HMS London
Thames Estuary, off Southend, Essex
In March 1665 the warship London was sailing to join the fleet when her gunpowder exploded off Southend. Around 300 people died, and only a few survived.
Read the full story, see it on the map, get directions and find what else is nearby in the free Hidden Britain Atlas map.
- When
- 7 March 1665
- Where
- 51.4900, 0.7200
- Group
- Shipwrecks
Visiting
Finds are shown at Southend Central Museum.

Blood and Gold
Sixteen true stories of mutiny, mercy, treasure and the gallows from the Golden Age of Piracy: Henry Every, Bartholomew “Black Bart” Roberts, Edward England, Howell Davis, Christopher Moody, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Charles Vane, Benjamin Hornigold, Blackbeard, Stede Bonnet, Israel Hands, Calico Jack, Edward Low, Captain William Kidd and Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy. Where the record is uncertain, the book says so.
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