By: Cathy Cai

About 300 years ago the famous HMS Gloucester ship sunk. In 2007, the brothers Julian and Lincoln Barnwell, alongside a small team, discovered the ruins. If it wasn’t for the Duke, who later became King James II, then then ship wouldn’t have sunk. It all happened when the Duke and the pilot was arguing about which course to take. The Duke forced the pilot to take the path he didn’t want to take. The ship hit some sandbanks and that was when it started to sink. About an hour later around 200 people died. This deaths are also blamed on the Duke because no one could leave the ship until he did and he did not leave until the very last minute. After the ship sunk the Duke blamed the pilot and wanted him executed, but the pilot instead was put in prison. When the HMS Gloucester sank, it sank quickly so nothing could be saved from the wreckage. The historic items left on the ship are remain on the ship, in an far away place underwater. Barnwell’s team has the ability to excavate some of these items which can provide us more about the 17th century. Some of the items found on the ship will be on display in Norwich Castle Museum in 2023.