31 July 2010

A FULLY restored bronze cannon, salvaged from a Spanish Armada ship, is to go on show for the first time in the Shetland Museum and Archives as of Monday.

The cannon was discovered off Fair Isle and salvaged by a team of marine archaeologists, led by Dr Colin Martin of St Andrews University in 1970.

It belonged to the El Gran Grifón which ran aground at Stromshellier in Fair Isle in 1588 after the Spaniards lost the mighty sea battle against the English fleet and the remains of the Armada was scattered across the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

Curator Dr Ian Tait said that Dr Martin’s advice and input over the last two years has led to the museum being able to restore the gun and commission the recreation of an authentic gun carriage.

The wooden gun carriage has been constructed by the Royal Armouries in Leeds. The iron fittings have been hand crafted using authentic methods by isles blacksmith Bruce Wilcock from Hillswick.

The wrought iron was salvaged from an anchor dredged from the sea bed off Shetland’s coast. The iron rings, hooks, bolts and cladding have all been accurately recreated.

Dr Tait said: “The Spanish Armada was a major event in European history which should never have affected Shetland – but it did.

“Many of the crew survived and stayed in Fair Isle for several months. Hundreds of years on we have this fully restored and magnificent artefact to show the world how we played our part in such a significant event in history.”

When the ship sank in September 1588, islanders provided shelter to the stricken sailors ensuring that most of the 300 sailors onboard survived.

However food was scarce on Fair Isle and there was little to share. Fifty of the Spaniards perished in the island over the next two months before they were able to secure transport to neutral territory in Fife and then on to Leith in mainland Scotland. From there some eventually made it back to Spain.

The cannon with its recreated gun mount will be on show in the foyer of the Shetland Museum and Archives until 13 January 2011.