John Bingeman - The Wrecks of HM Frigates Assurance (1753) and Pomone (1811): Including the fascinating naval career of Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Barrie, KCB, KCH (1774–1841)

THE WRECKS OF HM FRIGATES ASSURANCE (1753) & POMONE (1811)

INCLUDING THE FASCINATING NAVAL CAREER OF REAR-ADMIRAL SIR ROBERT BARRIE, KCB, KCH (17741841)

by

JOHN BINGEMAN, PAUL SIMPSON AND DAVID TOMALIN

With a foreword by

MAJOR-GENERAL SIR MARTIN S WHITE, KCVO, CB, CBE (HM LORD LIEUTENANT OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT 20062019)

Oxford & Philadelphia

Published in the United Kingdom in 2021 by

OXBOW BOOKS

The Old Music Hall, 106108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JE

and in the United States by

OXBOW BOOKS

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Oxbow Books and the authors 2021

Hardback Edition: ISBN 978-1-78925-637-6

Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78925-638-3 (epub)

Kindle ISBN: 978-1-78925-639-0

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020951527

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Front and back cover images: photos taken by David Tomalin and used with permission from Tim and Phillip Gill

C OMMANDER J OHN M. B INGEMAN (JMB) CENG, MIMECHE, FSNR, RN [R ETD ]

When John was HMS Centaur s diving officer (19645), he took his team exploring wrecks off Gibraltar. This started his interest in nautical archaeology that prompted him to join the Mary Rose team in the mid-1970s. With this experience he became the diving director (197886) for the Assurance (1753) and Pomone (1811) historic wrecks at the Needles. In 1980 he achieved the designation for the 74-gun Invincible (1758) wreck site in the Eastern Solent. His final report: The First HMS Invincible (174758) Her Excavations (19801991) was first published by Oxbow Books in 2010 with a larger self-published second edition in 2015. His writings include papers on copper sheathing and military buttons, as well as submerged prehistory features in Langstone Harbour.

P ROFESSOR D AVID T OMALIN (DJT) P H D, FSA

In 1976, David became Archaeological Advisor to the licensed diving programme at the Needles wreck site. Appointed County Archaeologist for the Isle of Wight (1980 2000), he later initiated the Isle of Wight Maritime Heritage Project (19868), gaining funds for seabed archaeological survey from the, then, Manpower Services Commission (MSC). Under its role as a Coastal Protection Authority, the Isle of Wight County Council later continued this work as a means of assessing the nature, scale and pace of coastal change around its shores. This led to major funding from the European Commission under l Instrument foncier pour lenvironnement (19972000), bringing a pooling of knowledge with Eire, France and Italy. He is currently Visiting Professor in coastal archaeological studies in the Department of Humanities at the University of Southampton. His recent research interests include the organisation and behaviour of Romano-British populations on the islands of Thanet and Wight. In his forthcoming book on Roman Vectis , he also explores the nature of social bonding and cultural identity amongst past and present islanders of Wight.

D R P AUL S IMPSON (PS) BA, MA, P H D, ACI F A

After graduating from Cardiff University, Paul was employed as an archaeological assistant with the Isle of Wight Council specifically to conduct post excavation work on the material from the Needles wreck site (19834). Subsequently, from 1984 to 1988), he was engaged as Finds Officer with the Isle of Wight Maritime Heritage project. This largely concerned an investigation of the 16th century Spanish merchantman Santa Lucia , wrecked in the Western Solent at Yarmouth Roads. In 1992, Paul obtained an MA in the Conservation of Historic Objects from Durham University. After working in collaboration with the Mary Rose Trust he gained a PhD from Portsmouth University in 2011. His major research interests involve organic waterlogged archaeological materials particularly in the reburial of waterlogged archaeological wood. These are set out in the recently published Practical reburial of archaeological timbers and environmental monitoring , a case study co-authored by Paul and Rosie Lansley.

This account summarises the many hours of underwater work achieved by Derek Williams, Leigh Pragnell and colleagues and the Portsmouth Royal Navy Sub-Aqua team using their diving vessel MFV 119. A second underwater survey was organised by Brian Sparks of the University of Southampton and Garry Momber of the Maritime Archaeology Trust (formerly the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology), further collaborative surveys were organised by Professor Jonathan Adams and Professor Michael Collins of the Departments of Archaeology and Oceanography at the University of Southampton.

Throughout this project, help and assistance was given by Christopher Sutherland Gill, Valerie Fenwick, Dr Margaret Rule, Nick Rule, Nick Blake, Cyril Lucas, Chris OShea, Dr Jack Jones, Kevin Camidge, John Fletcher, Trinity House, and Jane Bingeman. Thanks are also due to the past and present Receivers of Wreck, who have ensured that the artefacts have been secured in the collection of a registered public museum.

Extensive help in locating the manuscript letters of Robert Barrie ( Pomone s Captain and later Rear Admiral) has been provided by the David M Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University Libraries, North Carolina and the HMS Dragon letters by the William L Clements Library University of Michigan. Particular thanks go to Nico Brinck from Terschelling Holland whose knowledge on Walter Taylor rigging blocks recovered from Royal Naval ships wrecked along the Dutch coast extended our knowledge of the blocks recovered from HMS Pomone .

From 1976 to 1981 archaeological supervision was provided by Carisbrooke Castle Museum and thereafter by the Isle of Wight County Council. From 1986 to 1988 post-excavation work was assisted by the Manpower Services Commission and the Isle of Wight Archaeological Committee. We thank elected members and the officers of these institutions for their consistent support and encouragement in producing this book.

Over the centuries there have been many hundreds of shipwrecks around our Island coast with consequent tragic loss of life. When writing this forward about the wrecks of His Majestys frigates Assurance (1753) and Pomone (1811), the good news is that there were no fatalities.

Many of us when young dream of finding sunken treasure; Islander Derek Williams was no exception to this boyhood dream. After his family had grown up, and to give focus to his hobby of sport diving, Derek spent time studying local records of possible wrecks that might be of interest. Being a logical man, he started alphabetically with Assurance, said to be lying off the western tip of the Isle of Wight and uncomfortably close to the Needles.