ENGLAND, Reign of George III (1760-1820) - Lot 113

ENGLAND, Reign of George III (1760-1820) Large Espingole-type British Navy blunderbuss. Flintlock, flat-bodied, regulation lock, marked GR [Georges Rex] under closed crown, Broad Arrow arrow under crown [state property]. Strong bronze barrel with two registers, ring and muzzle flare. Iron breech tail. Mouth diameter: 50 mm (blocked by the lamp post). Walnut shaft and cow-foot stock, engraved "HMS Barfleur". Iron fittings, including trigger guard and butt plate. With wooden ramrod with brass-tipped ferrule. Mounted as a floor lamp. Barrel length: 66 cm - Overall length: 108 cm. The forend is missing and has been replaced by an attachment strap on the floor lamp base. Wear, scratches and dents; cracks, one of which runs the full length of the barrel. Probably the "HMS Barfleur", a 90-gun 2nd-rank ship of the line, deck length 177 feet 8 inches, belonging to the Royal Navy. Designed by Sir Thomas Slade and launched at Chatham on July 30, 1768 at a cost of £49,222. Around 1780, she received a further 8 guns, eventually totalling 98. She could accommodate around 750 sailors. She was, for a time, a flagship in 1773. She took part in the American War of Independence, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. She was decommissioned in 1819.