Marlborough was originally ordered as a pure-sailing first-rate ship of the line to the lines of HMS Queen, but when construction began at Portsmouth Dockyard on 1 September 1850[2] it was to a modified version of the design. As was policy at the time, to ensure the ship's timbers were well-seasoned and so resistant to rot, the partially-completed ship was held 'in frame'. In this state, her frames had all been raised and bolted to the keel, along with the basic internal structure such as deck beams, but no planking had yet been attached to the hull.[1]
On 30 October 1852, Marlborough was ordered to be converted on the stocks to a steam battleship of 131 guns. To accommodate the engine and boilers, as well as to adapt the hull form to be better suited to steam propulsion, the hull was cut apart and stretched in three places, with 23 ft being inserted amidships, 8 ft in 'the run' towards the stern, and an additional 5 ft at the bow.[1]
A two-cylinder, 800 nhp single-expansion steam engine—specially built for Marlborough by Maudslay, Sons and Field—was fitted into the ship, which drove a single screw propeller. As steam propulsion was considered ancillary to sail at this time, the propeller was mounted in a frame which could be hoisted up into the ship when not steaming, reducing drag and improving performance under sail.[1]
Launching began on 31 July 1855, but the process took a whole week after the ship became stuck on the ways. Marlborough, still without masts and rigging, underwent steam trials in Stokes Bay on 12 May 1856, and recorded a speed of 11.886 kts.[2] After completion in 1858, she was placed in the first-class steam reserve.[1]
She sailed back to Portsmouth to serve as a training ship for engineers (c. December 1877),[3] and later as a receiving ship (e.g. for the Steam Reserve in c.1890, as tender to HMS Asia). Whilst at Portsmouth, she was downgraded in rating to a 98 gun ship (in c. 1870).
In 1904, Marlborough was moved to Portchester Creek and renamed Vernon II, becoming an accommodation hulk to the HMS Vernon torpedo school. (Vernon I was the joint name for the establishment's two existing hulks, HMS Ariadne and HMS Actaeon—all three hulks were joined together by bridges.)
Fate & Legacy
In 1923, HMS Vernon was turned into a Shore Establishment, and the old hulks were no longer required. Marlborough was sold to A. Butcher for breaking up in October 1924, but capsized and sank with the loss of four men on 28 November 1924 off Selsey while being towed to the breakers at Osea Island.
Today, Marlborough's figurehead can be seen at the Gunwharf Quays shopping centre in Portsmouth, which was built on the site of the old HMS Vernon shore establishment.
References
^ abcdeWinfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1817–1863. p19-20.
Winfield, Rif (2014) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1817–1863: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-84832-169-4
Lambert, Andrew (1984) Battleships in Transition: The Creation of the Steam Battlefleet 1815-1860. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-315-X