View source for Henry Grace à Dieu

{{Short description|16th century carrack of English construction}}
{{For|other uses of "Grace-Dieu"|Grace Dieu (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
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{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = AnthonyRoll-1 Great Harry.jpg
| Ship caption = ''Henry Grace à Dieu'' as depicted in the [[Anthony Roll]]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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| Ship country = England
| Ship flag = {{ENG}}
| Ship name = ''Henry Grace à Dieu'' (from 1547 ''Edward'')
| Ship namesake = * [[Henry VIII of England]]
* [[Edward VI of England]]
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = [[Woolwich Dockyard]]
| Ship original cost = 
| Ship laid down = 
| Ship launched = 13 June 1514<ref>{{cite book|title=The Nautical Magazine: A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WJAEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA662|year=1875|publisher=Brown, Son and Ferguson|pages=662}}</ref>
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship commissioned = 1514
| Ship decommissioned = 
| Ship in service = 
| Ship out of service = 
| Ship refit = Rebuilt circa 1536
| Ship struck = 
| Ship reinstated = 
| Ship honours = [[Battle of the Solent]]
| Ship captured = 
| Ship fate = Accidentally destroyed by fire at Woolwich in August 1553{{sfn|Dear|Kemp|2007}}
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Header caption = 
| Ship class = 
| Ship tons burthen = 1000{{sfn|Dear|Kemp|2007}}
| Ship length = {{convert|165|ft|2|abbr=on}}
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| Ship complement = 700{{sfn|Dear|Kemp|2007}}
| Ship armament = 43 cannons, 141 swivel guns
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}
'''''Henry Grace à Dieu''''' ("Henry, Thanks be to God"), also known as '''''Great Harry''''',{{sfn|Dear|Kemp|2007}} was an [[Kingdom of England|English]] [[carrack]] or "[[great ship]]" of the King's Fleet in the 16th century, and in her day the largest warship in the world.{{sfn|Dear|Kemp|2007}} Contemporary with ''[[Mary Rose]]'', ''Henry Grace à Dieu'' was even larger, and served as Henry VIII's [[flagship]]. Built by William Bond (master shipwright) under the direction of Robert Brygandine (clerk of the ships),{{sfn|Dear|Kemp|2007}} she had a large [[forecastle]] four decks high, and a stern castle two decks high. She was {{convert|165|feet|m|2}} long, measuring 1,000 [[tons burthen]]{{efn|"... and was probably of 1,000 tons, although some contemporary accounts give the figure of 1,500."{{sfn|Dear|Kemp|2007}}}} and having a complement of 700 men.{{sfn|Dear|Kemp|2007}} She was ordered by [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]], probably to replace ''[[Grace Dieu (1488 ship)|Grace Dieu]]'' (later renamed ''Regent''), which had been destroyed at the [[Battle of Saint-Mathieu]] in August 1512.<ref>Clowes 1897, p. 405</ref> At a time of naval rivalry with the [[Kingdom of Scotland]], her size was in response to the Scottish ship ''[[Great Michael]]'', which had herself been the largest warship when launched in 1511.<ref>Goodwin 2013, pp. 118–120</ref>

==History==

[[File:Morel-Fatio-MPB3.jpg|thumb|right|19th century depiction by [[Antoine Léon Morel-Fatio]]]]
The ship was built from 1512 to 1514 at the purpose-built Gun Wharf in [[Old Woolwich]]. This wharf became the origin of [[Woolwich Dockyard]], although in the 1540s the dockyard moved further west to an area known as "The King's Yard", where it would remain for more than 300 years. ''Henry Grace à Dieu'' was one of the first vessels to feature [[gunport]]s and had twenty of the new heavy bronze cannon, allowing for a [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]]. She was fitted out later in the Naval Dockyard in [[Erith]].<ref name=erithhistory>{{cite web|url=http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bexley/assets/histories/erith|title=A History of South London Suburbs|publisher=Ideal Homes|access-date=2015-02-01|archive-date=15 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715181811/http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bexley/assets/histories/erith|url-status=dead}}</ref> In all she mounted 43 heavy guns and 141 light guns.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parker |first1=Geoffrey |title=The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500–1800 |year= 1996 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-47958-5 |page=90 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cIFiNRH3oWsC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=Gordon |title=The Oxford History of the Renaissance |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-288669-9 |page=62 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6a7EAAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>

Very early on it became apparent that the ship was top heavy. She was plagued with heavy rolling in rough seas and her poor stability adversely affected gun accuracy and general performance as a fighting platform. To correct this, she underwent a substantial remodeling in Erith in 1536 (the same year as ''Mary Rose''), during which the height of the hull was reduced. In this new form she was 1000 tons burthen and carried 151 guns of varying size, including 21 of bronze (comprising 4 cannon, 3 demi-cannon, 4 [[culverin]]s, 2 demi-culverins, 4 [[Saker (cannon)|sakers]], 2 cannon [[Pierrier à boîte|perriers]] and 2 [[Falconet (cannon)|falcons]]),<ref>''The Anthony Roll of Henry VIII's Navy'', edited by C.S.Knighton and D.M.Loades, Navy Records Society, 2000, p. 41.</ref> her full crew was reduced to between 700 and 800.{{efn|The Anthony Roll gives this as 349 soldiers, 301 mariners and 7 gunners.}} She was given an improved and innovative sailing arrangement with four masts, each divided into three sections; the forward two [[square rig]]ged with mainsail, topsail and topgallants; and the aft two carrying five [[lateen sail]]s between them. This allowed for easier handling of the sails and spread wind forces more evenly on the ship, resulting in better speed and maneuverability, and allowing better use of the heavy broadside. The only surviving contemporary depiction of the craft is from the [[Anthony Roll]].<ref>Lausanne, Edita. ''The Great Age of Sail'', Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1967, p. 51.</ref>

''Henry Grace à Dieu'' saw little action. She was present at the [[Battle of the Solent]] against French forces in 1545, in which ''[[Mary Rose]]'' sank. Overall, she was used more as a diplomatic vessel, including taking Henry VIII to the summit with [[Francis I of France]] at the [[Field of the Cloth of Gold]] in 1520 (although smaller ships had to be used to take the King out of the harbours at Dover and Calais, as neither was deep enough to permit vessels of this draught to operate).<ref>Arthur Nelson, ''The Tudor Navy'', Conway Maritime, 2001. (p. 42)</ref>

After the accession of [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]] in 1547, she was renamed for him. She was accidentally destroyed at Woolwich by fire in August 1553.{{sfn|Dear|Kemp|2007}}

==See also==
* [[Henry V of England|Henry V]]'s [[Grace Dieu (ship)|''Grace Dieu'']] (1418)
* [[São João Baptista (galleon)|''São João Baptista'' (galleon)]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Clowes |first=William Laird |author-link=William Laird Clowes |date=1897 |title=The Royal Navy, a History from the Earliest Times to Present: Volume I |url=https://archive.org/details/royalnavyhistory01clow/page/n7/mode/2up |location=London |publisher=Sampson, Low, Marston and Company }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Dear |editor1-first=I. C. B. |editor2-last=Kemp |editor2-first=Peter |title=The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea|date=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0191727504 |edition=2 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199205684.001.0001/acref-9780199205684-e-1244 |chapter=Henry Grâce à Dieu}}
* {{cite book |last=Goodwin |first=George |date=2013 |title=Fatal Rivalry: Flodden 1513 |publisher=Phoenix (Orion Books Ltd) |isbn=978-1780221366 }}
* Lincoln P. Paine (1997) ''Ships of the World: An Historical Encyclopedia'' [http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/ships/html/sh_044000_henrygracead.htm Houghton Mifflin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051202044147/http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/ships/html/sh_044000_henrygracead.htm |date=2 December 2005 }} {{ISBN|0-85177-739-2}}

{{World's largest wooden ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry Grace A Dieu}}
[[Category:1514 establishments in England]]
[[Category:1553 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:16th-century ships]]
[[Category:Ships of the English navy]]
[[Category:Individual sailing vessels]]
[[Category:Ships built in Woolwich]]
[[Category:Ship fires]]
[[Category:Henry VIII]]