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 Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. 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 Sixteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Hope'': * was a 48-gun galleon launched in 1559. She was rebuilt with 38-guns and renamed ''Assurance'' in 1604 and was broken up in 1645. * was a ship, formerly the French privateer ...

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. Th ...

. In July 1690 (two weeks after the battle) he transferred to the much smaller

HMS Salamander (1687) Ships bearing the name HMS ''Salamander'' include: :''This list may be incomplete.'' * was a bomb ship A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons ( long gu ...

. 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 mainly involved in its break up 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- ...

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 centur ...

. 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 Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby tow ...

. 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 ...

. 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 The ''Drake'' class was a List of corvette and sloop classes of the Royal Navy, class of three sloop-of-war, sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy during 1741. All were ordered in 1740, and were the first to be built by contract wi ...

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

HMS Ludlow Castle (1707) Two vessels of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Ludlow Castle'' after Ludlow Castle in Shropshire: * was a 42-gun 1706 Establishment frigate launched in 1707 and rebuilt as a 40-gun 1719 Establishment frigate in 1723. She was hulked at Antig ...

42-gun frigate at

* HMS Adventure (1709) 42-gun frigate at

* HMS Delight (1709) 14-gun ship at

* HMS Devonshire (1710) his first major commission: 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 tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

launched at Woolwich with a crew of 520 * HMS Happy (1711) 6 gun sloop at Woolwich *

HMS Hazard (1711) Seven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Hazard'': * was a 14-gun sloop launched in 1711. She was wrecked in 1714 off Boston, New England. * was a 14-gun sloop launched in 1744. She was in the hands of the Young Pretender ...

6 gun sloop at Woolwich *

HMS Ormonde (1711) HMS ''Ormonde'' was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard to the 1706 Establishment of dimensions, and launched on 18 October 1711. In September 1715, she was renamed ''Dragon''.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 tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

at Woolwich *

HMS Hind (1711) Eighteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Hind'' or HMS Hynd: * was a 28-gun vessel built in 1545 and sold in 1555. * was an 18-gun ship purchased in 1643 and listed until 1651. She was in Royalist hands between 1648 and 1649. * ...

24 gun ship at Woolwich *

HMS Greyhound (1712) HMS ''Greyhound'' was a member of the Gibraltar Group of 24-gun sixth rates. After commissioning she spent her career in Home waters and the Mediterranean on trade protection duties. She was captured by five Spanish warships off Morocco in 1718 ...

42 gun ship at Woolwich *

HMS Royal Oak (1713) HMS ''Royal Oak'' was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Jonas Shish at Deptford and launched in 1674. She was one of only three Royal Navy ships to be equipped with the Rupertinoe naval gun.Spencer, p.351; Ends ...

rebuilding of the 70-gun

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 thro ...

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