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Henry
Grace à Dieu
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Henry
Grace à Dieu, launched in 1514, was an English carrack built in
the 16th Century for
King Henry VIII. Also known
as ‘Great Harry’ she was the first purpose
built great ship in the Tudor navy with four
masts, a four deck forecastle and a two deck
stern castle.
Henry
Grace à Dieu Dimensions
The Mighty Henry Grace à Dieu was
approximately 165 feet (50 metres) in length
and had a estimated displacement of 1,500
tons. She was armed with 43 cannons and 141
light guns and carried a complement of
approximately 700 members of crew.
Famous
use of Henry Grace à Dieu
Henry
Grace à Dieu was most famously used to
transport Henry VIII to the Field of the
Cloth of Gold in June 1520. Being a mainly
diplomatic vessel, her only action was
against the French during the famous Battle
of the Solent, where she witnessed the
sinking of the more famous Mary Rose.
Henry
Grace à Dieu Destruction
Henry
Grace à Dieu is generally believed to have
been destroyed by fire while berthed in
Woolwich when a fire broke out at the Royal
dockyard. Unfortunately exact records no
longer exist to confirm this belief.
Why
Was Henry Grace à Dieu Built?
Henry Grace à Dieu was built as a
replacement for King Henry VIII’s flagship
the ‘Regent’ which was lost on August 10,
1512, during the Battle of Brest Haven. The
Regent lay alongside the French ship
‘Cordeliere’ and sent a boarding party to
set fire to Cordeliere’s gunpowder store.
The resultant fire burned so quickly it
spread to the Regent before she could
distance herself adequately. She was lost to
the fire with her 700 strong crew.
Where
was Henry Grace à Dieu built?
The infrastructure of existing dockyards was
unsuitable to build ships with the
unprecedented size and displacement of Henry
Grace à Dieu, so the King chose to build a
Royal Dockyard in Woolwich for that purpose.
This location was also close to King Henry
VIII’s palace at Greenwich, which allowed
him the opportunity to keep an eye on the
progress of the build.
When Was Henry Grace à Dieu
built?
Construction of Henry Grace à Dieu
began in 1512, and Henry Grace à Dieu was launched
when the hull had been completed in
1514, three years after the Mary
Rose. Following the launch of Henry
Grace à Dieu, she was moved the
Naval Dockyard in Erith, Kent, where
she fitted out.
How Big and Powerful was Henry
Grace à Dieu?
Once completed the "Henry Grace à
Dieu" had a massive displacement of
1,500 tons and, for the first time
in England's Royal Naval history,
boasted two gun-decks. She was also
the first ship to have purpose built
gun-ports in the hull, allowing her
guns to fire directly into the hulls
of her enemies from close range.
Henry Grace à Dieu Crew and Sails
Henry Grace à Dieu required a crew
of 700 to 1,000 when in battle
order. Her four masts allowed her to
carry a great arrangement of sails
including mainsails, topsails,
topgallants and lateens. The
forecastle contained four decks and
the stern castle had two decks.
Why Was Henry Grace à Dieu So
Big?
At this time, the vast majority of
naval warships were being converted
from commercial ships, or their
designs, with a normal displacement
of up to 100 tons. Firmly believing
in the need for a strong and
impressive navy to protect his
island nation, King Henry VIII
decided that his new flagship, Henry
Grace à Dieu, would
be purpose designed and built as the
greatest and most powerful warship
ever built.
Translation of Henry Grace à Dieu
Building Henry Grace à Dieu, which
translates as ‘Henry Grace of God’
was more about making a statement,
by displaying wealth and power, than
building an efficient warship. The
size was probably influenced by the
1,000 ton Scottish Carrack ‘Michael’
which had been built for King James
IV of Scotland and had been
completed on February 18, 1512.
Remodelling of Henry Grace à Dieu
in 1536
In 1536 Henry Grace à Dieu underwent
remodelling in Erith, Kent, which
lowered the height of her hull and
reduced her displacement to around
1,000 tons. This had become
necessary to address the fact that
Henry Grace à Dieu was top heavy and prone to
extreme rolling when the sea was
rough; which badly affected her
overall performance as a warship.
Her armament was reduced to 151 guns
including 21 that were bronze. Her
complement of crew was also reduced
to between 700 and 800.
Henry Grace à Dieu or the Great
Harry?
Ships of this size were referred to
as Great Ships, by the general
population, to differentiate them
from the general ships of the day,
which they dwarfed. A similar thing
happened when Boeing introduced
their 747 airliner which became
known as the Jumbo Jet by the
general public. It is believed that
King Henry VIII was popularly
referred to as King Harry in the
same was as the current Prince Henry
of Wales is popularly know as Prince
Harry. A combination of these led to
the Henry Grace à Dieu being
generally referred to as the Great
Harry.
Henry Grace à Dieu Diplomatic Use
King Henry VIII used Henry Grace à
Dieu as a diplomatic vessel to
transport him to the summit with
King Francis I of France at the
Field of the Cloth of Gold in June
1520. Henry Grace à Dieu was lavishly decorated for
the occasion with standards flying
from the tops of her masts and
armorial bearing shields decorating
her sides.
Henry Grace à Dieu in Action
Henry Grace à Dieu saw very little
action. On the night of July 18,
1545, King Henry VIII dined aboard
Henry Grace à Dieu. The following
day Henry Grace à Dieu sailed out to meet the
French at the Battle of the Solent,
during which she witnessed the
sinking of the Mary Rose.
Fate of Henry Grace à Dieu
Henry Grace à Dieu was renamed in
1547 following the accession of
Edward VI. Although some believe
Henry Grace à Dieu rotted by the
side of the River Thames, it is
generally believed that she was
destroyed in 1553, during a fire
that occurred at the Royal Woolwich
Dockyard where Henry Grace à Dieu was berthed at
the time.
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