Figurehead of HMS 'Penelope' in the form of a female figure with crossed arms wearing a cloak. The ship was a 46-gun fifth-rate (frigate) originally laid down at Portsmouth until the frames were transferred and relaid in November 1827 at Chatham Dockyard. Her official launch date was 1829 but she was only completed in 1843 on conversion to a paddle frigate. She was sold to Castle and Beech in 1864 for breaking up. The pose of the figure presumably refers to the reserved discretion of Penelope, the faithful wife of Odysseus, who waited patiently for his return from Troy though besieged by suitors.