Adam Hayes (1710–1785) was an 18th-century shipbuilder to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. A great number of his models survive. He was responsible for the selection of the ship the ''Earl of Pembroke'' and was the wright who converted it into in 1768 for use by Captain Cook.

Life

He was born in the parish of St Botolph's, Aldgate in east London, the son of Adam Hayes and his wife, Sarah Urmstone. His father was a haberdasher. He joined the

as a boy, around 1722, and became ship's carpenter. In 1740 he was part of the crew on under Captain George Anson as flagship of a part of a special fleet heading first to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

then around

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

in March 1741 and into the Pacific. The overall objective was then to attack the Spanish colony at

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

on the far side of the ocean. The Spanish got wind of this and sent their own fleet to intercept. As part of the actions the ''Centurion'' captured and plundered the Spanish galleon ''Nuestra Senora de Covadonga'' in 1743. By tradition, the crew all shared part of the treasure gained. They returned to England in June 1744. Hayes transferred to work on : it is unclear if this was to break the old HMS ''Kent'' at Chatham (the ship was over 60 years old) or to build the new HMS ''Kent'' at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

, but it appears to have been a dock-based employment either way. The latter is more likely, and appears to have led both to recognition of his skills and permanent shore-based employment. He was therefore in Deptford 1744 to 1746 – until the launch of HMS ''Kent''. The process of shipbuilding in those days (and still) involves first making a scale model of the ship, and this would be part of the master shipwright's duties: a great number of Hayes' models survive. From 1746 to 1748 he was assistant master shipwright at

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

Docks and in 1748 returned to England as master mastmaker at

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

from April 1748 to May 1749. From May 1749 to November 1750 he was assistant master shipwright at

Plymouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roya ...

. He was then at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich - originally in north-west Kent, now in southeast London - whe ...

for 8 months before being promoted to master shipwright at

Sheerness Dockyard Sheerness Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960. Location In the Age of Sail, the Royal Navy would often establish shore ...

, where he spent 11 months before returning the Woolwich as master shipwright in June 1752, from which point the Royal Navy lists his projects. From March 1753 to August 1755 he was master shipwright at Chatham before moving permanently to a settled position at

. In Deptford, over the next 30 years, he produced a very large number of ships, including a dozen

ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...

. He died in Deptford on 20 December 1785. He is buried in St Mary's Church in Newington (Kennington).

Captain Cook connection

In 1768 it was Hayes who was chosen by the Admiralty and

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

to select a vessel suitable for exploration of the southern hemisphere and to convert said ship (before Cook was chosen as captain). For various reasons it was not possible to select an existing Royal Navy vessel nor to commission on that basis. Hayes selected the ''Earl of Pembroke'', privately owned and moored at Shadwell. She had been built at

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

in 1764. Hayes oversaw the refitting at Deptford and relaunched the ship under the name . The refit took only around three months. She was delivered to him on 5 April and relaunched on 21 July 1768. As the ship was designed originally to carry coal, a large amount of ballast had to be added to get the ship to handle as intended. She was registered as a Royal Navy ship as a "bark" (

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

) of 368 tons under the name . The choice of name appears to derive from the Middlesex election affair of 1768, where

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...

repeatedly used the term "endeavour".Endeavour by Peter Moore

Ships built

* an 8-gun sloop at Woolwich * an 8-gun sloop at Chatham * an 80-gun

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

* 20-gun * 20-gun * 50-gun ship of the line * 74-gun ship of the line * 28-gun frigate * 74-gun ship of the line * 32-gun frigate * 74-gun ship of the line * 74-gun ship of the line * 74-gun ship of the line * 74-gun ship of the line * 74-gun ship of the line * 6-gun cutter * 4-gun cutter * 74-gun ship of the line * 74-gun ship of the line * 74-gun ship of the line * 14-gun sloop * 74-gun ship of the line * 14-gun sloop *Royal Navy launch ''Close'' (1770) * 74-gun ship of the line * 74-gun ship of the line *Armed Yacht ''Princess Augusta'' (1773) 6-gun *Longboat ''Storehouse'' (1774) * 74-gun ship of the line * 28-gun frigate * 20-gun ship * 74-gun ship of the line * 64-gun ship of the line * 74-gun ship of the line * 28-gun frigate * 74-gun ship of the line * 22-gun post ship * 36-gun frigate * 64-gun ship of the line * 22-gun post ship * 74-gun ship of the line * 64-gun ship of the line

Family

He was married to Elizabeth Hayes (1714–1758). They had no children. Hayes was great uncle to Rear Admiral Sir John Hayes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Adam 1710 births 1785 deaths People from Deptford English shipbuilders