HMS Unicorn (1824)
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Unicorn |
Operator | Royal Navy |
Ordered | 23 July 1817 |
Builder | Royal Dockyard, |
Laid down | February 1822 |
Launched | 30 March 1824 |
In service | 1824 |
Out of service | ~1964 |
Refit | 1824, refit during construction to receiving/barracks vessel |
Homeport | Dundee, Scotland |
Status | Museum ship, Dundee, Scotland |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Modified Leda-class frigate |
Tons burthen | 1077 bm |
Length |
|
Beam | 40 ft 3 in (12.27 m) |
Depth of hold | 12 ft 9 in (3.89 m) |
Sail plan | Although never given masts, she was planned as a full-rigged ship |
Range | Cannot move without tow (never rigged) |
Complement | 315 |
Armament |
|
HMS Unicorn is a surviving sailing frigate of the successful
History
HMS Unicorn was built in peacetime at Chatham Dockyard, Kent and launched in 1824.[4] This was a transitional period for shipbuilding, as suitable timber was becoming more difficult to obtain, and iron was increasingly available. Under the direction of Sir Robert Seppings, then Surveyor of the Royal Navy, Unicorn was built with diagonal riders made with iron straps and iron "knees" that strengthened the hull.[4]
As Unicorn was built shortly after the naval wars against
In 1906 Unicorn was transferred to the
In 1959, after the aircraft carrier had been scrapped, Cressy recovered her original name.[6] In 1962, Unicorn's original berth in the Earl Grey Dock was filled-in for the new Tay Road Bridge and she was moved downstream accordingly, surviving a proposal to have her scrapped after the intervention of her former captain. In 1967, a new shore establishment for the Tay Division reservists was opened, and the ship's future was again brought into question, resulting in the creation of the Unicorn Preservation Society, led by Lord Dalhousie. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh accepted Unicorn on behalf of the society on 26 September 1968.
Her lack of active duty left her timbers well preserved, and in the late 1960s steps were initiated to convert her to a museum ship. The roof that covers her upper deck is thought to be original, although portions of it were removed in the 1970s, leading conservators to replace the foc'sle roof.[5][8][9]
In April 2019 the Unicorn Preservation Society, whose patron is Anne, Princess Royal, received a National Lottery Resilient Heritage Fund Grant in the amount of £28,900.[2][10]
In March 2021 the frigate was surveyed; most of the planking was found to be in a very poor state, with even newer planking (from the 1850s) also deteriorated. However, according to one of the restorers, of all the old ships of this type, "this one is probably the most original, certainly inside ... Virtually all of what you see dates back to the day it was built and it hasn't been largely rebuilt over that time."[1]
It was planned to move the ship to the nearby East Graving Dock for conservation work (Operation Safe Haven), and ultimately set up a maritime heritage centre for the ship. The Unicorn Preservation Society was seeking gifts of large oaks to replace the planking and strengthen the hull before moving the ship to dry dock.[1] These donations have included £1.11m in July 2023 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.[11]
Unicorn's sister ship, HMS Trincomalee, has been also been preserved and is the centrepiece of the National Museum of the Royal Navy based in Hartlepool.[6] Trincomalee and Unicorn are the second- and third-oldest ships still afloat, the oldest being the USS Constitution of 1797. Unicorn is believed to be the most original preserved ship of her era, retaining 90 per cent of her original fabric.[12]
Gallery
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Unicorn figurehead below the bowsprit
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Side view
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Stern view
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The gun deck
References
- ^ a b c d Ogston, Graeme (1 May 2021). "HMS Unicorn goes under the microscope for preservation project". BBC News.
- ^ ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the originalon 14 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- OCLC 869301594.
- ^ a b "Designing HMS Unicorn". ww.frigateunicorn.org. Unicorn Preservation Society. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ a b "HMS Unicorn". frigateunicorn.org. Unicorn Preservation Society. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d "HMS UNICORN". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. National Historic Ships UK. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
- ^ "Dundee and the Tay in the Second World War - HMS Unicorn". www.leisureandculturedundee.com. Dundee City Council. 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Recent Conservation". HMS Unicorn. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Princess Royal steps on board Dundee's Frigate Unicorn". Dundee Courier. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012.
- ^ "HMS Unicorn receives 'game changing' £1.1m restoration funding". BBC News. 19 July 2023.
- ^ "HMS Unicorn: The most original old ship in the world". www.historicenvironment.scot. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
Footnotes
- David Lyon and Rif Winfield (2004), The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815-1889. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-032-9.
External links
- HMS Unicorn - official site
- HMS Unicorn - webpage, National Historic Ships
- The "Leda"-class frigate