History of the Ship and the Wreck Site

The Coronation was a Second Rate Ship of the Line launched in 1685, and wrecked off Penlee Point, Cornwall in 1691. There are two main areas of wreckage, (Offshore - Site 17 Designation Number 2 Order 1978/321 and Inshore - Site 33 Designation Number 1 Order 1988/2138) lying some 800 metres apart. Documentary research on the biography of the Coronation is extensive but as yet unpublished. Mr Peter McBride is currently in the final phase of his collation of research in readiness to publish. The following particulars, presented as a Ship Biography draws together the main attributes of the site and provides a statement of the site’s archaeological interest;

Build The Coronation was a 90-gun 2nd Rate Ship of the Line, launched in 1685 by Master Shipwright Isaac Betts at Portsmouth.
Use The Coronation served under Admiral Russell and was captained by Capt Charles Skelton. The vessel took part in the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690 and was lost a year later (3 September 1691) in a gale off Penlee Point, near Plymouth, Devon. The exact reasons for her loss are unclear.
Loss Sheltering in a gale off Plymouth in September 1691, Coronation’s anchor cables parted (assumption). she was dismasted, capsized and driven aground to the west of Penlee Point (Lady Cove). All her crew less an estimated 17 - 23 personnel were lost.
Survival The Coronation sites have several cannon (86) and anchors (7) as well as further artefacts, including the potential for small and delicate items of importance still to be revealed.

The topography of the offshore site comprises of rugged rock formations and sand-filled gullies. It was discovered by magnetometer in July 1977. The site is in a general depth of 18 – 20m and has some kelp and low level vegetable turf covering the area. A large variety of marine life inhabits the site. The site has seventeen cannon and three anchors within it. One of the small artefacts found on this site by Mr Peter McBride was a folded pewter plate. This plate bears the crest of Captain Charles Skelton, captain of the Coronation at the time she sank. The inshore site, originally discovered in 1967, comprises of a very rugged and difficult coast line area of rock gullies with significant kelp forests. The site can only be worked with extreme difficulty during the summer months due to the density of the kelp forest. The current designated inshore area contains 59 guns and a further 3 anchors. Cannon number 39 was raised and re-located to the shallows of Fort Bovisand for further investigation in 1983. The gun, cast by Thomas Western, was cleared of concretion, recorded and remained in the harbour until 1996 when it was re-deposited near the Breakwater Fort, Plymouth Sound. It is intended to recover and return this cannon to 10m of water on the sea bed adjacent to Fort Bovisand. This will allow greater access to the diving community, as a shore dive.

The original Coronation group hold custody of artefacts raised and a small collection has been intermittently displayed at the Charlestown Shipwreck Museum, Cornwall, over several years. Analysis of the data from the survey of the guns by Peter McBride indicates the presence of a selection of mixed calibre cannon totalling 86.

The cannon are distributed as follows:

A. Protected Inshore Site 59
B. Protected Offshore Site 17

Many of the guns are concreted to the seabed, some stand proud on rock outcrops and others are partially buried in sandy gullies.

National Maritime Museum Images

The following pictures are of the model of a typical 90 Gun, Second Rate, Ship of the Line built at the time of the Coronation. These pictures are reproduced with the kind permission of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, who retain their copyright © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. The caption reads:

'Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of a 90-gun three-decker (circa 1675), built plank on frame in the Navy Board style. The model is partially decked, equipped and rigged. The model is probably a preliminary design for the 90-gun second-rates of the 1677 'thirty ships' building programme, and has a gun deck length of 158 feet by 42 feet in the beam and a burden tonnage of approximately 1200. It was restored and re-rigged in 1929, with the lower masts and fighting tops thought to be original. The model illustrates very well the amount of carved decoration these ships carried for this period, in particular the wreathed gunports, a feature that was discontinued in the early 18th century on the grounds of cost.'

To see more images of this original model (built circa 1675) please click the following link to visit the NMM's Image Collection and search for images called F9220. It is an excellent site for images of ships, coins and maritime artefacts from throughout maritime history. Well worth a visit!