HMY Mary

Last updated

The arrival of King Charles II of England in Rotterdam, may 24 1660 (Lieve Pietersz. Verschuier, 1665).jpg
The arrival of King Charles II of England in Rotterdam, 24 May 1660 by Lieve Verschuier.
Charles sailed from Breda to Delft in May 1660 in a yacht owned by the Dutch East India Company. Charles received a replica as he was impressed. [1]
History
Flag of the Dutch East India Company.svg Dutch East India Company
Builder Amsterdam
Cost£644
FateGifted by the City of Amsterdam to King Charles II
History
English Red Ensign 1620.svgEngland
NameMary
AcquiredAugust 1660
FateSunk on the Skerries, 25 March 1675
General characteristics
TypeYacht
Tons burthen92 tons bm
Length50 ft (15 m)
Beam18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
Height7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)
Draught7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Sail plan Gaff rig
Crew30 mariners, 20 gunners, 20 soldiers
Armament8/6 x 3 pdrs
NotesAll figures taken from Winfield, Rif (2009). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. p. 250. ISBN   978-1-84832-040-6.

HMY Mary was the first Royal Yacht of the Royal Navy. She was built in 1660 by the Dutch East India Company. Then she was purchased by the City of Amsterdam and given to King Charles II, on the restoration of the monarchy, as part of the Dutch Gift. She struck rocks off Anglesey in thick fog on 25 March 1675 while en route from Dublin to Chester. Although 35 of the 74 crew and passengers were killed as the wreck quickly broke up, 39 managed to get to safety. The remains (bronze cannon) were independently discovered by two different diving groups in July 1971. After looters started to remove guns from the site, a rescue operation was organized and the remaining guns and other artifacts were taken to the Merseyside Museums for conservation and display. After the passing of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, she was designated as a protected site on 20 January 1974.

Contents

Construction and sailing life

She was the first of some 27 yachts which the king owned between 1660 and 1685. The word yacht derives from a Dutch word jagen, meaning to hunt and to hunt down other ships. Her hull was copper clad to ensure that barnacles and other sea creatures did not adhere and cause drag. The Dutch yacht is the fore-runner of the Thames sailing barge. They had a large sail area, but a shallow draught that enabled them to navigate shallow waters. As with a sailing barge, sailing was achieved by means of a leeboard instead of having a deep keel. The shallow draught meant that she needed to carry additional ballast when sailing deeper waters. She was built for luxury with a decorated counter. She is mentioned in the diaries of Samuel Pepys. Charles II enjoyed racing and after owning her for a year commissioned the Katherine as a faster replacement; the first vessel built for him by Phineas Pett.

Mary was then used for transporting diplomats and civil servants and was used regularly for journeys across the Irish Sea between Dublin and Holyhead.

Wrecking, recovery and protection

She was on a regular journey across the Irish Sea, en route from Dublin to Chester, on 25 March 1675. In the early hours of the morning in thick fog, she struck rocks on the south-west corner of The Skerries off Anglesey at position 53°25′9.31″N4°36′42.15″W / 53.4192528°N 4.6117083°W / 53.4192528; -4.6117083 . The ship soon capsized and sank, and of the 28 crew and 46 passengers, only 39 scrambled ashore to be rescued two days later. [2]

The bronze guns were discovered by both the Chorley Sub Aqua Club and the Merseyside Sub Aqua Club in the same month. Under the direction of Peter Davies of Liverpool University and the Merseyside Museums, the artefacts were rescued from the site before they were lost to looters. The collection was conserved by the Liverpool City Museums Conservation Department and the Merseyside Museums now have over 1,500 objects from the Mary, including cutlery and jewellery. A model of the Mary, built by Des Newton is also on display. [3]

The Protection of Wrecks Act was passed in 1974 and the Mary was amongst the first designations (after the Cattewater ) in 1974. [4]

The site is regularly monitored by the contractor for the Protection of Wrecks Act and by the licensee.

See also

Related Research Articles

RMS <i>Tayleur</i> Clipper ship sunk on maiden voyage in 1854

RMS Tayleur was a full-rigged iron clipper ship chartered by the White Star Line. She was large, fast and technically advanced. She ran aground off Lambay Island and sank, on her maiden voyage, in 1854. Of more than 650 aboard, only 280 survived. She has been described as "the first Titanic".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moelfre, Anglesey</span> Village and community in Anglesey, Wales

Moelfre ( ) is a village, a community and, until 2012, an electoral ward on the north-east coast of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. The community area covers the village and harbour, and several smaller, dispersed settlements. It includes six scheduled Iron Age hut groups and many other sites of archaeological interest. The harbour was formerly a local fishing port; a lifeboat station has been based here since 1854. Among many shipwrecks off the coast was that of the Royal Charter in 1859. Near the modernised lifeboat station is the RNLI Seawatch Centre. The coastline includes a rocky headland north of the village and a large sandy beach at Lligwy Bay, both traversed by the Anglesey Coastal Path. The 2011 census measured the village population as 710. It was estimated at 614 in 2019.

The year 1971 in archaeology involved some significant events.

RMS <i>Leinster</i> Torpedoed mailboat (1918)

RMS Leinster was an Irish ship operated by the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company. She served as the Kingstown-Holyhead mailboat until she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine UB-123, which was under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Robert Ramm, on 10 October 1918, while bound for Holyhead. She sank just outside Dublin Bay at a point 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) east of the Kish light.

HMS <i>Swordfish</i> (61S) Submarine

HMS Swordfish (61S) was a first-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. Commissioned in 1932, she was given the pennant number 61S and was assigned to the 2nd Submarine Flotilla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamkang University Maritime Museum</span> Museum in Tamsui, New Taipei, Taiwan

The Tamkang University Maritime Museum is a museum on sea navigation located on the campus of Tamkang University in Tamsui District, New Taipei City in Taiwan. The museum is located in a ship-like formed building which formerly served as a training center for future sailors on trading ships.

HMY <i>Fairy</i>

HMYFairy was a small royal yacht and tender to the HMY Victoria and Albert (1843). Built in 1844 by Ditchburn and Mare at Leamouth, she was commissioned in 1845.

Fifteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Mary:

Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Augusta or HMS Auguste, whilst another two were planned:

BNS <i>Gomati</i> Patrol vessel in the Bangladesh Navy

BNS Gomati is an Island-class offshore patrol vessel of the Bangladesh Navy. She was originally built as a Fishery Protection Vessel for the British Royal Navy, entering service as HMS Anglesey in 1979. She was sold to Bangladesh in 2002, entering service in 2003.

Britannia may refer to any one of a large number of ships:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Air Command Sub Aqua Club</span> British organization within the Royal Navy

The Naval Air Command Sub Aqua Club (NACSAC) was an organization within the Royal Navy that oversaw sports and technical diving training activities for naval aviation and fleet units. Today, it has branches at RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk) and RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron). Both bases provide training, and club members regularly dive into their local areas on weekends. Diving instruction, from beginner to advanced level, is offered under the auspices of the British Sub-Aqua Club. In 2005, NACSAC was closed down as an organization in favour of the Royal Navy Sub Aqua Club, which is what Lieutenant Graham and CPO Larn had wanted from the outset of NACSAC, which was only given that title since HMS Vernon, the RN Diving School at Portsmouth would not support the idea of sport diving within the service.

<i>Cymric</i> (schooner)

Cymric was a British and Irish schooner, built in 1893. She joined the South American trade in the fleet of Arklow, Ireland, in 1906. She served as a British Q-ship during the First World War; she failed to sink any German U-boats, but did sink a British submarine in error.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmel Head</span> Coastal headland on Anglesey, Wales

Carmel Head is a prominent coastal headland on the northwest tip of the island of Anglesey.

<i>Zebu</i> (ship)

Zebu, formerly Ziba, was a historic tall ship. Built in Sweden in 1938, she was used as a trading vessel until the late 1960s, before circumnavigating the globe in the 1980s. She has been based in Liverpool since the 1980s. She sank in 2015, and was subsequently restored. She partially sank again in 2021 after running aground on Holyhead breakwater after slipping her anchor, and had masts and sails removed to reduce weight so the hull could be moved. On 21 May 2021 after suffering further damage due to a storm, she was declared a wreck.

SB <i>Centaur</i> British wooden Thames sailing barge

SB Centaur is a wooden Thames sailing barge, built in Harwich, Essex, England in 1895. She was used to carry various cargoes, mainly grain, for the next 60 years. During the First World War she carried food and coal to the French Channel ports. During the Second World War Centaur was damaged when sailing to assist with the Dunkirk Evacuation. She did war work for the duration of the conflict.

SB Ena Wooden barge

The Ena is a wooden Thames sailing barge constructed in Harwich in 1906 that is resting on the flats adjacent to Stargate Marina in Hoo, Kent. She is a notable Dunkirk little ship reputed to have rescued 100 men.

SB Ardwina

Ardwina was the last wooden Thames barge to be built in Ipswich. This was in 1909. She was registered in London. She worked commercially until 1956. She was laid up after a collision and restored as a yacht conversion. She is still sailing in 2018, based at St Katherine Docks, and regularly passes under Tower Bridge.

SB Edme English barge (1898)

Edme is a Thames barge which was built in 1898 for the Horlocks of Mistley. She was registered in Harwich. She is one of two barge sailing today that have no auxiliary engine.

References

Notes
  1. Fraser, Antonia (1979) King Charles II, p.223.
  2. "HMY Mary (391)". Coflein. RCAHMW. 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  3. "Liverpool museums - Model of Royal Yacht Mary". liverpoolmuseums.org.uk. 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  4. Cadw. "Royal Yacht Mary (DW3)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 26 October 2021.
Bibliography