Background to the Stirling Castle
The Stirling Castle is one of sixteen pre-establishment 3rd rates of 70 guns rebuilt between 1697 and 1702. The archaeological components of the Stirling Castle consist of a partially exposed hull and internal structure. The site is unstable and the structure of the vessel has been collapsing through the years due to changes to the environmental dynamics of the area. Therefore, a natural degradation affecting the physical integrity of some areas of the Stirling Castle site is occurring, with an increased sediment reduction from midships to the starboard side
The wreck lies in a very dynamic environment responsible for the original burying of the site, preserving it for the past 300 years. This dynamic environment is now causing the burial and exposure of the site affecting its stabilisation and preservation. After the initial discovery in 1979, the wreck was rapidly re-buried by the shifting sands. In 1998, the wreck became exposed again. This trend of burial and re-burial has become continuous and has been accentuated by the scouring effect of the sea.
In May 1980, the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) confirmed the position of the wreck. By June 1980, the Stirling Castle was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. Following a survey undertaken by the UKHO, the designation was amended in September 1980 to redefine the centre of the site. The site was re-designated in 2004 to increase the size of the restricted area. In December 1980, the wreck was purchased outright from the Ministry of Defence by the Isle of Thanet Archaeological Unit (now the Isle of Thanet Archaeological Society).
Vessel History
The Stirling Castle was one of 30 great ships of the line built as part of Samuel Pepys 1677 shipbuilding programme. The programme consisted of one 1st rate, nine 2nd rates and twenty 3rd rates. The initial design of the new ships agreed by Parliament was found lacking so the King himself, Charles II, proclaimed that he would pay for the needed alterations to the size of each vessel from his own purse. To simplify maintenance the King insisted the masts, spars, rigging and fittings of each rate be standardised, whilst Pepys ensured the ordnance was also standardised. This marked the first steps in the control of naval architecture by the naval administration. The size of the building programme strained the resources of the Royal Dockyards and meant that the new ships were ordered in two instalments. The first instalment consisted of three 2nd rates and twelve 3rd rates, and the second instalment of one 1st rate, six 2nd rates and eight more 3rd rates.
The Stirling Castle was a 3rd rate laid down as part of the first instalment of ships in 1677. It was built by John Shish and completed in two years, being launched at Deptford on the south bank of the river Thames in 1679. At 1,114 tons the Stirling Castle was slightly larger than the average 3rd rate as laid down in the specifications of the 1677 programme. The Stirling Castle was amongst the 3rd rates listed in the Revolution Fleet of 1688. During 1699 the ship was rebuilt, and in 1701 was refitted and commissioned back into the Navy. The career of the Stirling Castle came to an end in the early hours of 27th November during the Great Storm of 1703. The Stirling Castle wrecked on the Goodwin Sands, losing four fifths of the crew. The storm also claimed two other 3rd rates of the same fleet, Northumberland and Restoration. The current licensee for the Stirling Castle, Robert Peacock, is also undertaking work on these two sites.
Until the Second Dutch War (c.1665-1667) fleets engaged each other in a general melee. Each vessel sought out its own adversary, with Admirals seeking their opposite number and visa versa down the line of hierarchy. By the Second Dutch War, fleets were being organised in squadrons and line ahead formations became the standard tactic. This appears to have been initiated first in the English Navy in their standing orders. All the ships of the 1677 ship building programme (1st, 2nd and 3rd rates) were vessels powerful enough to form up in the line of battle. As such the Stirling Castle represents a vessel designed and built from the earliest period of the 'Line of Battle', a period that would continue till the advent of steam propulsion, as seen in HMS Warrior, and the period in which the Royal Navy established itself as the premier Naval power in the world.
English maritime power expanded beyond local waters during the period after the Dutch wars. This became the period of the continental navy, which saw developments in ship design, build and rig to deal with the new environment. The Stirling Castle represents a ship wrecked during this pivotal period with high potential for understanding the developments in ship design, build and rig of this period. For example, due to the good preservation within the site environment observed to date, the Stirling Castle archaeological potential is deemed to be high. The surviving material from this site will help to answer significant questions about daily living, not only on board a pre-Georgian ship but also about the 17th and early 18th century society, shedding new light on the development of the Modern World.