Daguerreotype view of the launch of the HMS Marlborough in Portsmouth, England, 1855

chubachus

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hms marlborough launch portsmouth england 1855.jpg


By T.R. Williams, July 31, 1855.

Source.

The ship's Wikipedia entry.
 
Lovely picture.

Pretty much the end of an era that. She and her sisters were the last of the 1st Rate Ships of the Line and darned big ones too (albeit dual steam and sail). 131 guns as opposed to the 100 of HMS Victory... and in the various 'What if's' in and around the Trent Affair etc then these are some of the vessels the Union might have been faced with.

Of course that's another story :thumbsup:
 
That is a great image. A good Daguerreotype has a has a certain haunting quality about it. A mirror with a memory, literally a mirror to the past. Thanks for sharing.
 
Lovely picture.

Pretty much the end of an era that. She and her sisters were the last of the 1st Rate Ships of the Line and darned big ones too (albeit dual steam and sail). 131 guns as opposed to the 100 of HMS Victory... and in the various 'What if's' in and around the Trent Affair etc then these are some of the vessels the Union might have been faced with.

Of course that's another story :thumbsup:

A magnificent looking vessel & sadly just so much obsolete wood kindling with the advent of iron clads just around the corner.
 
She served as Mediterranean Flagship until 1864 when HMS Victoria, the last wooden sail and steam three decker completed and commissioned in the RN took over. The ship sank off Selsey in 1924 being towed to the breakers. She is still there.
 
Compare this with the launch of the 120-gun USS Pennsylvania, at the Philadelphia Navy yard in 1837. Not as much local interest in the Marlborough, relatively speaking ...

View attachment 3108330 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr
I think that plate of Marlborough may have been taken some time after launching as she appears to be moored to a bouy awaiting movement into on of the big basins to be fitted out.
 
That's Portsmouth? Gives you chills thinking of all the History there. Walked through HMS Victory only once. Not something you forget or the impact of how old it all is.
 
That's Portsmouth? Gives you chills thinking of all the History there. Walked through HMS Victory only once. Not something you forget or the impact of how old it all is.
It is indeed, I have been trying to get the location, as the dockyard has been altered several times over the years, but I think the three shiphouses at right still stand , one in it's original form and now painted white. Not sure but I think there is a quay or jetty where the building at left are in the photo. Someone here might be able to confirm that. In the Mary Rose, Victory, and Warrior, plus the WW1 monitor all in one place, we have a display of maritime history not matched anywhere.
 
A magnificent looking vessel & sadly just so much obsolete wood kindling with the advent of iron clads just around the corner.
Not quite "just around the corner"; the Aetna class ironclad floating batteries were actually built on the Thames, not at Portsmouth. Four had already been launched and three completed by the time Marlborough was launched, though.


The true obsolescence of the wooden screw liner comes when a new type of seagoing battleship replaces it; that's La Gloire and Warrior.
 
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