This article was originally published on my WordPress blog – March 2014. Still a hero? A reconstruction of Drake’s Golden Hind, London 2013. People have all sorts of heroes and heroines – actors, musicians, sports stars, even politicians. The late Tony Benn, who sadly died a couple of days ago, was…
This article was originally published on my WordPress blog – July 2016. Conjectural sketch of a balinger (C) Ian Friel 2015. Balingers were the frigates of medieval sea warfare: relatively fast, relatively small and suitable for a wide range of tasks, short of taking on a major enemy ship singlehanded….
This article was originally published on my WordPress blog – November 2015. The Burial of Private Walker, by Louis Raemakers, 1916 In the wake of the terrible events in Paris on 13th November, and with all the other tragedies in the modern world, it may seem self-indulgent, to say to least,…
This article was originally published on my WordPress blog – October 2015. The site at Bursledon: to the left, the site of the Grace Dieu, to the right, the possible site of the Holy Ghost. ‘But how do we know that?’ is a good question for people to ask of historians and…
This article was originally published on my WordPress blog – August 2014. The fireship attack by the English fleet on the Spanish Armada off Calais on the night of 7th/8th August 1588 was the turning-point of the Armada campaign. The attack temporarily dispersed the Armada, drove it into the North…
This article was originally published on my WordPress blog – August 2017. Although this 1956 reconstruction was intended to represent the Pilgrim Fathers’ 120-ton ship Mayflower of 1620, its design was largely based on late 16th century English sources. As such it gives a good idea of the appearance of the privately-owned ships in the…
This article was originally published on my WordPress blog – July 2014. Monument to Edmund Norton, gentleman, who received a pension for ‘his good service by seae in Anno Domini 1588’ (St Bartholemew’s Church, Hyde, Winchester, Hants). Edmund died on 10th July 1600. And on 20th July (see below). BREAKING NEWS!!! 426…
This article was originally published on my WordPress blog – March 2014. A thank-offering for a successful voyage, or a fearful prayer before setting sail? A 13th/14th century ship graffito in Rochester Cathedral, Kent. To many people the word ‘graffiti’ conjurs up images of desecrated walls, gang-tags and urban decay. …
This article was originally published on my WordPress blog – February 2014. The site of the Grace Dieu, during fieldwork in the 1980s. The ship was huge, in medieval terms: the archaeologist in the red wetsuit is standing on the end of the keel at the stern – the other end…
This article was originally published on my WordPress blog – February 2014. A different sort of 1914 anniversary: a plaque in Southampton marking the centenary of the death of the composer Charles Dibdin Anniversaries are not easy to escape, at least if you’re trying to interpret history. The current plethora of…