36 CONTEXT 187 : MARCH 2026 Adams, J. (ed.) (1994) Buckler’s Hard: a report on the work carried out between 1993 and 1994 at the 18th-century shipbuilding village of Buckler’s Hard and related areas, Beaulieu River, Project Report No 1, Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton Hopkins, D. (ed.) (2000) ‘Beaulieu River Project excavation’ in Archaeology in Hampshire: annual report for 1999, County Planning Department, Hampshire County Council, Winchester, December https://bhshipyardtrust. org.uk/projects/ slipways-archaeology Rosemary Thornber is principal heritage advisor for HMS Victory at the National Museum of the Royal Navy. Mary Montagu-Scott is chair of Buckler’s Hard Shipyard Trust and a board member of the National Museum of the Royal Navy. Inspecting the ground way timbers in 2025 (Photo: Mary Montagu-Scott) survey of the site was conducted, Slipway 1 was partially excavated, and divers surveyed the submerged ends of Slipways 1 and 2. The mapping of Slipways 1–5 was undertaken as far as possible during 1993–94. The slipways each consisted of two rows of oak baulks running from the slope down into the water, with further baulks set perpendicular between them, forming a ‘track’. The groundways that present as oak baulks in the slipways today either date from the post-1771 modifications, or were re-used from the c1748 build by Henry Adams.There may be some evidence of the c1724 structure in places. A section of Slipway 2 was uncovered, at around 60 centimetres deep on the upper slope and under 20 centimetres of sediment in the lower waterlogged area, to reveal 17 groundway baulks. The groundways were well preserved in the waterlogged area, becoming more degraded in the upper slope area. They varied in size from roughly 6 metres long, up to 1 metre wide and around 1.2 metres apart. Some were whole or half trees, with bark still in situ. Together with the side walls and supporting vertical posts, the slipway was up to 13.5 metres wide. A variety of methods of recording were used, including georeferenced drone photogrammetry, to ensure that the results can be located geographically to form a baseline for further investigations, and to align the results from the 1990s investigations. This will enable a picture to be created of all the results, which is challenging in this environment where the addition and erosion of river deposits changes the shape of the riverbanks. Samples of the groundways were sent for dendrochronology testing, which may determine which period of the development of the site they belong to. Theoretically they should be of post-1771 date at the earliest, although the trees may have been felled and stored for a number of years before use on the site. Further investigations are planned for the summer of 2026 to examine more of the lower section of the slipway, where the timbers should be in good condition, and more incidental features or artefacts may increase our understanding of the activities on the site. The two rows of red brick cottages were built in around the 1720s as part of ‘Montagu Town’, prior to the establishment of the shipyard. They were then used to house craftsmen, and included a small church within a cottage, and two pubs. The master shipbuilder Henry Adams became resident in what is now a hotel. The other buildings are still used by the estate for housing and remain largely unchanged. All are Grade II listed. The site clearly makes the most of the relationship between natural landscape of the bend of the river, with the two rows of cottages set at the top of the gentle slope down to the water’s edge, as an advantageous location for trade.
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