HMS Ark Royal (1587)

HMS "Ark Royal" was an English galleon, originally ordered for Sir Walter Raleigh and later purchased by the crown for service in the Royal Navy. She was used as the English flagship in a number of engagements, including the battles that resulted in the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and had a long career spanning over 50 years. Her fame would subsequently lead to a number of warships of the Royal Navy being named "Ark Royal" in her honour, including a number of flagships of the fleet.

Construction and early years

"Ark Royal" was originally built to order by the shipbuilder R. Chapman, of Deptford. The ship was to be called "Ark", which became "Ark Raleigh", following the convention at the time where the ship bore the name of its owner. The crown, in the form of Queen Elizabeth I, purchased the ship from Raleigh in January 1587, for the sum of £5,000 (although this took the form of a reduction in the sum Sir Walter owed the queen: he received Exchequer tallies, but no money).Archaeologia, p151.] Her new commander, Lord Howard of Effingham described the sum as 'money well given'. She was henceforth to be known as "Ark Royal". As built, she had two gun decks, a double forecastle, a quarter deck and a poop deck right aft. She was an effective warship, but tended to roll heavily, to the discomfort of the embarked soldiers unused to the motion.

Career

Her first action came during the Spanish Armada, when "Ark Royal", as one of the largest vessels in the English fleet, was the flagship of Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, the Lord High Admiral of England. After the initial defeat of the Armada, "Ark Royal" led the chase of the fleeing ships into the North Sea and beyond the Firth of Forth. She was also used as Howard's flagship during the 1596 raid on Cádiz, which resulted in the destruction of much of the Spanish fleet at harbour. "Ark Royal" was again the flagship during 1599 when a Spanish invasion again threatened.

On the accession of James VI and I to the English throne, "Ark Royal" was renamed "Anne Royal", after his consort, Anne of Denmark. She was then rebuilt at Woolwich Dockyard in 1608 by Phineas Pett I as a 42-gun Royal Ship. Under her new name, she was the flagship of Lord Wimbledon in the 1625 raid on Cádiz which ended in disaster due to inadequate preparation.

Loss

She remained in service until April 1636, when she was being moved from the River Medway to serve as the flagship of Sir John Pennington. She struck her own anchor whilst underway and stove in her timbers, sinking in the river. [Axford's Abode, HMS "Ark Royal".] She was raised at a cost greater than her original purchase price, but was found to be damaged beyond repair, and subsequently broken up in 1638.

Notes

References

*Colledge
*Steve Crawford (1999), "Battleships and Carriers". Grange Books.
*Lavery, Brian (2003) "The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850." Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
* [http://www.axfordsabode.org.uk/pdf-docs/arkroy01.pdf HMS "Ark Royal" - Fifth Commission 1964-66] . Axford's Abode. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
*cite book
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title =Archaeologia, Or, Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity
publisher = Society of Antiquaries of London (Digital edition 2006, University of Michigan Library)
date =1851
location =
pages =p151
url =
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id =
isbn =