HMS Impregnable
Mar. 23rd, 2012 10:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anteros_lmcEarlier today when I wrote that little post about the ships that were used to build Liberty's London store, I hadn't had a chance to investigate the history of the actual vessels themselves, HMS Hindustan and HMS Impregnable. I have now, and I'm kicking myself! I should have recognised Impregnable right away, as she has direct connections to a certain Admiral Lord Exmouth.
HMS Impregnable was laid down at Chatham Dockyard in 1802 and launched as a 98 gun second rate in 1810. She spent several years off Flushing and the Scheldt before joining Admiral Lord Exmouth's Mediterranean fleet in 1815. In 1816 she was the flagship of Rear Admiral Sir David Milne, Exmouth's second in command at the Bombardment of Algiers. During the bombardment Impregnable was exposed to heavy fire from the defensive batteries of the town and suffered heavy casualties.
After Algiers Pellew retired from service afloat, however Impregnable's connection to the family continued when she was captained from 1817 to 1821 by Pellew's eldest son, the unforgettably named Pownall Bastard Pellew. Impregnable ship saw little further action after Algiers, and spent much of the next forty years stationed at Devonport and Hamoaze until she was comissioned as a training ship in 1862, first at Devonport and then at Queensferry in the Firth of Forth. She was eventually sold off for breaking up in 1906.
It's astonishing to think that after such a history, Impregnable now survives as an exclusive London shopping landmark. It's a far cry from the carnage of Algiers to the glamour of Carnaby Street. I wonder what Pellew would make of it?!
Bombardment of Algiers. (Impregnable on far right)
Impregnable today
Incidentally, if you google for images of HMS Impregnable you will come across this amazing photograph taken sometime between 1890 and 1905.
This is actually a different ship. This particular ship was originally commissioned in 1860 as HMS Howe, a 121 gun screw ship. Howe was rendered obsolete by the early ironclads and never went to sea. She was renamed HMS Bulwark and in 1886 replaced Impregnable as the Devonport training ship before assuming her predecessors name Impregnable in 1888. By 1919 she had reverted to HMS Bulwark and was sold off for breaking up in 1821.
HMS Impregnable was laid down at Chatham Dockyard in 1802 and launched as a 98 gun second rate in 1810. She spent several years off Flushing and the Scheldt before joining Admiral Lord Exmouth's Mediterranean fleet in 1815. In 1816 she was the flagship of Rear Admiral Sir David Milne, Exmouth's second in command at the Bombardment of Algiers. During the bombardment Impregnable was exposed to heavy fire from the defensive batteries of the town and suffered heavy casualties.
After Algiers Pellew retired from service afloat, however Impregnable's connection to the family continued when she was captained from 1817 to 1821 by Pellew's eldest son, the unforgettably named Pownall Bastard Pellew. Impregnable ship saw little further action after Algiers, and spent much of the next forty years stationed at Devonport and Hamoaze until she was comissioned as a training ship in 1862, first at Devonport and then at Queensferry in the Firth of Forth. She was eventually sold off for breaking up in 1906.
It's astonishing to think that after such a history, Impregnable now survives as an exclusive London shopping landmark. It's a far cry from the carnage of Algiers to the glamour of Carnaby Street. I wonder what Pellew would make of it?!
Bombardment of Algiers. (Impregnable on far right)
Impregnable today
Incidentally, if you google for images of HMS Impregnable you will come across this amazing photograph taken sometime between 1890 and 1905.
This is actually a different ship. This particular ship was originally commissioned in 1860 as HMS Howe, a 121 gun screw ship. Howe was rendered obsolete by the early ironclads and never went to sea. She was renamed HMS Bulwark and in 1886 replaced Impregnable as the Devonport training ship before assuming her predecessors name Impregnable in 1888. By 1919 she had reverted to HMS Bulwark and was sold off for breaking up in 1821.
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Date: 2012-03-24 03:23 am (UTC)Thank you for the post. I love these things.
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Date: 2012-03-25 05:42 pm (UTC)Hehe! That's true. Though I do have an aunt who was terrified of dogfish as a child!
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