History - The Merchant Royal

Posted on March 26th 2025

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The wreck that has never been found.

The Merchant Royal was a 17th-century English merchant ship that was lost at sea off Land’s End in rough weather on the 23rd of September, 1641. On board were at least 100,000 pounds of gold, making it one of the most valuable wrecks of all time.

Besides the gold (over US$1.5 billion in today’s money) it was also carrying 400 bars of Mexican silver (another 1 million) and nearly 500,000 pieces of eight and other coins.

Greed and charity.

Before it sank, the ship had spent two years trading with Spanish colonies in the West Indies from 1637 to 1640. England was at peace with Spain at this time. The Merchant Royal and her sister-ship, the Dover Merchant, called into Cadiz on their way home to London. By all accounts she was leaking badly after her long voyage.

When a Spanish ship in Cadiz at the same time caught fire just before she was due to carry treasure to convert into pay for Spain’s 30,000 soldiers in Flanders, the Merchant Royal’s Captain, Limbrey, saw his chance to make a little more profit for his owners. He volunteered to carry the treasure to Antwerp on his way home.

Final Voyage.

But the Merchant Royal kept leaking after she and her sister-ship left Cadiz and, when the pumps broke down, she sank off Land’s End in rough weather on the 23rd of September, 1641.

Eighteen men drowned in the sinking. Captain Limbrey and 40 of his crew got away in boats and were picked up by the Dover Merchant. It is not likely that the treasure was taken aboard the Dover Merchant.

Many expert teams have tried for years to locate the wreck but, to this day, the final resting place of the Merchant Royal remains a mystery.

From the author

“From the very beginning I wanted to fill the London Repository with incredible artefacts. But I wanted to do so without relying on the usual cliches we’ve all seen before (that meant no Holy Grail, no Excalibur, and no Ark of the Covenant).

Ideally at least one of them would be visually impressive. Grand and imposing. Something memorable you wouldn’t expect to find under the streets of London.

I decided a shipwreck would be perfect.

I immediately thought of the ‘Vassa’ and the ‘Mary Rose’, two real shipwrecks that were actually found and salvaged from the sea floor. Both are on display in museums while undergoing conservation efforts to preserve them for future generations.

So… I was searching for another shipwreck. One that was still lost. Preferably one that hadn’t sunk halfway around the world, and preferably one with an interesting story. When I came across the Merchant Royal and its incredible cargo, I realised it was perfect.

Though, I will admit… a sunken treasure is about as cliched as it gets.”