On May 6 , 1682 , at 5.30 am , off the coast of Norfolk , UK , the third - pace frigateHMS Gloucesterran aground on a sandbank . At the fourth dimension , it was carry the future King of England , James Stuart , the Duke of York , and has been lose for over 340 years . It was to remain unswayed by human work force until brothers Julian and Lincoln Barnwell , and ally James Little stumbled across it after a four - twelvemonth search , half - buried in a Davy Jones . The uncovering has been published inThe English Historical Review .
In 1652 theGloucesterwas commission , built at Limehouse in London , and launched in 1654 . TheGloucester ’s last voyage was to bear the Duke of York to Edinburgh , to collect his to a great extent meaning wife and their household . This was all so they could be at his brother ’s – King Charles II ’s – lawcourt in London , for what they were hoping was to be the giving birth of a logical manful successor ( he had a few illegitimate children ) .
The Duke was a former Lord High Admiral and it was witness that he got into an argument with the pilot for control of the ship during the navigation over the punic Norfolk sandbanks . one C of crew and passengers ’ life history were needlessly lost , chiefly because maritime communications protocol dictate that passengers were n’t allowed to abandon the ship before any royal line . Witnesses exact the Duke saved his dog and Catholic priest over the crowd and courtier . The Duke himself barely survived as he delayed leaving the ship until the last minute .
Move forward to the early 2000s , when the Barnwell brothers had a dreaming – to find a shipwreck . Lincoln Barnwell , enjoin that he was inspired by the raising of the crash of theMary Rose , Henry VIII ’s best-loved ship , as a child .
The Barnwell brothers , their late Father-God Michael , and a few friends found thewreck sitein 2007 , on their fourth prima donna time of year . It was split down the keel and the remains of the hull were submerged in the sand .
" We were embark on to think that we were not move to find her , we ’d plunge so much and just found sand . On my descent to the ocean bottom the first thing I spotted were large cannon laying on white sand , it was reverence - inspiring and really beautiful,”saidLincoln . “ It instantly matte up like a privilege to be there , it was so exciting . We were the only people in the world at that moment in time who cognize where the wreck lay . That was particular and I ’ll never blank out it . Our next job was to distinguish the site as theGloucester . "
“ When we decided to look for for theGloucesterwe had no idea how significant she was in history . We had read that the Duke of York was onboard but that was it . We were surefooted it was theGloucester , but there are other wreck sites out there with cannons , so it still take to be confirmed , ” said Julian
“ There is still a huge amount of knowledge to be gained from the crash , which will benefit Norfolk and the nation . We desire this discovery and the tarradiddle that are uncovered will inform and inspire future generations . ”
The finding has been described as the most significant maritime find since theMary Rose . The intellect the ship was reveal today , and not any sooner , is it gave them time to corroborate the personal identity and then it needed to be protected as it was an “ at - risk ” site . The ship ’s Melville Bell was recovered in 2012 so that the UK ’s Receiver of Wreck and Ministry of Defence could identify the vessel .
presently , the shipwreck is the property of the Ministry of Defence , but when the detail have been identified as personal belongings , then the ownership of these will be to the Crown .
Many artifacts have been convalesce , including shoe , apparel , personal self-command , navigational and professional naval equipment … and many wine-coloured bottles .
There will be a major exhibition in spring 2023 at the Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery , which will be a partnership between the Barnwell buddy , academic partner University of East Anglia , and the Norfolk Museums Service .
" Because of the circumstances of its sinking feeling , this can be claimed as the exclusive most important historic maritime find since the raising of theMary Rosein 1982 , " says Claire Jowitt , the co - curator of the exhibition . " The uncovering promise to fundamentally deepen reason of seventeenth - century societal , maritime , and political history . "
" It is an outstanding example of submerged cultural heritage of national and external grandness , " she sum up . " A calamity of considerable proportions in terms of going of life , both inner and ordinary , the full taradiddle of theGloucester’slast ocean trip and the impact of its consequence needs re - relation , include its ethnical and political importance , and legacy . We will also try out to establish who else died and tell their history , as the identities of a fraction of the victims are currently be intimate . "
