14 DAY TRIAL // Historian Ian Friel thinks he's spotted the remains of a 600-year-old warship at the bottom of the river Hamble in Hampshire, a county on the southern coast of England, UK.
The researcher says that, at low tides, a U-shaped ripple appears on this river, not far from the wreck of another medieval vessel, the Grace Dieu.
This ship, whose remains were identified in the 1930s, was built for Henry V. Ian Friel suspects the U-shaped outline close to it signals the wreck of another of the monarch's vessels.
Thus, he suspects the odd-shaped ripple forming at low tides on the river Hamble hints at the presence of Henry V's Holigost, a ship built for his royal fleet and used to wage war on France.
The ship was one of the most imposing in Henry V's navy
The Holigost, sometimes referred to as the Holy Ghost, was built for King Henry V in 1415 from the hull of another vessel, a captured Spanish warship called the Santa Clara.
Named to illustrate Henry V's religious side and his devotion to the Holy Trinity, it weighed around 740 to 760 tons. It measured around 30 meters (nearly 100) in length and more than 12 meters (40 feet) in width, and came complete with cannons, bows and arrows, and iron spears.
Henry V relied on it to wage war on France. In fact, researcher Ian Friel says historical records indicate the late monarch might have sailed aboard the Holigost himself. Thus, there's talk that a royal cabin was once added to the vessel. If not for Henry V, who might this cabin served?
The Holigost is known to have been involved in the battle of Harfleur in 1416 and then another fighting off the Chef the Caux in 1417. Following Henry V's death, it began to fall apart, and without anyone to properly maintain it, it was lost to history. Until Ian Friel came around, that is.
The historian is pretty sure he's found the medieval vessel
Admittedly, all Ian Friel has to work with is the U-shaped ripple appearing and disappearing in the river Hamble and which he first noticed in aerial photos taken as far back as the 1970s, and then evidence that something hard appears to be hiding in the mud in the area.
Definite proof of the 600-year-old Holigost buried at the bottom of the river Hamble, however, is yet to be uncovered. Together with researchers with Historic England, he plans to go and inspect the alleged wreck and try to determine whether it really is the medieval warship.
“Experts from Historic England believe the wreck that lies buried in mud in the River Hamble near Southampton, is the Holigost (Holy Ghost). If verified, the Holigost would be a tangible link with the life and times of Henry V.”
“Future scientific research on the ship could reveal much about late medieval ship design and construction, both in England and Spain. The wreck might also improve current understanding of life aboard ship, ship-handling and naval warfare in the 15th century,” the organization says.
