Thomas Bucknall (c.1705–c.1775) was an 18th-century

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 ...

shipbuilder based alternately at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

and

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 ...

. He is known also to have carved the

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...

s on the ships.

Life and career

Little is known of his early life. He was apprenticed as a

shipwright Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces i ...

, probably in

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 ...

, and was placed on the pay roll of the

as a Master Mastmaker on 1 November 1728. He was made a Master

Caulk Caulk (also known as caulking and calking) is a material used to Seal (mechanical), seal Joint (building), joints or seams against leakage in various structures and piping. The oldest form of caulk consisted of fibrous materials driven into ...

er on 23 April 1733, and on 19 August 1742 was made Assistant Shipwright at Portsmouth. On 27 May 1752 he was listed Master Shipwright at Portsmouth. On 6 August 1755 he was appointed Master Shipwright of Plymouth in place of John Lock, and from that date had overall control of all shipbuilding and the

listed his works. He retired on 9 October 1772.

Ships built

As ships took a minimum of 2/3 years to build there is a lead-in period before the Navy lists his works, and only those fully built under Bucknall are listed (none from his first three years at Portsmouth were under his full control so the list begins in Plymouth): *

HMS Pembroke (1757) HMS ''Pembroke'' was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Joseph Allin and built by Thomas Bucknall at Plymouth Dockyard to the draught specified in the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1752, and launch ...

60-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 ...

HMS Brilliant (1757) HMS ''Brilliant'' was a 36-gun fifth-rate sailing frigate, frigate of the Royal Navy that saw active service during the Seven Years' War with France. She performed well against the French Navy in the 1760 Battle of Bishops Court and the 1761 ...

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 ...

later sold to the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

* HMS Adventure (1758) 32-gun

(rebuild of HMS Adventure (1741)) * HMS Hero (1759) 74-gun

with a crew of 550 Buchnall then returned to Portsmouth in May 1762 and built: * – a huge 100-gun

with a crew of 850 men, had an illustrious career including the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

, one of the largest ships ever built at that date nicknamed "Old Ironsides". * 64-gun

* 50-gun ship of the line * 74-gun ship of the line * 64-gun ship of the line * 14-gun sloop * 6-gun yacht

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bucknall, Thomas People from Portsmouth English shipbuilders Year of birth uncertain