Monument MPM1928 - HMS Benbow Figurehead

Figurehead of HMS Benbow situated outside Storehouse No. 9 in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The figurehead depicts Vice Admiral John Benbow wearing black armour with a cravat and wig. Admiral Benbow was Commander-in-Chief of the West Indies during the Spanish War of Succession and died of wounds received in battle in 1702. A plaque on the plinth supporting the figurehead reads: 'FIGUREHEAD OF BENBOW 72 GUNS LAUNCHED AT ROTHERHITHE IN 1813 THE FIGUREHEAD REPRESENTS VICE ADMIRAL JOHN BENBOW BORN 1653 DIED 1702.'

The figurehead became part of the collection at Chatham after the ship was broken up in 1895 and was transferred to Portsmouth in the 1940s.

HMS Benbow was a 3rd Rate, 72 gun 176ft warship. She was launched in Rotherhithe in 1813 and took part in the Syrian campaign of 1840. In 1848 she was used as a marine barrack ship and then as accommodation for Russian prisoners of war in 1854. Benbow became a coal hulk at Sheerness in 1859 and was broken up in 1895.

Backhouse, Tim, 2002-17, Memorials and Monuments in Portsmouth (Bibliographic reference). SPM259.

Pulvertaft, David, 2009, The warship figureheads of Portsmouth (Bibliographic reference). SPM530.