HMS Sherbourne (1763)

Type

Cutter

Period

18th Century

Nation

Great Britain

Overview: HMS Sherborne (also spelled Sherbourne) was a small single-masted cutter of the Royal Navy, built to a design by Sir Thomas Slade — the same naval architect responsible for HMS Victory. She is a popular subject for scale modelers thanks to Caldercraft and Vanguard Models kits based on her original Admiralty plans. Specifications: Sherborne was rated as a 10-gun cutter, though sources vary on exact armament (typically cited as 6 or 8 x 3-pounder guns plus 8-10 half-pounder swivel guns). She measured roughly 54 ft 7 in overall length with a 44 ft 8 in keel, 19 ft beam, 8 ft 4 in depth of hold, about 85 tons burthen, and carried a complement of about 30 men. Service History: Built at Woolwich Dockyard under Master Shipwright Joseph Harris and launched on 3 December 1763, Sherborne spent her entire career patrolling the English Channel against smugglers on behalf of the Board of Customs. Her first commander was Lieutenant John Cartwright, later a well-known parliamentary reformer, and she was subsequently commanded by a succession of lieutenants through the 1760s and 1770s. She was laid up after 1779 and in 1783 took part in an unsuccessful attempt by William Tracey to raise the sunken ship of the line HMS Royal George, before finally being sold at Portsmouth on 1 July 1784. Notable Facts: Cutters like Sherborne were valued for their large sail area relative to hull size, making them fast enough to chase down smuggling vessels along the coasts of Dorset and Devon. The original Admiralty draught of Sherborne survives in the collection of Royal Museums Greenwich, and it forms the basis for the well-regarded Caldercraft and Vanguard Models 1:64 scale kits, making her an accessible subject for beginner modelers wanting an accurate 18th-century small-craft build.