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The programmes
A short distance from the sandy beaches of Barmouth in north-west Wales lies one of the most fascinating wreck finds in Britain. The 17th century vessel found by local divers 26 years ago had been an armed cargo ship, which had sunk whilst carrying 30 tonnes of white marble. Where it came from and where it was going remained a mystery. One theory suggested the priceless cargo was to be used in the building of St Paul's Cathedral. The Wreck Detectives enlist the help of art historians, cannon experts, geologist and many others to find out more about this mystery ship, dubbed the Bronze Bell.
The history
Many British aristocrats marvelled at the marble used in Renaissance Italy in the late 17th century and it became very fashionable as a decorative building material. Architect Sir Christopher Wren was still helping to rebuild much of London, which had been destroyed in the Great Fire of 1677. He redesigned the city's landscape and was to finish his work with the completion of his iconic masterpiece, St Paul's Cathedral. Wren was among the few architects fortunate enough to be able to work with marble, as it was expensive to buy and had to be transported at great cost from the quarries of Italy. All cargo ships carrying valuable materials, such as marble, across to Britain had to be heavily armed to ward off the pirates that lurked in these waters. The Bronze Bell was armed with cannons, muskets and grenades to prevent thieves from seizing the valuable blocks of white marble it was carrying to the UK.
Divers Mike Bowyer and Tony Iles were among those who discovered the wreckage in 1978 but they had few clues to its identity. All they had was a bronze bell dated 1677 and the marble, that came from Tuscany – an area known for its high-quality marble. However, the divers had a breakthrough when they found a navigation chart from the 1700s that marked out the wreck as sinking in 1709. During this time a project was underway to build the statues of St Paul's, including that of Queen Anne. All were to be made of expensive white marble.
If the vessel was heading for London, under order of Wren, it had ended up far off course in north-west Wales. But with the difficulties of navigation and rough seas, it was common for vessels travelling this route to accidentally change course and head far from their intended destination. Only a thorough investigation of the wreck site and a thorough search of records both in the UK and Italy would help solve the mystery.
The dive
For anyone lucky enough to penetrate the surface here, a truly fascinating and stunning dive awaits them. The wreckage is extremely shallow, with a maximum depth of only 6 metres, so an increased bottom time allows for extensive exploration of this 300 metre-long site. Large marble blocks lie scattered between two big anchors and more than 20 cannons. They are all covered in a crimson-red blanket of seaweed and dead men's fingers. Sunlight has encouraged this staggering growth and has created Med-like water temperatures. The area is also a haven for much marine life, such as goldsinnys, dogfish, pollack, wrasse and various crustaceans. Although well lit by the sun, visibility here is greatly affected by clouds of sand and silt churned up by the weather, the running tide and divers' fins.
Our Wreck Detectives team were kept busy trying to find clues that would prove whether the Bronze Bell was on route to St Paul's. In a week of diving, the team had to measure the large white marble blocks, find and measure some of the ship's cannons and search around the area of Barmouth for a clue to the wreck's identity. Luckily for Miranda and her dive buddies, the weather and water conditions were excellent and the shallow depth of the wreck gave them maximum diving time. Despite being only 400 metres from the beach, the team had to travel four miles by boat to dive the wreck, as it's too far from shore to conduct exploration dives.
The wreck is a protected site, so no materials could be brought back to the surface for inspection. The team had to rely on the analysis of a large marble block brought to the surface years before the site was designated of historic importance. This block sits in Barmouth harbour and has been sculpted into a stunning statue.
The final dives for our Wreck Detectives focussed on finding clues to why the ship sank. For this they enlisted the help of a sonar engineer, who brought along the latest technology in underwater scanners. The team used a remote-controlled 'side scan sonar', a rocket-shaped
device about a metre long, to search the seabed for unusual objects – anything that might help explain the fate of the ship. From the boat, the team could study the 3D images. However, despite the relatively good conditions, it was really hard for Miranda to pick anything out from the underwater field of boulders and seaweed except for a rather large crab.
Find out more about the wreck of the Bronze Bell.
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Location
Latitude 52° 46' 42" N
Longitude 04° 07' 30" W
Near Barmouth, Cardigan Bay, Gwynedd, Wales
Dive planning
The slipway at Barmouth is only accessible around two to three hours either side of high tide, which will restrict boat time to a maximum of six hours. The best time to dive is two to three hours before low tide at Liverpool. Though the period of slack is shorter, the site can also be dived about four hours before high tide.
Useful Contacts
Barmouth harbour master:
01341 280671
Welsh Heritage Board (Cadw):
029 20500200
Boat charters
Shearwater Diving, Pwllheli:
01758 740899
North Wales Diving:
01286 882611
» Find out more
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