Replica Privateer Prudence to be Built in Barnstaple, England!

[Thagarr]

The North Devon Council has applied for a grant from the Coastal Communities fund in England to help build a replica of a genuine pirate ship! The privateer Prudence! The replica will be built in the northern Devon County city of Barnstaple in England! She sailed under Letters of Marque by issued by Queen Elizabeth I to raid Spanish shipping, and she was active during the the late 16'th and early 17'th century's.

They plan on anchoring the ship in Barnstaple, and giving tours as well as sailing her occasionally! The current estimate for the cost of the construction is about £2 million. I think that is a bit of an underestimation, but I havn't heard all the details. I haven't been able to track down much about the original ship other that a couple of vague Wikipedia entires mentioning her. Here is a quote from a Wikipedia article about Pentecost Dodderidge, a son of Richard Doddridge, a wool merchant of Barnstaple.

Richard entered the shipping business and owned a 100-ton prize-ship named Prudence, a privateer effectively engaged in licenced piracy. She is recorded as having had 80 men on board in 1590, and landed a record prize taken off the Guinea Coast, probably from Spanish galleons from South America, consisting of four chests of gold worth £16,000 with in addition chains of gold and civet-fur. The gold landed at Barnstaple from this voyage weighed 320 lbs. Between June and October 1590 Prudence sent back to Barnstaple two further prizes of unrecorded value and in January 1592 brought in a prize of £10,000.

In March 1596 the Privy Council ordered the mayor of Barnstaple to send a ship to challenge two or three Spanish ships in the Irish Sea and the Prudence was selected for this task. She was victualled for five months, for a crew of 40, at a cost exceeding £900, borne by the North Devon population. On 8 August 1596 she returned to Barnstaple, loaded with much pillage taken during the attack on Cadiz conducted by Lords Essex and Howard.[6] Richard received at some time letters patent as one of six west country merchants licenced to trade with "the River of Senegal and Gambia in Guinea".[7] Richard presented to the Corporation of Barnstaple "a great boale with its covering, wrought in silver and a silver-gilt table lamp".[8]

A quote from one of the council members in the original North Devon Journal :

North Devon Council’s senior regeneration officer Sally Nelson said Dodderidge was permitted by Queen Elizabeth I to plunder treasure from the Spanish fleet.

“It was a licensed pirate ship,” she added.

“We want to build a replica to celebrate Barnstaple’s maritime history and act as a tourist attraction.

“We are looking for a site on the waterfront - somewhere which is highly visible.

“There are a few sites which are council-owned.”

The council has been inspired by Bristol’s Matthew, a replica of the English ship which discovered North America.

“They say the construction was as much of an attraction as the ship itself,” said Sally.

“I hadn’t realised how rich Barnstaple’s maritime history is.

“All along the river were ship yards.”

The Prudence would be moored by the Heritage Centre and, it is hoped, would be a magnet to visitors who might otherwise miss the town’s riverfront.

You can read the full article on the North Devon Journal's website HERE!