Lot Essay
The revolving gun turret was used to such effect aboard the iron monitors of the American Civil War that its advocates in the Royal Navy were not long in designing Britains's first ocean-going turret battleships H.M.S. Monarch and H.M.S. Captain. The loss of H.M.S. Captain is one of the most controversial tragedies in the peacetime history of the Navy (see Christie's Maritime catalogue, 18 October 1990, lot 170), whereas the story of H.M.S. Monarch was altogether more successful.
Built at Chatham dockyard at a cost of 345,575 pounds, Monarch was laid down in June 1866, launched in May 1868 and completed in June 1869. With her hull, armour and equipment totalling 8,300 tons, she measured 330 feet in length and carried 27,700 sq. feet of sail. Originally armed with 4-12in. and 3-7in. guns, she was capable of 14.9 knots under full steam thus making her the fastest battleship of her day. Despite participation in only one major action - the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882 - Monarch had an interesting career which began with an exceptionally fast North Atlantic passage to carry home for burial the body of the American philanthropist Samuel Peabody. Thereafter she ran competitive trials with the ill-fated H.M.S. Captain and proved superior on every count. Although she spent much of her service life in the Channel Fleet, Monarch ended her career at Simonstown (South Africa) until sold out of the Navy in 1906.
Built at Chatham dockyard at a cost of 345,575 pounds, Monarch was laid down in June 1866, launched in May 1868 and completed in June 1869. With her hull, armour and equipment totalling 8,300 tons, she measured 330 feet in length and carried 27,700 sq. feet of sail. Originally armed with 4-12in. and 3-7in. guns, she was capable of 14.9 knots under full steam thus making her the fastest battleship of her day. Despite participation in only one major action - the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882 - Monarch had an interesting career which began with an exceptionally fast North Atlantic passage to carry home for burial the body of the American philanthropist Samuel Peabody. Thereafter she ran competitive trials with the ill-fated H.M.S. Captain and proved superior on every count. Although she spent much of her service life in the Channel Fleet, Monarch ended her career at Simonstown (South Africa) until sold out of the Navy in 1906.