HMS Namur - the ship beneath the floor

Earlier this week Chatham Historic Dockyard announced the identity of a ship whose timbers were found beneath the floor of a wheelwrights shop during renovations on the dockyard site. The remains were discovered in 1995 but it has taken the dockayrd this long to identify them conclusively after examining shipwrights marks stamped on the timbers. The ship is none other than HMS Namur, a vessel that saw 47 years of service and nine fleet engagements, including the Battle of Lagos in 1759. Namur is also notable for her connection to two very different historical figures; Olaudah Equiano, the writer and anti-slavery campaigner, who wrote of his experience as a powder monkey aboard Namur at the Battle of Lagos, and Charles "brother of Jane" Austen, who was Namur's captain from 1811 - 1814.

    

Links to various news reports:

From BBC news: Fighting ship's identity revealed in Chatham Dockyard.
From the Guardian: Discover me timbers: experts identify remains of 18th century warship. Terrible headline there!
Chatham Historic Dockyard: The Ship Beneath the Floor.