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Model of Royal Yacht MaryThis model of the Royal Yacht Mary, was recently made by our resident ship modeller, Des Newton, for display at the Merseyside Maritime Museum. On the stern you can see a unicorn figurehead above a lion and unicorn coat of arms. This is the British Royal coat of arms. The lion represents England and the unicorn, Scotland. The unicorn is shown chained as in medieval times it was considered a dangerous beast. It was incorporated into the coat in 1603 following the accession of James I (VI of Scotland).
The original ship, and first royal yacht, was built in Holland in 1660. She was presented to King Charles II by the Dutch East India Company on his reinstatement to the English throne. She was a 50ft (15m) miniature man-of-war with a crew of 30, and cost £1,300 to build. She sank in 1675 but the wreck was discovered off Anglesey in 1971. Some of the objects from the wreck are now on display at the Merseyside Maritime Museum. You can see other ships made by Des in the Maritime Museum, including many in bottles. You can see Des at work in special demonstration afternoons in the museum, which are held about once a month. To find out the dates of the next one visit the What's On guide. Other models and ships in bottles from the collection. |
