HMS Victory

HMS Victory in another ship transformed into a museum at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. HMS Victory is both an icon of British naval history and the oldest commissioned warship in the world still in one piece.

The ship today is covered because there is a multi-million-pound project to conserve it for future generations. The scaffolding besides it is 2 stories high and it can be visited. I think it is great that people are allowed to see what is going on.
We didn’t take an audio guide because we were in a hurry. We wanted to see as much as possible. If you have more time, take the audio guide.

This is the second floor. With all the glass is quite difficult to take good pictures on the phone, but it makes for a wonderful clear view when you are there in person.

There are a few description boards with details on the conservation process. It was nice to see the gun like that. Don’t miss the conservation part of the ship if you are visiting. There is another entrance and exit for it.

This is a warship and it is filled with guns. It was the largest class of ship that the Royal Navy had at that time. Unsurprisingly, the ship is decorated as it would have looked before the Battle of Trafalgar took place.
In 1805 it had 104 guns on board and 820 men.

The Quarterdeck, the top deck of the ship, is partly covered.

This is the bed of Captain Hardy, the flag captain of Victory.

Everywhere on board there were guns, including in the rooms used by the captain or by Nelson. There were hooks to open up the dividers between the rooms and to keep them in place to allow for the guns to be placed outside. The windows were also held up with hooks.

Isn’t this gorgeous? This desk was in Captain Hardy’s chambers. I noticed that he also had a toilet. In the previous ship we saw at the dockyard, the Mary Rose, there were no toilets, not even for the captain. It is interesting to see how this changed over the years. A chamber pot was what was used in the early 1800s by the majority of the people.

This is Nelson’s bed.

The sailors would sleep above the table. They would fold their hammocks during the day.

This is deep in the bowels of the ship, the Orlop deck. Nelson was brought here and he struggled for 3 hours before dying. This lamp marks that spot. I think it is a moving memorial to him.

The barrels had their own little cradles to keep them from falling. That’s such a good idea.

There are stairs to go down and see the ship on the outside. This is the part that is not under conservation. It is very interesting to see it from only a metre or two away.

This ship is very interesting and it is such an important part of British and European history. The Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 was very important in the Napoleonic wars. By that time Napoleon made himself an Emperor and without British resistance, Europe would have been dominated for decades by the French emperors. Do visit it if you have the opportunity.