The Gloucester Project
The Gloucester Project is a significant historical research and engagement project exploring the life and times of the Gloucester frigate. It is funded by grants from The Leverhulme Trust, British Academy, Arts and Humanities Research Council, and other funding bodies and charities.
The Gloucester was an English warship launched in 1654 and participated in several global conflicts before it was lost on 6 May 1682 when it struck a sandbank off North Norfolk. It was transporting James, Duke of York and Albany, heir presumptive to Edinburgh from London when it was lost.
Currently the team is working on two related projects. With National Lottery Heritage Funding, they are creating digitally augmented heritage walks that connect Great Yarmouth’s 17th-century streets, buildings, and waterfront to the loss of the Gloucester. With Arts and Humanities Research Council funding, they are showcasing the 'wooden world' of an early modern ship through a short animated film documenting a rat's perspective of life on the Gloucester in the last hour before sinking.
A North West View of the Jetty at Yarmouth by John Butcher, 1796.
Time & Tide Museum, Great Yarmouth (C) Norfolk Museums Service.
For information about previous project highlights and achievements, a summary of recent activities is below:
The Gloucester Project Wins Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Innovation and Impact (2023). Professor Claire Jowitt and Dr Benjamin Redding were delighted to win this award for ‘Launching the Gloucester: A Norfolk Heritage Project with National and International Reach and Significance’. This prestigious award is given annually to the most outstanding entry to the university’s Innovation and Impact Awards competition. Find out more in the video below:
The inaugural exhibition ‘The Last Voyage of the Gloucester: Norfolk’s Royal Shipwreck, 1682’ was held at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery from 25 February 2023 to 10 September 2023. It was the result of a partnership between Julian and Lincoln Barnwell, Norfolk Museums Service, and academic partner UEA.
The exhibition was curated by Professor Claire Jowitt and Dr Benjamin Redding (UEA and the Gloucester Project), and Ruth Battersby-Tooke and Dr Francesca Vanke (Norfolk Museums Service). We highlighted two stories separated by over 300 years in the exhibition. One concerned the ship itself: its loss in 1682 off Norfolk while carrying the future King James II and VII, and the tales of its passengers and crew. The other focused on the discovery of the wreck, and the immense joys and challenges that come with such a find.
In the exhibition we also included a mini-drama written by UEA Creative Writing Professor Steve Waters and voiced by past and present students. Jowitt and Redding were historical advisors for the production. Below, hear them talking about the stories behind events on the Gloucester and watch the drama.
