A recent series of talks ‘The Stories of the Gloucester Shipwreck: Norfolk’s Mary Rose’, convened by the University of East Anglia’s Professor Claire Jowitt, has already been enjoyed by more than 1000 people. Held to accompany the exhibition ‘The Last Voyage of the Gloucester: Norfolk’s Royal Shipwreck, 1682’, which is on at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery until 10 September 2023, noted experts discussed a number of important topics about the ship’s career and seventeenth-century social history, and the amazing artefacts rescued from the wreck. Attendees enjoyed learning about drinking on the Gloucester, for instance, as well as about naval history and the leadership style of James, Duke of York and Albany, the most illustrious of the Gloucester’s passengers on its last, fateful voyage in 1682. Other events focused on the stunning textiles that the finders Julian and Lincoln Barnwell have recovered from the site, and on the ways the idea of shipwreck speaks to something elemental in human culture.
Feedback from attendees was universally positive, and it was clear from this and the sheer number of people who attended in person the events at Norwich Castle or watched them online, that there’s a deep and significant interest in the future of the Gloucester warship. If you would like to watch back the four events, you can do so by following this link The Stories of the Gloucester Shipwreck: Norfolk’s Mary Rose – About (uea.ac.uk).
