Sir Jacob Ackworth or Acworth (1668–1748) was an English shipbuilder and ship designer employed by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. As a designer he adopted Newtonian theories to create lighter and faster ships but this approach marginalised him with the very traditional dockyards and he spent his final years on the Navy Board as an advisor.

Life

He was born in 1668 in Chatham, Kent the son of John Ackworth (1641-1690) and his wife Sarah Boyce (1643-1717). He was probably apprenticed as a ship surveyor in the

in 1682 aged 14. He served time on HMS Hope probably as apprentice ship's carpenter under Captain John Moore. He quickly showed a flair for design. He was possibly still on the ship during the

Battle of Beachy Head (1690) The Battle of Beachy Head (''Fr''. Battle of Bévéziers) was a naval battle fought on 10 July 1690 during the Nine Years' War. The battle was the greatest French tactical naval victory over their English and Dutch opponents during the war. T ...

. In July 1690 (two weeks after the battle) he transferred to the much smaller HMS Salamander (1687). As part of the crew of only 35 he was certainly the only Ship's Carpenter on board. He then moved successively to larger and larger ships as Ship's Carpenter: HMS Play Prize, 30-gun, 130 crew under Captain James Buck, 1691 to 1693; HMS Bonaventure, 52-gun crew around 300, from 1693 to 1696;

HMS Swiftsure The Royal Navy has had ten ships named ''Swiftsure'' since 1573, including: * , a galleon, renamed ''Speedwell'' and rebuilt in 1607, and lost in 1624. * , a 42-gun great ship captured by the Dutch in 1666. * , a 70-gun ship later renamed ''Reveng ...

mainly involved in its break up at Harwich 1696 to 1698. In December 1698 he moved wholly to land-based roles, becoming Master Mastmaker at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

. In February 1705 he became Master Shipwright at

Harwich Dockyard Harwich Dockyard (also known as The King's Yard, Harwich) was a Royal Navy Dockyard at Harwich in Essex, active in the 17th and early 18th century (after which it continued to operate under private ownership). Owing to its position on the East ...

and in November 1705 became Master Shipwright at Sheerness. From this date the

lists ships launched in his name. In August 1709 he became Master of

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich in north-west Kent, where many ships were built from the early 16th century until th ...

. From 1711 he became involved in ship design, beginning with the sloops HMS Happy and HMS Hazard. In 1715 he was appointed Surveyor of the Royal Navy. From this point he appears involved in both design and build, beginning with the redesign of HMS Cambridge (1715). Other than this he disappears from Royal Navy records for 25 years, reappearing in 1740 solely as a designer: he designed the Drake-class sloop in 1740; in 1741 he designed the standard 20-gun frigate for the 1741 Establishment (later modified in 1745); HMS Portsmouth designed 1740/41; the

Merlin-class sloop The ''Merlin'' class was a class of twenty-one sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy between 1743 and 1746. They were all built by contract with commercial builders to a common design prepared by Jacob Acworth, the Surveyor of the ...

in 1743; HMS Kingfisher designed 1744/5; and the frigate HMS Seahorse designed 1747/8. Ackworth was knighted in 1722 by King George I. Non-naval works as Surveyor included the design of

Putney Bridge Putney Bridge is a Grade II listed bridge over the River Thames in west London, linking Putney on the south side with Fulham to the north. The bridge has medieval parish churches beside its abutments: St Mary's Church, Putney is built on the so ...

Ships built

* HMS Sorlings (1706) 42-gun ship at Sheerness * HMS Ludlow Castle (1707) 42-gun

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

at Sheerness * HMS Adventure (1709) 42-gun

at Sheerness * HMS Delight (1709) 14-gun ship at

HMS Devonshire (1710) HMS ''Devonshire'' was a three-deck 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard and launched on 12 December 1710. Her design was according to the 1706 Establishment The 1706 Establishment was the first ...

his first major commission: an 80-gun ship of the line launched at Woolwich with a crew of 520 * HMS Happy (1711) 6 gun sloop at Woolwich * HMS Hazard (1711) 6 gun sloop at Woolwich * HMS Ormonde (1711) 54 gun ship of the line at Woolwich * HMS Hind (1711) 24 gun ship at Woolwich * HMS Greyhound (1712) 42 gun ship at Woolwich * HMS Royal Oak (1713) rebuilding of the 70-gun ship of the line at Woolwich * HMS Cambridge (1715) rebuilding of 80-gun ship of the line at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

Family

He was married twice: in 1696 at Chatham, Kent he married Elizabeth Slater; following her death (c.1709) he married Esther Loton (1682-1752). He had six children by his first marriage and two by his second, including the unusually named Avice Ackworth who married a Mr Wheate.ODNB: Sir Jacob Ackworth

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackworth, Jacob 1668 births 1748 deaths English shipbuilders