Ship of the Line

Vessels with fifty to sixty guns were the most lightly armed ships of the line and were classed as fourth rate in the Royal Navy. In 1716 a British order required the building of a model of every ship that was to be constructed or reconstructed; such models often are the only surviving record of historic vessels. This model may have been built to show proposed rigging alterations for an existing vessel, since the hull was carved from a solid block, with no attempt to show the framing.