n Frobisher's 1578 fleet,
there were fifteen ships of varying carrying capacity: The Aid
(200 tons), Thomas Allen (160 tons),
Hopewell (150 tons), Anne Frances (130
tons), Francis of Fowey (130 tons), Thomas
of Ipswich (130 tons), Salomon of Weymouth
(120 tons), Armonell of Exmouth (100 tons),
Beare Leicester (100 tons), Barke Dennis
(100 tons), Emanuel of Bridgwater (100 tons),
Mone of Fowey (100 tons), Judith (100
tons), Michael (30 tons) and Gabriel
(30 tons).
|
|
Frobisher's fleet departing southern England, 31 May 1578:
(left to right) Francis of Fowey, Thomas Allen, Judith,
Mone of Fowey, Beare Leicester, Armonel,
Aid, Michael, Barke Dennis, Salomon of
Weymouth, Emanuel of Bridgwater, Thomas of Ipswich,
Hopewell, Anne Frances, and Gabriel.
Watercolour by Gordon
Miller © 1999
|
|
In 1577, the English government conducted a survey (incomplete)
of merchant shipping. Of the 791 ships surveyed, only 131 were capable
of transporting 100 tons or more. This suggests that about ten per cent
of England's larger vessels were part of Frobisher's 1578 voyage.
Privately owned ships of 100 tons or more could be forced into royal
service as warships or, in the case of this voyage, to transport cargo.
With the exception of the Aid, which was a royal warship and
therefore heavily armed, Frobisher's 1578 ships were typical of
Elizabethan England. All were probably skeleton-built. First used
in England in the 1400s, this method was, by the 1500s, the most
popular in northern Europe and most likely in England as well.
In skeleton construction, the frame or skeleton was built first
and covered with evenly-laid planking, giving the exterior a smooth
appearance. Large numbers of wooden nails probably were used to hold
the planking in position.
|
The Aid ( 200 tons )
|
|
|
|
The Thomas Allen ( 160 tons )
|
|
|
|
The Gabriel ( 30 tons )
|
|
|
|
Again with the exception of the Aid, the outward appearance
of the ships is unknown. The Aid is pictured on a map
of Smerwick Bay (1580), giving some indication of the
structure of the ship, including the deck levels and superstructure.
Shown in profile and facing to the left, the Aid has five
gunports above a line of strengthening planking; this likely marks
the gundeck. Two small portholes on the flat stern of the ship may
indicate a lower section of the deck. There is possibly a weather
deck above the guns. At the front of the ship, there is only one
level above the weather deck; at the back, there are two. Most of
Frobisher's ships probably had superstructures, which served as
fighting platforms and to accommodate cabins.
The sizes of the ships are unknown, apart from that of the
Aid, whose keel length was 22 m (73 feet)
and the width of its beam almost 7 m (22 feet).
This would make it a little larger than
Cabot's
Matthew, of
which a replica was recently reconstructed and sailed across
the Atlantic.
|
|
|
|
A replica of John Cabot's ship, the Matthew
Photographs: Stephen Alsford
|
|
It is unclear how Frobisher's ships were steered. All would have
had stern rudders, but it is not known by what means the rudders
were controlled. Sails also would have helped to steer the ship.
All of the ships likely had cooking facilities on board. In royal
warships of the period, the kitchen was normally in the hold and
had a tiled hearth or sometimes an oven; smoke travelled up to
the deck through a chimney. On other ships, cooking may have been
done in a room in the superstructure.
It is known that the Aid, Judith, Gabriel
and Michael each had a foremast and mainmast as well as
fore topmast and main topmast rigged with square sails. Each also
had a mizzenmast with one triangular lateen sail. The Aid
may have had two lateen sails. In addition, these ships had a
square spritsail below the bowsprit. In use since the fifteenth
century, this ship design was common in northern Europe. Masts
could be either pole masts from a single tree or "made"
masts from different pieces of timber. "Made" masts
resulted from the difficulty in finding trees that were tall and
straight enough for large masts. Sails were made of canvas, most
of it imported.
Several pinnaces
and other small boats were acquired for the
voyage. These were important for coastal exploration and for
shipping men, equipment, supplies, and ore between ship and shore.
The ship's boat of the Aid had a mast and windlass.
None of the ships from the 1578 voyage had a special design or
carried special equipment to deal with the rough and dangerous
Arctic waters.
|
|