Wreck of Balchin’s Victory Confirmed
Baroness Taylor today announced that the Government would be undertaking a consultation on the approach to be taken towards the wreck of HMS Victory that sank in 1744 that was discovered earlier in the year.
The Baroness stated:
“Following a Royal Navy survey vessel’s survey of the site in July, we will be releasing a detailed analysis of the wreck site. Due to the unique importance of this wreck for naval heritage, the MOD and DCMS will jointly be engaging in a process of consultation on the approaches that should be adopted for this wreck.”
VICTORY (1744)
On Monday 2 February 2009, the US deep-sea exploration company Odyssey Marine Exploration announced that they had discovered the wreck of HMS Victory (“Balchin’s Victory”) which was lost in 1744 in the English Channel.
HMS Victory (not to be confused with Nelson’s Victory of Trafalgar fame) was a 100 gun First Rate ship of the line launched in 1738. She was the flagship of Admiral Sir John Balchin when he led a strong force to relieve a French blockade of the River Tagus in Portugal, where a British convoy with stores for Gibraltar was incarcerated. The blockade was lifted, the French retreated to Cadiz and Admiral Balchin escorted the convoy to Gibraltar. On the fleet’s return journey a terrible storm blew up and HMS Victory became separated from the rest of the fleet. The ship, and her crew of over a thousand, was never seen again; it was thought that she was lost on the notorious Casquet rocks off Alderney. In fact the wreck site lies some way west of Alderney in the Western English Channel; it is outside British and French territorial waters.
Not only is the wreck of significant Naval historical importance, it is also of a wider heritage interest. Following consultation across Government and with advice from English Heritage, a detailed analysis has been made of the site, building on the information provided by Odyssey. This has confirmed that the wreck is almost certainly that of Balchin’s Victory. We will release the full analysis shortly.
Notwithstanding its age, the wreck of the Victory is “Sovereign Immune” and remains the property of the Crown. No intrusive action can be taken on it without our express consent. In view of the unique importance of this wreck for naval heritage, MOD and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will jointly be engaging in a process of consultation with all those concerned on the approaches that should be adopted towards the wreck. Recognising the Rules to the Annex of the UNESCO Convention on Underwater Cultural Heritage as representing best practice in underwater archaeology, we will be encouraging all of those with an interest in British naval heritage and underwater archaeology to contribute.
It is anticipated that the formal consultation process for the wreck will be initiated towards the end of the year.