8 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Royal Shipwreck From 17th century Is discovered Off the Coast of England

Off the coast of England, a royal shipwreck has been unearthed. The Gloucester, one of the most renowned ships of the 17th century, sunk 340 years ago while transporting James Stuart, the future King of England.

Since running aground on a sandbank on May 6, 1682, the wreck has lain half-buried on the seabed, its exact whereabouts unknown. It was found by brothers Julian and Lincoln Barnwell, with their friend James Little, after a four-year search. The discovery is described by University of East Anglia (UEA) maritime history expert Prof Claire Jowitt as the most important maritime discovery since the Mary Rose.

The wreck of one of the most famous ships of the 17thcentury – which sank 340 years ago while carrying the future King of England James Stuart – has been discovered off the coast of Norfolk in the UK, it can be revealed today.

The Gloucester represents an important ‘almost’ moment in British political history: a royal shipwreck causing the very near-death of the Catholic heir to the Protestant throne – James Stuart, Duke of York and Albany – at a time of great political and religious tension.

Now a major exhibition is planned for Spring 2023, the result of a partnership between the Barnwell brothers, Norfolk Museums Service, and academic partner UEA. Running from February to July at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, the exhibition will display finds from the wreck – including the bell that confirmed the ship’s identity – and share ongoing historical, scientific, and archaeological research.

The Wreck of the Gloucester off Yarmouth, 6th May 1682, by Johan Danckerts.
The Wreck of the Gloucester off Yarmouth, 6th May 1682, by Johan Danckerts.

Prof Jowitt, a world-leading authority on maritime cultural history, is a co-curator of the exhibition. “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,” she said. “The discovery promises to fundamentally change the understanding of 17th-century social, maritime, and political history.

“It is an outstanding example of the underwater cultural heritage of national and international importance. A tragedy of considerable proportions in terms of loss of life, both privileged and ordinary, the full story of Gloucester’s last voyage and the impact of its aftermath needs re-telling, including its cultural and political importance, and legacy. We will also try to establish who else died and tell their stories, as the identities of a fraction of the victims are currently known.”

The Barnwell brothers are Norfolk-based printers, licensed divers and Honorary Fellows in the School of History at UEA. Lincoln said he was partly inspired to search for the wreck after watching the lifting of the Mary Rose on television as a child.

“It was our fourth dive season looking for Gloucester,” he said. “We were starting to believe that we were not going to find her, we’d dived so much and just found sand. On my descent to the seabed the first thing I spotted were 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 in time who knew where the wreck lay. That was special and I’ll never forget it. Our next job was to identify the site as the Gloucester.”

A bell that helped researchers confirm Gloucester’s identity. Photo: University of East Anglia

Julian added: “When we decided to search for the Gloucester we 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 confident it was the Gloucester, but there are other wreck sites out there with cannons, so it still needed to be confirmed.

“There is still a huge amount of knowledge to be gained from the wreck, which will benefit Norfolk and the nation. We hope this discovery and the stories that are uncovered will inform and inspire future generations.”

Lord Dannatt, Norfolk Deputy Lieutenant and longstanding resident of the county is lending his skills and support to the historic rescue project. As former head of the British Army, he works with charities and organizations that have links to the armed services.

“This is going to be Norfolk’s Mary Rose,” said Lord Dannatt. “Julian and Lincoln have touched history, history that could have changed the course of this nation. It’s such an amazing story to tell. Our aim is to bring that story to life and to share it with as many people as possible.”

Julian & Lincoln Barnwell, Prof Jowitt, and Dr Redding. © UEA
Julian & Lincoln Barnwell, Prof Jowitt, and Dr. Redding. © UEA

The Gloucester was commissioned in 1652, built at Limehouse in London, and launched in 1654. In 1682 it was selected to carry James Stuart – who later became King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII – to Edinburgh to collect his heavily pregnant wife and their households. The aim was to bring them back to King Charles II’s court in London in time, it was hoped, for the birth of a legitimate male heir.

The ship had set sail from Portsmouth with the Duke and his entourage joining it off Margate, having traveled by yacht from London. At 5.30 am on May 6, the Gloucester ran aground some 45km off Great Yarmouth following a dispute about navigating the treacherous Norfolk sandbanks. The Duke, a former Lord High Admiral, had argued with the pilot for control over the ship’s course.

Within an hour the vessel sank with the loss of hundreds of the crew and passengers. The Duke barely survived, having delayed abandoning the ship until the last minute.

As well as the Duke of York, the Gloucester carried a number of prominent English and Scottish courtiers including John Churchill, later the 1st Duke of Marlborough.

Diarist and naval administrator Samuel Pepys, who witnessed events from another ship in the fleet, wrote his own account – describing the harrowing experience for victims and survivors, with some picked up “half-dead” from the water.

Julian and Lincoln Barnwell examine some of their discoveries. © UEA
Julian and Lincoln Barnwell examine some of their discoveries. © UEA

Together with their late father Michael, and two friends including James Little, a former Royal Navy submariner, and diver, the Barnwell brothers found the wreck site in 2007, with the Gloucester, split down the keel and remains of the hull submerged in sand.

The ship’s bell, manufactured in 1681, was later recovered, and in 2012 it was used by the Receiver of Wreck and Ministry of Defence to decisively identify the vessel.

Due to the time taken to confirm the identity of the ship and the need to protect an ‘at risk’ site, which lies in international waters, it is only now that its discovery can be made public. As well as the Receiver of Wreck and Ministry of Defence, the wreck has been declared to Historic England.

Following the discovery, the brothers completed an underwater archaeology course with the Nautical Archaeology Society.

Artifacts rescued and conserved include clothes and shoes, navigational and other professional naval equipment, personal possessions, and many wine bottles.

One of the wine bottles bears a glass seal with iconography that connects it to a passenger onboard, Colonel George Legge, Master of Ordnance and Groom of the Bedchamber to the Duke of York. Legge was the son of Elizabeth Washington, and the Washington crest on the wine bottle, with its distinctive ‘stars and stripes’, links it and the ship to the most famous member of the family, George Washington, the first US President.

The accompanying historical research project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and led by Prof Jowitt, will explore not only the failures of command at sea before the Gloucester sank but conspiracy theories about the tragedy’s causes and its political consequences.

It is also hoped that UEA’s scientific expertise and facilities will be used to analyze some of the finds from the wreck.

The Ministry of Defence’s position is that all artifacts remain the property of the Ministry of Defence; however, where items are positively identified as personal property, ownership will then default to the Crown.

Alongside UEA, Norfolk Museums Service, and the Barnwell brothers, foundational partners in the project are the Alan Boswell Group, Ministry of Defence, the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth, York Archaeology, the Leverhulme Trust, and Maritime Archaeology Trust. The project is also being generously supported by Birketts LLP.

A new paper titled ‘The Last Voyage of the Gloucester (1682): The Politics of a Royal Shipwreck’ by Prof Claire Jowitt offers a comprehensive academic analysis of the disaster and its political implications and legacies. It is published in the journal English Historical Review on Friday, June 10.

Cover Photo: The Barnwell brothers measuring one of the ship’s cannons – Photo: Norfolk Historic Shipwrecks

University of East Anglia

Related Articles

Restoration Complete: Athena Temple in Side Reopens to the Public

24 March 2025

24 March 2025

The Athena Temple, once overshadowed by the more prominent Temple of Apollo, has emerged as a significant historical and cultural...

Polish researchers reveal what ancient Egyptian faience has to do with gold

31 December 2022

31 December 2022

Powdered quartz used to make faience vessels discovered by Polish archaeologists during excavations in the ancient city of Athribis in...

Lost medieval road thought to have been used by famous Scottish king Robert the Bruce found

27 June 2021

27 June 2021

Excavating a hill considered to have played a critical part in the Battle of Bannockburn, archaeologists discovered a forgotten medieval...

Kurt Tepesi: The Silent Sentinel in the Shadows of Göbeklitepe and Karahan Tepe – Unearthing the Forgotten Sister

31 May 2025

31 May 2025

In the arid plains of southeastern Anatolia, a quiet giant slumbers. While Göbekli Tepe has dazzled archaeologists and the global...

Rare Viking Armlet and 2,000-Year-Old Golden Neck Ring Discovered in Sweden

20 March 2025

20 March 2025

Recently, two extraordinary archaeological finds have captivated the attention of historians and enthusiasts alike in Sweden. The first discovery, an...

Getting to Know Matar Kubilea

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

Hittite state’s, With its collapse in 1200-1190 BC, Anatolia entered a period of drift from holistic to dispersal. (The Hittite...

Love and hate in ancient times: Exploring Magical Texts

6 February 2024

6 February 2024

Love and hate are universal emotions that have persisted throughout human history. Ancient civilizations developed their own distinct methods of...

Archaeologists Discovered a New Pyramid Resembling Teotihuacán in Tikal

17 April 2021

17 April 2021

Researchers discovered a new pyramid complex in the Tikal in Guatemala. About 65 km south of El Mirador in the...

Netherlands’s unique treasure finds of medieval gold jewelry and silver coins

12 March 2023

12 March 2023

The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (the National Museum of Antiquities) in the Netherlands has announced that a unique treasure of 1000-year-old...

Ancient Sarmatian Treasures, Including 370 Grams of Gold Bracelet, and Burial Sites Discovered in Kazakhstan’s Atyrau Region

10 February 2025

10 February 2025

During excavations at the Karabau-2 mound in Kazakhstan’s Atyrau region, archaeologists made a remarkable discovery, unearthing nine graves—seven of which...

Millennia-Old İron Production Facilities Found in Iran

2 May 2021

2 May 2021

Archaeologists have uncovered many millennia-old iron manufacturing sites in a historical village in southcentral Iran. A local tourism official declared...

New fortification walls discovered in the ancient city of Pergamon

14 February 2022

14 February 2022

2,500-year-old fortification walls were found in the Ancient City of Pergamon (Bergama), which was included in the World Heritage List...

Medieval Love badge with the written “Love conquers all” discovered in Poland

18 February 2024

18 February 2024

Polish archaeologists have discovered a late medieval badge: a piece of tin shaped into a turtle dover and with the...

Nearly 300-million-year-old Oldest known fossilized reptile skin found in Oklahoma cave resembles that of modern crocodiles

17 January 2024

17 January 2024

Paleontologists say they’ve identified and described the oldest fossilized reptile skin ever found. A team of paleontologists from the University...

Sheikh Sultan Opened ‘Tales from the East’ Exhibition

28 April 2021

28 April 2021

The opening of the ‘Tales from the East’ exhibition organized by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) was held with the...