Item: ON13609
Original British Napoleonic HMS Britannia “Old Ironsides” Ship Block Pulley & Rigging - Fought at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805)
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Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a tremendous piece of Royal Navy history, a ship block pulley with intact rigging salvaged from the HMS Britannia (1762). Nicknamed “Old Ironsides”, she served in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, including at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. One of the largest Royal Navy warships of her era, Britannia was one of only three British first-rates present at the battle, alongside HMS Victory and HMS Royal Sovereign.With the Napoleonic Wars having begun, the ship was then recommissioned by Captain Lord Northesk in April 1803 to serve on the Brest blockade. In April 1804 Northesk was promoted to rear-admiral, and Britannia became his flagship with Captain Charles Bullen assuming command in June. On 21 October 1805 Britannia fought in the windward column of the British fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar, in which she had ten men killed and a further forty-two wounded. Then in 1806 the ship was laid up in the Hamoaze.On 6 January 1810 Britannia was renamed Princess Royal, and then again to Saint George on 18 January 1812. By 1813 Saint George was in ordinary in Plymouth Dockyard, and there between October and December she was converted into a prison ship. In the following year she was recommissioned in that role, under the command of Lieutenant John Cawkit. The ship then underwent another refit between March and June 1815 to enable her to serve as a receiving ship and flagship. In March she was recommissioned under the command of Captain James Nash, becoming the flagship of Admiral Sir John Duckworth, Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. Saint George was paid off in December and renamed to Barfleur on 2 June 1819. Ordered to be broken up after this, the process was completed on 25 February 1825.This tremendous ship block pulley still retains much of its blue paint, but has heavy wear, and a large chunk of the wood is cracking and close to breaking off, so extreme caution is required when handling it. The block has a small plaque reading:HMS BRITANNIABROKEN UP 1825The block retains much of its original rigging/roping, with the iron suspending eye still intact holding the iron hook in place. The opposite side has some heavy loss to the roping, but nothing too serious. The wheel in the center is still intact & still spins. There is heavy cracking to the block body, and extreme caution should be taken when handling it. The entire piece measures roughly 21 x 6 x 6”, and it should display well hanging from the iron hook.This is a tremendous piece of one of the most famous ships in Royal Naval history. Comes ready for further research and display!Please understand that we have no way of verifying if this pulley was used on the ship during the Battle of Trafalgar nor can we guarantee it is even from the HMS BRITANNIA (regardless of the plaque). However, we paid a great deal for it, as it looks to us to be a genuine article.
- This product is available for international shipping.
- Eligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle
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