Figureheads have been an integral part of the Worlds seafaring tradition
and maritime folklore for thousands of years and can trace their long
history as far back as the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece
and Rome. As a medium of artistic expression, it had a long and gradual
development from a quite simple abstract idea, to complex feelings
and emotions, that are difficult to understand in our modern age,
as we head towards a new millennium, at the beginning  of
the first, the World was quite a different place, fear and suspicion
dominated the lives of our early seafaring ancestors, with rudimentary
navigation any additional safeguards would be most welcome and eagerly
adopted, no matter how idiosyncratic they may appear to our eyes.
Common to all the early traditions we find the ubiquitous “EYE” symbol,
painted on the bows of early Egyptian and Roman vessels, this particular
form of bow decoration became prevalent on the junks used in the China
seas, with prominent stern and lugsails, and can still be found on
traditional vessels, As far as Figureheads and bow ornamentation in
the Northern European traditions Maritime expansion of the Nordic
people of Scandinavia, with the so called “Vikings” of
the 8th to 11th century, and the distinctive Dragon carvings, sweeping
up from the sleek bows of it’s Long Ships, created as part of
the Nordic beliefs, to instil fear in Coastal waters. The evolution
of trading vessels towards the middle Ages in Europe are concerned
we must look to the beginning of the Service itself. It would be foolish
to put any particular date on the Navy’s founding, but it is
generally believed to have taken shape in the early 14th century,
with the great increase in British Maritime trade, a national awareness
and constant threat of War from our continental neighbours, So a tradition
was begun that was to last for over 500 years, and was only to fall
from use with the advent of the ram bows of the early Ironclads.
The use of Figureheads has always been determined by the overall shape
of the bow and its construction. In the early years the Carrack head
was not suitable to carry a carving, a good example to illustrate
this would be the “MARY ROSE” built in Portsmouth in 1510,
and lost so spectacularly in July 1545. As the bow became more and
more prominent and the use of carving as a decoration became established,
in the early year’s carvings of the Royal animals was a popular
subject. Lions, Dragons, and to some extent Unicorns, were all the
rage. Henry VIII’s magnificent flagship “THE HENRY GRACE
A DIEU” built in 1514 was the most impressive ship of the century,
and as fitting a vessel of such a size she had a massive Figurehead
of a gilded Lion. She was sadly destroyed by fire in 1552 without
ever having fired a shot in anger. Apart from the “MARY ROSE” who
arried no figurehead, no example of carvings from this period have
survived, apart from rare pictorial reference found in contemporary
woodcuts and manuscripts. Models showing ships of this period are
also extremely rare.
As we move in to the 1600’s one prominent ship was the magnificent “SOVEREIGN
OF THE SEAS” built in 1637, and at the time of her launching
certainly the most ornate, and expensive ship ever built, she has
been called with some justification the most beautiful ship ever to
be built in England, and it has been estimated that almost one sixth
of her total cost was used on decoration. As the total cost was £65,586,16s
9d it can be assumed that she was built as much for prestige as for
naval necessity. By this time the cost of Figureheads and carvings
in general was beginning to be expensive and can be seen in the following
comparisons. the “WHITE BEAR” of 1598 cost £377
H.M.S. ROYAL PRINCE built in 1610 was just over £1309, the “ROYAL
PRINCE” of 1641 would be £3327; and the most expensive “THE
SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS” at £6691, When one thinks of the
times and the value of £6,000 in 1637 this must have seemed
an immense sum of money for such vanity.
Designed by Phineas Pett the SOVEREIGN’S figurehead was a massive
carvings, depicting King Edgar of Wessex on horse back trampling the
seven kings, We have a good idea as to what this particular Figurehead
looked like from the engraving by Payne, which can be seen at the
Science Museum in London, We are also fortunate to know that much
of the carving work for this magnificent ship was undertaken by Gerard
Christmas who unfortunately died before she was complete, the work
being finished by this sons and many assistants from the designs by
Anthony Vandyke. She did much good service during the Dutch Wars,
and was given the nickname the Golden Devil by the Dutch. She was
renamed “THE ROYAL SOVEREIGN” in 1652 and was accidentally
burned at her moorings in 1696.
It is interesting to know that during the revolutionary period, Oliver
Cromwell had the warship NASEBY built at Woolwich and launched in
April 1655 only a short while after the death of King Charles Fist.
We have documentary evidence from the diaries of John Evelyn that
she had a fine Figurehead of Cromwell himself on horseback, only this
time trampling six nations men underfoot, a Scot, Irishman, Dutchman,
Frenchman Spanish and an Englishman with a flame held by a laurel
over his head with the words “God be with us” It is known
that this particular figurehead was taken from the ship on the restoration
of Charles II and burned. She was given a new carving of Neptune at
her head, ultimately renamed “ROYAL CHARLES” and finally
lost in 1667 with the attack by the Dutch Fleet on the river Medway
and taken back to Holland. Her fine stern carvings can still be seen
preserved as a trophy of War in the Maritime Gallery of the vast Rijksmuseum
in Amsterdam.
With the restoration of Charles II the art of the ship carver, and
Figureheads in general, became more and more important and the great
age of ship decoration began, Surprisingly very little wood carving
from this era still exists in Britain today, however other European
countries have been more fortunate and from these examples we have
a good idea as to the carvings and subjects of this period. In Sweden
they have the magnificent warship “VASA” a 64 gun ship
built in 1627 for King Gustav II and lost by accident on the 10th
August 1627. Not unlike the British “MARY ROSE”, she was
successfully raised almost intact from the bottom of the Stockholm
Harbour in 1961. Her Figurehead had been raised in 1959 and depicted
the Royal Lion of Vasa with the Royal House of Vasa’s coat of
arms between its paws. This carving was fastened with stout iron bolts
onto the beams, and carved in Lime wood, and can now be seen at the
Vasa Museum in Stockholm, together with over 700 other wooden carvings.
If original British Naval Figureheads are no longer with us, we are
fortunate that several contemporary admiralty models of this period
can still be seen in many museums and collections throughout Britain,
such as the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, London, the Science
Museum in London, and the Royal Naval Museum within the Historic Dockyard
at Portsmouth, and several in Museums in the U.S.A such as the Henry
Huddleston Rodgers collection at the United States Naval Academy Museum
in Annapolis. These models give us an idea as to the subject and the
massive size of the figureheads at this time; we are also in debt
of the Van-der-Veldes, both elder and younger, for their delicate
and detailed drawings and paintings showing the full range of ships
and ship decoration in the 1650’s. It is perhaps not surprising
that no British Naval Figureheads of the 1600’s survive to this
day, when one considers the sheer size and weight of such carvings
impossible. With the construction of greater sweep to the bow, the
figureheads became more and more elaborate particularly in the First
Rate vessels culminating in massive equestrian carvings such as the “ROYAL
PRINCE” renamed ROYAL WILLIAM” in 1692, built at Chatham
in 1670, with it’s figurehead of two gilded horsemen trampling
on prone figures, and a shield bearing the cipher RWR (for William
III 1689 to 1702) surmounted by a crown. She was rebuilt at the Royal
Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth Hampshire in 1719 and broken up in 1813.
The “BRITTANIA” of 1700 also built at Chatham in Kent,
had a massive figurehead with again prone figures under the horse’s
feet, symbolic of Britain’s enemies being trampled on and overpowered,
all carved with vigour in the baroque style. It is at this point that
the British Royal Navy became more and more concerned at the prohibitive
cost of such decorations and figureheads, and in the 1670’s
and 80’s made several orders to cut down on the cost of such
extravagant carvings, but with little if no effect. Again in 1700
the Admiralty made the following attempt to cut the cost, “The
Many cautions which have been given by the board to the officers of
his Majesty’s yards against the increasing of his Majesty’s
charge in the ornamental works of his Majesty’s ships” and
imposed a limitation to be put on the charge of works for each rate,
ranging from £500 for a first rate, £130 for a Seventy
Gun Vessel, and £25 for a Sixth Rate.
The end of elaborate carving had begun in 1703 and order was made
that would have, if it had been carried out in full, made all British
Naval Ships conform to a lion figurehead. Many minor ships of the
lower rates conformed to this order as we can see from the many models
of this era and we are also lucky to have three lion figureheads that
still survive from the early 1700’s one in the collection of
the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, a fine example at the RED
LION INN at Martlesham in Suffolk, and a rather sad carving at the
STAR INN at Alfriston in Sussex, this latter carving may well be Dutch
in origin but gives us a good idea as to the style of carving in the
early 1700’s.
Even with stringent orders to reduce the cost, all through the 18th
century First Rate ships still maintained an impressive amount of
carving work at the bow, though it must be said that the stern carvings
had been much reduced. In 1765 a ship built that survives to this
day is H.M.S VICTORY she was launched at Chatham in 1764 and is still
in commission at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard as Flagship of the commander
in Chief though it must be said that her appearance today is attributed
to the rebuilding in 1803, she was originally built with a fine figurehead,
a model of which can be seen at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich
showing a complicated group of figures holding a bust of George III
with a crown of laurels. The Admiralty specification to the carvers
William Savage is still in existence and gives in great detail a full
list of instructions as to what was needed. This Figurehead was taken
down in the rebuilding, and replaced by a more subdued carving showing
the Royal Arms supported by two cupids, instead of the traditional
Lion and the Unicorn, at the time the cost of this new figurehead
was £50. The figurehead she has now dates from the re-build
of 1815 and is said to closely resemble the figurehead carried at
Trafalgar, though there has been some confusion in the past with regards
to its supports for there may well have been a marine on the port
side and a sailor on the starboard.
During the late 18th century classical style was all the vogue resulting
in many Greek and Roman names being used in the Royal Navy, and subsequently
many fine classical Figureheads were produced. Some still survive
such as H.M.S. ORESTES built in 1824 representing Orestes the son
of Agamemnon who became King of Argos. H.M.S. ACTAEON of 1831 and
launched at Portsmouth, and H.M.S. APOLLO a line 38 gun Frigate launched
in 1805, representing Apollo son of Jupiter, God of the fine arts,
medicine and Music, This fine Figurehead was recently restored and
with many others of around the same date form part of the Navy’s
collection of Historic Figureheads at the Royal Naval Museum at Portsmouth
Dockyard Hampshire.
As with all items of folklore there have been many stories concerning
Figureheads, One tells of H.M.S. BRUNSWICK at the Battle of the Glorious
1st of June 1774” when she was engaging the French ship VENGEUR.
During the action the Figurehead representing the duke in full highland
costume had his hat shot away by an enemy cannon, seeing this the
crew appealed to the captain in the hope that he would oblige them
with one of his own gold laced hats, so that the duke would not be
uncovered in the face of the enemy, This he did and it was nailed
on by the ships carpenter until the close of action!. Such a mishap
would have far reaching consequences. H.M.S. ATLAS a 90 gun ship launched
at Chatham in 1782 had a fine Figurehead of Atlas with a globe on
his shoulders but it was found that the figurehead when fitted was
too big, and it was necessary to cut away part of the globe which
happened to be North America, a colony doomed to fall from the British
Empire.
When H.M.S. ROYAL GEORGE in 1778 was forced to withdraw from the French
Ships in the channel one of the crew took a hammock and lashed it
over the Figureheads eyes so that “he could not see the days
work, and feel the sailors shame “
In the first half of the 19th century figureheads though still important
to the sailors, had begun to fall not only in quality but also in
size, many ships other than first rates carried crests or billet heads,
though it must be said that several large and impressive figureheads
were produced at this time, notable examples are H.M.S. DUKE OF WELLINGTON
launched originally as the WINDSOR CASTLE in 1852 but renamed after
the Duke, at the wishes of Queen Victoria. Her original carving was
replaced with an impressive carving of the Duke which weighed over
four tons and was lost during the last war with the blitz on London,
this and many other carvings of this era such as the PRINCESS ROYAL
of 1798, SAINT VINCENT of 1815 and GIBRALTER of 1780 all lost when
Castles Ship breaking yard near Vauxhall bridge was bombed.
From 1850 naval architecture began to develop in several directions,
1st rate ships were still being built and with them massive carvings
over 15 feet high  weighing many tons, in 1860 a ship was built that
was to revolutionise naval thinking for all time H.M.S. WARRIOR, built
at the Thomas Iron Works & Ship building Company, and launched
on December 29th 186o, she had a beautiful clipper bow and with her
sister H.M.S. BLACK PRINCE had two fine figureheads over 12 feet high,
Warriors original figurehead was made by the old ship carving family
of Hellyers who worked for the Royal Navy from the late 18th century
to the 1900’s when figureheads were no longer fitted. James
Edward Hellyer and his son carved several well known figureheads including
that of the DUKE OF WELLINGTON, and the Royal Yacht “Victoria
and Albert”. sadly the original Figurehead of WARRIOR was allowed
to fall into decay and was finally destroyed just 30 years ago, a
magnificent replica was carved by the carving team of Jack Whitehead
and Norman Gaches at their workshop on the Isle of Wight, and is now
on the vessel in Portsmouth Dockyard, after a full restoration in
Hartlepool, and is now open to the public.
As the 19th century came to a close so did the tradition of Ships
Figureheads in the British Royal Navy, in 1894 the Admiralty made
a final order abolishing figureheads for the larger vessels, but still
retaining them on the small sailing ships that still had the facility
to carry such carvings at the bow, As the Ironclads of the 1860,s
and 70’s had a ram bow protruding below the waterline and almost
vertical bow, it was found understandably impossible to carry such
carvings in the traditional manner, so medallions and escutcheons
were fitted, a fine example of which was that of H.M.S. AGINCOURT
launched in 1865 with a magnificent Royal Arms across the bow, H.M.S.
RALEIGH a steam frigate built in 1873 which had a large figurehead
mounted on a straight stem with floral decoration and scrolls tapering
away from the bow, this and a similar carving taken from H.M.S. RODNEY
a Battleship of 1884 can still be seen to this day at H.M.S. RALEIGH
the Naval Shore establishment at Torpoint in Cornwall, with the RODNEY
at the Historic Dockyard collection in Chatham Kent.
Naval Figureheads finally made their short but spectacular swansong
in the 1900’s with the construction of the Steam Sloop H.M.S.
ESPIEGLE a twin screw sloop launched in Sheerness in 1900 her Fine
and well carved Figurehead of a female figure in garments of Blue,
green and Gold is preserved at the Royal Naval Museum at Portsmouth.
By 1910 no ship in the British Royal Navy was given a figurehead of
any kind and a tradition begun in the reign of King Henry VIII was
at an end. we are however very fortunate in that many naval as well
as merchant figureheads have survived to this day and despite the
problems of size and weight, many can be seen in museums and collections
all over the World, The most important at the Royal Naval Museum at
Portsmouth, with the historic Dockyard, and home to H.M.S. VICTORY,
the “MARY ROSE” and H.M.S. WARRIOR.
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