Divers uncover 320-year-old warship in astonishing condition off English coast

A new dive survey by Historic England has revealed the remarkable remains of the 18^th-century warship Northumberland off the coast of Kent.

A large section of the warship remains intact on the seabed, with evidence of an extensive hull structure, multiple wooden decks, exceptionally well-preserved coils of rope on a timber deck, multiple wooden chests containing musket balls, 13 iron cannons, part of a wooden gun carriage, swords, muskets and copper cauldrons found within it.

Diver footage shows well-preserved rope on the deck of the 320-year-old warship. Credit: Pascoe Archaeology

The condition of the Northumberland shipwreck is surprising as the site is particularly fragile, at risk of deterioration through shifting sands, strong currents and wood-eating sea creatures.

"The completeness of the Northumberland wreck site is remarkable,” says Paul Jeffery, Marine Team Leader at Historic England. “Historic England’s diving work is so important to ensure we continue to record what we can of this site. It is a race against time as more of the Northumberland wreck becomes exposed.”

Image shows: General view of the boat — A boat heads out on a Northumberland wreck dive. Credit: Michael Pitts / History Hit

The Northumberland was a Third Rate 70-gun warship built in Bristol in 1679 as part of Samuel Pepys’s regeneration of the English Navy. It sank in 1703 during the 'Great Storm' on the Goodwin Sands off the coast of Kent, along with three other warships: Restoration, Stirling Castle and Mary.

Dan Snow, founder of the History Hit streaming service, also visited the Protected Wreck Site and produced a film about this recent survey work. “Northumberland is the missing link," says Snow. "Built roughly halfway between the Mary Rose and HMS Victory, this wreck can fill in crucial details of shipbuilding and life at sea at that pivotal moment in our history,” he says. “We have the Mary Rose, the ‘Tudor time capsule’, well here’s a Stuart time capsule to sit alongside it.”