Woolwich Dockyard
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Woolwich Dockyard was an English naval dockyard founded by King Henry VIII in 1512 to build his flagship Henri Grâce à Dieu (Great Harry), the largest ship of its day.[1]
Like its counterpart Deptford Dockyard, it was probably chosen for its position - on the south bank of the tidal River Thames conveniently close to Henry's palace at Greenwich.
Its facilities ultimately included two large dry docks, a substantial basin (now used by local anglers), masting sheers, numerous storehouses, a gatehouse and clockhouse, gun bastions, and, in later years, a large metal-working factory used to produce anchors and other iron items used in shipbuilding.
Engineer Samuel Bentham was an apprentice shipwright at the dockyard during the 1770s.
As ships grew bigger and the Thames began to silt up, the dockyard eventually closed in 1869. These days all that remains are a couple of closed off docks. Less than half a mile to the south there is a train station called Woolwich Dockyard.
[edit] Notable ships launched at the dockyard
- 1512-14— Henri Grâce à Dieu (Great Harry); flagship of Henry VIII.
- 1608- HMS Anne Royal - a rebuilding
- 1610— HMS Prince Royal
- 1613— HMS Defiance - a rebuilding
- 1615— HMS Merhonour - a rebuilding
- 1616- HMS Convertine - originally begun as the private warship Destiny for Sir Walter Raleigh
- 1617- HMS Rainbow - a rebuilding
- 1631- HMS Vanguard - a rebuilding
- 1637— HMS Sovereign of the Seas; first-rate ship of the line, ordered by Charles I
- 1670— HMS Saint Andrew; first-rate ship of the line
- 1751— HMS Dolphin; circumnavigated the globe twice.
- 1756— HMS Royal George; first-rate ship of the line; her sinking in 1782 was one of the worst disasters in Royal Navy history - around 800 lives were lost.
- 1805— HMS Ocean; second-rate ship of the line, flagship of Lord Collingwood.
- 1809— HMS Macedonian; frigate captured by USS United States during the War of 1812.
- 1820— HMS Beagle; ship used on naturalist Charles Darwin's famous voyage.
