During last summer we spent over a week bumbling around the River Deben with several nights in the Tidemill Marina.
We were conserving gas by reducing usage aboard to the minimum – the marina had not had a delivery of gas for 11 months the harbour master explained! I eventually solved this problem by changing to propane, ordering an exchange and a new regulator from Fox’s Marina chandlery. They were very helpful indeed…
Anyway, we paid the Sutton Hoo Exhibition a fresh visit having learnt that it had been revamped. To our utter disgust, what we saw was not worth the entrance cost. It has been ‘dumbed down’ and turned into a IT visual experience, largely.
The mock up of the ship burial has gone. In its place is a ‘Whale backbone’ from which one is supposed to get and idea of what was buried…
Quite frankly, we were both so appalled by the new set up that it is very unlikely we will ever return. The best place, now, to see the items and get a an idea of what and how the burial may have looked is at the British Museum, sadly!
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/death-and-memory/anglo-saxon-ship-burial-sutton-hoo
So, moving on. In one of the new large sheds on the site of the Woodbridge Boatyard, is the beginnings of a new long-ship. It is a replica of the outline drawn from the excavations of the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial in which it is firmly thought the body of the 7th century Anglo-Saxon ruler King Raedwald was interred.
I have added the link to the web site of the group carrying out this project for it covers more than I can tell here…
Near the open entrance to the shed was a mock up of the cross section of the vessel to be built.
Below are a couple of examples showing the wooden peg method of securing which lasted into the age of spritsail barge building with the use of treenails.
The November 2021 issue of Yachting Monthly had an excellent article within written by international maritime historian Bruce Stannard who has been part of the Endeavour project in Australia.
The article discusses thoughts on whether the Sutton Hoo Ship was a Royal barge, oared cargo carrier or sail/oar powered sea-going ship. All unknown factors…
All interesting stuff.
BBC News – Suffolk – carried a piece about the project too.
See: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-59236347
Leaving Woodbridge, I was able to catch a glimpse of a very much smaller version of the ship built some years ago. She was moored downstream of the Tide Mill off the sailing/yacht club bases.
The project is worth watching as progress is made…