Sir Edward Hunt (c.1730–1787) was a British shipbuilder and designer who rose to be

Surveyor of the Navy The Surveyor of the Navy, originally known as Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy, held overall responsibility for the design of British warships from 1745. He was a principal commissioner and member of the Navy Board from the inauguration of tha ...

Life

He was born around 1730. He is first recorded in the service of 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 ...

as a Master Boat Builder in 1757 at

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is loc ...

. This position was usually preceded by an apprenticeship as a ship's carpenter on a Royal Navy ship, plus a period as ship's carpenter both at sea and on shore. In 1762 he was appointed Assistant 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 ...

then was promoted first to Master Caulker. In 1765 he moved to

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 ...

as Assistant Master Shipwright. In 1767 he was given full charge (as Master Shipwright) at

and from that time the

list his works. In 1772 he moved to the far larger dock at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. In April 1778 he was appointed

to assist Sir John Williams. From December 1784 he was the senior Surveyor and was working with John Henslow. He ceased work in December 1786 and died within a few weeks, his will being probated on 31 January 1787.National Archive, Kew, will of Sir Edward Hunt

Ships Built

HMS Portland (1770) HMS ''Portland'' was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Designed by Sir John Williams, it was first launched on 11 April 1770. Service In 1773, the ship called at Sheerness in Kent. The ship joined a convoy of merchant ...

50-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 ...

launched at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

HMS Berwick (1775) HMS ''Berwick'' was a 74-gun ''Elizabeth''-class third rate of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard on 18 April 1775, to a design by Sir Thomas Slade. She fought the French at the Battle of Ushant (1778) and the Dutch at the Battle ...

74-gun

launched at

* HMS Sphinx (1775) 20-gun ship * HMS Cygnet (1776) 14-gun sloop * HMS Swift (1777) 14-gun sloop *

HMS Lion (1777) HMS ''Lion'' was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, of the , launched on 3 September 1777 at Portsmouth Dockyard. Career American Revolutionary War She fought at the Battle of Grenada under Captain William Cornwallis on ...

64-gun ship of the line launched at

Ships Designed

* Active-class frigate (1778) 32-gun frigates first launched in 1779 * Minerva-class frigate (1778) 32-gun frigates first launched in 1780 * Ganges-class ship of the line (1779) 74-gun ships of the line first launched in 1782 *

Perseverance-class frigate The ''Perseverance''-class frigate was a 36-gun, later 42-gun, 18-pounder long gun, 18-pounder fifth-rate frigate class of twelve ships of the Royal Navy, constructed in two batches. Designed by Surveyor of the Navy Edward Hunt (naval architect ...

(1779) 36-fun frigates first launched in 1781 * HMS Active (1779) 36-gun frigate first launched in 1780 * Grampus-class ship (1780) 50-gun ships * Hermione-class frigate (1780) 32-gun frigates first launched in 1782 * Echo-class sloop (1781) 16-gun sloops * HMS Trusty (1781) 50-gun ship of the line launched in 1782 * Adventure-class ship (1782) 44-gun ships first launched in 1785 *

HMS Culloden Five Royal Navy ships have had the name of HMS ''Culloden'', after the battle of Culloden which took place in Scotland in 1746 and saw the defeat of the Jacobite rising. *HMS ''Culloden'' was renamed before her launch in 1747 to . * was a 74-gu ...

(1782) 74-gun ship of the line launched in 1783 *

HMS Melampus Six ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Melampus'' after the legendary Greek soothsayer Melampus. * was a fifth-rate frigate captured in 1757 and sold soon afterwards. * was a fifth-rate frigate built in 1785 and sold in 1815 after ser ...

(1782) 36-gun

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

launched in 1785 * HMS Squirrel (1783) 20-gun post ship launched in 1785 * HMS Caesar (1786) 80-gun ship of the line launched in 1793 * HMS Retaliation (1799) 32-gun frigate - a remodelling of HMS Hermione * HMS Queen Charlotte (1805) 100-gun ship of the line launched in 1810

Family

Around 1760 he married Ann(e) Irish (d.1804). The family lived in

Portsea, Portsmouth Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. The island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth. Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all the i ...

and had a London house at Blackheath. Their first son Joseph Hunt became Director of

Greenwich Hospital, London Greenwich Hospital was a permanent home for retired sailors of the Royal Navy, which operated from 1692 to 1869. Its buildings, initially Greenwich Palace, in Greenwich, London, were later used by the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and the Uni ...

and married Catherine Davie daughter of Sir John Davie, 7th baronet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Edward 1787 deaths British shipbuilders Surveyors of the Navy