HMS ''Marlborough'' was a

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 ...

three-decker 131-gun screw ship built for 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 ...

in 1855. She was begun as a sailing

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 ...

(with her sister ships , HMS ''Prince of Wales'' and HMS ''Royal Sovereign''), but was completed to a modified design and converted to steam on the

stocks Stocks are feet and hand restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law de ...

, and launched as a wooden steam

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

Construction

''Marlborough'' was originally ordered as a pure-sailing first-rate ship of the line to the lines of , but when construction began 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 ...

on 1 September 1850 it was to a modified version of the design. As was policy at the time, to ensure the ship's timbers were well-seasoned and so resistant to rot, the partially-completed ship was held 'in frame'. In this state, her frames had all been raised and bolted to the keel, along with the basic internal structure such as deck beams, but no planking had yet been attached to the hull. On 30 October 1852, ''Marlborough'' was ordered to be converted on the stocks to a steam battleship of 131 guns. To accommodate the engine and boilers, as well as to adapt the hull form to be better suited to steam propulsion, the hull was cut apart and stretched in three places, with 23 ft being inserted amidships, 8 ft in 'the run' towards the stern, and an additional 5 ft at the bow. A two-cylinder, 800 nhp single-expansion

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

—specially built for ''Marlborough'' by

Maudslay, Sons and Field Maudslay, Sons and Field was an engineering company based in Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in ...

—was fitted into the ship, which drove a single screw propeller. As steam propulsion was considered ancillary to sail at this time, the propeller was mounted in a frame which could be hoisted up into the ship when not steaming, reducing drag and improving performance under sail. Launching began on 31 July 1855, but the process took a whole week after the ship became stuck on the ways. ''Marlborough'', still without masts and rigging, underwent steam trials in

Stokes Bay Stokes Bay (British national grid reference system, grid ref.:)) (50.782982, -1.163868) is an area of the Solent that lies just south of Gosport, between Portsmouth and Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire. There is a shingle beach with views of Ryde an ...

on 12 May 1856, and recorded a speed of 11.886 kts. After completion in 1858, she was placed in the first-class steam reserve.

Career

She served as flagship of the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

from 1858–64 (with the flag of Vice-Admiral William Fanshawe Martin, captain

William Houston Stewart Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir William Houston Stewart, (7 September 1822 – 13 November 1901) was a senior British naval officer who, after a long, active career, eventually held the office of the Third Sea Lord, Controller of the Royal Na ...

, from 3 May 1860 to 20 April 1863; and of Vice-Admiral

Robert Smart Robert Smart may refer to: * Robert Smart (Royal Navy officer) * Robert Borlase Smart, English artist * Robert W. Smart, American artist * Rob Smart, Canadian basketball coach and player {{hndis, Smart, Robert ...

, Captain Charles Fellowes, from 1863). In 1864 she was replaced as flagship by ''Victoria''. She sailed back to

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 ...

to serve as a training ship for engineers (c. December 1877), and later as a

receiving ship A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. 'Hulk' may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or a ship whose propulsion system is no longer maintained or has been r ...

(e.g. for the Steam Reserve in c.1890, as tender to ). Whilst at Portsmouth, she was downgraded in rating to a 98 gun ship (in c. 1870). For a time her

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

was Sir Edward Dolman Scott (1826–1905), 6th Baronet Scott of Great Barr. In 1904, ''Marlborough'' was moved to Portchester Creek and renamed ''Vernon II'', becoming an accommodation

hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

to the HMS ''Vernon'' torpedo school. (''Vernon I'' was the joint name for the establishment's two existing hulks, HMS ''Ariadne'' and HMS ''Actaeon''—all three hulks were joined together by bridges.)

Fate & Legacy

In 1923, HMS ''Vernon'' was turned into a Shore Establishment, and the old hulks were no longer required. ''Marlborough'' was sold to A. Butcher for breaking up in October 1924, but capsized and sank with the loss of four men on 28 November 1924 off

Selsey Selsey () is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish, about south of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea. It is in ...

while being towed to the breakers at

Osea Island Osea Island (, "Osyth's island"), formerly also Osey, is an inhabited island in the Blackwater Estuary, estuary of the River Blackwater, Essex, East England. It is approximately in size and is connected to the north bank of the river by a caus ...

. Today, ''Marlboroughs figurehead can be seen at the

Gunwharf Quays Gunwharf Quays is a shopping centre located in the Portsea Island, Portsea area of the city of Portsmouth in England. It was constructed in the early 21st century on the site of what had once been HM Gunwharf, Portsmouth. This was one of severa ...

shopping centre in Portsmouth, which was built on the site of the old HMS ''Vernon'' shore establishment.

References

Bibliography

* * Winfield, Rif (2014) ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1817–1863: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates''. Seaforth Publishing. * Lambert, Andrew (1984) ''Battleships in Transition: The Creation of the Steam Battlefleet 1815-1860''. Conway Maritime Press.

External links

* http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=2
http://www.britainsnavy.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marlborough (1855) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Victorian-era ships of the line of the United Kingdom 1855 ships Maritime incidents in 1924 Shipwrecks in the English Channel