[MR] BBC: 15th C Ship Ready For Reassembly

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today the BBC reports that the last timbers from the 15th century Newport
Ship have been returned from by conservators, and the ship is ready to be
reassembled. That is, it will be reassembled when there is a place to put
it.

The Newport Ship was a merchantman, and is the most complete 15th century
wreck known to exist. It was found in Newport, Wales, on the River Usk in
2002. Approximately one-third of the vessel survived by immersion in the
mud. In addition to its structural timbers, the wreck has yielded thousands
of artifacts, including a very complete medieval pointed-toe shoe:
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/mcs/media/images/57377000/jpg/_57377724_shoe.jpg
.

After years of conservation work to stabilize the timbers, including
freeze-drying at the Mary Rose Museum's conservation lab, the ship is ready
for reassembly. Ah, there's the rub! No place to put the wreck has been
found. Officials from the conservation team and the City of Newport are
working to find a venue where the ship and its artifacts can be displayed.
An empty department store is under consideration.

The BBC story, with a very cool three-minute video, several photos and a
conjectural image of how the ship looked, are at
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-64151535 . At the end of the story are
links to numerous past articles on this remarkable vessel.

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆