Grace Dieu (ship)
 The yellow hazard marker is sited on the wreck of Grace Dieu in the River Hamble
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 England | |
| Name | Grace Dieu |
| Ordered | 1416 |
| Builder | William Soper |
| Launched | 1418 |
| Commissioned | 1420 |
| In service | 1420–1439[1] |
| Fate | Struck by lightning and burnt in 1439 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 1,400–2,750 tons |
| Length | 218 ft (66.45 m) |
| Beam | 50 ft (15.24 m) |
| Complement | 250 |
| Armament |
|
Grace Dieu was the flagship of King Henry V of England and one of the largest ships of her time. Launched in 1418, she sailed on only one voyage and was subsequently laid up at anchor in the River Hamble. She burned in 1439 after being struck by lightning. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.
Design and construction
Grace Dieu was built to a design proposed by William Soper, a
The remains of Grace Dieu suggest that she was built in a hurry, with some of the planks and ribs left only roughly finished. She was a vast ship requiring 2,735 oak, 1,145 beech, and 14 ash trees for her timbers. When completed in 1418, she was one of the
Grace Dieu was designed for use in battle against
1420 voyage
Grace Dieu and her escorts appear to have only set sail once, in 1420, under the command of the Earl of Devon and with orders to make a cruise down the English Channel. The expedition suffered a mutiny even before leaving port, when the crew objected to the presence of a contingent of soldiers and archers brought aboard to guard the vessel. Grace Dieu's sailors attempted to prevent the soldiers from boarding by abusing the clerk who was registering their names and threatening to throw the register itself into the sea. When the ship finally left port, nine of the crew incited a further mutiny against the captain by refusing to take their stations and insisting that the cruise be abandoned. Grace Dieu was brought into the nearest port, St. Helen's on the Isle of Wight, and the crew departed. A clerk who questioned their loyalty as they departed was assaulted and had his clothing torn.[3][5]
Service after Henry V's death and loss
When Henry V died in 1422 his ships were treated as his private property rather than as part of the kingdom's navy. Many were sold off to pay his debts.[2]
In 1430 William Soper, by now in charge of the administration of the entire navy, dined with the commander of the Florentine merchant fleet on board Grace Dieu.[2]
Subsequently, Grace Dieu was laid-up in the River Hamble. Already dismasted and stripped of equipment, she was burnt to the waterline after being set ablaze by a bolt of lightning in 1439.[3]
Rediscovery
The remains of Grace Dieu are still in the River Hamble at
See also
- List of world's largest wooden ships
- Henry VIII's flagship 1514; The Henry Grace à Dieu ("Henry Grace of God").
- Peter von Danzig
- Baochuan
References
- ^ a b c "Ships: Grace Dieu 1420". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
- ^ a b c d Wilson 2013
- ^ ISBN 0-903852-95-0.
- doi:10.1080/00253359.
- ^ Lavery 2010, pp.26-27
- ^ Keys, David (12 October 2015). "Henry V warship buried in Hampshire". Independent. London. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
External links
- Time Team excavation site Archived 15 February 2005, retrieved 26 January 2021.
- Aerial view of excavation site.
- "Grace Dieu and the possible site of the Holigost" National Heritage List for England
- In Search of Henry V's Flagship, Grace Dieu. Time Team S12E06 (YouTube)
Bibliography
- Wilson, Ben (2013). Empire of the Deep; The Rise and Fall of the British Navy. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0297864084.
- Lavery, Brian (2010). Royal Tars: The Lower Deck of the Royal Navy 875-1850. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9781591147435.
- R C Anderson, The Bursledon Ship, Mariner's Mirror, Vol 20, No.2, 1934.
- M W Prynne, Henry V's Grace Dieu, Mariner's Mirror, Vol 54, No.2, 1968.
- N A M Rodger, The Safeguard of the Sea, A Naval History of Britain 660-1649 (London 1997).
- S Rose, Henry V's Grace Dieu and Mutiny at Sea: Some new evidence, Mariner's Mirror, Vol 63, No.1, 1977.
- B Wilson, Empire of the Deep; The Rise and Fall of the British Navy, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2013