HMS Stirling Castle (1697)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | 70 gun third-rate ship of the line |
| Name: | HMS Stirling Castle |
| Builder: | Deptford |
| Launched: | 1697 |
| Fate: | Wrecked, Goodwin Sands, Great Storm of 1703 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Draft: | 1,097-ton |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Armament: | 70 gun |
HMS Stirling Castle was a 70-gun, 1,097-ton, third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford in 1697.
[edit] Wreck
HMS Stirling Castle was wrecked on the Goodwin Sands in the Great Storm of 1703. Unlike her two wrecked sister ships, where all perished, 21 men survived, because she seems to have dragged her anchor, slowing the ship's progress towards the Goodwin Sands and meaning that she reached the sands at high tide, narrowly avoiding the fate of the other ships which were grounded. As the storm continued, the tides turned and dragged the ship sideways, trapping her between the new tidal currents and the oncoming storms. The resulting tumultuous seas swamped the ship. Full of water, she sank onto the sands, leaving just the stern exposed for a fortunate few to cling to.
The ship re-emerged from the sand in 1979 and 2002. Relics from her were on show at Bleak House at Broadstairs while it was still a museum, and at the Deal Maritime Museum at Deal, Kent, but the majority of finds are displayed at Ramsgate Maritime Museum. In 2000 a team of divers successfully recovered a Demi-cannon, complete with its original gun carriage from the site.
HMS Stirling Castle was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act on 6 June 1980.
