HMS ''Resolution'' was a 70-gun

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the third r ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, launched at

Harwich Dockyard Harwich Dockyard (also known as The King's Yard, Harwich) was a Royal Navy Dockyard at Harwich in Essex, active in the 17th and early 18th century (after which it continued to operate under private ownership). Owing to its position on the East ...

on 6 December 1667. She was one of only three third-rate vessels designed and built by the noted maritime architect Sir Anthony Deane.

History

''Resolution'' served as the flagship in an expedition against the

Barbary Corsairs The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...

in 1669 and took part in the unsuccessful attack on the Dutch

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

, which resulted in the

Third Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...

. She was later girdled, which increased her breadth slightly, and underwent a rebuilding in 1698 – although this limited reconstruction did not involve taking her hull to pieces. She was lost in 1703. By 1685, ''Resolution'' was only armed with 68 guns. She was relaunched after a rebuild at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

on 30 April 1698, as a 70-gun ship once more.

Sinking

In the

Great Storm of 1703 The great storm of 1703 was a destructive extratropical cyclone that struck central and southern England on 26 November 1703. High winds caused 2,000 chimney stacks to collapse in London and damaged the New Forest, which lost 4,000 oaks. Ships wer ...

Pevensey Pevensey ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located north-east of Eastbourne, one mile (1.6 km) inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part of ...

Bay,

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, she hit the

Owers Bank Cymenshore is a place in Southern England where, according to the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Ælle of Sussex landed in AD 477 and battled the Britons with his three sons Cymen, Wlencing and Cissa, after the first of whom Cymenshore was held to ...

off

Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort, and pleasure harbour, and the most populous civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south sout ...

before the crew could even get up sail, then blown across the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to ...

, limping on around

Beachy Head Beachy Head is a chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is located within the administrative area of Eastbourne Borough Council which owns the land, formin ...

. With the ship seriously flooded, her captain, Thomas Liell, tried unsuccessfully to beach her in

Pevensey Bay Pevensey ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located north-east of Eastbourne, one mile (1.6 km) inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part of ...

, but the crew had to abandon ship, and all made it ashore.

Wreck

In April 2005, a well-preserved wreck believed to be hers was discovered by 3 divers attempting to recover a tangled-up lobster pot miles offshore and 9 metres below sea level, at approximately . It was only when a 12 ft anchor appeared that Paul Stratford, Martin Wiltshire, and Steve Paice then found dozens of cast-iron cannon around a timber hull. The discovery was kept secret whilst a preliminary survey by

Wessex Archaeology Wessex Archaeology is a British company that provides archaeological and heritage services, as well as being an educational charity. Apart from advice and consultancy, it also does fieldwork and publishes research on the sites it surveys. The comp ...

was carried out at the site and whilst discussions were carried out as to how best to protect it. This found at least 45 large cannon, along with a ballast mound surrounded by wooden ribs and planking protruding from a seabed of sand and silt. These all seemed to be from a large warship dating between 1600 and 1800 which is 'likely' to be ''Resolution''. The site was then in May 2006 made public and given official protection under the

Protection of Wrecks Act The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides protection for designated shipwrecks. Section 1 of the act provides for wrecks to be designated because of historical, archaeological or ...

1973, banning unauthorised diving within 100 m, by culture Minister

David Lammy David Lindon Lammy (born 19 July 1972) is an English politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenh ...

Martin Wiltshire and Steve Paice allowed Paul Stratford take on the responsibilities of licensee applicant.Summary from Licensee Report Submitted October 2006 - - pages 1 and 14-20 The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Ian Oxley, head of maritime archaeology at

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, called the ship 'a crucial part of England's seafaring heritage'. One of the divers, Mr Paul Stratford, 41, who had only been diving for four years, said they were 'very proud' of their find and added:

'It was unbelievable. We went down there expecting to get some fishing junk and found a huge anchor. Visibility was poor but we kept finding cannon after cannon. We have been fishing and then diving in this area since we were kids, so were astonished to find this in our bay. It feeds your imagination about what else might be down there.

'Many people dive for years hoping to find something like this, but we really stumbled upon it. We've been diving for four or five years and fished here as well, and to find this on our own doorstep is unbelievable. There is the anchor, some cannon, a large area of brickwork which is believed to be the galley area, but the site hasn't been dug up or disturbed at the moment. We've only been recording what's down there. We've been working closely with
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
and the
Nautical Archaeology Society The Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) is a charity registered in England and WalesCharity Commission
...
in Portsmouth.

'It was obvious once we came across it that it was a big war ship. It had to be because of the number of guns there. The lack of any steel made us realise that we were dealing with a timber ship and very soon afterwards we found the hull structure. We believe it is the HMS ''Resolution''. We can't be certain until we can find something so that we can date it. But with all the information pulled in for us, it looks most likely that it is the ''Resolution''.'

If the wreck ''does'' prove to be HMS ''Resolution'', it is already owned by the Nautical Museums Trust in Hastings, which bought rights to the yet-to-be-found vessel from the MoD in 1985. Their representative, Adrian Barak, said,

'This is a hugely significant find. We can't say it is definitely ''Resolution'' but it is almost the exact right place. It is remarkable that this wreck hadn't been discovered before. It may be that the seabed was moved by winter storms which uncovered it.'

For now the 3 divers (who are in 2006 taking NAS Training courses up to Part III, which will equip them to carry out sophisticated survey work) have been appointed as the site's joint licensees and will oversee maintenance, survey and any excavation, in partnership with Wessex Archaeology and with involvement from the

Nautical Archaeology Society The Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) is a charity registered in England and WalesCharity Commission
...

. In relation to this the divers have said:

'We are meeting soon with them, Wessex and English Heritage to discuss the way forward. For one thing, we are in need of project funding to support survey and possible sampling work that might lead to a positive identification.'

A physical and virtual dive trail has been developed for the site.

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850''. Conway Maritime Press. .

External links