Book Review: ‘Samuel Pepys and the Strange Wrecking of the Gloucester: The Shipwreck That Shocked Restoration Britain’

The Wreck of the `Gloucester' off Yarmouth, 6 May 1682 This painting represents the wrecking of the Gloucester while carrying the Duke of York to Leith by Johan Danckerts. Public Domain

According to information from England’s Board of Trade, it is calculated that there have been some 500,000 shipwrecks along Britain’s coastline over the centuries. This number is conservative.

Maritime historian and author Nigel Pickford’s latest narrative “Samuel Pepys and the Strange Wrecking of the Gloucester: The Shipwreck that Shocked Restoration Britain” concerns one.

Setting sail in the 16th century was not without its risks. But, for many, it was preferable to travel by sea rather than taking a longer route on land whether by horse or carriage.

For a future king, in this case, James Stuart, Duke of York, it meant not one ship, but several forming a fleet for his royal entourage.

A Tragic Journey

It’s 1682, nearly 40 years after England’s Civil War. King Charles II, who is ailing, invites his younger brother, James, to return to England from exile in Scotland. He wants him to take his rightful place as heir to the throne.

James, happy to oblige his brother’s request, travels to England alone as his wife, Mary of Modena, is with child, and he is concerned for her safety. But his plans are to reunite with her, and eventually he sets out from Portsmouth to Edinburgh where she eagerly awaits his return.

But in the early dawn hours of May 6, 1682 tragedy strikes. The ship that carries the future king, the Gloucester, hits a sandbank and sinks. It’s dark and the seas are rough with a howling wind. The frigate succumbs within an hour taking, reports vary, some 130 to 200 lives to their death.

James is not one of them. He is one of the first (as custom would dictate that royalty depart before others could) to be delivered from disaster, escaping in a small boat with several others.

The Detailed Diarist

Pickford uses as his main narrator, Pepys (1633–1703), who is perhaps best known as a diarist chronicling the state of affairs as he saw it for nearly a decade. His writings record colorful and fascinating observations of official and upper-class life in Restoration London from 1660–1669.

A portrait of English naval administrator Samuel Pepys, a diarist who chronicled the ruling class of Restoration England, by John Hayls. Public Domain

During his illustrious career he rose to be the chief secretary of the Admiralty under both King Charles II and King James II through his loyalty, hard work, and effective administrative skills.

Pickford plays on Pepys’s meticulous journaling to give readers a keen sense of the conspiracies and plots swirling around the loss of the Gloucester.

For starters, Pepys had been invited to join James’s entourage on the Gloucester but chose to embark on the Katherine. While he prattled to his high society friends that he had been included, it was his choice to choose another ship. Why?

Did Pepys, because of his extensive knowledge of the Royal Navy, know something about the Gloucester’s seaworthiness? Was James sent to Scotland on a ship that had been laid up and was known to have leakiness in the bows?

The future king survived the wreck of the Gloucester. A portrait of James II by Peter Lely. Public Domain

James was a Catholic as was his wife, Mary. Religious and political tensions were as stormy as the seas leading up to the wreck of the Gloucester. Many did not want James to ascend to the throne; they would have been satisfied to see him die at sea. Perhaps there was someone on board with malicious intent or gross incompetence. The Royal Navy is described as poorly organized and ill equipped at this time.

Through the chapters, Pickford gives readers a real sense of immediacy as he describes the port towns, the character of those on board the ships, the contentious political climate, the dalliances of the well-to-do, the plight of widows and children, the skill or lack of skill of those captaining the vessels, and the hazards of sea life.

Pickford’s narrative is enhanced by his heavy use of personal letters, diaries and logbooks written by those who were a part of the royal fleet from regular seamen to notables.

Many suffer the tragic consequences of that fateful May morning in 1682. The ship’s pilot, Capt. James Ayres, is blamed for his miscalculations and allowing the ship to hit the rigid sandbank. Capt. Christopher Gunman is found equally at fault for not sounding the alarm in the Mary, closest to the Gloucester, when the incident occurred.

Years after the wreck, depending on the writer, James is portrayed as either a hero or a callous, unfeeling royal for his behavior that doomed day in May. The ramifications will follow him even as he ascends an uneasy throne: Many feared a rise in Catholicism with his reign. Ultimately, he is unseated by William of Orange. He takes refuge in France.

Pickford includes details that readers will no doubt find interesting and curious. There are two stunning portraits included in the illustrations. One is of Capt. Christopher Gunman and the other of Sir John Berry, captain of the Gloucester. Both bear the marks of battle; neither has a left hand.

Pickford, who works with companies to locate lost ships, has a keen interest in preserving the rich maritime history of Britain that finding shipwrecks can provide.

Readers will relish the discovery of the Gloucester and the stories yet to be told.

Nigel Pickford gives readers a real sense of immediacy as he describes the contentious political climate and the hazards of sea life. Pegasus Books

‘Samuel Pepys and the Strange Wrecking of the Gloucester: The Shipwreck that Shocked Restoration Britain’ By Nigel Pickford Pegasus Books, Feb. 7, 2023 Hardcover: 304 pages