The Hampshire History Trust (HHT), organisers of Winchester Heritage Open Days (WHODs), has announced an upcoming talk by Mary Montagu-Scott titled HMS Agamemnon – Navigating the Legend.
The talk will focus on the story of Lord Nelson’s favourite ship, the HMS Agamemnon, which was built and launched in 1781.
After a 28-year naval service record, including the Battle of Trafalgar, the ship was wrecked off the coast of Uruguay in 1809.
Mary, a keen sailor and diver, recently returned from diving on the wreck of the HMS Agamemnon.
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The ship was wrecked off the coast of Uruguay in 1809 (Image: Hampshire History Trust) She was part of a team of maritime archaeologists from the UK and Uruguay who sought to record and preserve the wreck and its legacy.
Despite the odds, the wreck, built from 17th-century Beaulieu oak trees, has survived under the sea and remains the only surviving Buckler’s Hard-built ship in the world.
The talk will also touch on the six Royal Navy ships named Agamemnon, including the recently launched Astute-class hunter-killer nuclear submarine.
Mary, who is on the board of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, HMS Medusa Trust and HMS Victory Preservation Company, said: “I am looking forward to sharing the fascinating story of the Royal Navy Agamemnons and how it started in the Hampshire village of Buckler’s Hard.”
She has recently founded a new trust, the Buckler’s Hard Shipyard Trust, which will deliver projects, courses, talks, living history, demonstrations and outreach – both online and on-site – and build skills, knowledge and collections relating to its shipbuilding heritage.
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The HMS Agamemnon was built and launched in 1781 (Image: Hampshire History Trust) Its first big project will be the archaeology and restoration of the No 2 Slipway to allow a full-size replica keel to be laid of the HMS Agamemnon, based on both of the original ship plans and the data from the wreck.
Historian, presenter, and patron of Hampshire History Trust, Dan Snow, added: “This is the exciting story of how a ship built in a tiny village, on a small river, on a little island, helped to change the course of human history.”
The talk will take place on Saturday, January 18, from 7.30pm to 8.30pm, at The ARC, Winchester.
For more information and to book, go to, ticketsource.co.uk/hampshire-history-trust/hms-agamemnon-navigating-the-legend/e-eyeepl.