The ''Merhonour''
[The 'HMS' prefix was not used until after the middle of the eighteenth century, but is sometimes applied retrospectively back to 1660, the year in which the English ]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 ...
was created. was a ship of the
Tudor navy
The Tudor navy was the navy of the Kingdom of England under the ruling Tudor dynasty (1485–1603). The period involved important and critical changes that led to the establishment of a permanent navy and laid the foundations for the future Roy ...
of
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It was built in 1590 by
Mathew Baker Matthew or Matt Baker may refer to:
Entertainment
* Matt Baker (artist) (1921–1959), American comic book artist
* Matt Baker (born 1977), British television presenter
* Matthew Baker (bass-baritone), Australian bass-baritone opera singer
* S ...
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 ...
, and was rebuilt by
Phineas Pett I at Woolwich between 1612 and 1615, being re-launched on 6 March 1615 as a 40-gun Royal Ship (or
First rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at least ...
).
She was then laid up at
Chatham, only briefly returning to service from 1635 to 1636 before being laid up again at Chatham. She was nevertheless considered at that time to be one of the fastest ships in the Navy. In 1638 she was considered to be cut down by a deck and rebuilt with "two decks and a half", but instead she remained laid up.
The ''Merhonour'' was sold out of the navy in 1650 by the
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...
.
[Lavery, ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1'', p. 158.]
Notes
Citations
References
*
*Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. .
* .
Ships of the English navy
16th-century ships
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