Figurehead of the HMS Thames

myminifactory

The Figurehead of HMS 'Thames' is a robustly carved male head-and-shoulders bust, white-painted, of a scowling, bearded river god undoubtedly meant to represent the spirit of the River Thames. The base of the figure boasts a carved rope trim and stands proudly on a lettered black plinth. The figurehead was displayed at the Royal Naval Museum in South Kensington from 1869 before being relocated to the Royal Naval College in Greenwich. It was generously presented to the NMM by the Admiralty in September 1945. The figurehead was loaned to the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square on September 21, 1968, and its term was extended until April 1988 on April 27, 1983. The 'Thames' was originally a gift from the Ladies of London to the Government for use as a warship. She was placed in ordinary service at Chatham between 1824 before becoming a convict ship in 1841. As a convict hulk, it was housed in Deptford in 1842 and 1843, Chatham in 1844, and Bermuda between 1845 and 1863. The 'Thames' sank at her moorings off Boaz Island during a hurricane in Bermuda in 1863. Several references were made to the sinking of HMS 'Thames' in the Royal Gazette, the local Bermuda weekly, between June 1863 and May 1864.