HMS Beagle

HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop in the Royal Navy. It was built for about £7,803 and launched on May 11, 1820, from the Woolwich Dockyard near the River Thames. At first, there wasn't much work for the Beagle, so it stayed in the water without its masts or sails.

Later, the Beagle was changed to help map and explore unknown places. Its most famous trip was its second voyage, which took it all around the world. On this journey, a young scientist named Charles Darwin traveled with the ship. While the Beagle did its mapping work, Darwin explored the land, studying rocks, plants, animals, and people. His experiences helped him develop important ideas about how living things change over time, which he later wrote about in his book, The Voyage of the Beagle.

Design and construction

The Cherokee class of 10-gun brig-sloops was designed in 1807, and more than 100 of these ships were built. HMS Beagle was built at the Woolwich Dockyard. Its construction cost £7,803, and the ship was launched on 11 May 1820.

One of the first jobs the ship had was to help celebrate the coronation of King George IV. The ship traveled up the River Thames and passed under the old London Bridge, becoming the first military ship to do so.

First voyage (1826–1830)

Captain Pringle Stokes became the captain of Beagle on September 7, 1825. The ship was prepared for its new tasks by fixing and changing some parts. It set off from Plymouth on May 22, 1826, to help another ship, HMS Adventure, map areas around Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.

During the journey, Beagle helped save people from a ship that had crashed. Captain Stokes became very sad and had to be replaced. Lieutenant Robert FitzRoy then took command. Under his leadership, the crew met some local people and brought a few of them back to England. Sadly, one of them fell ill and passed away. The voyage also led to the discovery and naming of the Beagle Channel after the ship.

Second voyage (1831–1836)

Main article: Second voyage of HMS Beagle

In 1831, Captain Robert FitzRoy was chosen to lead a new voyage for HMS Beagle. The ship was prepared carefully, with changes made to make it safer and better for the journey. FitzRoy wanted an expert to help study the land during the trip, so he asked for a naturalist to join. Young Charles Darwin agreed to come along, which would later prove very important for science.

HMS Beagle set off from England in December 1831. The voyage took the ship to South America, where they mapped coastlines and studied nature. The journey also included stops in places like New Zealand and Australia. After five years, HMS Beagle returned to England in October 1836. Darwin wrote about his experiences in a book called The Voyage of the Beagle, which became very well-known.

Third voyage (1837–1843)

After returning from its second voyage, the HMS Beagle underwent some repairs and then set out to survey parts of Australia's coast. Commander John Clements Wickham led the ship, with Lieutenant John Lort Stokes as his assistant. They left in June 1837, stopping at places like Tenerife, Bahia, and Cape Town before arriving at the Swan River near modern-day Perth, Western Australia, in November 1837.

The crew surveyed the western coast and later the Bass Strait. They also explored the Arafura Sea near Timor. When Wickham fell ill, Stokes took over command and continued the survey until it was finished in 1843. During this time, they discovered and named several places, including Port Darwin, later renamed Darwin. The voyage also helped collect important plants for science, such as a type of tobacco found by Benjamin Bynoe on Australia's north coast.

Final years

In 1845, Beagle was changed to serve as a stationary coastguard ship, helping watch over rivers and harbours. It was moved to work for HM Customs and Excise to help stop smuggling along the Essex coast near the Thames Estuary. The ship was placed in the middle of the River Roach, part of a network of waterways and marshes close to Burnham-on-Crouch.

Later, in 1851, companies that collected and sold oyster asked for the ship to be moved because it was blocking the river and the oyster beds. By 1870, the ship was sold and taken apart.

Possible resting place

Investigations began in 2000 led by Robert Prescott from the University of St Andrews. They found documents showing that "W.V. 7" was the Beagle. A chart from 1847 showed a ship the right size on the River Roach in Essex, near Paglesham.

In 2003, surveys found pieces of what might be the ship in a dock nearby. An old anchor from 1841 was dug up. Records from 1871 mentioned a new farmhouse linked to the people who may have bought the ship in 1870. Parts of an old boathouse matched wood from the Beagle.

Research in 2025 showed that the ship was bought by Messrs. Murray and Trainer in May 1870. Later, advertisements appeared for moving ships to the River Thames. The Beagle was broken up at East Greenwich by experts, not left in the mud at Paglesham.