HMS Victory, best known as the flagship of Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson at the famous Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, now resides as a museum ship at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth, UK. Visitors stepping aboard are given a glimpse of life on an 18th century Royal Navy ship of the line, with its rows of cannons, low deckheads, dim lighting, and austere living conditions. As the Royal Navy's most famous warship and given its association with Britain's most famous admiral, HMS Victory remains a commissioned naval vessel and still serves today as the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command.
The origins of HMS Victory lie in the Seven Years War (1756-1763) between Britain and France, a truly global war which was fought in North America, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and India. In December 1758, the British government ordered 12 new and very costly ships of the line, including one 'first-rate' vessel (defined as a battleship carrying at least 100 guns). This first-rate ship alone would cost £63,176 and three shillings, an enormous amount in the mid-1700s and equivalent to £50 million today. The laying of the keel of what would eventually become HMS Victory was undertaken at Chatham Royal Dockyard on 23 July 1759, with British Prime Minister William Pitt in attendance. The name Victory was only selected for the new ship on 13 October 1760, becoming the sixth HMS Victory to serve in the Royal Navy; the fourth Victory, also a first-rate ship of the line, had been lost with all hands in a gale off the Channel Islands on 5 October 1744. HMS Victory's hull design was the creation of Sir Thomas Slade, Surveyor of the Navy, and was based on that of HMS Royal George, a first-rate ship of the line launched three years earlier, in 1756. Victory's hull alone required more than 250 skilled shipwrights and timber from approximately 2,000 oak trees (equivalent to 60 acres of forest) to construct. With the hull completed and covered in order to allow the oak to season whilst in dry dock, the ship was left in this state for three years, with work to complete her only resuming in 1763.
Towed out of her flooded dry dock on 7 May 1765 and officially 'launched', HMS Victory became the largest and most modern warship in the Royal Navy at the time. Nevertheless, by 1765 the Seven Years War had ended and there was no requirement for the new Victory, so she was covered and anchored in the River Medway for the next 12 years. Whilst fitting out activities continued and sea trials were conducted in 1769, it was not until March 1778 that Victory was actually commissioned into the Royal Navy under the flag of Admiral Augustus Keppel and joined the Channel Fleet to defend Britain against French invasion in the first Battle of Ushant.
In March 1780, HMS Victory entered Portsmouth Royal Dockyard to have 3,923 sheets of copper sheathing fitted to her hull below the waterline as a means of protecting the vulnerable oak timber from teredo worms and preventing seaweed growth, which could slow a ship's progress through the water if left unchecked. The next year, Victory captured an entire convoy of French troopships in the Second Battle of Ushant and, in 1782, took part in an inconclusive naval action against a combined French-Spanish fleet off Morocco's Cape Spartel, as well as the relief of Gibraltar in October. In 1793-94, HMS Victory served as flagship of Admiral Lord Samuel Hood, who led his fleet on an attack on the main French arsenal at Toulon. In 1795, Victory took part in an unsuccessful naval action off the French Mediterranean town of Hyères and was forced to withdraw to Lisbon, Portugal. On 14 February 1797, as flagship of Admiral Sir John Jervis, Victory and 14 other Royal Navy ships defeated a Spanish fleet of 27 vessels at the Battle of Cape St Vincent; Jervis was able to capture four Spanish ships of the line and 3,000 Spanish sailors and inflict 800 Spanish casualties for the cost of only 300 British killed and wounded.
Following the Battle of Cape St Vincent, HMS Victory was in a poor state of repair and was converted into a hospital ship. However, with the loss in 1799 of the first-rate battleship HMS Impregnable, the Royal Navy decided to refit Victory as a replacement. Over the course of the three-year long 'Great Repair', HMS Victory was given an extensive overhaul which included the enclosure of the ship's open stern galleries, the replacement of the masts, the installation of a simpler figurehead, the addition of two extra gun ports on the Lower Gun Deck, replacement of the Lower Gun Deck's 42-pounder guns with lighter 32-pounder guns, and the lining of the ship's magazines with copper as a fire precaution.
HMS Victory's reputation as the most famous ship of the Royal Navy was made at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, when she served as the flagship of Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson. After having chased a combined French-Spanish fleet from European waters to the West Indies and back between March and September 1805, Nelson's fleet of 27 ships of the line succeeded in bottling up the Combined Fleet of 33 vessels in the harbour at Cadiz, thereby compelling Napoleon Bonaparte to abandon his planned invasion of Britain. In preparation for the battle, Nelson circulated a memo to the captains of the ships under his command, advising that '[I]n case signals can neither be seen or perfectly understood, no Captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of an enemy'. The strategy to be employed against the French and Spanish fleet entailed using the British ships to sever the enemy battle line into two columns, thereby provoking a 'pell-mell battle' in which each British captain knew his role and targets precisely. After sighting the Combined Fleet early on 21 October, the Royal Navy ships went to action stations and approached the enemy ships at a walking pace on account of the light prevailing winds. With its own fleet split into two columns, led respectively by HMS Royal Sovereign under Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood and HMS Victory under Nelson, the British ships pierced the French-Spanish line around at midday, with Victory's column attacking the centre of the enemy fleet and Royal Sovereign's column attacking the rear. HMS Victory managed to knock out the Bucentaure, the flagship of French admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve before becoming locked in close quarters battle with the 74-gun French battleship Redoutable. The Battle of Trafalgar was over by 4:30pm, Nelson's strategy having been a resounding success, with 17 French and Spanish ships being captured by the Royal Navy. However, Nelson was mortally wounded during the battle by a sniper aboard Redoutable, the musket ball penetrating his left shoulder, slicing through a lung and a major artery, and hitting his spine. Carried to the Orlop Deck for medical attention, Nelson died there in great pain three hours later. According to records of the Battle of Trafalgar maintained by HMS Victory's gunner, William Rivers, the ship shot 3,401 cannon balls and expended 7.5 tons of gunpowder, 3 tons of rope yarn wads, 3,000 musket balls, and 1,000 pistol rounds. The battle exacted a heavy toll on the approximately 50,000 participants on both sides, with 449 British sailors being killed (including 57 aboard Victory) and 1,214 wounded (including 120 aboard Victory), whilst the French lost 3,369 killed or drowned and 1,159 wounded, and the Spanish suffered 1,036 killed or drowned and 1,385 wounded. Over 5,000 French and Spanish officers and men were taken prisoner and transported back to England, where they were held in special prisons or floating hulks. Many of the wounded lost arms and and legs or were permanently deafened by gunfire. British sailors wounded in battle were issued a Hurt Certificate, which entitled them to a pension if they were unable to serve at sea again. British survivors of the battle were issued a share of the prize money from the sale of captured enemy ships; admirals and captains received gold medals from the King, though junior officers and men were not awarded official medals until 1847. Some of the officers also received special presentation swords or items of silver.
Severely damaged at the Battle of Trafalgar, HMS Victory was towed to Gibraltar by HMS Euryalus for emergency repairs. In December 1805, Victory returned to Portsmouth, with Nelson's body carried aboard, preserved in a cask of brandy. National celebration of the great naval victory over the French and Spanish was balanced by public mourning over the death of Nelson, and the hero admiral was given an extravagant state funeral in January 1806, involving a riverine procession up the Thames followed by a service at St Paul's Cathedral. HMS Victory herself was placed in reserve at Chatham Dockyard and re-classed as a second-rate ship until 1808, when she was refurbished and recommissioned to lead a fleet into the Baltic under Admiral Sir James Saumarez in order to keep open the vital trade routes that brought pine, hemp, and flax to Britain for the shipbuilding industry.
Retired from service for the final time on 7 November 1812, HMS Victory underwent major repairs in 1814, including the replacement of many of the decks, significant alterations to the masts, the rebuilding of the bow, and the installation of iron brackets to increase the ship's structural strength. (HMS Victory's appearance today reflects the changes made in 1814.) Another refit in 1823-24 converted Victory into a 21-gun guard ship for Portsmouth Harbour, a role she served in for the next 80 years. Victory was damaged in 1903 after the 9,000-ton steel battleship HMS Neptune broke free while under tow and impacted the side of Victory's hull. Left unrepaired and moored in Portsmouth Harbour until 1922, Victory was moved into the Royal Naval Dockyard to address concerns over her rapidly deteriorating condition. An Admiralty Board directive ordered Victory's preservation and permanent berthing in No. 2 Dock. With the ship now berthed in a dry dock, to support the great weight of Victory's three masts, steel pillars were installed through the hull to bear the weight on the concrete floor of the dock. Guy wires connecting points on the dockside with the tops of the masts provided additional protection against the strong westerly gales experienced in Portsmouth. In honour of Lord Nelson and Victory's most famous battle, the Society for Nautical Research convinced the Admiralty Board in 1922 to restore HMS Victory to her appearance at Trafalgar in 1805. Since then, an extensive conservation program has been carried out, and continues to be carried out, to preserve this legendary ship of the Royal Navy for future generations to experience.
HMS Victory - Specifications:
Displacement: 3,500 tons
Length: 69 metres (227 feet 6 inches)
Beam: 15.7 metres (51 feet 10 inches)
Draught: 8.76 metres (28 feet 9 inches)
Height: 62.5 metres (205 feet) from waterline to the top of the mainmast
Propulsion: 5,440 square metres (6,510 square yards) of sail
Speed: 10 knots (18.52 km/h; 11.5 mph) maximum
Armament: 100-104 guns, including 32-pounder cannons and 68-pounder carronades
Complement: 10 officers, 70 petty officers, 212 able seamen, 193 ordinary seamen, 87 'landlubbers', plus 11 Royal Marine officers and 135 Royal Marine privates
Photos taken 12-13 October 2019 except as noted
 |
HMS Victory, the centrepiece of the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, now rests in No. 2 Dock. The ship's top masts and 20 miles (32 kilometres) of rigging have been removed as part of a major restoration project designed to preserve this 250+ year old ship for future generations.
|
 |
A stern view of HMS Victory in No. 2 Dock, showing cannons protruding from three decks and rows of windows lining the after parts of the Captain's Quarters, the Admiral's Quarters, and the officers' Wardroom.
|
 |
Stepping aboard HMS Victory via a small entrance formed from a gun port in the port side of the hull. Visitors bend down to enter the dark interior of the Middle Gun Deck.
|
 |
Looking forward along the port side of the Middle Gun Deck, with 32-pounder cannons on wooden carriages lining the sides. Each gun was manned by a crew of seven, plus a 'powder monkey' responsible for carrying flannel bags of gunpowder to the gun. The well-trained gun crews aboard Royal Navy battleships could load, aim, and fire their guns in just 90 seconds, giving them a significant advantage over their European enemies.
|
 |
Lanterns provided light within the darkness of the gun decks. Gratings on the decks and deckheads provided a degree of ventilation to expel clouds of smoke from gun fire and to draw in fresh air for the sailors. Note the low ceilings which were necessary to fit three gun decks within a hull that was not too high and thus top heavy.
|
 |
A ladder leads from the Upper Gun Deck down to the Middle Gun Deck. An adjacent ladder leads up to the exposed Upper Deck.
|
 |
A small brass plaque on the Quarter Deck, near the ship's wheels, marks the spot where Vice Admiral Lord Nelson was struck down by a musket ball fired by a sniper on the French warship Redoutable during the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805. Nelson died below decks three hours later, at 4:30pm.
|
 |
HMS Victory's wheels, used to steer the ship using brute manpower. The wheels were connected to the ship's rudder by the ropes. This position was Victory's nerve centre, from where officers directed operations. Small cabins on either side of the steering position were home to the ship's Master (navigator) and the Admiral's Secretary.
|
 |
Located adjacent to the Quarter Deck for ease of access is the Captain's Quarters. This hanging berth slept in by the Captain was positively luxurious compared to the narrow hammocks used by the sailors in the decks below.
|
 |
The Captain's Day Cabin, used as an office.
|
 |
The Captain's Dining Cabin. This cabin is equipped with a sliding skylight and was thus the only internal space aboard Victory that the 6-foot 4-inch tall Captain Thomas Hardy could stand fully upright.
|
 |
| Looking forward on the wet (and slippery) upper deck during a rainy October morning. HMS Victory carried six boats, including four that were carried here on the upper deck on skid beams. Victory's timber decks were kept clean through 'holystoning', a process whereby blocks of sandstone the size of a bible were used to scour dirt and roughness from the wood. Located on the Forecastle at the bow of the ship were four guns, two of them 68-pounder carronades capable of inflicting tremendous damage to ships at short range and nicknamed 'the Smasher'. |
 |
Looking aft on the Quarter Deck at the rear deckhouse containing the Captain's and Admiral's quarters, and the Wardroom, and topped by the Poop Deck. The ship's wheels and its binnacle are sited under the overhang of the Poop Deck above to provide a degree of protection from the elements. The Poop Deck was the highest deck on the ship and was used as a lookout and signalling platform, with the ship's signal flags kept in a locker there. It was from the Poop Deck that Nelson ordered his famous signal to the fleet prior to the commencement of the Battle of Trafalgar: 'England expects that every man will do his duty'. It was also here on the Quarter Deck that punishment was meted out to sailors found guilty of disciplinary infractions. The most common form of punishment onboard was flogging, with the Captain able to award anywhere from 12 to 36 lashes for infractions like drunkenness, insolence, or neglect of duty. Floggings were administered by the Boatswain's Mates in front of the assembled crew, with the offender stripped to the waist and tied to an upended section of wooden grating.
|
 |
HMS Victory's small dispensary, with a stock of medicines used to treat the range of ailments afflicting sailors. Of course, many of the common medications doled out to the sick in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, such as antimony, are now known to be highly toxic.
|
 |
Located at the forward starboard end of the Upper Gun Deck, a comparatively bright and well-ventilated part of HMS Victory, is the Sick Berth, where ill sailors were accommodated in these hanging cots outfitted with linen sheets. Sick sailors were also provided separate toilet facilities. The location here allowed the sick to be physically separated from the rest of the crew to prevent the spread of disease; however, when the ship went to fighting stations the Sick Berth would be dismantled and casualties treated below the waterline on the Orlop Deck in order to allow the cannons, pictured, to be brought into battle.
|
 |
Some of the 30 long 12-pounder cannons positioned on the Upper Gun Deck. The 12-pounder cannon could fire either a single 12-pound iron cannonball; grapeshot (a small bundle of iron balls packed tightly in a canvas bag and used to inflict casualties on enemy sailors); or bar shot (two balls liked by an iron bar) and chain shot (two balls linked by a chain) used to shred enemy rigging and human flesh at short distance. The process for loading and firing a gun entailed clearing debris from the barrel using a long iron corkscrew; sponging out the barrel with a wet sheepskin to douse any remaining embers from the previous shot; ramming a powder bag into the gun's breech via the muzzle; inserting a wad of rope yarn; loading the cannon ball; and inserting a second rope yarn wad. The Gun Captain then pierced the gunpowder bag using the touch-hole in the breech and the powder was ignited by using a lighted match or a safer and faster gun-lock equipped with a flint to generate a spark. Upon firing, the heavy gun and its carriage rolled back several feet, restrained by the gun crew holding onto breeching ropes, whilst clouds of smoke filled the gun deck. The gun then needed to be manhandled back into firing position and the process repeated for the next shot.
|
 |
A look down the port side of the Upper Gun Deck aboard HMS Victory, lined with 12-pounder cannons. Although a typical Royal Navy ship of the line was the third-rate battleship equipped with 74 to 80 guns and thus capable of fighting in fleet battles, first-rate ships like HMS Victory possessed an extra gun deck and carried at least 100 guns. Such first-rate battleships were the largest moveable man-made objects in the world at the time. The men serving aboard Victory were overwhelmingly young, with 40% under the age of 24 and the youngest boy aboard being only 12. One in ten of the crew came from outside the United Kingdom, from places like the United States, Canada, mainland Europe, and India.
|
 |
Occupying one quarter of the Upper Gun Deck at the aft end of the ship is the Great Cabin, comprising four separate areas used by the Admiral and his staff. Seen here is an anteroom, known as the Steerage, used as a workspace by the Admiral's valets and clerks. It derives its name from the fact that the ship's tillers were once steered from this location).
|
 |
| The Day Cabin, used by the Admiral as an office. It was here that battle strategy was planned and dispatches to the fleet were written. Indeed, even on his 47th birthday (29 September 1805), Vice Admiral Nelson spent seven hours writing orders and instructions to the fleet. It was at the breakfast table in this cabin that Nelson composed his prayer before the Battle of Trafalgar, writing ‘May the great God, whom I worship, grant to my country and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious victory, and may no misconduct in anyone tarnish it; and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet. For myself individually, I commit my life to him that made me; and may His blessing alight on my endeavours for serving my country faithfully. To him I resign myself, and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend. Amen.’. Located on either side of the Day Cabin are 'seats of easement' (private toilets), and the bulkheads of the cabin conceal additional gun ports which would be opened during battle and occupied by 32-pounder cannons to increase the ship's weight of fire. |
 |
Tucked between two 12-pounder cannons is the Admiral's bed. Rather than a hanging cot, like that used by Captain Hardy, Vice Admiral Nelson chose to sleep in a folding 'campaign bed', which could be used as a chair during the day, folded out to form a four-poster bed at night, and could also be set up as a small table. The proximity of the cannons to the Admiral's bed attests to the fact that space aboard was too precious not to be used to increase the fighting capacity of the ship during battle.
|
 |
Located forward of the Day Cabin is the Dining Room, used by the Admiral to entertain senior officers. On the eve of the Battle of Cape St Vincent (14 February 1797), then-Commodore Horatio Nelson dined here as a guest of Admiral Sir John Jervis, Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet.
|
 |
A display of fighting equipment, including a box of canister shot for the 12-pounder cannons and pistols and sabres for close quarters, hand-to-hand fighting during a boarding operation.
|
 |
HMS Victory's iron Brodie stove, located in the ship's Galley near the bow on the Middle Gun Deck. Named after its inventor, Alexander Brodie, a Scottish master blacksmith specialising in stoves for naval use, the Brodie stove was used to prepare meals for the 800+ crew of HMS Victory. Giant pots holding 250 gallons (946 litres) of stew were cooked on the stove, whilst the oven could bake 80 pounds (36 kilograms) of bread at a time, and spits could roast large portions of meat or fowl.
|
 |
The Galley Pantry, where the ship's mess cooks prepared food before taking it to the Brodie stove for cooking. To ensure food remained edible through a deployment lasting months, the sailors ate a limited, repetitive, but calorie rich diet of proven staples, such as salted beef and pork, dried biscuit, peas and oatmeal, butter, and cheese. Nevertheless, despite precautions taken with storage, a certain amount of these items were inevitably lost to leaky barrels, weevil infestations, and rats. Sailors enjoyed fresh bread and meat whilst in harbour, and the supply of fresh vegetables and the addition of lemon juice to the daily rum ration had addressed the scourge of scurvy the early 1800s. The daily drink ration included eight pints of beer per man, though this might be substituted with two pints of wine or a half-pint of rum during service overseas. As water stored for long periods of time in barrels becomes brackish and unfit for consumption, longer-lasting alcohol was a convenient way of quenching the sailors' thirst on long voyages.
|
 |
The reverse side of the Brodie stove, showing the range of pots, pans, and kettles that could be accommodated in the expansive iron stove. Each eight-man sailors' mess elected one of their members each week to serve as mess cook, responsible for receiving, preparing, and collecting the provisions, with cooking done on the Brodie stove under the supervision of the ship's cook. Cooks on naval vessels in the 18th and early 19th centuries were usually older men, often missing limbs and made unfit for more physical jobs aboard ship.
|
 |
| Located between two cannons is a typical mess table, at which eight of Victory's crewmen would dine and relax when the ship was not at action stations. The table folds down from the deck head above and the men sat on the wooden crates. It was on the Middle Gun Deck that the privates and non-commissioned officers of Victory's Royal Marine detachment, all volunteers, slept in hammocks slung between the guns. The Royal Marines served a number of the ship's guns in battle, and also provided boarding parties to seize enemy vessels; they also participated in amphibious operations, using the ship's boats to row ashore or to 'cut out' enemy vessels in harbour. When not in battle, the Royal Marines served as sentries onboard, guarding the Spirit Room (where alcohol was stored), standing guard outside officers' quarters, and policing the seamen to guard against mutinous dissent. The Captain of the Royal Marine detachment aboard Victory lived and dined in the Wardroom with the ship's officers. The Middle Gun Deck also houses the ship's two capstans, used to raise and lower Victory's anchors, boats, masts, and guns. |
 |
| A section of Victory's original and damaged fore mast, gifted to Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence, in 1806 after the ship's return to Chatham Dockyard for refit following the Battle of Trafalgar. The Duke, a friend of Lord Nelson, displayed the section of mast in the gardens of his home, Bushey House. In 1830, upon ascending the throne as William IV, the king had the mast section moved to the guardhouse at Windsor Castle and, in 1835, commissioned a marble bust of Nelson to sit atop it. Transferred to the newly-formed Royal United Services Museum by King Edward VII in 1901, the mast section subsequently was given to the National Portrait Gallery in 1963 and remained out of public view. A four year search by Victory's curator located the mast section and a loan agreement was signed with the National Portrait Gallery to return it for display aboard HMS Victory in Portsmouth. The mast is made of Baltic pine and shows evidence of enemy gunfire damage from Trafalgar; the horseshoe nailed to the mast was reportedly installed by the ship's seamen for luck. The mast is a 'composite mast', featuring a central spindle intricately dog toothed into the separate 'side trees' and 'side fishes' to create the whole mast, which measured 106 feet (32.31 metres) long and 35 3/8 inches (89.85 centimetres) in diameter. Although Victory's original masts in 1765 were crafted from enormous single pine trees imported from New England in the United States, composite masts made from smaller trees harvested in the Baltic states was made necessary following the independence of the United States in 1776. (Photo taken 23 August 2009) |
 |
The Lower Gun Deck, home to Victory's heaviest armament, thirty long pattern Blomefield 32-pounder cannons, each weighing 2.75 tons. The Lower Gun Deck was also where 460 of the crew slept, and where almost 600 ate their meals. The men slept in hammocks slung from beams between the guns, with each man allowed a space 15 inches wide. Each man was issued with a hammock, two blankets, and a wool-stuffed mattress; during the day, the hammocks were rolled up and stowed on the upper decks, where they provided protection against splinters in battle and served as life preservers in man overboard cases. Due to its position deep in the ship, near the waterline, fresh air and light was seldom enjoyed here on the Lower Gun Deck when the ship was sailing with the gun ports closed up, requiring men to live by candlelight and breathe fetid air. Nevertheless, the monthly pay of 23 shillings and six pence a month for an ordinary seaman in 1805 compared favourably to wages on merchant ships, and experienced navy sailors knew they had guaranteed food and drink, as well as the opportunity to earn prize money from capturing enemy ships. A canvas screen at the aft end of the Lower Gun Deck separated the sailors from the Gunroom, where Victory's Gunner, Chaplain, Midshipmen, and boy sailors slept and ate in four canvas-walled cabins, which were dismantled when the ship went to action station. Because of the rotational watch system, at any time of the day or night half of the crew might be sleeping whilst the other half were manning their stations.
|
 |
The aft end of the Orlop Deck, the lowest deck on HMS Victory, and so named because it overlaps the ship's hold. Located below the waterline, the Orlop Deck has no guns and features extremely low deck heads and very dim lighting. It was on this deck that warrant officers (i.e. specialists) like the Carpenter, Gunner, and the Boatswain lived in tiny cabins, and where the Purser and his Steward worked to ensure that Victory was properly provisioned with food, drink, tobacco, bedding, and specific items of clothing. The Purser's Steward was responsible for issuing the daily rum ration to the mess cooks and for overseeing the large barrels of peas, oatmeal, and ship's biscuit stored in the various storerooms seen here. Large wheels of cheese and flour for bread making were also stored on the Orlop Deck.
|
 |
The After Cockpit on the Orlop Deck, where the ship's surgeon would operate on ship's crew injured during battle. It was here that the mortally wounded Vice Admiral Lord Nelson was taken during the Battle of Trafalgar after being shot by a French sniper on the Upper Deck, and where he subsequently died three hours later.
|
 |
A mock-up of a severed human foot in a bucket in the After Cockpit, demonstrating both the kind of grievous injuries sailors might suffer in battle and the crude medical practices and unsanitary conditions employed by naval surgeons in the 18th and 19th centuries.
|
 |
The Cable Tier, where HMS Victory's seven anchor cables were stored.
|
 |
The Boatswain's cramped, windowless, and poorly-ventilated cabin, one of several such cabins on the Orlop Deck occupied by specialist members of the crew. Specialists like the Boatswain remained with the ship, whether in active service or laid up in harbour, with Victory's Gunner, William Rivers, serving aboard for 20 years between 1793 and 1812.
|
 |
The Boatswain's Store, where large quantities of rope, canvas, and wooden blocks were stored in case repairs to the ship's rigging were required during a long overseas deployment far from a Royal dockyard. The Boatswain was responsible for looking after all rigging, blocks, sails, cables, and anchors aboard Victory, with a specialist Ropemaker and Sailmaker working under him, and Boatswain's Mates responsible for supervising the seamen.
|
 |
The Gunner's Workshop with tools for use by the Gunner and his subordinates tasked with maintaining Victory's armament. The Gunner had the largest number of artisans working under him, including Gunner's Mates, Quarter Gunners, and the Yeoman of the Powder Room, and was responsible for looking after all the ship's large guns and their fittings, as well as the shot and powder. Also working for the Gunner were the Armourer and the Gunsmith, who maintained small arms (musketys, bayonets, pistols, cutlasses, pikes, and boarding axes) used by Victory's crew.
|
 |
The Carpenter's Store Room, which also served as a workshop, on the Orlop Deck.
|
 |
Large quantities of variously-sized rope for use on HMS Victory. The largest are anchor cables. The hammocks indicate that a number of men also slept in this space deep within the bowels of the ship.
|
 |
Looking down into the ship's Main Hold, a large open space below the waterline used to store the huge quantities of stores required to maintain the ship and its crew at sea for deployments of up to six months. Large 150-gallon (568 litre) casks of water called 'leaguers' were placed on the bottom, with smaller casks containing up to 11,000 gallons (41,640 litres) of beer, 50 tons of salt beef, 50 tons of pork, 15 tons of dried peas, and two tons of butter were stacked on top. The Hold also housed the copper-lined Grand Magazine, which held 35 tons of gunpowder in wooden barrels kept dry and safe by moisture-absorbing charcoal and fire resistant mortar and plaster; in the adjacent Grand Magazine Filling Room, the gunpowder was scooped into canvas bag charges for the cannons.
|
 |
| To balance the great weight of the ship's guns and masts up top, 257 tons of iron ingots covered by 200 tons of gravel were also stored in the hold. To trim the ship's balance, the Master would order crewmen to shift the gravel around to achieve a proper balance; however, as the gravel soaked up seawater and spilled food, it also had to be periodically washed, fumigated, or replaced wholesale when the odour became too foul. Additional balancing weight was provided by over 100 tons of iron shot held in special lockers in the Hold. |
 |
Steel supports now hold HMS Victory in place in No. 2 Dock at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Victory's oak hull was left to season for three years during construction in dry dock (1759-1763), far longer than the usual one year seasoning period. It is believed that this lengthy seasoning may be one reason the ship has survived for so long.
|
 |
| A port side bow view of HMS Victory, 13 October 2019. Over 300,000 people visit the ship every year. |
 |
| For comparison, a starboard side view of HMS Victory with her full masts and rigging installed on 22 August 2009, prior to the commencement of the major restoration program nearly a decade later. |
 |
| Looking up at HMS Victory's elaborately-decorated and soaring after castle, with the ship's name painted across the stern. |
 |
| The Lord Nelson figurehead from the 120-gun, 2,694-ton first-rate ship of the line HMS Trafalgar, launched on 21 June 1841 at Woolwich Dockyard. HMS Trafalgar took part in the bombardment of Sebastopol during the Crimean War (1853-56), was converted to a two-deck screw-powered ship of 90 guns in 1858-59, and was renamed HMS Boscawen in 1873 following conversion into a seaman boy's training ship at Portland. The ship was sold in 1905. |
The Victory Gallery
 |
| The exterior of the Sir Donald Gosling Victory Gallery, dedicated on 26 June 2014 to Sir Frederick Donald Gosling (1929-2019), an honorary Royal Navy Vice-Admiral and philanthropist. The Victory Gallery tells the story of HMS Victory, from her construction to her preservation, profiling the people who lived and fought in her. |
 |
| A bronze bust of Honorary Vice-Admiral Sir Donald Gosling, whose £25 million donation to the HMS Victory Preservation Company, combined with matching funds from the Ministry of Defence and additional support from the Heritage Lottery Fund has permitted the creation of an endowment that will be used to preserve HMS Victory in the years to come. |
 |
| A large scale model of HMS Vanguard, an 80-gun second-rate ship of the line launched on 25 August 1835 at Pembroke Dock in Wales. The ship, the sixth Royal Navy warship to bear the name Vanguard, was one of the last generation of sailing battleships built for the Royal Navy. This model was constructed to provide young naval recruits with instruction on the main parts of the ship and the ropes that were used to work her sails. |
 |
| A diorama depicting the launch of the 74-gun battleship HMS Warrior at Portsmouth Dockyard on 18 November 1781. A crowd of dockyard workers and their families are gathered on the quayside to watch the launch as invited guests arrive by carriage and drinks are served on the ship's quarterdeck to the accompaniment of a small brass band. |
 |
| The diorama shows HMS Warrior supported by a few remaining timber shores, with shipyard workers preparing the ropes that will secure the ship to the dock after launch. Flying from short poles where the masts will be fitted after launching are traditional flags, including the Royal Standard and the red flag wit fouled anchor of the Admiralty Board. The launch of HMS Victory on 7 May 1765 would have been very similar to the scene depicted here. |
 |
| The wheel of HMS Victory, which replaced the one shot away by enemy fire at the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805. Admiral Lord Nelson's famous quote prior to that battle, 'England expects that every man will do his duty', is spelled out in brass lettering along the upper half of the wheel. |
 |
| A display on gunnery equipment aboard 18th century Royal Navy warships. With gunnery already a well-established science by the 1700s, well-trained gun crews could hit a target over 1,000 metres away, though most naval engagements took place at much closer ranges, sometimes within grappling distance. Speed of fire was essential and the gun crews who could fire, reload, and fire again were usually the victors. At the Battle of Trafalgar, British sailors were able to sustain a rate of fire at least twice as fast as their French and Spanish counterpart. Items on display here include a cartridge case, a powder horn, a vent auger, a vent pricker, a gun tompion row, flintlock firing mechanisms, and various types of shot. |
 |
| A model of HMS Victory in 1778, shortly after commissioning. She is flying the flag of her first admiral, Vice Admiral the Honourable Sir Augustus Keppel. This model, made by Harold Wyllie, was donated to the museum by Lord Louis Mountbatten (1900-1979). |
 |
| A display on how the Battle of Trafalgar has been commemorated and remembered. The display includes two chairs made from wood salvaged from two of the Royal Navy battleships that took part in the battle, HMS Temeraire and Dreadnought. HMS Temeraire was, after Victory, the most famous of the battleships at Trafalgar and many souvenirs were crafted from her wood and copper after she was broken up in 1838. Although HMS Dreadnought was only able to take part of in the closing stages of the Battle of Trafalgar due to her slow speed, her connection with the battle made her famous and souvenirs were also made out of wood and copper salvaged after she was broken up in 1857. On the rear wall of the display is Nicholas Pocock's 'The Battle of Trafalgar' (1808), described as one of the best paintings of the battle by a contemporary artist and depicting the moment when HMS Victory broke through the French and Spanish line at about 12:30pm on 21 October 1805. On the side wall is a portrait of John Windham Dalling (1789-1853) as a 16-year old Midshipmen aboard the 74-gun ship-of-the-line HMS Defence during the Battle of Trafalgar. |
 |
| An oil painting of Vice Admiral Lord Nelson by Charles Lucy, 1853. The painting depicts Nelson in his cabin aboard HMS Victory on the morning of the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805. The codicil to his will, leaving his mistress, Emma Hamilton, to the nation lies open on his desk. This painting was reproduced as a print to feed the public's voracious appetite for Nelson souvenirs and was accompanied by a statement from Nelson's surviving officers testifying that it was one of the best likenesses of the admiral. |
 |
| The upper floor of the Victory Gallery is dominated by the state barge of King Charles II, which was used to convey the body of Admiral Lord Nelson along the Thames from Greenwich to his funeral in London on Wednesday, 8 January 1806. Ringing the floor is the museum's collection of historic ship figureheads and ornamentation. |
 |
| The only remaining part of the African male nude figurehead from HMS Madagascar, designed by Edward Hellyer & Son in 1812. Madagascar was built in Bombay for the East India Company in November 1822. The ship served in the Mediterranean and East Indies, being involved in the suppression of the slave trade in the 1840s. Redeployed to Rio de Janeiro in 1853, Madagascar was broken up in 1863. Whilst in Rio de Janeiro, an unknown individual attempted to burn the figurehead in a bonfire, with the head being the only part that could be saved. |
 |
| The figurehead from HMS Bellerophon, an 80-gun, third-rate battleship launched in Portsmouth in 1818 as HMS Waterloo and renamed Bellerophon in 1824. The ship took part in the bombardment of Sebastopol during the Crimean War of 1854-156 and was broken up in 1892. The figurehead depicts the legendary Greek warrior hero Bellerophon, who killed the monster Chimaera with the assistance of the winged horse Pegasus. |
 |
| The carved teak figurehead from HMS Asia, an 84-gun second-rate battleship launched from the Bombay Dockyard in India in 1824. HMS Asia was was flagship of Admiral Sir Edward Codrington at the Battle of Navarino, fought during the Greek War of Independence, 20 October 1827. The ship was broken up in 1908. |
 |
| The figurehead the 80-gun third-rate battleship HMS Carnatic, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard on 21 October 1823. The figurehead depicts an Indian prince, given the ship's name in honour of the Carnatic, a region of India. HMS Carnatic was converted into a coal hulk in 1860 and broken up in 1914. |
 |
| The figurehead from the 74-gun third-rate battleship HMS Grampus. Launched on 30 October 1784 and originally named HMS Tremendous, the ship participated in the Fourth Battle of Ushant against the French fleet on 1 June 1794 ('The Glorious First of June'). Rebuilt in 1810 and renamed Grampus in 1845, the ship was broken up in 1897. The figurehead was carved in 1810 during the ship's refit that year, and depicts Neptune, the Roman God of the Sea. |
 |
| A display of Royal Navy ship's badges and an honours board. The badges reflect the ships' names with unique symbols, while honours boards were used to list the battle honours awarded to a ship. All of the badges and boards displayed here were carried by ships (HMS Dreadnought, Defiance, Swiftsure, Colossus, Defence, and Temeraire) whose predecessors fought at the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805. |
 |
| A figurehead from HMS Apollo, a 45-gun fifth-rate frigate launched on 27 June 1805 at Bursledon in Hampshire. The ship took part in the capture of Alexandria during the Anglo-Turkish War (1807-1809) and was broken up in 1838. The figurehead depicts Apollo, the Greek sun god. |
 |
| The figurehead from HMS Black Eagle, an early wooden paddle steamer launched at Limehouse, London on 11 July 1831. Originally named HMS Firebrand, the ship was renamed Black Eagle in 1843 after being rebuilt and used as the British Admiralty yacht. The black eagle was the symbol of the Prussian royal family, which often borrowed the ship for sea excursions. HMS Black Eagle was broken up in Portsmouth in 1872. |
 |
| The figurehead from the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert II, a steam-propelled paddle-wheel vessel designed with input from Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, and launched on 16 January 1855. Given the role of her beloved husband in its design, the yacht remained a favourite of Queen Victoria's and was not broken up until 1904. The figurehead depicts the coat of arms of Queen Victoria on the left side and Prince Albert's coat of arms on the right side. |
 |
| A view of some of the numerous ships' figureheads on display on the upper floor in the Victoria Gallery, depicting historical figures, ancient gods and goddesses, and other legendary mythological figures. The Royal Naval Museum has one of the world's largest and most impressive collections of such figureheads. |
 |
| Figureheads from HMS Warrior (left) and HMS Bellerophon (right). HMS Warrior was a 74-gun, third-rate battleship launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1781. She fought the French fleet in the Battle of the Saintes in the Caribbean in April 1782 and the Danes and Norwegians in the Battle of Copenhagen in April 1801. Warrior's figurehead is the oldest in the museum's collection and one of the oldest figureheads in the world. HMS Bellerophon was a 74-gun, third-rate battleship launched in 1786 and named after the heroic Greek warrior of legend. Her distinguished service career during the French Revolutionary Wars included participation in the Fourth Battle of Ushant (1 June 1794), the Battle of the Nile (1-3 August 1798), and the Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805), while Napoleon Bonaparte surrendered to Captain Maitland on Bellerophon's quarterdeck on 15 July 1815 after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. |
 |
| The figurehead from HMS Centurion, a second-class, twin-screw battleship launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1892. The last Royal Navy battleship to be fitted with a figurehead, Centurion served as the fleet flagship during the Third China War in 1900 and was broken up in 1910. |
 |
| At centre, the figurehead from HMS Espiegle, a 10-gun, steam-propelled sloop launched in 1900 and the last ship of the Royal Navy to carry a figurehead. She served mostly in the Persian Gulf before being broken up in 1923. |
 |
| Figureheads from two ships named after classical Greek characters: HMS Actaeon (left) and HMS Eurydice (right). Those responsible for naming naval vessels in the 18th century were often graduates of a classical education and so many of the names they selected were of figures from ancient Greek and Roman history. HMS Actaeon was 28-gun, sixth-rate frigate launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1831 and notable for her participation in the Second China War in 1857 before being broken up in 1889. In Greek legend, Actaeon was a hunter turned into a stag by the goddess Artemis and subsequently torn apart by his own hounds. HMS Eurydice was a 26-gun, sixth-rate frigate launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1843 and used as a boys' training ship until she sank with nearly all hands on 24 March 1878, off the Isle of Wight. Eurydice's figurehead was salvaged as a memento of the tragedy. Eurydice was, in Greek legend, the wife of the musician Orpheus, who tried to bring her back to life with his enchanting music after she died of a snake bite. |
 |
| Another figurehead named after a classical Greek figure, Orestes. HMS Orestes 18-gun sloop launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1824, converted into a coaling hulk in 1852, and broken up in 1905. Orestes was the son of King Agamemnon, leader of the Greeks, and one of the characters in Homer's epic poem the Iliad, about the 10-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states. |
 |
| Three more figureheads depicting famous classical Greek and Roman characters. On the left is the figurehead from HMS Calliope, a brig sloop launched in 1808 and broken up in Portsmouth in 1829; Calliope was a the Greek muse of poetry. In the centre is the figurehead from HMS Apollo, a 46-gun, fifth-rate frigate launched at Bursledon, Hampshire in 1805 and broken up in 1838; Apollo was the Greek Sun God. On the right is the figurehead from HMS Minerva, 46-gun, fifth-rate frigate launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1820 and broken up in 1895; Minerva was the Roman Goddess of Wisdom. |
 |
| The figurehead from HMS Glasgow, a 50-gun, fourth-rate frigate launched in 1814. The ship participated in the Bombardment of Algiers in 1816 and the Battle of Navarino in 1827 before being broken up in 1828-29. Named after the Scottish city, HMS Glasgow's figurehead depicts a Scots soldier. In the background to the right are figureheads for HMS Malacca and HMS Albatross. Malacca, named after the Malacca Straits separating Malaya and Indonesia, was a sixth-rate sailing frigate built in Burma in 1853 and converted into a steam-driven sloop at Chatham in 1854; she was sold in 1869. The figurehead depicts an artist's impression of a Malayan warrior. HMS Albatross was a steam-driven composite (wood and iron) screw sloop lauched in 1873 and broken up in 1889. Her figurehead depicted an albatross, the largest of all seabirds. |
 |
| A starboard bow view of King Charles's barge. After a period of lying in state in the Painted Hall at Greenwich Naval Hospital, the body of Lord Nelson was transported aboard this barge in a grand procession which travelled up the Thames to London on 8 January 1806 for the funeral service at St Paul's Cathedral. Nelson's coffin was carried in the stern of the barge under a special black canopy, escorted upriver by the gilded barges of the Livery Companies of London. The barge is the oldest such royal barge in existence, having been built around 1670 to permit King Charles II to visit ships of his fleet. It has been restored, including with a replica of King Charles's personal standard flying in the bow. The seat in the stern of the barge still features its original backboard, depicting an early rendition of Britannia, the symbol of Britain, modelled on the Duchess of Portsmouth, one of King Charles II's mistresses. |
