Admiral's Barge

Scale: 1:24. A contemporary full hull model of an admiral's barge (circa 1750), built plank on frame in the Georgian style. Model is complete with floors and bottom boards, a gangplank, a single swivel gun mounted in the bow and twelve crew rowing double-banked. The hull itself is mounted on turned ivory pillars above a velvet-covered wooden baseboard. The model is housed in its original mahogany display case. At this scale, this model represents a barge measuring 37 feet in length by 7 feet in the beam.

The 18th-century barge carried by the large warships was a richly decorated craft. A smartly dressed crew was considered to be a status symbol amongst the ships of the fleet and often the oarsmen were dressed in uniform designed and paid for by the admiral himself.

Object Details

ID: SLR0489
Collection: Ship models
Type: Full hull model
Display location: Not on display
Date made: circa 1750
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Overall model: 95 x 490 x 380 mm; Base: 45 x 498 x 385 mm; Original case: 337 x 557 x 454 mm
Parts: Admiral's Barge