Warship

In 1513 the Henri Grace à Dieu was built at Woolwich. Undoubtetly chosen by Henry VIII because of the proximity to the royal palace at Greenwich as much as for its nearness to sources of materials, it effectively founded what was to be the largest and most comprehensive military-industrial complex in Europe.With 186 guns, she was among the greatest warships of the age. In ship design two post-mediaeval developments were crucial. The first was the development of the stern-post rudder. The other was the development of improved rigging. By 1500, the northern European "cog", square rigged with a single sail and mast, had developed into a ship carrying up to three masts, with mixed sails. Manoeuvrability and the ability to sail much closer to the wind were the outcomes. Developments in navigation ran parallel.

The design of warships, once square-rigging and broadside firing had been developed, was to remain essentially unchanged until the coming of steam. Bronze guns reached a high level of development in the early C17; thereafter gunnery changed by improvement in design, accuracy and weight of shot. Other C17 innovations were tactical and administrative. Signalling became formalised, and the first Fighting Instructions were issued to the Navy. The press gang appeared. From the seminal period of development in the C17, there emerged a naval supremacy which was to last over two centuries and underpin a global Pax Britannica.	The Sovereign of the Seas, built at Woolwich by Pett and launched in 1637, mounted 100 guns.
A stern gallery window with Mica panes recovered from the Dockyard	The Royal Dockyard expanded westwards as far as Bowater Road. To the east its limit was marked by the Mast Pond - now under the Ferry truck park. Shallow water and a lack of room to expand caused Woolwich to be overtaken by the Dockyards at Portsmouth, Plymouth and Chatham during the Napoleonic wars. This period, too, marked the closure of the Royal Ropeyard at Woolwich. The ropeyard was established from around 1573 to supply the whole of the Royal Navy. Until around 1750 it employed over 400 people. Woolwich ropeyard was one of the greatest rope manufactories in the world at the time, and would have been as significant as later roperies at Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth.

The resources needed to build a ship of the line were staggering; in addition to up to 2,000 mature trees, each ship required between 30 and 40 miles of rope, which needed renewing every 2 or 3 years. The Woolwich Ropeyard, eventually 1,080' long, produced standard 100 fathom (600 foot) lengths of rope. Now largely lying under Beresford Street, it stretched from the Arsenal Gatehouse to Riverside House.

This panorama, in the National Maritime Museum's collection, gives a very accurate idea of the local dominance of the Dockyard. The Charlton chalk-pits can be seen right background.

Vincent's (partial) list of ships built at Woolwich from 1633 to 1786 Left Thunderer, 74, 1760

1633 Unicorn,64 guns 1637 Sovereign, 100 guns 1646 Adventure, 44 guns 1649 Mary, 64 guns This list omits ships known to have been built at Woolwich during the Commonwealth 1661 Anne, 8 guns 1664 Royal Katherine, 84 guns 1666 Greenwich, 54 guns 1666 Faulcon, 42 guns 1668 Charles, 110 guns 1670 St Andrew, 96 guns 1673 Boneta, 54 guns 1673 Deale, 8 guns 1674 Portsmouth, 8 guns 1675 Woolwich, 54 guns 1676 Royal Charles, 32 guns 1678 Captain, 70 guns 1679 Grafton, 70 guns 1679 Burford, 70 guns 1682 Duke, 96 guns 1682 Henrietta, 8 guns 1687 Deptford, 48 guns 1691 Chester, 48 guns 1693 Portland, 54 guns 1693 Milford, 32 guns 1694 Lincoln, 48 guns 1698 Bedford, 70 guns 1702 Tartar, 32 guns 1703 Garland, 42 guns 1704 Resolution, 70 guns 1704 Swift, 12 guns 1705 Drake, 14 guns 1706 Gosport, 42 guns 1706 Flamborough, 24 guns 1706 Elizabeth, 70 guns 1707 Falmouth, 54 guns 1709 Blenheim, 96 guns 1709 Royal Anne, 40 guns 1710 Devonshire, 80 guns 1711 Ormond, 54 guns 1711 Blandford, 20 guns 1711 Hind, 20 guns 1711 Hazard, 14 guns 1712 Greyhound, 20 guns 1730 Neptune, 96 guns 1730 Torbay, 74 guns 1731 Northumberland, 96 guns 1731 Princes Charlotte, 80 guns 1732 Royal Louise, 32 guns 1735 Rippon, 60 guns 1736 Dragon, 60 guns

1736 Superb, 60 guns 1739 Suffolk, 70 guns 1739 Cumberland, 6 guns 1740 Essex, 70 guns 1741 Antelope, 50 guns 1743 Chichester, 50 guns 1743 Captain, 64 guns 1743 Buffalo, 60 guns 1744 Devonshire, 66 guns 1745 Windsor, 60 guns 1746 Bristol, 50 guns 1749 Orford, 70 guns 1749 Lancaster, 66 guns 1750 Savage, 8 guns 1751 Dolphin, 2 guns 1752 Falmouth, 50 guns 1752 Ranger, 8 guns 1754 Dunkirk, 60 guns 1755 Cambridge, 80 guns 1755 Squirrel, 28 guns 1755 Royal George, 100 guns 1757 Trent, 28 guns 1757 Princess Amelia, 80 guns 1757 Boreas, 28 guns 1758 Rippon, 60 guns 1759 Mars, 74 guns 1760 Thunderer, 74 guns 1761 Blenheim, 96 guns 1761 Bedford, 74 guns 1764 Triumph, 74 guns 1765 Canada, 74 guns 1768 Venus, frigate 1768 Prudent, 64 guns 1769 Queen, 96 guns 1770 Intrepid, 64 guns 1772 Defiance, 64 guns 1772 Penguin, 8 guns 1772 Romney, 50 guns 1772 Experiment, gunboat 1774 Ruby, 64 guns 1774 Action, 28 guns 1776 Daphne, 28 guns 1779 Edgar, 74 guns 1779 Orford, 10 guns 1780 Sampson, 64 guns 1780 Europe, 54 guns 1780 Mermaid, 23 guns 1784 Windsor Castle, 98 guns 1785 Boyne, 98 guns 1786 Impregnable, 90 guns