English ship Mary (1650)
,_by_Michael_Dahl.jpg) Portrait of Rear-Admiral Basil Beaumont, commander of HMS Mary when she sunk, with the sinking Mary in the background
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 England | |
| Name | Speaker |
| Namesake | |
| Builder | Christopher Pett, Woolwich Dockyard |
| Launched | 1650 |
| Renamed | HMS Mary, 1660 |
| Fate | Wrecked, 1703 |
| General characteristics as built[1] | |
| Class and type | Speaker-class |
| Tons burthen | 727 |
| Length | 116 ft (35.4 m) (keel) |
| Beam | 34 ft 8 in (10.6 m) |
| Depth of hold | 14 ft 6 in (4.4 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament |
|
| General characteristics after 1688 rebuild[2] | |
| Class and type | 62-gun third-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 829 |
| Length | 143 ft 3 in (43.7 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam | 36 ft 8 in (11.2 m) |
| Depth of hold | 14 ft 6 in (4.4 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament | 62 guns of various weights of shot |
Speaker was a 50-gun third-rate and the name ship of the Speaker-class, built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England by Christopher Pett at Woolwich Dockyard and launched in 1650.[1] At the Restoration she was renamed HMS Mary.[1] By 1677 her armament had been increased to 62 guns.[1]
In 1688 Mary was rebuilt by Thomas Shish at Woolwich Dockyard as a 62-gun third-rate ship of the line.[2] Mary was wrecked on the Goodwin Sands in the Great Storm of 1703.[2] Of her 275 crew, her captain and purser were ashore at the time of her loss; only one sailor survived.[3] Rear-Admiral Basil Beaumont however was aboard ship at the time and perished in the wreck.[4]
Wreck site
Local divers found the wreck site in 1980.[5] The initial designation was of 50 metres (160 ft) around what is now known as the South Mound; the North Mound was discovered in 1999 and the area was amended under Statutory Instrument number 2004/2395 as a 300 metres (980 ft) radius around 51° 15.6302' N, 01° 30.0262' E.[5]
It is believed that Mary lies under the South Mound and the North Mound is the third rate HMS Restoration wrecked in the same storm, but this is not known for certain.[5] The site lies 100 metres (330 ft) to the west of the Goodwin Sands off Deal, between the wrecks of HMS Stirling Castle and HMS Northumberland, which also sank in the storm.[5]
The site was investigated by Wessex Archaeology on 25 June 2006.[5] The South Mound measures 28 by 12 metres (92 ft × 39 ft) but has not been studied in detail.[5]
Notes
- ^ a b c d Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p159.
- ^ a b c Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p163.
- ^ Larn, Richard (1977). Goodwin Sands Shipwrecks. Newton Abbot, London, North Pomfret: David & Charles. p. 56. ISBN 0-7153-7202-5.
- ^ Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1885). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 4. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 53–54.
- ^ a b c d e f Wessex Archaeology (November 2006), RESTORATION, GOODWIN SANDS DESIGNATED SITE ASSESSMENT: ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORT (PDF), English Heritage, archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2009, retrieved 24 August 2009 Has many details of the history and the current state of the wreck site.
References
- Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
Coordinates: Archaeology report p5 51°15′38″N 01°30′2″E / 51.26056°N 1.50056°E
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