HMS Victory

The original HMS Victory was lost with all hands in 1744 during the War of the Austrian Succession. The second Victory was ordered by the Royal Navy Board in 1759 during the Seven Years' War. Construction work began in Chatham Dockyard that year to a design by the Royal Navy Surveyor, Sir Thomas Slade. The ship was finally completed in 1765 and entered service in 1778 as the flagship of Admiral Augustus Keppel. She saw action during the American War of Independence and the war with revolutionary France. It is for her part in the Napoleonic Wars, under the command of Admiral Horatio Nelson, that the ship is best known. Nelson was fatally shot by a French sniper on the upper deck of the Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The ship ended its ocean-going career in 1812, returning to dock in Portsmouth where it remains today.

The ship underwent several refits during its service, the most significant being the 'great repair' of 1800-1803. It is possible that this full hull model was made as an early design proposal for the ship or for one of these subsequent refits. The model is not an exact representation of the Victory at any point in its history and has a different figurehead. During the 1793 refit the ship was repainted yellow; her sides were never painted white. The model does however, feature three canons on each side of the poop deck, a feature of the real ship until 1798. The union flag and the royal coat of arms suggest that the model possibly dates from after the Act of Union in 1800. After the ship's return to Portsmouth, it underwent a final refit, but the end of the Napoleonic Wars meant the Navy had no further need of her as a warship.

This model was presented as a gift to the Duke of Sutherland by Admiral William Hall in 1872. It was then donated to the London Museum by the Duchess of Sutherland in 1914. A brass plaque from the model's stand describes it as the 'original model' of HMS Victory. Admiral Hall lived in Kensington and was a fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the council of the Royal Geographical Society. In his naval career he commanded the East India Company warship, the Nemesis. He also served in Ireland during the Potato Famine and later in the Crimean War.