News & Events

The disappearing lightship

On the 21st October 1940, the South Goodwin lightship disappeared from her station close to the South Sand Head. Fortunately the crew had been taken off a few days prior …

Goodwin Sands Treasure

Over hundreds of years, the 10 mile stretch of sand called the Goodwins has been the demise of thousands of ships and their crews. This natural hazard has trapped and …

Lost Patrols

It is a little known fact that there are at least twenty Hull and Grimsby deep sea fishing vessels sunk within eyesight of the Goodwin Sands. It has not been …

SS Mahratta 1939

At the beginning of the Second World War the anchorage in the Downs was full to overflowing with ships awaiting inspection from naval officers of the Contraband Control. Neutral vessels …

Another ship on the Goodwins

Within ten minutes of the maroons being fired the Walmer lifeboat Charles Dibden was launched from the steep beach. The weather was starting to deteriorate with an increasing southerly breeze …

U 48 – Death on the Goodwins

In the latter part of the First World War, German submariners were feeling the effect of the diligent Royal Navy and losses of U-boats were mounting up. Volunteers for the …

The mysterious U boat

Many years ago a television company was filming a pilot programme about a Goodwin Sands shipwreck, the U-16, in our local maritime museum. Although one of the presenters of this …

“Eerie, elemental and surreal …”

Writer Deborah Moggach discusses with Ivan Wise of the Better Known Show, six things which should be better known.  Top of her list is the Goodwin Sands. Deborah has written …

University of Kent webinar, January 2021

In January, we were invited to join a webinar at the University of Kent’s Centre for Heritage entitled  ‘Preserving Underwater Heritage: Perspectives and Challenges’.  The discussion focused on the issues …

Welcoming Dan to the team!

We are delighted that Dan Pascoe of Pascoe Archaeology and the University of Bournemouth has agreed to be our first retained archaeologist. We are really looking forward to working with …

GAD 23 | Bow Sprit wreck

  GAD 23 is the remains of a wooden merchant sailing vessel carrying a cargo of coal.  Ship’s equipment and its design and construction suggest that it dates to around …

ITV Meridian 10th November 2020

  Read ITV Meridian’s report on making a mockery of marine conservation status. Dover Harbour Board’s claim that the project will create hundreds of new jobs is disingenuous to say …

The Guardian 29th October 2020

We hope many of you will be amongst the 165,000 to have read this excellent article by Karen McVeigh of The Guardian about the problems facing the Goodwin Sands MCZ …

Britannia

  Britannia was an East India Company ship that was in convoy with the Admiral Gardner and the Carnatic when she sank on the Goodwins during a storm on 24th / 25th …

HMS Stirling Castle

Introduction In 1674 Samuel Pepys, MP and Secretary of the Admiralty convinced King Charles II to begin the building of 30 ships to improve the performance of the Royal Navy …

Rooswijk

Introduction In the late 18th Century the Dutch East India Company, or VOC as it was known, was one of the most powerful commercial companies across the globe.  It had …

HMS Restoration

Historical background HMS Restoration was a 70 gun third-rate Man of War built in 1678 by Betts at Harwich and subsequently rebuilt at Chatham in 1702.  She weighed 1,055 tons …

HMS Northumberland

Historical background HMS Northumberland was one of three of Samuel Pepys ‘Thirty Great Ships’ that foundered on the Goodwin Sands during the Great Storm of November1703.  She was a 70 …

GAD 8

Archaeological interest GAD 8 or the ‘Goodwins cannon site’ is the closest of the Protected Wrecks to the Kent coastline.  It lies in 11m of water in The Downs and …

HMS Mary

HMS Mary is not officially listed as a Protected Wreck but we would like to include her here as historically she was a significant ship that is thought to share …

Admiral Gardner

Historical background The Admiral Gardner was an 813-ton English East Indiaman built on the River Thames and launched in 1797.   At 415 feet long and 36 feet wide, she had …

Historic Information Panel on Walmer Seafront

The Conservation Trust has received grants from Kent County Council, the Roger de Haan Charitable Trust, Walmer Parish Council, and Deal Town Council to install a unique double-sided  Historic Information …