This anchor was recovered off Sheerness, Kent, before 1936 and was probably lost from a naval vessel using this famous anchorage. The original stock, which remained on it until it had decayed too far (about 1990) was completely studded with round-headed iron nails to protect it from shipworm. The present oak stock is modern. The sharp angle between the arms and the shank, and the pointed crown, show that it was made before improvements in the strength of iron used for anchor forging about 1800 and the introduction of the steam hammer for welding, around 1830. These anchors frequently broke at the throat and had to be returned for repair. It is typical of the sort used in the larger men-of-war either as a bower anchor, or a stream anchor in the very largest. It measures just under 3 metres across the flukes and nearly 4.9 metres in length and just under 3 metres bill-to-bill (across arms). The stock (4.2 metres) has to be longer than the full arm width in order to turn them one way or another to dig into the sea-bed. According to Mark Beattie-Edwards of the Big Anchor project (Feb 2010) the tables for Admiralty longshank anchors state that one of this size should weigh between 41 and 45 cwt or approximately 2000-2300kg (though this one will have lost a little to surface corrosion). [PvdM]