King James’ wreck gives up its secrets
Brothers’ 4yr hunt for lost ship
THE wreck of a royal warship that sank in 1682 while carrying the future king James Stuart has been discovered at the bottom of the sea.
HMS Gloucester ran aground more than 300 years ago following a dispute between James, then the Duke of York, and the ship’s pilot, James Ayres.
They were arguing about navigating the treacherous Norfolk sandbanks when it sank 28 miles off Great Yarmouth at 5.30am on May 6, killing up to 250 crew and passengers.
The wreck was found by a team led by brothers Julian, 55, and Lincoln Barnwell, 51, following a four-year search over 5,000 nautical miles.
It has been described by a historian as the most important maritime discovery since the Mary Rose, the warship from the Tudor navy of King Henry VIII.
Among its artefacts are clothes, personal items and unopened wine.
One of the bottles bears a seal with the crest of the Legge family, ancestors of the first US President George Washington.
Lincoln, an honorary research fellow at the University of East Anglia’s School of History, said: “It was our fourth dive season looking for Gloucester. The first thing I spotted was a large cannon laying on white sand, it was awe-inspiring and really beautiful. It instantly felt like a privilege to be there, it was so exciting.
“We were the only people in the world at that moment who knew where the wreck lay. That was special.”
In 1682, the 54-gun Royal Navy frigate was selected to carry James to Edinburgh to collect his pregnant wife and their households, but it ran aground. Instead of ordering the men to abandon ship, the heir to the throne demanded they bail water out. By the time he realised it was too late and boarded a lifeboat, his men were left unable to save themselves.
The ship sank in just 45 minutes.
Naval administrator Samuel Pepys, who witnessed events from another ship in the fleet, described the harrowing experience for survivors, with some picked up “half dead” from the water.
Protocol meant crew could not abandon the ship before royalty. James accepted no responsibility, instead blaming the ship’s pilot, Mr Ayres, who was court-martialed and imprisoned.
He went on to reign as King James II of England and Ireland and James VII of Scotland from 1685 until 1688, when he was deposed by the Glorious Revolution.
Maritime history expert Prof Claire Jowitt, of the University of East Anglia, said: “Because of the circumstances of its sinking, this can be claimed as the single most significant historic maritime discovery since the raising of the Mary Rose in 1982.
“It promises to fundamentally change understanding of 17th-century social, maritime and political history.
“It is an outstanding example of underwater cultural heritage of national and international importance.”
The site was found in 2007 but it is only now that its discovery can be made public. As well as the Receiver of Wreck and Ministry of Defence, the find has been declared to Historic England.
An exhibition is planned for next spring at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery.
We were the only people in the world who knew where the wreck lay. It was special
LINCOLN BARNWELL ON THE MOMENT OF DISCOVERY