The Life, Times, and Heritage Futures of the Gloucester, a Seventeenth-Century Third-Rate Warship

The discovery of the wreck the Gloucester, one of the most famous ships of the seventeenth century, which sank off the coast of Norfolk in 1682 while carrying James Stuart, the future King of England and Scotland, was announced in June 2022.

This conference brings together international experts on maritime, naval, political, and cultural history, ship technology, archaeologists, and museum and gallery professionals, to discuss for the first time the significance of the discovery and the wreck’s future as a heritage asset.

Invited speakers include Karin Bowie (Glasgow University), Richard Endsor (Independent Researcher), Rebecca Herrisone (Manchester University), Alex Hildred (Mary Rose Trust), Fred Hocker (Vasa Museum), Mark Knights (Warwick University), and Steven Pincus (University of Chicago).

The team leading the work on the Gloucester will discuss their work to date on the Gloucester and their future plans: Julian Barnwell and Lincoln Barnwell, licenced divers and finders of the wreck, General Lord Richard Dannatt, Chairman of the 1682 Trust, Claire Jowitt, Principal Investigator on the Gloucester Project, Garry Momber, Director, Maritime Archaeological Trust, Benjamin Redding, Senior Research Associate, Gloucester Project, Ruth Battersby Tooke, Senior Curator, Costume and Textiles, Norfolk Museum Services, and Francesca Vanke, Senior Curator and Keeper of Fine and Decorative Art, Norfolk Museum Services.

A major exhibition ‘The Last Voyage of the Gloucester: Norfolk’s Royal Shipwreck, 1682’ runs at Norwich Castle 25 February 2023 to 10 September 2023, the result of a partnership between the finders the Barnwell brothers, Norfolk Museums Service, and academic partner UEA.