 Johan Danckerts (c. 1682), The Wreck of the Gloucester off Yarmouth, 6 May 1682, Royal Museums Greenwich
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
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| Name | Gloucester |
| Ordered | December 1652 |
| Builder | Matthew Graves, Limehouse |
| Cost | £5,473 |
| Launched | probably March 1654 |
| Commissioned | Margate |
 England | |
| Owner | Royal Navy |
| Acquired | 1660 |
| Renamed | Gloucester |
| Fate | Wrecked, 6 May 1682 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Speaker-class (third rate) |
| Tons burthen | 75511⁄94 (bm) |
| Length | 117 ft (35.7 m) (keel) |
| Beam | 34 ft 10 in (10.6 m) |
| Depth of hold | 14 ft 6 in (4.4 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 50 guns (as built); 60 guns (1677) |
The frigate Gloucester (spelt Glocester by contemporary sources) was a Speaker-class third rate, commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Gloucester after the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660. The ship was ordered in December 1652, built at Limehouse in East London, and launched in 1654. The warship was conveying James Stuart, Duke of York (the future King James II of England) to Scotland, when on 6 May 1682 she struck a sandbank off the Norfolk coast, and quickly sank. The Duke was among those saved, but as many as 250 people drowned, including members of the royal party; it is thought that James's intransigence delayed the evacuation of the passengers and crew.
The Gloucester participated in the British invasion of Jamaica (1655), and in the Battle of Lowestoft (3 June 1665). During 1666 she formed part of the fleet that attacked a Dutch convoy off Texel. She fought in the Four Days' Battle (1–4 June 1666) and also took part in the St. James's Day Battle (5 July 1666), the attack on the Smyrna fleet (March 1672), the Battle of Solebay (28 May 1672), and the Battles of Schooneveld (7 June and 14 June 1673). At the end of 1673, having participated in the Battle of Texel (11 August 1673), she was sent to the Mediterranean. Gloucester underwent a comprehensive refit at Portsmouth in 1678, when she was largely rebuilt, at great expense.
In 2007, after a four-year-long search, the wreck of Gloucester was found by an underwater diving team, who have since retrieved a variety of artefacts, including navigational aids, clothing, footwear, and other personal possessions. The wreck has been claimed by Claire Jowitt of the University of East Anglia to be "the single most significant historic maritime discovery since the raising of the Mary Rose in 1982".[1] In 2023, an exhibition relating to the wreck was held at the Castle Museum in Norwich.