 Trincomalee in her current location in Hartlepool | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSTrincomalee |
| Operator | National Museum of the Royal Navy |
| Ordered | 30 October 1812 |
| Builder | Wadia Group |
| Cost | £23,000 |
| Laid down | 25 April 1816 |
| Launched | 12 October 1817 |
| Out of service | 1986 |
| Renamed |
|
| Homeport | National Museum of the Royal Navy, Hartlepool, England |
| Status | Museum ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Leda-classfrigate |
| Tons burthen | 1065.63bm |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 39 ft 11.25 in (12.1730 m) |
| Depth of hold | 12 ft 9 in (3.89 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 315 officers and men |
| Armament |
|
HMSTrincomalee is aRoyal NavyLeda-classsailing frigate built shortly after the end of theNapoleonic Wars. She is now restored as amuseum ship afloat in theNational Museum of the Royal Navy,Hartlepool,England.
Trincomalee is one of two surviving British frigates of her era—her near-sisterHMS Unicorn (of the modifiedLeda class) is now a museum ship inDundee. After being ordered on 30 October 1812,Trincomalee was built inBombay,India, by theWadia family[1] of shipwrights inteak, due to oak shortages in Britain as a result of shipbuilding drives for the Napoleonic Wars. The ship was namedTrincomalee after the 1782Battle of Trincomalee off the Ceylon (Sri Lanka) port of that name.
Work on the Trincomalee began in May 1816. Ceremonially an engraved silver nail was hammered into the ship's keel by the master shipbuilderJamsetjee Bomanjee Wadia, this being considered vital for the ship's well-being, according toParsiZoroastrian tradition.[2] With a construction cost of £23,000 (approximately £2,015,000 in 2020),Trincomalee was launched on 12 October 1817. Commander Philip Henry Bridges sailed her toPortsmouth Dockyard, where she arrived on 30 April 1819, with a journey costing £6,600.[3] During the maiden voyage the ship arrived atSaint Helena on 24 January 1819, where she stayed for 6 days, leaving with an additional passenger, a surgeon who had attendedNapoleon atLongwood House on the island, Mr John Stokoe.[4]
After being fitted out at a further cost of £2,400,Trincomalee was placed inreserve until 1845, when she was re-armed with fewer guns giving greater firepower, had her stern reshaped and was reclassified as asixth-rate spar-deckedcorvette.[5]
Trincomalee departed from Portsmouth in 1847 and remained in service for ten years, serving on theNorth America and West Indies Station. During her time, she was to help quell riots inHaiti and stop a threatened invasion ofCuba, and serve on anti-slavery patrol. In 1849, she was despatched toNewfoundland andLabrador before being recalled toBritain in 1850. In 1852 she sailed to join thePacific Squadron on the west coast ofAmerica,[6] and upon returning toEngland in 1857, she was put back 'in ordinary' after arriving at Chatham on 4 September.[2]
In 1860Trincomalee was fitted out and then in January 1861 towed to Sunderland to become tender to the drill shipHMS Castor (1832), whose role was to train Naval Volunteers boys aged 15 to 16 years being signed up to serve for 10 years on reaching the age of 18 years. During this timeTrincomalee's gunports were again modified several times to accommodate different types of training armament. Then in 1862 she was moved to West Hartlepool, then the third largest port in Britain, andmoored in the Union Dock to become an independent drill ship.[2]
Trincomalee finished her Royal Navy service as atraining ship, but was placed inreserve again in 1895 and sold for scrap two years later on 19 May 1897. She was then purchased by entrepreneur Geoffry Wheatly Cobb, restored, and renamedFoudroyant in honour ofHMS Foudroyant, his earlier ship that had been wrecked in 1897.[7]
She was used in conjunction withHMS Implacable as an accommodation ship, a training ship, and a holiday ship first based inFalmouth and thenMilford Haven.[8] The relocation caused great dismay in Falmouth.[9] She was based inPortsmouth Harbour in 1954.[10]
She remained in service until 1986, after which she was again restored and renamed back toTrincomalee in 1992.[11]
Now listed as part of theNational Historic Fleet, following her recent restorationTrincomalee has become the centrepiece of theNational Museum of the Royal Navy based inHartlepool.
Trincomalee holds the distinction of being the oldest British warship still afloat[12] asHMS Victory, although 52 years her senior, is indry dock.
Until his death in 1929, the Falmouth-based painterHenry Scott Tuke used the ship and its trainees as subject matter.[citation needed]
The figurehead of HMSTrincomalee was carved byHellyer & Sons frompine; a suitable wood for figurehead carving owed to its softness, straight grain which enables consistency of working and its lightweight. Yellow pine was often favoured by theRoyal Navy for its strength, durability and stability.[13]
It depicts a turbaned man, believed to represent a Sri Lankan, whereTrincomalee is a port. The British used Trincomalee as an anchorage for Royal Navy ships in theIndian Ocean, following their permanent occupation of Trincomlee in 1795[14] after their success during theBattle of Trincomalee.[15] The dockyard was established by the British as a naval dockyard, and was home to theEast Indies Station duringWorld War II.
The original design, drawing and correspondence regarding the creation of the figurehead survive within the collection ofThe National Archives inLondon. This design of a turbaned man was commonly used for figureheads of ships built inIndia, which were often named after regions of the subcontinent, such asHMSCarnatic (1823) (Karnataka),HMSCalcutta (1831) andHMSSeringapatam (1819) (Srirangapatna).
The figurehead itself was carved in Britain, rather than alongside the ship in Bombay (modern dayMumbai). This was not uncommon, with prominent carving families such as the Hellyers petitioning the Naval Board for the contracts to carve for ships being built within theBritish Empire. The ship would then have the figurehead attached when it reached its port of creation.[16]
The figurehead was conserved by Orbis Conservation in 2020, revealing historical restoration and paint work. Earliest paint samples revealed reds, greens and gold used later that matched a cigarette card issued in 1931, suggesting this scheme was followed by a previous restorer.
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54°41′25″N1°12′24″W / 54.69028°N 1.20667°W /54.69028; -1.20667