Henry Grace à Dieu
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''Henry Grace à Dieu'' ("Henry, Thanks be to God"), also known as ''Great Harry'', was an English carrack or " great ship" of the King's Fleet in the 16th century, and in her day the largest warship in the world. Contemporary with ''
Mary Rose The ''Mary Rose'' was a carrack in the English Tudor navy of Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII. She was launched in 1511 and served for 34 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in ...
'', ''Henry Grace à Dieu'' was even larger, and served as Henry VIII's
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
. Built by William Bond (master shipwright) under the direction of Robert Brygandine (clerk of the ships), she had a large
forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck (ship), deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is t ...
four decks high, and a stern castle two decks high. She was long, measuring 1,000 tons burthen and having a complement of 700 men. She was ordered by
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
, probably to replace '' Grace Dieu'' (later renamed ''Regent''), which had been destroyed at the Battle of Saint-Mathieu in August 1512. At a time of naval rivalry with the
Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a Anglo-Sc ...
, her size was in response to the Scottish ship '' Great Michael'', which had herself been the largest warship when launched in 1511.


History

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 Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich - originally in north-west Kent, now in southeast London - whe ...
, 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 gunports and had twenty of the new heavy bronze cannon, allowing for a broadside. She was fitted out later in the Naval Dockyard in
Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north ...
. In all she mounted 43 heavy guns and 141 light guns. 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 1539 (three years after the ''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 culverins, 2 demi-culverins, 4 sakers, 2 cannon perriers and 2 falcons), her full crew was reduced to between 700 and 800. She was given an improved and innovative sailing arrangement with four masts, each divided into three sections; the forward two
square rig Square rig is a generic type of sail plan, sail and rigging arrangement in which a sailing ship, sailing vessel's primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spar (sailing), spars that are perpendicular (or wikt:square#Adjective, square) to t ...
ged with mainsail, topsail and topgallants; and the aft two carrying five lateen sails 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. The ''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 The ''Mary Rose'' was a carrack in the English Tudor navy of Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII. She was launched in 1511 and served for 34 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in ...
'' sank. Overall, she was used more as a diplomatic vessel, including taking Henry VIII to the summit with
Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...
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). After the accession of
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
in 1547, she was renamed ''Edward'' for him. She was accidentally destroyed at Woolwich by fire on 25 August 1553,''Acts of the Privy Council'', 4 October 1553. 50 days after the death of Edward VI (and accession of Mary) on 6 July 1553.


See also

* Henry V's ''Grace Dieu'' (1418) * ''São João Baptista'' (galleon)


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * Lincoln P. Paine (1997) ''Ships of the World: An Historical Encyclopedia'
Houghton Mifflin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry Grace A Dieu 1514 establishments in England 1553 disestablishments in England 16th-century ships Ships of the English navy Individual sailing vessels Ships built in Woolwich Ship fires Henry VIII