While the Mary Rose might be the most famous ship in the navy of Henry VIII, it wasn’t the largest. That honour belongs to the Henry Grace a Dieu, otherwise known as The Great Harry, and it was built in London.

Early in his reign Henry VIII was drawn into conflict with France. Desperate to prove his military prowess Henry prepared an army to fight the French, but to get his troops there would require ships, and warships to guard the troop ships. The navy at that point had just six ships, little more than armed merchant ships. Something more formidable was needed, however, never afraid of making a grand statement, Henry ordered the construction of the most powerful warship in Europe – the Henry Grace a Dieu

Construction began in 1512 at a new wharf built at Woolwich. This was close to Henry’s palace at Greenwich, so he could make regular trips to check on the progress, something not possible if the ship had been built at Portsmouth. The ship was huge compared to other ships in the navy – Henry Grace a Dieu was 1500 tons, compared to 600 tons for the next largest ship the Regent. As well as its size, Henry Grace a Dieu was a radical design. Previous ships had mounted all the guns on the deck or in a “castle” at the back. Henry Grace a Dieu had cannons mounted on the lower decks too, firing through movable gun ports. This meant the ship could carry more cannons without being too top heavy. You can see some of the ship’s cannons at the Tower of London – frighteningly heavy weapons. Other innovations were hooks on the ships yards to rip the enemy’s sails as they came close, and a mounted grappling iron to pull enemy ships close to allow them to be boarded.

Such a huge ship took a long time to build, and Henry Grace a Dieu was not completed until 1514, by which time the war was over. The ship still fulfilled its duty of impressing other European kings though – for instance there is a record of the ship being decorated with a streamer 51 yards long, and the ship brought Henry to the negotiations at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. After a rebuild in 1536, to make her less top heavy, Henry Grace a Dieu saw action again in 1545 against the French invasion fleet in the Solent. This was the battle in which Mary Rose was sunk, but Henry Grace a Dieu survived the battle. While the Mary Rose was recovered and is now on display in Portsmouth, Henry Grace a Dieu has been lost. After Henry VIII died, his son Edward VI seems to have had little love for the then old ship and it fell into disrepair – finally being destroyed by a fire in 1553 while moored at Woolwich. It was the first of a long line of Royal Navy ships built at Woolwich Dockyard

You can find out more about Woolwich Dockyard, the people who worked there and the ships that were built in the Dockyard on my new walk “Uncovering Woolwich Dockyard” on Wednesday 5th and Saturday 8th February

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