Find Spot record MWX4853 - Off Purbeck: cannon

In the mid 1970s, a diver recovered a small cannon from the sea off the Isle of Purbeck, possibly south of Lulworth Cove. The gun is cast iron with a length of 1.23 m tapering from a diameter of 250 mm to 165 mm just before the swell of the muzzle. It has a bore of approximately 60 mm. Just below the vent field a crest was engraved, of which all that is visible is a crown approximately 60 x 50 mm. No other markings could be found. Austin Carpenter, advisor on ordnance to English Heritage, suggested that the cannon was a six-pounder, mid eighteenth century and possibly not English. The gun now resided outside the Square and Compass public house, Worth Matravers. (1)

<1> Le Pard, G F, 2001, A Cannon from the Sea 'off Purbeck'., p112-113 (Article in serial). SWX7931.

Record last edited

Mar 14 2011 11:03AM