Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

East Indianman blown onto the Goodwin Sands during a gale in 1809 carrying 48 tons of copper coins.

Monument Types

• WRECK (Post Medieval - 1796 AD to 1809 AD)

Full description

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The Admiral Gardner was an outward-bound East Indiaman, the first of several vessels to go a shore on the Goodwin Sands during a storm on the 24th January 1809. Two entries in Lloyds give details:-

"The Admiral Gardner, Eastfield, bound to Maderia, Madras and Bengal; and the Britannia, Birch, bound to Madras and China, were lost on the Goodwin Sands on Wednesday moring. Three of the crew of the former and seven of the latter, drowned".(2)

"The Britainnia and Admiral Gardner Indiamen, and the Apollo, bound to Curacoa, which were on shore on the Goodwin, have gone to pieces".(3)

There is also an account from the captain, Eastfield; "Seeing it impossible to save the ship, I ordered the main and mizzen masts to be cut away. In doing it, the ship struck and the sea made fair breach over us. At daylight I had the misfortune of witnessing her on the South Sand Heads. We remained on the vessel until 3.35pm, when to the gallent exertions of the Deal men, at the risk of their own lives, we were brought off with the loss of only one man, the ship then full of water to the upper deck".

A week later the cargo of the wreck -hundreds of thousands of coins minted for the East India Company as currency to be used in the colonies - was reported to be beyond salvage. An auction was held to sell off all that remained of the vessel; some rope, lead and iron, sailcloth, some food.(4)

When first surveyed by the Hydrographic Office the wreck occupied an area of less that 12m with on significant upstanding material and nothing higher than 1m above the seabed. A small piece of wreckage 10m x 10m lat in an area of fine mobile sand. The site was last surveyed in 1990, the least echsounder depth was 12.7m in a general depth of 15m.

Damage might have been sustained to the wreck in 1988 when the area was systematically worked by a suction dredger.

A recent report from the ADU indicated that the exposed site now covers a large area with upstanding concretions, structures and guns. Finds include iron bars and anchors along with concreted shot, coins, copper ingots and personal effects

From the NMR:

Remains of 1809 wreck of English East Indiaman which stranded in Trinity Bay, off the Kellett Gut amongst the Goodwin Sands, during a gale. Outward-bound from Blackwall to Madras with anchors, chains, guns, shot, iron bars, and East India copper tokens for local currency, she was a wooden sailing vessel.

A regular East India Company ship of 816 tons, outward-bound on her 6th voyage, when she was lost on the Goodwin Sands on 25-JAN-1809.

Dimensions given as : 145 ft 8in long x 118 ft 3.5in keel length x 36ft 2.5in breadth. Further specific dimensions between areas quoted.

Built: 1797
Builder: Melhuish
Where Built: Limehouse
Construction: 3 x decks
Master: Eastfield; William John Eastfield
Crew Lost: 3; 5
Owner: John Woolmore

ADMIRAL GARDNER was an outward-bound East Indiaman, the first of several vessels to go on shore on the Goodwin Sands during a storm on the 24th of January, 1809. Two entries in Lloyd's List give details:-

'The ADMIRAL GARDNER, Eastfield, bound to Madeira, Madras and Bengal; and the BRITANNIA, Birch, bound to Madras and China, were lost on the Goodwin Sands on Wednesday morning. Three of the Crew of the former, and seven of the latter, drowned.'

[This source indicates the date of loss as 25-JAN-1809.]

'The BRITANNIA and ADMIRAL GARDNER Indiamen, and the APOLLO, bound to Curacoa, which were on shore on the Goodwin, have gone to pieces.'

We also have an account of the vessel's final moments from the captain, Eastfield; "Seeing it impossible to save the ship, I ordered the main and mizzen masts to be cut away. In doing it, the ship struck and the sea made a fair breach over us. At daylight I had the misfortune of witnessing her on the South Sand Heads. We remained on the vessel until 3.35pm, when to the gallant exertions of the Deal men, at the risk of their own lives, we were brought off with the loss of only one man, the ship then full of water to the upper deck."

A week later the cargo of the wreck - hundreds of thousands of coins minted for the East India Company as currency to be used in the colonies - was reported to be beyond salvage. An auction was held to sell off all that remained of the vessel; some rope, lead and iron, sailcloth, some food.

24 January, ADMIRAL GARDNER and BRITANNIA, East Indiamen...'The effects of the gales this Tuesday were severely felt on the coasts of Britain. Great apprehensions were entertained for the fate of the East Indiamen proceeding through the Downs; yet nothing was known of their situation till the following morning, when a most distressing scene presented itself to the spectators from Deal. Three large ships were seen on the Goodwin Sands with only their fore masts standing, hoisting signals of distress, and the sea dashing over them mountains high. The crews were all collected on the poops waiting for that relief which the Deal boatmen seemed anxious to afford them. These men by their indefatigable exertions, and at the imminent hazard of their own lives, reached the wrecks of the Indiamen and took out of the ADMIRAL GARDNER the whole of her crew...

'Of the crew of the ADMIRAL GARDNER four [sic] were lost; for in the night one of the seamen having been washed overboard, the third mate and three seamen volunteered their services to endeavour to pick him up in the ship's boat, which was never after heard of...

'The ADMIRAL GARDNER was the first vessel driven upon the Sands...It was expected that if the weather moderated, a part of the cargoes might be saved. The loss was estimated at £200,000.'

The ADMIRAL GARDNER was a 12-year old 800-ton English East Indiaman, outward-bound from Blackwall for Madras with a cargo of anchors, chain, guns, shot and iron bar stock. She also carried 48 tons of East India Company (EIC) copper tokens that were to be used as currency for native workers. In company with the East Indiamen BRITANNIA and APOLLO, she was caught in the Downs by a violent gale and wrecked on the Goodwin Sands.

'Sailed from Blackwall, picking up her passengers and some of the crew at Gravesend, she took on board a Channel pilot and anchored in the Downs near the South Foreland. Here she was joined by another East Indiaman, the BRITANNIA and the CARNATIC. During the night a severe SW gale got up, causing all three ships to drag their anchors. On board the ADMIRAL GARDNER the pilot decided it was necessary to cut the anchor cable, went forward with an axe to carry out this task himself and, in doing so managed to cut off two fingers of his left hand. He became delirious and had to be taken below and put to bed. Meantime the wreck continued to drag and went ashore and was lost. Rediscovered in 1979 when dreadgers brought up 10 and 20 cash coins of the English East India Co. In 1984 R Larn led a team of divers to survey the wreck, which then became a Designated Site in 1985, under protest. It was discovered the site was outside UK waters and de-designated in 1985, and since been re-designated in 1989.. Wreck lies in a general depth of 15m, Decca position Red(E) 12.77, Green(G) 42.77.'

1983: Wreck located by a fisherman after snagging his nets. An archaeological diving teams found her cargo of coins which were East India Company tokens made from copper with values in farthings. It is possible that some barrels of tokens remain in the wreck, along with cannon balls, tools, iron bars, nails, chain and other items of cargo.

Archaeological History:

1976: The wreck was discovered by dredging operations. A large number of East India Company coins appeared in the sand dredged from the Goodwins for use as fill as part of of Dover Harbour.

1980: Wreckage was surveyed by the Hydrographic Office.

1980 - 1985: The site was salvaged for five consecutive years and during the last of these years a site plan was undertaken and submitted to the Department of Transport.

1983: Wreck located by a fisherman after snagging his nets. An archaeological diving teams found her cargo of coins, which were East India Company tokens.

1984: Site reportedly located by local divers who formed an agreement between themselves, Richard Larn and a Hull-based salvage company (SAR Diving Ltd) to salvage the site. The salvage operation recovered over one million East India Company tokens. An intact barrel of 28,000 coins was recovered and underwent conservation treatment at Portsmouth.

MAR-1985: Richard Larn gave a paper on the site at the National Symposium of Nautical Archaeology in March 1985 (Fort Bovisand) which raised concerns over the archaeological standards being used.

Dr P Marsden of the Nautical Museums Trust applied for the site to be designated, concerned by the apparent lack of any archaeological standards being applied to the removal of material from the site. The site was designated and an excavation licence issued under the 1973 Protection of Wreck Act.

An excavation licence was issued, so salvage work was allowed to continue on the site, but relationships between the Archaeological Director and R Larn on the one hand and the local divers and salvage company on the other began to deteriorate. The designation was challenged by the salvors and revoked.

1986: Site was de-designated when the salvors pointed out that it was outside the 3 mile limit of England's territorial waters.

1987: The extent of English Territorial waters was extended from 3 miles to 12 miles and Dr Marsden requested the site to be re-assessed for designation.

26 to 27-MAY-1988: The Archaeological Diving Unit did not locate the site and their observations and conclusions were incorrect, as the position given to them was itself incorrect.

12-JUL-1989: The site was found 4 miles SSE of the original position given for the wreck. A run of frames, concreted iron shot and bundles of iron bars were seen along with an iron anchor fluke and six copper alloy English East India Company coins.
The site was re-designated.

20 to 25-AUG-1993: The site was visited by the Archaeological Diving Unit and considerable areas of the site were covered by trawl netting, but large items such as cannon, iron bars and shot were noted.

07-MAY-1995: Site visited by the Archaeological Diving Unit and several metres of wreck mound were exposed, including coherent ship's structure fastened with copper alloy bolts along with loose timbers, iron guns, anchors and an iron knee currently exposed.

A survey licence was issued.

1996: A survey licence was issued, and Dover Sub-Aqua club were active on the site locating and replacing the buoy, but bad weather prevented diving.

1997: It was reported that illegal diving was taking place on the site.

26-JUN-1999: Site visited and dived on by the Archaeological Diving Unit. A magnetometer survey was undertaken and a mapping of the site undertaken. Apart from the disturbance caused by previous salvage operations the site appeared relatively stable and undisturbed. Ship's timbers were visible in one area and loose copper tokens seen, the exposed area of wreckage was 1m proud of the the seabed on mobile sandy bottom.

MAY-2001: An application was made for a full excavation licence by Hydrasalve UK Ltd.

Environment and Archaeological Remains:

When the site was first surveyed by the Hydrographic Office, the wreckage of this East India Company ship occupied an area of less than 12m square. There was no significant upstanding material and nothing higher than 1m above the seabed. A small piece of wreckage 10 x 10m lay in an area of fine mobile sand. The last time the site was surveyed in 1990, the least echosounder depth was 12.7 in a general depth of 15 metres.

Damage might have been sustained to the wreck in 1988 when the area was systematically worked by a suction dredger.

A recent report from the Archaeological Diving Unit indicated that the exposed site now covers a large area with upstanding concretions, structures and guns.

The seabed around the wreck is composed of sterile sand which is periodically mobile, and the site lies at a depth of 12 to 18 metres. During the 1995 site survey several metres of the wreck mound were found to be uncovered and the remains exposed to a greater extent than previously. Sand waves up to a metre high were seen around the site and observed to be mobile during the tidal stream, indicating that the level of burial of the site could change constantly. By the 2003 visit the site was found to be completely buried.

During the 1999 visit the site was observed to be relatively stable and only the top metre of one of the cargo mounds, containing mainly iron stock and anchors, was exposed. Ship timbers were visible in one area of the mound, which also had a scatter of concentrations of loose copper tokens.

The area of exposed wreckage covered an area of approximately 15 x 20 metres and stood one metre proud of the current seabed level. To the SSW of the main mound two guns and an anchor were exposed.

The site plans available to the ADU are thought to have been drawn up in the mid 1980s prior to the destructive salvage, and cannot now be reconciled with the visible remains on site.

Finds:

Finds include iron bars and anchors along with concreted shot, coins, copper ingots and personal effects.

Coins reportedly from the site have occasionally been offered for sale on eBay. (29-May-1998).

Approximately 100 cash copper coins, 10 white gun flints, and 20 gun flints in concretion recovered from this wreck. (Droit A/1736).

A coin collection from this wreck, now in a glass frame, purchased in Portsmouth for £12. (Droit A/3367).

A cannon ball in concretion with 10-cash copper coins dated 1806 and a lump of 10-cash copper coins in concretion, the number of coins not known, recovered from this wreck during excavation of the seabed. (Droit A/3828).

42 coins recovered from this wreck. (Droit A/3962).

21 cannonballs, a wood stave treasure barrel, a copper ingot, 4 pieces of iron shot, and 2 clusters of copper coins recovered from this wreck, Goodwin Sands. (Droit A/4409).

Shot, copper ingots, barrels, a hull rib, coins, fittings, a leather book cover, bowls, nails, pots and musket flints among the items recovered from this wreck, Goodwin Sands. (Droit A/4473).


From the National Hetiage List for England:

Remains of an English East Indiaman which stranded in Trinity Bay, in the Goodwin Sands, during a gale in 1809. The Admiral Gardner was outward-bound from Blackwall to Madras carrying anchors, chains, guns, shot, iron bars and East India Company copper tokens for local currency.

The Admiral Gardner was a twelve year old 800 ton English East Indiaman. In January 1809 she was on passage from Blackwall to Madras with a cargo of anchors, chain, guns, shot and iron bar stock. She also carried forty-eight tons of East India Company (EIC) copper tokens that were to be used as currency for native workers. In company with the East Indiamen Britannia and Apollo, she was caught in the Downs by a violent gale and wrecked on the Goodwin Sands.

In 1976, EIC tokens appeared in sand dredged from the Goodwins for use as fill for construction work in Dover Harbour. The site and her cargo of coins were eventually located by divers investigating a fisherman's snag. The site was then subject to a number of parties claiming interest as it was thought to be the Britannia, lost at the same time but carrying silver EIC tokens. Salvage operations began in 1984 and recovered over 1 million tokens.

Designation History: Designation Order: (No 1), No 699, 1985 Made: 2nd May 1985 Laid before Parliament: 13th May 1985 Coming into force: 3rd June 1985 Protected area: 150 metres within 51 12.67 N 001 30.8 E

Revocation Order: No 1020, 1986 Made: 18th June 1986 Laid before Parliament: 27th June 1986 Coming into force: 18th July 1986

Designation Order: (No 3), No 2295, 1989 Made: 6th December 1989 Laid before Parliament: 13th December 1989 Coming into force: 3rd January 1990 Protected area: 150 metres within 51 12.00 N 001 30.56 E

Designation Order: No 2395, 2004 Made: 12th September 2004 Laid before Parliament: 14th September 2004 Coming into force: 5th October 2004 Protected area: 300 metres within 51 12.67 N 001 30.08 E

No part of the restricted area lies above the high-water mark of ordinary spring tides.

Documentary History: Built at Limehouse in 1797, the Admiral Gardner was a 12-year old 800-ton English East Indiaman outward-bound from Blackwall for Madras with a cargo of anchors, chain, guns, shot and iron bar stock. She also carried 48 tons of East India Company (EIC) copper tokens that were to be used as currency for native workers. In company with the East Indiamen Britannia and Apollo, she was caught in the Downs by a violent gale and wrecked on the Goodwin Sands on the 25th January 1809. The loss was estimated at £200,000.'

A week later the cargo of the wreck - hundreds of thousands of coins minted for the East India Company as currency to be used in the colonies - was reported to be beyond salvage. An auction was held to sell off all that remained of the vessel; some rope, lead and iron, sailcloth and some food.

Archaeological History: In 1976, the wreck was discovered during dredging operations when a large number of East India Company coins appeared in sand dredged from the Goodwins for use as fill as part of Dover Harbour.

The site was re-located in 1983 by a fisherman after snagging his nets and the site was subsequently salvaged. Over one million East India Company tokens are reported to have been recovered as well as an intact barrel of 28,000 coins which underwent conservation treatment at Portsmouth.

Following a paper presented on the site at the National Symposium of Nautical Archaeology held at Fort Bovisand in March 1985, concerns were raised over whether archaeological standards were being used. The site was therefore designated in 1985. However, it was discovered the site lay beyond UK waters (then set at 3nm) and de-designated in 1985. It was re-designated in 1989 following the extension of territorial waters to 12nm.

The site was exposed again in August 1993 and May 1995 when the Archaeological Diving Unit (ADU) observed (in 1995) coherent ship's structure fastened with copper alloy bolts, loose timbers, iron guns, anchors and an iron knee.

In June 1999, a magnetometer survey concluded that apart from the disturbance caused by previous salvage, operations the site appeared relatively stable and undisturbed. Ship's timbers were visible by ADU divers in one area and loose copper tokens seen, the exposed area of wreckage was 1m proud of the seabed on mobile sandy bottom. Sand waves up to a metre high were seen around the site and observed to be mobile during the tidal stream, indicating that the level of burial of the site could change constantly. By the 2003, the site was found to be completely buried.

The site was surveyed in 2008 and found to be 50m south of the designated position. A large magnetic anomaly was detectedat this time. (5)

BBC, Discoveries Underwater (Projected and video material). SKE6701.

BBC, Discoveries Underwater (Projected and video material). SKe6701.

1982, Maidenhead Advertiser (Serial). SKE6702.

1982, Maidenhead Advertiser (Serial). SKe6702.

Barham, A. J. & Bates, M. B., 1991, A Preliminary Research Report on the Palaeoenvironmental & Geoarchaeological Significance of the North Kent Marshes, Mentioned in (Unpublished document). SKE11863.

Barham, A. J. & Bates, M. B., 1991, A Preliminary Research Report on the Palaeoenvironmental & Geoarchaeological Significance of the North Kent Marshes, Mentioned in (Unpublished document). Ske11863.

<1> Hydrographic Office, Hydrographic Office Wreck Index (Unpublished document). SKE6689.

<2> 1809, Lloyd's List, 27/01/1809 (Index). SKE6698.

<3> 1809, Lloyd's List, 03/02/1809 (Index). SKE6699.

<4> Diver No.9 vol 27-28 1985 (Article in monograph). SKE6700.

<5> Wessex Archaeology, 2009, South East of England Designated Wrecks: Marine Geophysical Surveys (Unpublished document). SKE18252.

Sources and further reading

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