Sutton Hoo boat restorers ask for help with name

21 November 2025

Jo Black,in Woodbridgeand

Alice Cunningham,Suffolk

News image — The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company is aiming to complete the rebuild of the Anglo Saxon ship by next year

Jo Black/BBC A view of the longship in the process of being built inside a large warehouse. Planks of wood lie either side of the ship. There is an image of a silver helmet above the ship. — The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company is aiming to complete the rebuild of the Anglo Saxon ship by next year

The team recreating a famous Anglo-Saxon burial ship is inviting the public to name it, but urged against joke suggestions like "Boaty McBoatface".

The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company (SHSC) is reconstructing the famous ship unearthed at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, in 1939.

SHSC, based at Longshed in Woodbridge, aimed to complete the project next year before getting the ship on the River Deben in 2027.

Jacq Barnard, project manager, said they were now asking the public to propose a name for the ship, but the names needed to be appropriate.

Joe Barett/BBC Jacq Barnard stands within the reconstructed ship's hull. One arm rests on black metal framework as she smiles at the camera. She is wearing a grey beanie hat, blue neck snood and a navy jumper with a name badge on her chest. — Jacq Barnard, project manager, said the name would need to reflect the ship, its history or Anglo-Saxon history

"We don't want any silly names, we want a name that can be pronounced and we want a name that will be relative to the ship — it's got to be something to do with the history of the ship, the local area or Anglo-Saxon history," she explained.

She added that the names would be shortlisted down to three before they go back to the public for the final vote.

"We're obviously going to avoid the Boaty McBoatface, we're not going down that route, so we obviously need to keep enough control over it to make sure that the name is fitting for something as amazing as this," she continued.

"But we feel there are enough great people out there that would have really good ideas, so why not open our community even wider?"

Joe Barett/BBC Laurie Walker smiles at the camera as he sits within the ship's workshop. He has blonde curly hair and a red beard. Part of the ship can be seen behind him as well as some wood planks. He wears a blue hoodie. — Laurie Walker, master shipwright, explained that the team only had the original ship's impressions to go on, which had been left in the soil after the original wood rotted away

Boaty McBoatface refers to a polar research ship that the public overwhelmingly voted to name as such in 2016.

Despite that, it was instead named RRS Sir David Attenborough.

Laurie Walker, master shipwright in charge of the day-to-day running and the physical building of the ship, echoed Ms Barnard.

"I'm excited, as long as it doesn't end up as Boaty McBoatface, I'll be happy," he said.

"It will be interesting to see some of the names that the public comes up with."

MERCIE LACK/NATIONAL TRUST/PA MEDIA A black and white image of the Sutton Hoo ship during excavation. The ship itself is not present as the wood had rotted away, but it has left an impression in the soil which is being dug around by several men. Rivets can be seen in the soil along with impressions of where several wooden planks making up the ship's body would have been. — The original Great Ship Burial at Sutton Hoo is believed to have been the resting site of King Raedwald

About 180 volunteers are working on the replica, which is based on the 88ft (27m) wooden ship that was buried at Sutton Hoo.

The team is making use of 7th Century building techniques for the £1.5m reconstruction.

It was believed to have been a burial ship for King Raedwald, and the discovery inspired the 2021 Netflix film, The Dig, starring Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan.

Jo Black/BBC David MacDonald stands in front of the ship reconstruction project and smiles at the camera. He wears a green cap, blue jumper and blue polo top with a collar underneath. He has circular glasses on and he has a grey beard. — David MacDonald, originally from the United States, said he was looking forward to seeing the project completed

David MacDonald, 65, and Dave Clemmer, 63, are both volunteers working on the ship.

Mr MacDonald, a woodworker, said it had got him out of his comfort zone.

"The fun thing is figuring it out because there are no plans with this and working with the tools that we have, you've got to make them work, and they made them work back then," he added.

Jo Black/BBC Dave Clemmer stands in front of the ship reconstruction and smiles at the camera. He has short grey hair and wears a navy jumper and glasses. — Dave Clemmer is also working on a Viking ship reconstruction in Norway

Mr Clemmer said he also was hoping there would be no Boaty McBoatface suggestions.

"I'm not eager to see the end of it, I really enjoy the process," he said of the project.

"The process of doing is more important that the end result, but in terms of after it's done there are other projects I'll be involved with, hopefully here and there will be another boat... many things we'll learn from this project will apply to the next project."

Suggestion names for the ship can be submitted on SHSC's website.