1722 Admiralty model of British warship HMS Burford at Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT 8/23/13

This is an Admiralty model of the British warship HMS Burford, which was a 70 gun third rate ship of the line of the British Royal Navy launched in 1722. An Admiralty model means it was built for the Royal Navy itself so it is no ordinary model. As further described below, this model was actually constructed by the Master of the most important British shipbuilding dockyard at the time. It is seen here on display at Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT on 8/23/13. According to the museum personnel, this spectacular model was likewise made in 1722. There is a historical significance to this ship that I didn't know and probably most don't, even those interested in the history of the British Royal Navy. In 1739, in preparation for war with Spain, she was designated as the flagship of a one Vice Admiral Vernon for operations in the Caribbean known as the War of Jenkins' Ear and was involved in the capture of Puerto Bello. The significance of Admiral Vernon is that Lawrence Washington, the brother of George Washington, was an officer in a Virginia regiment sent to the Caribbean and came to greatly admire the Admiral. After Lawrence returned to Virginia, his father Augustine died in 1743 and left Lawrence an estate. Lawrence renamed the estate Mount Vernon in honor of the Admiral under whom he had served. It was this very property that Lawrence Washington later bequeathed to his brother George Washington, the future first President of the United States, and every school child in the U.S. has heard the name Mount Vernon and likely knows it was the ancestral home of George Washington where he lived before and after serving as President of the United States.

This model itself is of historical significance beyond the American connection described above. The model was made by Richard Stacey in 1722. Mr. Stacey was at the time the Master of the Deptford Dockyard, the most important one in England at the time. He designed the actual warship and made the model of it as well. No wonder the model has such amazing detail. It was a genuine experience to view this model and I hope the Museum or some museum will put it back on display soon. I say this because of the following postscript. Elaborate carving detail on the stern shows the bust of King George I (reigning monarch in 1722) framed by 2 gods and then a British lion on each side with Neptune. The front carving known as a "figurehead" is a crowned lion. P.S. 3/29/24. Dismaying at least to me, according to reliable sources, this model is apparently no longer on display at the Mystic Seaport Museum but is still retained in possession of the museum.