THE remains of an ancient ship dating back to 1468 have been traced to Warwickshire - thanks to Coughton Court's Throckmorton family records.

The 65-foot ship, older than the Mary Rose, was discovered in the foundations of a new art centre on the banks of the River Usk and was extracted by the Gwent and Glamorgan Archaeological Trust (GGAT) in Newport in July 2002.

Until now, no-one had been able to determine who the ship's owner was until GGAT chairman Bob Trett went looking at the Warwick Record Office.

Mr Trett made the discovery after looking at the Throckmorton family's 500-year-old document at the Warwick Record Office which showed that the then Earl of Warwick, Richard Neville, was paying for work on a ship in Newport in 1469.