Newport Ship - Dating The Ship

Dating The Ship

Initial dendrochronology on specimen timbers produced a date of 1465 - 1466, but it is now thought that these are repair pieces and that the ship itself is older than this. The discovery in the spring of 2006 of a French "petit blanc" (small white) silver coin inserted into a cut out in the stempost/keel join was a major step forward. Placed, perhaps, as a token of good fortune at the start of the ship's construction, this coin was only minted in Crémieu in the Dauphinois region of France between 1445 - 1456. So the ship could not have been built before 1445. Similarly, the tree trunks found under the hull and forming the support for the ship when under repair, have a dendrochronology date of 1468 - 1469. Very provisionally, this would give the ship a maximum working life span of c. 25 years.

There is circumstantial evidence that by 1469 the ship may have belonged to and was being repaired for the Earl of Warwick (Warwick the Kingmaker). A letter of authorisation dated 22 November 1469 from Warwick to Thomas Throkmorton, his receiver of Glamorgan and Morgannwg, authorised various payments for "the making of the ship at Newport" which could be construed as repairs to the badly damaged vessel. Newport was such an insignificant port at this time that it seems highly unlikely that such a large trading vessel would ever have come to the town unless for emergency repair.