A Dockyard Difference of
Opinion
Allan Burnett's two part tale of Deptford Dockyard
perpetuates the claim that Deptford was, as he puts it, the 'Cradle of the
British Navy' (GIHS Vol.4. No.1. p.9).
Portsmouth people could nurse a similar belief since
the Mary Rose was built 'somewhere near' Portsmouth in 1509.
Referring to Nathan Dews History of Deptford (page
250) it says 'Deptford was fixed upon by
King Henry VIII as a site for a Royal Dockyard'.
Turning to Vincent's Records of the Woolwich District (Vol. 1. P.128) Camden's Brittanica (1695) gives Woolwich seniority as the Mother Dock of England. Vincent follows with two pages of detailed
items relating to the materials used in constructing The Henry (or Harry)
Grace-a-Dieu at Woolwich from 1512.
Henry had inherited four major ships from his father
which were not warships but armed merchantmen and the sinking of one of them by
the French promoted the laying down at Woolwich of the 'Great Harry'. It is possible that a yard of some capacity
existed at Woolwich in Henry VII's time, for the remains of a 'great ship' were
unearthed in 1912 when Woolwich power station was built. This ship was supposed to be one of those
inherited by Henry VIII in 1509.
It appears then that then claim 'Cradle of the British
Navy' belongs to Woolwich by a short head.
The comparison of armaments carried in the Great Harry
and in Mary Rose suggests that the latter, built first, was a sort of pilot
experiment by Henry VIII whose two passions were big ships and big guns.
The figures are
Mary
Rose Great Harry
Displacement 600
tons 1,000 tons
Guns
Heavy Bronze 7 19
Heavy Iron 34 102
Soldiers 251 102
Gunners 20 50
Mariners 120 301
On the basis of the foregoing, I think the Great Harry
was the true 'First Baby' of the Royal Navy and its cradle was the Royal
Dockyard, Woolwich.
Jack Vaughan
This article appeared in the March 2001 GIHS Newsletter
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