I am taking a close look at Russian Hatch Leather brought up from the wreck of the Metta Catharina which sunk off Plymouth Sound in 1786. This ship was carrying a cargo of hemp and leather from Russia. The ships bell, and then the cargo was discovered in 1973 when divers were in fact looking for another wreck. The hemp had long perished, but the cargo of leather was still there in large quantities, neatly tied up in bundles. The ownership of the leather belonged to Prince Charles, as the wreck was on the Duchy of Cornwall seabed, and over time this was sold off partly to finance further exploration.