Model ship made by prisoner of war in Edinburgh Castle

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

52398

Title

Model ship, made by French prisoner of war in Edinburgh Castle, c.1815, after rigging was removed for conservation

Description

One polished bone model war ship. The deck of the ship is punctuated with small holes for rigging and masts. Two of the masts are still extant, however both have partially collapsed and are now separate. Both masts are surmounted by curved crow's nests and are entangled in black rigging.The sides of the deck are decorated with gadrooned carving, emulating rope work. There are forteen square gun ports along each side of the ship, and small gun ports obscured by pulleys above.

Accession number

HH761

Copyright

The City of Edinburgh Council Museums & Galleries

The boat was probably made by a sailor held prisoner at Edinburgh Castle during the wars in the early 1800s. The tiny but incredibly detailed ship is made from bone and string. The bone was probably from cuts of meat given to the prisoners, and the string would have been readily available from clothing and sacking in the camp.

The first French prisoners of war (POW) were held in Edinburgh Castle in 1756 due to the Seven Years War (1756-1763). As well as French POW there were American, Italian, Spanish and Dutch prisoners. Many of the prisoners were seamen captured by the Royal Navy, hence the model ship carvings. These were familiar to many of the prisoners. Prisoners used bones and scraps of their clothing in order to make models and useful items to alleviate boredom and sell for tobacco, amongst other goods. Model ships often flew the Royal Naval ensign in order to appeal to the British market whom they were sold to. Every day the prisoners were given the chance to sell their goods to the public between 10am and 3.30pm.

At the height of the Napoleonic War around 1815, there were thousands of soldiers and sailors from enemy states held captive in Britain. Some men were not kept in prison, but were billeted in private homes, while some were kept in more traditional prisons and castles, like at Edinburgh. The conditions under which they were kept depended on those responsible for them. A little money was given to cover food, clothing and accommodation costs for the prisoners but not all spent it as they should.

The ship has a very fragile mast and very tangled rigging. To preserve the ship in the best possible condition, the mast and rigging has been carefully removed. One day, Museums & Galleries Edinburgh hope to undertake conservation to make this beautiful item ship-shape once again.

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