Dives Reveal 320-year old English Warship in Remarkable Condition

New evidence from Historic England to assess the condition of the Protected Wreck Site of the 18^th century English warship the Northumberland, reveals that a remarkably large section of the warship may survive intact on the seabed.

The survey, working with the Licensee of the Northumberland wreck, Dan Pascoe, who regularly dives it, and contractors MSDS Marine, showed that organic material such as wooden decks, wooden chests - some including cannon balls and the ship’s rope - have survived particularly well. This is due to being covered by sand and seabed sediments for hundreds of years.

This well-preserved wreck site has the potential to tell us more about shipbuilding during the Stuart period more than 300 years ago.

The Northumberland Protected Wreck Site

The Northumberland was a Third Rate 70-gun warship built in Bristol in 1679 as part of Samuel Pepys' regeneration of the English Navy.  

It sank during the ‘Great Storm’ on 26 November 1703 on the treacherous Goodwin Sands off the Kent coast, with three other warships the Restoration, the Stirling Castle and the Mary – the location of which is still to be determined.

They were all part of Queen Anne’s fleet, who was the last Stuart monarch, reigning from 1702 to 1714.

Heritage at Risk

Shifting sands, strong currents and marine boring organisms continue to make this fragile Protected Wreck Site unstable. This puts the Northumberland at high risk of deterioration.

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.

First designated as a Protected Wreck Site in 1981, the Northumberland has been on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register since 2017.

Its condition is carefully monitored by Licensee Dan Pascoe, as part of Historic England’s ongoing field work looking after England’s 57 Protected Wreck Sites on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

What's been discovered

The latest survey work by Historic England carried out last summer in partnership with MSDS Marine and Licensee Dan Pascoe reveals:

• Evidence of 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 - much more than previously thought
• Evidence of multiple wooden decks
• 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 with contents unknown
• Seven iron cannons confirmed at the southeast end of the wreck site, alongside another six cannons further north
• Part of a wooden gun carriage, swords and muskets
• Copper cauldrons

The finds remain in situ on the seabed.

History Hit

Historian Dan Snow, founder of streaming service, History Hit, also visited the Protected Wreck Site and has produced a film about the latest survey work.