HMS Beagle – A Potted History

The HMS Beagle, a Cherokee-class 10-gun Royal Navy brig-sloop, was built in 1820 at a cost of £7,803, the equivalent of around £1million in today’s money.

Launched on the River Thames from Woolwich Dockyard, she was not the first ship to bear the name Beagle. After five years during which she “lay in ordinary”, she docked again at Woolwich for repairs. Her armament was reduced from ten to six cannons, and she was fitted with a mizzen mast, transforming her from a brig into a barque.

The First Voyage (1826–1830)

The Beagle’s first voyage in 1826, under Captain Pringle Stokes, was not a particularly successful mission. Setting sail from Plymouth to accompany HMS Adventure, tragedy struck when Captain Stokes fell into a deep depression while at Port Famine. He locked himself in his cabin and, in 1828, took his own life, dying ten days later.

Following this event, the Beagle sailed to Montevideo after the Adventure, where Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Otway appointed his aide, Flag Lieutenant Robert FitzRoy, as the new commander. FitzRoy proved a capable surveyor, and it was during this expedition that the Beagle Channel was discovered and named after the ship.

The Second Voyage (1831–1836)

After extensive repairs and upgrades, the Beagle was ready for another mission. In December 1831, she set sail on what was expected to be a two-year journey. On board was a 22-year-old naturalist whose presence the captain had requested to ease the isolation of command, Charles Darwin.

This voyage would become a five-year global expedition, lasting until December 1836, and it was the Beagle’s second major survey mission.

The Darwin Correspondence Project offers a fascinating 3D model of the HMS Beagle, where you can learn about life on board.

The Natural History Museum website features some of the notes and specimens that Darwin collected, which formed the basis of his 1839 publication, Journal and Remarks, later reprinted under the title “The Voyage of the Beagle.”

These experiences fuelled Darwin’s revolutionary ideas about evolution by natural selection, which culminated in his 1859 masterpiece, “On the Origin of Species.” The voyage also contributed to his theory of atoll formation.

The Beagle was beautifully captured in Conrad Martens’ watercolours, which are still on display at the National Maritime Museum.

The Third Voyage (1837–1843)

Under Commander John Clements Wickham, the Beagle set sail again in 1837 to survey the Australian coastline. Wickham named Port Darwin after his former shipmate. The nearby settlement of Palmerston was later renamed Darwin in 1911.

When Wickham resigned due to illness, he was succeeded by Lieutenant John Lort Stokes, who completed the voyage in 1843. During this survey, another geographical feature was named in honour of the vessel, the Beagle Gulf.

Later Years and Final Fate

Refitted as a coastguard watch vessel in 1845, the Beagle was used by HM Customs and Excise for anti-smuggling operations and renamed WV-7. However, in 1851 she was removed following a petition from oyster traders, who complained that the vessel obstructed oyster beds.

She was then renamed Southend W.V. No. 7 and ultimately sold for scrap.

Her remains are believed to be scattered around villages near Paglesham Reach on the River Roach, close to Eastend Wharf. Several of her anchors, knee timbers, and pottery fragments have been discovered. It is thought that she was dismantled by local farmers William Murray and Thomas Rainer.

Legacy

Known affectionately as “Darwin’s ship,” the Beagle opened the door to humanity’s understanding of evolution and inspired countless geological and biological discoveries that shaped modern science.

Today, the vessel is perhaps more appreciated than it was in her own time, a testament supported by international initiatives such as the HMS Beagle Project, which aim to celebrate and preserve her legacy.

HMS Beagle