Sovereign of the Seas — 1637 English Warship Model, Medium | Admiral Line
Sovereign of the Seas — 1637 English Warship Model, Medium | Admiral Line
Model details
- Materials
- Mahogany, Western red cedar, Rosewood, Brass, Linen sails
- Construction
- Plank-on-frame, built by hand
- Condition
- Fully assembled, ready to display
- Display
- Wooden base with brass nameplate
- Collection
- Tall Ship Models - Admiral Line
- Item no.
- T076
The most heavily decorated warship ever built, and the one that helped start a civil war.
Every surface of the original above the waterline was carved and gilded — stern, quarter galleries, beakhead, gunport wreaths. Reproducing that in miniature is the reason this model takes as long as it does.
Construction
- Plank-on-frame hull in western red cedar, rosewood and mahogany
- Three gun decks with cast cannon and carved port wreaths
- Deep-carved, gilded stern gallery, quarter galleries and beakhead figure
- Three masts and bowsprit with complete hand-knotted rigging
- Hand-stitched linen sails
- Ship's boats, capstan, wheel, anchors and rudder
- Solid wood base and engraved brass nameplate
- Fully assembled
History
Built by Peter Pett at Woolwich and launched in 1637 for Charles I, Sovereign of the Seas carried 102 guns — more than any ship afloat. Charles raised the money for her through Ship Money, a tax levied without Parliament's consent, and the resulting constitutional fight fed directly into the English Civil War. The Dutch, who met her repeatedly in three wars, called her the Golden Devil. She served for sixty years and was destroyed in 1697 by a candle left burning aboard.