GRESHAM SHIP PROJECT: researching a Tudor ship from the Thames
  
Discovery of the Gresham Ship
In 2003, the Port of London Authority uncovered part of a ship while clearing the Princes Channel, in the River Thames. Working with the PLA, maritime archaeologists from Wessex Archaeology recorded substantial sections of the vessel, and recovered a number of artifacts associated with it.
The finds included some 40 iron bars, lead ingots, an anchor, Spanish olive jars, organic items such as leather shoes, barrel staves and rope.
In addition there were two cannons, one of which bore the insignia 'TG' and a grasshopper motif. This is presumably associated with Thomas Gresham (1519-1579), the famous Elizabethan financier and founder of the Royal Exchange.
 Further confirmation of a C16th-date for the ship came from analysis of dendrochronological samples from timbers from the hull: this suggested a felling date of c. AD 1574.
The surviving sections of the hull were subsequently raised and transported to Horsea near Portsmouth, where they are now lying in a shallow brackish-water lake.
 Clearly this discovery is of great importance to Tudor historians, maritime archaeologists and to all interested in the history of the Port of London and its great river. Consequently a research Programme has been developed to ensure that the Gresham Ship receives the attention it deserves.
The programme will be a collaboration between the PLA, UCL, Gresham College, the Museum in Docklands, the Nautical Archaeology Society and the University of South Denmark.
The PLA has decided to transfer most of the artifacts to University College London on a temporary basis, to form the focus of a five-year study based at the Institute of Archaeology from 2007-2012.
  
Gresham Ship Project 2007-2012
The elements of the proposed GRESHAM SHIP PROJECT include:
1. Finds Study Programme
2. Hull Studies Programme
3. Conference Programme
4. Publication Programme
5. Outreach Programme
1. Finds Study Programme
A series of reports on technical, analytical, methodological and research themes will be produced, under the general supervision of Dean Sully. Programme includes collaborative work with eg British Museum, the Royal Armouries and English Heritage.
2. Hull Studies Programme
The hull remains currently in Horsea Lake, near Portsmouth will become the focus for an underwater survey programme to record the vessel in better visibility and greater safety than was possible in 2003. This work will be co-ordinated by Jens Auer, from the University of South Denmark, together with the Nautical Archaeology Society. We also hope to develop and underwater heritage trail in the lake, so that more people will be able to share the experience of diving on a Tudor shipwreck.
3. Conference Programme
Gresham College will be organising two major conferences/ lecture programmes, to be held at Barnard's Inn, Holborn, and at the Museum in Docklands, Canary Wharf. This programme will be co-ordinated by Geoff Pavitt, from Gresham College. The papers presented at these events will be brought together for publication. Papers would be presented and subsequently published.
The first conference, "The Making of our City: the Elizabethan Port of London" will be held in
2009. This is the Port of London's centenary year, and also the 450th anniversary of the reform of the Tudor Port in 1559, which saw the introduction of the 'Legal Quays' and the building of a new Custom House.
It would bring together five studies in Tudor maritime history in a major lecture series, followed by a full-day conference on the archaeology of the Tudor Port.
The second programme would be held in 2012, on "Tudor Ships & Shipping". Once again it would incorporate a lecture series by distinguished historians, followed by a major conference on the archaeological study of C16th shipwrecks. The conference itself would also serve as the launch event for the Gresham Ship Project's major research monograph.
4. Publication Programme
It is proposed that four major publications be produced:
a) The first report will be an account of the initial discovery and study conducted by Wessex Archaeology, in 2003-5. This should appear in the winter of 2007.
b) The second report will be the published proceedings of the 2009 lecture series and conference on 'The Making of Our City: the Elizabethan Port of London', and will include a research update on Gresham Ship Project. This should appear by 2010-11.
c) The third report will be the major monograph bringing together the all finds studies, hull studies and related research on the vessel. This would be scheduled to appear in 2012.
d) The final report will be the published proceedings of the 2012 conference on Tudor Ships & Shipping and the associated lecture series.
5. Outreach Programme
UCL students from the Museum Studies course will help promote the project through initiatives such as temporary exhibitions set up in the Museum of Docklands to support the conference programme and the development of a pioneering underwater heritage trail in Horsea Lake, where the remains of the Gresham Ship now lie.
Gustav Milne
Gresham Ship Project
University College London
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