed a 'remarkable' completeness of the wreckage of an 18th century English warship preserved on the seabed. Twenty metres deep underwater and nine miles off the Kent coast, the Northumberland shipwreck is said to potentially be one of the 'best preserved' wooden ships. The latest survey, organised by Historic England with MSDS divers, found wooden decks, lengths of rope, copper cauldrons, and wooden chests with some preserved cannon balls inside had survived 'particularly well'. The 320-year-old protected wreck site is at high risk of deterioration as shifting sands expose it to processes which may erode the well preserved wreckage, Historic England said. Its licensee Dan Pascoe, who monitors the site, said: 'The Northumberland has the potential to be one of the best-preserved wooden warships in the UK. 'However, at 20 metres underwater and nine miles offshore, it is out of sight and mind to most people.' The Northumberland was a third rate 70-gun warship built in Bristol in 1679 as part of Samuel Pepys's regeneration of the English Navy. It sank during the 'Great Storm' on November 26, 1703 off Kent along with three other warships, including The Mary – the location of which is still unknown. They were all part of Queen Anne's fleet, the last Stuart monarch, reigning from 1702 to 1714. A film made by streaming service History Hit airs on Thursday detailing the new survey and the initial construction of the Northumberland. Creator Dan Snow said: 'Northumberland is the missing link. Built roughly halfway between the Mary Rose and HMS Victory, this wreck can fill in crucial details of shipbuilding and life at sea at that pivotal moment in our history. 'We have the Mary Rose, the ' Tudor time capsule' – well here's a Stuart time capsule to sit alongside it.' Future work on the site may include taking wood samples or dendrochronological sampling to find out more about the ship's construction and confirm its identity. Paul Jeffery, marine leader at Historic England, said: 'The completeness of the Northumberland wreck site is remarkable. 'It is a race against time as more of the Northumberland wreck becomes exposed.'
The Independent
12 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
Treasures of British warship sunk in 1703 storm finally revealed three centuries on
The wreck of an 'exceptionally well-preserved' 18th-century warship is revealing its treasures as shifting sands uncover its hull. The Northumberland, which sank in 1703 during the 'Great Storm', has sat on the seabed off the Kent coast for 320 years. But divers have recently discovered well-preserved wooden chests, iron cannons, and copper cauldrons previously covered by sand and sediment. Historians say the new finds could be 'the missing link' to understanding more about shipbuilding during the Stuart period, but warned they are now at a 'high risk of deterioration' as they become exposed to the elements. The ship was built in 1679 as part of Samuel Pepys' regeneration of the English Navy. It sank on 26 November 1703 on the treacherous Goodwin Sands, where it has lain ever since. Divers have uncovered more of the skeleton of the ship than was previously thought to have survived, alongside evidence of multiple decks and part of a wooden gun carriage. Dan Snow, Founder and Creative Director of History Hit, said: ' Northumberland is THE missing link. Built roughly halfway between the Mary Rose and HMS Victory, this wreck can fill in crucial details of shipbuilding and life at sea at that pivotal moment in our history. We have the Mary Rose, the 'Tudor time capsule', well here's a Stuart time capsule to sit alongside it.' But experts from Historic England have said the moving sediment threatens to expose it to 'physical, chemical and biological processes' that could damage the artefacts. 'Shifting sands, strong currents and wood-boring sea creatures, which burrow into and damage wooden structures on the seabed, continue to make this fragile Protected Wreck Site unstable, putting it at high risk of deterioration,' they said. 'It lies over a large area of the seabed between 15-20 metres deep and is covered by concretion or marine deposits; however, more of it is being exposed every day.' Alison James, Heritage and Systems Manager at MSDS Marine, added the wreck 'has so much potential to tell us more about the English Navy and ships of the period,' calling it a 'rich resource for local communities to benefit from'. Future work on the site may include taking wood samples or dendrochronological sampling to find out more about the ship's construction and help confirm the ship's identity, experts said. It comes ahead of the release of history film 'Shipwreck Northumberland and the Great Storm' on Thursday 31 July.
BBC News
19 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Warship wrecked in 1703 near Kent is more complete than expected
A wrecked near-350-year-old English warship is more complete than previously thought, Historic England has Northumberland, which sank off the Kent coast in 1703 during the Great Storm, has been a protected wreck since 1981.A new site assessment, seen by the BBC, revealed the wreck "remains high risk" as moving sand exposes the Northumberland, which was built in in Bristol in 1679, reportedly lost all 253 crew members when it sank on Goodwin Sands, south-east of Ramsgate. Historic England maritime archaeologist Hefin Meara said it was "quite likely that there's a huge amount of the vessel itself surviving buried beneath the seabed".The Royal Navy vessel's wreck is close to those of ships from the same fleet - the Stirling Castle and the Restoration - which sank at the same time.A wreck of the Mary, which also sank in the storm, remains undiscovered. According to the new assessment, compiled after dives to the vessel in July 2024, at least seven guns from three different decks of the ship were visible on the sea Meara said metal items from shipwrecks often survive, but at the Northumberland's site there is also "incredibly good preservation" of organic material, such as ropes, chests, and the vessel divers reported they found "high potential for an abundance of well-preserved material culture" that might give insight into life onboard navy warships at the time. Mr Meara said: "We always knew it as a well preserved site but I think nobody was expecting it to be quite so well preserved."Dan Pascoe, holder of the licence to dive at the wreck site, said the Northumberland "has the potential to be one of the best-preserved wooden warships in the UK". The site assessment contained a recommendation that the wreck stays on the Heritage at Risk Register as it "remains unstable and under threat".Paul Jeffery, Historic England marine team leader, said "it is a race against time" to protect the site. Historian and broadcaster Dan Snow said the wreck "can fill in crucial details of shipbuilding and life at sea at that pivotal moment in our history".Snow is fronting a documentary about the Northumberland and its wreck, which will air on his streaming service History Hit on Thursday.
