21st October 2025 in Community News, Press releases, Project news
- 19th Century ship’s bell belonged to The Masonic vessel that sunk in 1893 and has now been fully restored to its former glory after lying forgotten at the bottom of the North Sea
- Copper-alloy bell will be welcomed to its new home at Brightlingsea Museum in Essex by great-grandson of one of the vessel’s original owner
It had lain undisturbed at the bottom of the North Sea for nearly 130 years but now a historic ship’s bell will toll once again thanks to restoration work commissioned by Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
The 12kg and 15cm high copper-alloy bell was originally installed on The Masonic vessel in 1876, but went down with the ship and its entire crew off the coast of Yorkshire during fierce storms in November 1893. Newspaper reports of the time refer to the remains of passengers and crew from the vessel being found on the beach at Saltburn-by-the Sea during a four-day hurricane
The Great Storm as it was known was blamed for the deaths of 335 people at sea, with over 140 vessels abandoned or foundering including The Masonic, which went down in a stretch of water off the Yorkshire coast
There the bell lay undisturbed on the seabed until 2022 when the team carrying out a subsea survey as part of pre-construction activities on Dogger Bank Wind Farm – set to be the largest in the world when complete – discovered an unexplained form embedded into the floor of the sea.
The object was initially thought to be an unexploded bomb, but onshore inspections revealed a bell-shaped object with the inscription ‘Masonic’. After undergoing specialist restoration work involving X-ray imaging, the maritime treasure will now be housed at the Brightlingsea Museum near Colchester in Essex.
Credit: MSDS Marine
Remarkably the museum was also able to track down the great-grandson of one of the vessel’s original owners, who will be joined by representatives from Dogger Bank Wind Farm for a special unveiling ceremony of the Masonic Bell at the Brightlingsea Museum today (21st October 2025).
The Deputy Receiver of Wreck, Andrea Bailey, worked with representatives from MSDS Marine to uncover the story behind the bell, and how it had come to be nestled into an area of seabed where offshore electricity cables were to be installed over 130 years later.
The bell was correctly registered with the Receiver of Wreck, part of HM Coastguard, but with no-one claiming ownership, it became the property of The Crown and it was agreed its final journey would be back to Brightlingsea for exhibition in the local museum.
Deputy Receiver of Wreck Andrea Bailey, said:
“The fate of the Masonic and her crew was a tragedy, far away from where it first set sail. So it feels right that the bell – the last surviving piece – is returned to where it was built.
“Reuniting objects with their owners or finding a proper home is best done by registering maritime finds with the Receiver of Wreck. By doing so, you can help share history and ensure artefacts end up where they truly belong.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is being built in three phases off the Yorkshire coast by developers SSE, Equinor and Vårgrønn and once fully complete in 2027, will be capable of powering up to six million homes annually.
Credit: MSDS Marine
Lizzy Reynolds, Lead Offshore Consent Manager for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, said:
“When we set out to build the world’s largest offshore windfarm, we had no idea that our careful archaeological surveys would yield up this historic gem from the depths of the ocean floor.
“We feel it is the right thing to do to fully restore the Masonic Bell to its former glory as a tribute to those brave mariners who perished on board the ship during violent storms of 1893. Our delivery partners Haskoning and MSDS Marine have brought the bell back to life and it will now have a new dry home at the Brightlingsea Museum.”
Richard Dove, great-grandson of Captain William Dove, one of the owners of the Masonic, said:
“Raising the Masonic bell from the deep after its 132 years of seabed slumber is a tangible link to my great-grandfather.
“Hopefully the fully restored bell is testament to those brave souls that sadly perished in 1893, and we are deeply grateful to everyone who has breathed new life into this wonderful piece of maritime history.”
Carola Del Mese, Conservator at MSDS Marine and Heritage led the restoration of the 19th century bell on behalf of Dogger Bank Wind Farm contractor, Haskoning.
Carola added:
“Conserving the Masonic bell has been a technical challenge and a privilege, and I’m honoured to have been part of its return journey home to Brightlingsea as a commemoration to the crew and an addition to local history.”
Local history experts from the Brightlingsea Museum believe The Masonic vessel was built by shipbuilder Robert Aldous, to transport coal, building materials and food during the 19th Century.
Margaret Stone, Brightlingsea Museum Curator, said:
“We are delighted to welcome the bell from the Brightlingsea-built barge, the Masonic, to the museum. This is the first artefact for our collection which comes from an actual vessel built in the town during the Nineteenth Century. What makes it even more special are the links the Masonic has to an organisation and families still in the town - and even the museum itself. We are most grateful to all that have made this possible.”
Image caption: Three generations of the Dove family attended the unveiling of the Masonic ship’s bell at Brightlingsea Museum.
20th October 2025 in Community News
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is helping to prepare young people for careers in a net zero world by awarding 30 additional scholarships, each worth £5,000, to students from coastal communities across the North and North-East of England.
These grants will help support students from South Tyneside, Redcar and Cleveland, and East Riding of Yorkshire as they pursue further education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) subjects.
With this second round, a total of 123 scholarships has now been awarded, contributing to the wind farm’s broader £25 million community investment fund.
The Scholarship Fund prioritises areas central to the project: East Riding of Yorkshire and Redcar and Cleveland (where the wind farm connects to the National Grid) and South Tyneside (home to the future Operation and Maintenance Base).
The recipients are studying a wide range of STEM courses, from Computer Science and Natural Science to various engineering degrees like Energy Engineering that directly support the push toward a net zero future.
Kay Doragh, Community Investment Manager for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, expressed her support:
“We are delighted to be able to make a real difference to students in our region through a scholarship that tackles the immediate living costs around university. It’s always amazing to see the range of skills these young people are developing across STEM subjects, helping to build the knowledge we need for a greener future.’
The financial support is already easing the burden on recipients, allowing them to focus on their studies.
Thomas Chantry from Hull, studying Physics at The University of Hull noted:
“A course like physics is very content heavy and if I’m not in a lecture then I am doing assignments or reading up on lectures to help develop my understanding of the course, so this scholarship will mean I will have more time for this as on a weekend I travel home to work as university life is not cheap.
“I would 100% advise people to apply for the Dogger Bank Scholarship programme. Applying was very easy, and the scholarship is a great opportunity which does not only support your studies, but it also connects you with a project making a difference in our community.”
Sophie Jennings from South Shields, Studying Computer Science at Newcastle University, said:
“It feel great to get this scholarship from a project based in South Shields, where I’m from. It’s really good that local people are getting the opportunity to be able to focus on their degrees, to pursue what they want to do in the future. would definitely tell anyone to go for it and apply for this scholarship.”
16th October 2025 in Community News
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is delighted to announce that its community fund has been highly commended at the RenewableUK Global Offshore Wind Awards. This recognition celebrates the significant commitment Dogger Bank Wind Farm has to creating a long lasting, positive benefit to the communities in which it operates.
The Dogger Bank Community Fund is investing £25 million during the operational lifespan of the project, working with education providers to support the development of skills needed for the future of green energy. The fund is also committed to making sure the coastal communities closest to our construction and operational bases directly benefit from our innovative development.
Kay Doragh, Community Investment Manager for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, expressed her pride in the achievement:
“We are incredibly honored to receive this recognition at the Global Offshore Wind Awards. It truly reflects our team’s dedication and the fantastic partnerships we’ve built with local groups. Seeing the tangible difference our Community Fund makes in people’s lives is immensely rewarding, and we look forward to continuing this vital work throughout the life of the project.”
Further information about the Dogger Bank community fund and information on how to apply for grants and scholarships can be found here: www.doggerbank.com/about/community/
A full list of Dogger Bank’s accolades is available here https://doggerbank.com/about/our-awards/
8th September 2025 in Events
Are you between the ages of 14 and 18 and fascinated by space? Here’s your chance to turn that curiosity into a real-world experience.
The CubeSat Challenge is an exciting opportunity for young space enthusiasts to design their very own CubeSat satellites. Participants will get an exclusive chance to collaborate with actual NASA astronauts on their designs.
Supported by Dogger Bank Wind Farm, this unique, week-long event runs from October 27-31. You’ll work on cutting-edge space technology and gain hands-on experience that could shape your future.
Ready to launch your future into space? Sign up now to join the challenge at http://uknsp.com and get ready to innovate.
26th August 2025 in Press releases, Project news
- Joint venture developers SSE and Equinor finalise seabed lease with The Crown Estate to progress Dogger Bank D offshore wind project, following establishment of terms last year.
- This allows capacity of Dogger Bank C lease area to be maximised, unlocking up to 1.5GW of additional renewable electricity capacity from the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
- Dogger Bank D is a proposed fourth phase of the world’s largest offshore wind farm in construction – and can make the world’s biggest offshore wind farm even bigger.
- SSE and Equinor each own 50% of the proposed Dogger Bank D development.
SSE and Equinor have finalised a seabed lease with The Crown Estate to progress the Dogger Bank D offshore wind project.
This marks the latest important milestone in the development of a proposed fourth phase of the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm currently in construction off the coast of England in the North Sea.
The lease allows Dogger Bank D’s 50:50 joint venture shareholders SSE Renewables and Equinor to maximise the potential renewable electricity generation capacity from the eastern portion of the existing Dogger Bank C seabed lease area, located around 210km off the Yorkshire coast.
Delivery of Dogger Bank D is subject to it securing a Development Consent Order as well as a final investment decision by partners SSE Renewables and Equinor.
A fourth phase has the future potential to unlock an additional 1.5GW in renewable electricity capacity at Dogger Bank for Britain’s energy system and would make the world’s biggest offshore wind farm even bigger.
Developers SSE Renewables and Equinor previously established terms for Dogger Bank D with The Crown Estate in July 2024. Implementation of these commercial terms was subject to the conclusion earlier this year of the plan-Level Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) associated with The Crown Estate’s wider Capacity Increase Programme. Dogger Bank D will work collaboratively with The Crown Estate and other stakeholders to deliver the environmental compensation and mitigation required by the lease.
The Dogger Bank D project recently concluded its eight-week statutory consultation during which project proposals were presented to the public. These include plans for up to 113 installed offshore wind turbines on fixed bottom foundations as well as up to two offshore substation platforms at the 262km2 seabed site. Also proposed is associated export and inter-array subsea cabling connecting with onshore infrastructure in East Riding of Yorkshire for transmission of the electricity generated by the wind farm to Britain’s national grid.
Steve Wilson, Director of Offshore Development and Construction, SSE Renewables said:
“We’re delighted to have finalised an amendment to the existing Dogger Bank C seabed lease agreement with The Crown Estate to unlock additional clean energy potential from the site’s existing seabed lease. In amending the lease in this innovative way, we’ve taken significant strides to progress Dogger Bank D as a proposed fourth phase of the world’s largest offshore wind farm in construction, Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
“Concluding this process is testament to the shared innovation of shareholders SSE and Equinor along with The Crown Estate to enable a framework that allows us to increase the generation capacity potential of the site. We look forward to continuing Dogger Bank D’s progression as a nationally significant offshore wind project for the UK and building on our vision to the make the world’s biggest offshore wind farm even bigger.”
Melissa Read, Head of Regional Development – UK Renewables, Equinor, said:
“Reaching this milestone for the Dogger Bank D development provides future opportunity to unlock more value and volume from the world’s largest offshore wind farm whilst building on our expertise and presence in the North East of England.
“The UK is a core strategic market for Equinor and Dogger Bank D demonstrates how there is the potential to further develop our future UK portfolio by having the opportunity to increase future value from quality existing assets. We look forward to maturing the project further with SSE and continue to support the UK’s offshore wind and net zero ambitions.”
Gus Jaspert CMG, Managing Director, Marine at The Crown Estate, said:
“As one of the world’s largest offshore windfarms in construction, Dogger Bank showcases the UK’s global position in deploying this vital technology to deliver clean and secure energy for millions of people. This new approach to increase capacity on the existing windfarm site that The Crown Estate has agreed with Equinor and SSE, through Dogger Bank D, will enable more communities to benefit from the energy it creates and the jobs it supports.
“As with all developments, we carefully consider the important responsibility to balance the needs of energy and nature and have embedded environmental compensation measures agreed by the Secretary of State for Energy Security & Net Zero into our leasing for this windfarm. As development of our leading Marine Delivery Routemap continues, this collaborative approach will support future prioritisation decisions and avoid nature impacts as much as possible.”
Dogger Bank D is one of seven UK offshore wind farm projects with existing seabed leasing agreements that have been identified for potential generating capacity increases as part of The Crown Estate’s Capacity Increase Programme to unlock up to 4.7GW of potential new green electricity production.
A Statutory Consultation with community members in East Riding of Yorkshire and with stakeholders recently concluded on the offshore and onshore proposals for Dogger Bank D as well as on the outcomes of preliminary environmental assessments. Feedback from this consultation process will help inform the development of a final application for a Development Consent Order which is expected to be submitted by SSE Renewables and Equinor to The Planning Inspectorate in due course.
ENDS
About Dogger Bank D
Dogger Bank D is being developed as a proposed up to 1.5GW fourth phase of Dogger Bank Wind Farm by a 50 / 50 joint venture between SSE and Equinor, two of the world’s leading companies in the development and operation of offshore wind energy. Both companies were involved in the design and planning consent of the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which is currently under construction in the North Sea.
Dogger Bank was awarded rights in The Crown Estate’s Offshore Wind Leasing Round 3 and is currently under construction in three 1.2GW phases: A, B and C. Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Vårgrønn (20%).
