Old Hulks in Portsmouth Harbour - watercolour by Martin Snape

Martin Snape (1852-1930)
Old Hulks in Portsmouth Harbour

watercolour, signed

Framed and glazed
Overall size including frame: 44.4 x 52 cm

Hulks can often be seen in 19th century depictions of Portsmouth Harbour, usually anchored slightly away from the busiest shipping areas. These were often grand old Nelsonian warships, given a less glamourous purpose in their later years.

In the late 18th and early 19th century some of the hulks were used as prison ships to accommodate convicts prior to transportation, a practice that ended in the middle of the 19th century.

By the late 19th century most hulks were used to store coal, for which the Royal Navy had a continuous and insatiable appetite. Some hulks were also used as training ships and housed naval cadets, others were used as stores.