After being sold for scrap in 1870, the ship forever linked with Darwin may be lying
beneath the Essex marches.

One of the world’s most enduring naval mysteries – the fate of HMS Beagle, the ship that
carried Charles Darwin round the world and led him to develop his theory of natural
selection – may finally have been solved.

Advanced ground-penetrating radar could have located the ship, which disappeared more
than a century ago, near Potton Island in Essex. The discovery has been made by one of
the world’s leading marine archaeologists, Robert Prescott of St Andrews University. “I
am quite confident we have found the Beagle,” he said.

The discovery suggests that the bulk of the ship is intact and could be raised and restored.
“The Beagle is a historic icon and would make a superb centre of scientific pilgrimage.”
said Prescott.

Launched in 1820 at Woolwich Royal Dockyard on the Thames, the Beagle was a 90 ft,
10-gun brig, one of the commonest class of warships built by the Navy. After several
years’ service, it was refitted as a hydrographic survey vessel and subsequently placed
under the command of Robert Fitzroy.

The Beagle set off on its great journey, with Darwin on board, in 1831 and for five years
carried out detailed surveying of the tip of South America and in the Galapagos Islands.
The young biologist, who later described the voyage as ‘the most important event in my
life’, noted local variations among the birds and animals he encountered.

From these observations, which he recorded in his tiny cabin on the Beagle, he developed
his theory of natural selection, published in On the Origin of Species in 1859. According
to Darwin, animals which were best adapted to their environments live longer and
produce more offspring. In this way, species slowly evolve into others as time passes.

The theory caused a furore when it was published and is still considered one of the most
challenging ideas of modern science. But the fate of the ship that was instrumental in the
theory’s development has been lost for more than a century.

All that was known was that after its historic journey the Beagle passed into the service
of Customs and Excise and was used as an anti-smuggling patrol vessel along the Essex
coast.

But detailed detective work by Prescott has since revealed that for many years the Beagle
was moored in mid-stream on the River Roach, where it was perfectly placed to intercept
smugglers bringing in contraband along the maze of rivers, channels and creeks that
criss-crossed the marshes south of Burnham-on-Crouch.

Several families of coastguards made their home on the ship, said Prescott, who is a
founder of the Scottish Institute of Maritime Studies at St Andrews and who set up the
Beagle Ship Research Group three years ago. ‘We have surveyed the site and found
broken toys and bits of pottery that show the ship had become a home by then’, said
Prescott.

One Ordnance Survey map even shows the ship as a permanent fixture in the river.
Many local people objected to its presence, however, and claimed that the vessel harmed
the oyster beds that used to line the banks of the Roach.

Then, in 1870, records show that the Beagle was auctioned for 525 pounds to local scrap
merchants Murray and Trainer, described by Prescott as a pair of ‘local likely lads”.
After that, no records remain.

But detailed archaeological studies have shown that on the north bank of the Roach, a
small dock had been built around this time and this has been the focus of efforts by the
St. Andrews team.

‘Essentially, we have found the outline of a dock that was long ago abandoned and filled
in,’ said Prescott. ‘We think the Beagle, stripped of its superstructure, ended up in there.’

On the surface, nothing can be seen. But over the past few months scientists from the
company Radar World in Edinburgh have used ground-penetrating radar, which can spot
objects buried under layers of soil and march, to reveal an image of a ship that is similar
in size to the Beagle and which is buried under 12 ft. of mud inside the abandoned dock.

‘It is possible that this could be another ship, but I am pretty sure that we have now go the
Beagle.’ said Prescott.

The discovery is of major importance for several reasons, he said. The Beagle came from
a class of ship that was the mainstay of the Royal Navy for many decades, although
surprisingly little is known of this type of craft. The discovery also demonstrates the use
of ground-penetrating radar as an archaeological tool.

However, it is the importance of the Beagle as the vessel that carried Darwin round the
world that gives it a unique historical importance. ‘Most of the upper part of the ship
may have gone, but we have the lower parts and hull, and who knows what remnants of
Darwin’s trip may still lie down there,’ said Prescott. ‘That is why this ship is so
intriguing.’