Forgotten Wrecks of the Barge Wessex First World War and its Littlehampton Construction Yard May 2018 FORGOTTEN WRECKS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR Barge Wessex, River Hamble, Hampshire, and its construction yard at Littlehampton, West Sussex Page 1 of 20 Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War Barge Wessex & Littlehampton Shipbuilding Yard: Report (May 2018) Table of Contents 1 Project Background ......................................................................................................................... 4 2 Site Background and Context .......................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Site History .............................................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Geographical Context.................................................................................................................... 6 2.3 Research Questions....................................................................................................................... 7 3 Fieldwork Methodology .................................................................................................................. 8 4 Site Results ...................................................................................................................................... 8 4.1 DBA and historical Research ................................................................................................... 8 4.2 Fieldwork – Measured Survey ............................................................................................... 11 4.3 Fieldwork – Drone Survey ..................................................................................................... 16 4.4 Ortho mosaic ......................................................................................................................... 16 4.5 3D Model ............................................................................................................................... 17 5 Discussion & Future Research ....................................................................................................... 18 6 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 20 Page 2 of 20 Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War Barge Wessex & Littlehampton Shipbuilding Yard: Report (May 2018) I Acknowledgments The Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War project was generously funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund through their Heritage Grants Programme. The Maritime Archaeology Trust would like to thank Elizabeth Britton, Sarah Chaddock, Owen Morgan and Helen Ware, all of whom volunteered to help with the fieldwork, post-fieldwork processing or research relating to the Barge Wessex. We would also like to thank the Archaeology Department at the University of Southampton for the lending of the RTK-GPS system for the duration of the main survey. Access to the site was kindly granted by the YMCA at Fairthorne Manor. Information and photographs from a display at Littlehampton Museum have been drawn on for this report and we would like to extend thanks for permission to use this material. MAT Staff involved in the recording, analysis and reporting include: Julian Whitewright, Rachel Bynoe, Brandon Mason, Grant Bettinson and Julie Satchell. ii Copyright Statement This report has been produced by the MAT with the assistance of funding provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund through their Heritage Grants Programme. Unless otherwise stated all images are copyright of the MAT. If copyright is unknown, this is indicated in the caption. iii List of Figures FIGURE 1: LOCATION MAP - BARGE WESSEX - RIVER HAMBLE AND HARVEY’S SHIPBUILDING SITE AT LITTLEHAMPTON. ................... 5 FIGURE 2: HULK OF THE BARGE WESSEX SITTING IN A TRIBUTARY OFF THE MAIN HAMBLE RIVER. ................................................ 6 FIGURE 3: THE OLD DOCK AT LITTLEHAMPTON, FORMERLY HARVEY’S SHIPBUILDERS ................................................................. 7 FIGURE 4: SURVEYED PLAN OF THE HULKED REMAINS OF BARGE WESSEX NEAR FAIRTHORNE MANOR (WEST-EAST) (COURTESY MOSS ET AL) ............................................................................................................................................................... 8 FIGURE 5: SHIPBUILDING DOCK THROUGH TIME. TOP: THE HISTORIC DOCK IN THE 1950S; BOTTOM: 1910S LOCATION, APPROXIMATELY CONTEMPORARY WITH CONSTRUCTION OF THE WESSEX .............................................................................................. 9 FIGURE 6: EXTERNAL IMAGE OF LITTLEHAMPTONS SHIPBUILDERS. ....................................................................................... 10 FIGURE 7: THE LAUNCH OF THE BARGE WESSEX IN 1918 FROM HARVEY’S AT LITTLEHAMPTON. NOTE THE CRANE TO THE LEFT SIDE OF THE DOCK, WHICH CAN BE SEEN IN FIGURE 3. (COURTESY OF LITTLEHAMPTON MUSEUM ARCHIVE)................................... 10 FIGURE 8: 2007 IMAGE SHOWING THE UPSTANDING STARBOARD SIDE OF THE WESSEX WITH AN IRON KNEE AND THE REMAINS OF DECKING ABOVE ................................................................................................................................................ 12 FIGURE 9: THE STARBOARD SIDE IN 2016, SHOWING THE CHANGES SINCE 2007: MUCH OF THE PLANKING HAS BEEN LOST AND THE DECKING THAT PREVIOUSLY RESTED ON THE KNEE HAS ALSO GONE. .............................................................................. 12 FIGURE 10: OUTER VIEW OF THE STARBOARD SIDE OF THE WESSEX IN 2007 ......................................................................... 13 FIGURE 11: OUTER VIEW OF THE STARBOARD SIDE OF THE WESSEX IN 2016, DEMONSTRATING THE LOSS TO THE INNER AND OUTER PLANKING AND THE FRAMES. ............................................................................................................................... 13 FIGURE 12: TOP IMAGE SHOWING THE DIMENSIONS OF THE POSSIBLE ENGINE HOLE WITH THE POSSIBLE PROP SHAFT MOVING OUT TO THE TOP OF THE PHOTO (IMAGE FROM 2007), WITH THE BOTTOM IMAGE LOOKING TOWARDS THE POSSIBLE PROP SHAFT, SHOWING ITS CONCAVE BASE AND EXTENSION TO THE STERN OF THE VESSEL. ................................................................. 14 FIGURE 13: PROFILE ILLUSTRATIONS USING 2016 DATA .................................................................................................... 15 FIGURE 14: 2007 SURVEY ILLUSTRATION (COURTESY OF MOSS ET AL) ................................................................................. 16 FIGURE 15: ORTHOMOSAIC GENERATED SITE PLAN FOR THE BARGE WESSEX, SHOWING CHANGES ON THE SITE BETWEEN 2007 AND 2016. ............................................................................................................................................................ 17 FIGURE 16: EXAMPLE IMAGE OF 3D MODEL OF THE BARGE WESSEX ................................................................................... 18 FIGURE 17: PLAN AND PROFILE INTERPRETATIONS: DA SILVA, KIM, BURT AND MOSS (MOSS ET AL) ........................................... 19 FIGURE 18: PLAN AND PROFILE INTERPRETATIONS: DA SILVA, KIM, BURT AND MOSS (MOSS ET AL) ........................................... 19 FIGURE 19: COPY OF A FRANK SPRY POSTCARD SHOWING THE WESSEX IN 1918 (KINDLY SUPPLIED BY ANTHONY PRATT) .............. 19 Page 3 of 20 Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War Barge Wessex & Littlehampton Shipbuilding Yard: Report (May 2018) 1 Project Background Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War is a Heritage Lottery Funded project dedicated to raising the profile of a currently under-represented aspect of the First World War. While attention is often focused on the Western Front and major naval battles like Jutland, historic remains from the war lie, largely forgotten, in and around our seas, rivers and estuaries. With over 1,000 wartime wrecks and dozens of coastal sites along England’s south coast alone, the conflict has left a rich heritage legacy and many associated stories of bravery and sacrifice. The underwater memorials represent the vestiges of a vital, yet little known, struggle that took place on a daily basis, just off our shores. The study and promotion of these archaeological sites presents a unique opportunity to better interpret them and improve physical and virtual access. The project focuses on underwater and coastal sites from the Isle of Thanet in Kent, to beyond the Isles of Scilly, and over half way into the English Channel. The sites include merchant and naval ships, passenger, troop and hospital ships, U-boats, ports, wharfs, buildings and foreshore hulks. These sites, under water and on the foreshore, have been degrading and deteriorating due to natural and human processes for approximately 100 years and, as a result, are extremely fragile. In many cases, this project represents a final opportunity to record what remains on the seabed and foreshore before it is lost forever. The project aims to characterise the nature and extent of the maritime First World War archaeological resource surviving on the south coast’s seabed and around the coast. This will enable an understanding of the record of maritime activity created during the conflict and provide a window onto some of the surviving sites. While it will not be possible to visit and record every site dating to the First World War along the south coast of England, a representative sample of sites have been selected for more detailed