found under the old bed of the river Rather. 65 



to keep up the waters between the two places ; but the navi- 

 gation never extended in any shape further then Thorney-wail, 

 since the sluice was laid there in 1623. 



It is certain then that the vessel must have perished prior 

 to 1623. 



And since it appears that for many years before, the Rother 

 had been decaying and gradually becoming, from the accu- 

 mulation of mud and silt, " scarcely navigable," or even deep 

 enough to sew the waters, it may be inferred, that, from the 

 great depth at which she lay buried in mud, or rather sea sand, 

 she must have been there very many years anterior to that pe- 

 riod, for had she not been below the bed of tlie river at that 

 time, she must have been discovered ; and it is not likely that 

 the commissioners would have allowed her to lie there to be 

 an obstruction to navigation and sewage, when, " previous to 

 1623, the sum of L. 20,000 had been expended in endeavour- 

 ing to drain the upper levels in and by the old course of Apul- 

 dore." 



There is another material fact, which proves, that, at the 

 time the vessel foundered, the river at that place must have 

 been of considerable breadth ; for in addition to the vessel lying 

 under the bank, a log of oak, roughly hewn, 40 feet long, and 

 about 22 inches square, was found on the larboard side of the 

 vessel, one end of which rested on the gunwale, and the other 

 lay nearly at right angles to her length, upwards of ten feet 

 under the bank ; another log was also excavated by the side of 

 the former but above eight feet from the vessel ; these logs 

 must have unquestionably drifted and lodged against her. 



Having thus far, I trust. Sir, established a limit, since which 

 the vessel could not have navigated, I shq,ll proceed to state a 

 few facts relative to the state of the river at a very early pe- 

 riod. 



" In the 14th of Edward IV. A. D. 1475, certain commis- 

 sioners were appointed to view, report on, and repair the banks 

 of the Rother, which were much broken and decayed, by the 

 frequent incursions of the sea, and the violence of the tides.*" 



And " a charter or letters-patent were granted, and directed 

 to certain knights and other person of quality in the 2d year 



• Hayleys MSS. Collections relating to Sussex, 

 VOL. X. NO. I. JAN. 1829. B 



