A merman carving from the swash channel wreck
A BU led partnership project will make 400-year-old underwater shipwreck accessible to the community through prestigious grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
BU led ‘Bringing People to the Museum and the Museum Underwater’ has successfully won full funding of £141,200 from the Lottery Heritage Fund.
The project is a collaboration with BU marine archeologists and Borough of Poole Museum Service which is using the Swash Channel Wreck to encourage people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to learn about their local maritime archaeological heritage. After conservation, finds from the Wreck and all the information from the excavation will be passed on to Poole Museum Service.
The idea for the project came from BU’s MSc Maritime Archaeology Programme Leader Ms Paola Palma. She said: “I was working with my MSc students on this fascinating underwater site when I realised that only a small group of us – myself and my colleague, the students and few others – would be able to enjoy this incredible maritime heritage. And this made me realise how important it is that we involve not just students, but the wider community.”
The Swash Channel Wreck is an early seventeenth century armed merchant ship lying in 7-9 metres of water in the approach to Poole Harbour on the South coast of the UK. It is a globally significant site containing information about international trade and exchange, science, engineering and social relations of the time.
The elaborately carved rudder, which is estimated to be around 8ft long, is one of the most extraordinary features of the shipwreck. Rudders are only found on a very small number of protected wrecks in Great Britain, including the incomplete rudder of the Mary Rose (1545). Carvings on rudders are even rarer, making this one extremely significant, and it is hoped to be resurrected by the end of summer 2012 if weather permits.
The project aims to bring the shipwreck to a far wider audience than the divers or special interest groups who know about the Wreck at present.
The £75,000 received so far will be used to finance creative ways of exposing the wreck to the public, for example hiring a huge glass tank which will be filled with parts of the ship, with a diver explaining through a loudspeaker what each bit of the ship is to an audience outside.
Michael Spender, Museum Manager, Borough of Poole, said: “We are pleased to be working with Bournemouth University on this exciting project which will involve the whole community. Poole has a fantastic maritime history and I would encourage people to get involved in what is a great opportunity. We look forward to displaying the finds from the Wreck in the Museum.”
Ms Palma said: “Although the MSc Maritime Archaeology course is fundamental in shaping generations of future archaeologists, there is also the need to demolish barriers to engagement in order to allow anyone an equal opportunity to enjoy and engage with their heritage.”
A Project Officer has been employed to give groups access who wouldn’t necessarily be able to visit the site once it has been resurrected, such as visiting people in hospitals, prisons and nursing homes with live streaming equipment of the displays, and replicas of artifacts so they are not cut off from knowledge about their local maritime history.
Nerys Watts, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund South West, said: “The Swash wreck is of international importance, and can provide real insight into the history of our marine trade, science and engineering. This project has the potential to open up this important part of our heritage to the wider community. There is still work for the university to do, but HLF will be offering their full support in taking their application further.”
Bournemouth University and Poole Museum Service welcome the public’s opinion and participation in this exciting project. If you would like to be involved and be part of it please get in touch by emailing ppalma@bournemouth.ac.uk.
