Calls for finds from 17th century warship to go on display in Great Yarmouth
'The Gloucester' was recently discovered nearly 30 miles from Great Yarmouth
It's hoped artefacts recovered from a 17th century warship discovered off the Norfolk coast could eventually be put on display in Great Yarmouth.
'The Gloucester' was recently discovered nearly 30 miles out to sea and has been hailed as 'the most significant maritime discovery since the Mary Rose.'
The frigate was wrecked in 1682 and beaching on a sandbar.
It was carrying the Duke of York at the time, who would later become King James II.
A group of divers rediscovered the wreck in 2007, although their findings were only made public earlier this month.
Divers Julian and Lincoln Barnwell were inspired to search for the wreck after watching the Mary Rose being raised on TV.
Julian said: “It was our fourth dive season looking for Gloucester”.
“We were starting to believe that we were not going to find her, we’d dived so much and just found sand.
"On my descent to the seabed the first thing I spotted were large cannon laying on white sand, it was awe- inspiring and really beautiful."
It's got marine archeaologists excited, as the wreck could shed light on naval history, as well as what everyday life was like in the late 1600s.
Carl Smith, the Great Yarmouth Borough Council leader, told us he'll be pushing for a permanent attraction in the town focused on The Gloucester.
"It would be a fantastic tourist attraction for Great Yarmouth, Norfolk and the country- all around" he said.
"Why not have it slap-bang just 25 miles from where it was found. We're trying to promote tourism all year round, like stay-cations, and feel this would would be a wonderful addition for that.
"The discovery was another great piece of news for Great Yarmouth. It's put us right at the top of the world news for a while. We've got a great maritime history and this is just another part of that.
"We are a long way away from this. Hopefully we'll start some discussions soon and see where we are.
" (The finds are) going to be on display in the Castle Museum from February next year. I've already had initial discussions with the brothers and Lord Dannatt about having it Great Yarmouth and we'll see how we progress from there".