Royal Anne Galley

A galley-frigate the Charles Galley ( Jeremy Roche c1688)

The Royal Anne Galley was a galley-frigate, a type of small, fast warship, combining sail with oar propulsion. Designed by Marquis Carmarthen and built at Woolwich Dockyard, she was wrecked off the Lizard Point on 10th November 1721; about two hundred crew and passengers were lost including John, 3rd Lord Belhaven, who was en voyage to take up a new post as the Governor of Barbados.

The wreck site was rediscovered in 1991 by local diver Robert Sherratt when a large sounding lead was found adjacent to two iron guns. Subsequently numerous objects were recovered from the seabed in the vicinity of the iron guns, including items of cutlery bearing the Belhaven crest, which led to the identification of the wreck. The wreck was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act (1973) as the Royal Anne Galley in 1993.

Although the Royal Anne Galley lies close inshore in about 6m of seawater, the area is surrounded by rocks and large Atlantic swells make access difficult. The rocky seabed is a very dynamic environment with deep gullies and crevices obscured by thick kelp.

In 2005 English Heritage (EH) commissioned Historic Environment Projects, Cornwall Council (HE Projects), and Kevin Camidge to undertake a desk-based assessment of the Royal Anne Galley;  Phase 1 of a Marine Environmental Assessment (MEA) of the site. The purpose of the MEA is to allow English Heritage to make an informed judgment on best practice for field assessment and therefore to establish site stability and preservation potential.

Following completion of the Phase 1 report (RAG MEA DBA) which outlined a strategy for field assessment and monitoring of the site EH commissioned a  Phase 2 field assessment (RAG MEA Phase II). This was carried out during 2008 and 2009 and the following objectives were successfully accomplished:

• A bathymetric survey was undertaken;
• A marine biological assessment was undertaken;
• A water sample was collected and analysed;
• Sediment samples were collected and analysed;
• Objects for monitoring dispersal (bricks and spheres) were installed on the site;
• Objects to monitor the biological degradation of timber were installed on the site.

The Phase 3 monitoring was carried out in 2010 by a team of CISMAS divers. An inspection of the site was undertaken and the oak sample blocks were recovered. The tracer objects, spheres and bricks, which had been placed on the seabed were located and surveyed. In total, 21 of the original 40 objects were located and recorded (8 spheres and 13 bricks). The objects have been moved on the seabed by an average of 5.15m (spheres) and 4.89m (bricks). With a single exception the objects had been ‘sorted’ by the environmental forces acting on the site (RAG MEA Phase III). Analysis of the oak blocks exposed on the seabed of this site showed they are subject to attack by wood-boring organisms and that survival of any timber from the wreck of the Royal Anne Galley is unlikely.

Further work on the site will be undertaken by CISMAS including observation and study of the disposition of the dispersal objects, renewal of the control point network on the site so that future work can be tied in to the existing plan and artefact positions and detailed recording of the two iron guns on the site as recommended in the Phase 3 report.