Grâce Dieu

On the southern edge of Botley Parish boundary, in the mud of the Hamble River, lie the timbers of a very ancient wooden ship. For many years local people believed it to be the remains of a Viking longboat, but more recent evidence puts the vessel into a later era.

The remains of the Grâce Dieu in Victorian times

The present day remains are only visible during exceptionally low tides, even then only for an hour or so, making examination of the wreck most difficult. Until 1875 the ships timbers projected several feet above the mud, but during a demolition attempt in that year to widen the channel, these timbers were sawn down, though fortunately further work was abandoned. This, plus the ravages of souvenir hunters and misguided amateur archaeologists, have reduced the wreck down to more or less the mudline

In 1933 the wreck was examined in detail for the first time by a small group of experts. The difficult task involved sampling, probing and measuring amongst the mud, but the findings were rewarding and informative. It was revealed that she was a vessel of considerable size with a keel approximately 130 feet long with about a 50 foot beam. The experts concluded that the weight of the ship would have been about 1400 to 1500 tons.

The hull construction gave the best clue to the dating of the vessel. She was compound clinker built, that is overlapping planking of three to five thicknesses riveted together with iron bolts. Certainly no known Viking vessel was ever built like that, and no large ship was constructed after 1500 with a clinker built hull. Shipbuilders later than this date employed the carvell method of construction i.e. the hull planking butting together to give a smooth external finish.

Illustration of hull construction

Medieval records now complete the rest of the picture. Henry V (1413 - 1422) ordered an enormous warship for the Hundred Years War with France. The Grâce Dieu, as she was named, was constructed at Southampton, her keel being laid in 1416. She was the largest ship to be built in this country until the 17th century, the 200 foot high main mast, with a diameter of 7 feet at the deck, could well be the largest mast ever made for a ship

Designed by John Hoggekyns, she was built under the super vision of Robert Berd and was estimated to cost the enormous sum of Ł3000. She was built to tower above other vessels so that missiles could rain down onto enemy decks from the fighting tops and castles. Fore and aft galleries over the castles would have given extra height with more room for fighting men. Firearms existed during this time, but were not important weapons - nor had cannons been developed for naval use.

It took less than two years to construct her for in July 1418 the Bishop of Bangor came to bless her. On the 14th December William Payne was commissioned as her master, but did not retain this position for long. The war with France abated, the English having already gained supremacy in the Channel. The grâce Dieu was therefore not destined to see action, so she was never fully equipped, and was simply kept as a reserve vessel with a skeleton crew to guard her.

She must have remained in good condition, for on the 31st January 1430 the Captain of Florentine Galleys, Luca di Maso degli Abizzi, visited the Royal Ships in the Hamble River. He dined aboard the Grâce Dieu with William Soper, Clerk and Governor of Ships, afterwards praising her by saying that she was the largest and most beautifully constructed ship that he had ever seen. He also recorded a number of dimensions, stating that she was about 184 feet along the deck with a width of around 50 feet. Her forestage was 52 feet above the water. The mast, as mentioned earlier, was an amazing 200 feet high. He also estimated her weight as being between 1500 and 1650 tons. These figures have been converted from the Florentine braccio which was equal to 1.9 feet with the weight measurement being the botta - roughly half a ton.

Artists impression of the Grâce Dieu

There have often been suggestions that the Grâce Dieu was a failure and that she was most difficult to handle. Although there is no evidence to cast doubt on her qualities of seaworthiness, one contemporary document describes an ugly incident, which could be described as a mutiny, during her brief sailing career. The problem was almost certainly human rather than technical, being aggravated by bad weather. Claims which suggest she was a leaking ship are certainly exaggerations. Caulking was carried out with pitch, moss and ferns, any remaining gaps tending to self-seal during service. She could not have been too unseaworthy for she remained afloat for something like fifteen years.

The main mast was unstepped in June 1431, under the supervision of Peter Johnson, Master Mariner of Sandwich, and removed to a store on land. This seems to have been part of a process of running the ship down, for in 1434 she was moved to a mud berth further up the estuary, which had been excavated by a gang of thirty labourers headed by a man called Thomas. The whole task cost 38 shillings and sixpence (Ł1.92p).

Her small party of shipkeepers was withdrawn sometime before 1439. On the night of January 6/7 in that year she was struck by lightning, and having no-one to deal with the fire that followed, burned more or less down to the water line. As much as possible was salvaged from the wreck after the fire, including tons of iron fittings. However, for centuries her charred timbers remained visible in the Hamble River like blackened ribs - until the destruction in Victorian times made the wreck almost invisible except during the very lowest tides.

More recent examinations of the wreck have been made under the direction of Dr. Sean McGrail of the National Maritime Museum, further extending the knowledge gained in the 1930's. The wreck is now protected by law and access is controlled by the National Maritime Museum.

When compared with say, the Mary Rose, The Grâce Dieu is not a particularly valuable wreck, as only the lower hull survives, and no artifacts are likely to remain in the mud. However what does remain is unique in nautical terms, and provides us with a tangible link with a very obscure period of naval history when many changes and developments took place in naval architecture.