This time it's Topsham's Terror!!
Topsham Museum

When: 01 April 2016 to 31 October 2016
Where: Sail Loft, Topsham Museum
Time: 1400 - 1700
Cost: None
Suitable for: Any age

The recent announcement that HMS Terror has been found in, of all places, Terror Bay in Canada’s Arctic north, has been welcomed by the Museum. We are proud to display information and a highly detailed model of the ship in the Sail Loft.

HMS Terror was built in Topsham in 1813 by Robert Davy, as a bomb ship, designed to carry two large mortars for bombardment. In 1814, in the war against the USA she was one of the ships involved in the attack on Baltimore – the United States anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, was based on a poem written at the time. Subsequently Terror was refitted for polar service, and, with HMS Erebus was one of two ships in Sir John Franklin’s doomed attempt to find the North West Passage. Both ships disappeared, along with all their crew, in 1848. In 2014 hopes in Topsham were dashed, when the remains of a ship found nearby were concluded to be those of HMS Erebus.

The new find was made on 3^rd September and the team of Canadian underwater archaeologists have been checking the details against archives of the ship’s plans, before announcing their conclusions to the world yesterday. Parks Canada archaeologists have yet to confirm the find.

The ship is in good condition, sitting upright on the bottom, about 24m below the surface and contains much of the original equipment and furnishings – its heavy construction, which once enabled it to survive several months in the grip of the ice – has seemingly now seen it survive 150 years underwater.

The model and information about the ship and her history is on display at Topsham museum, which is open 2 until 5pm on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday until the end of October.