HMS Exmouth was a 91-gun screw propelled Albion-class

Albion class ship of the line (1842)

The Albion-class ships of the line were a class of two-deck 90-gun second rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir William Symonds. The first two were originally ordered in March 1840 as 80-gun ships of the Vanguard Class, but were re-ordered to a new design of 90 guns some three months later...

 second-rate

Second-rate

In the British Royal Navy, a second rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th century second rates had fewer guns and were originally two-deckers or had only partially armed third gun decks. The term in no way implied...

 ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

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Design

Exmouth was ordered as a 90-gun sailing ship from Plymouth Dockyard in 1841, but was ordered to be converted to operate under steam propulsion on 30 October 1852. The conversion began on 20 June 1853 and Exmouth was finally launched on 12 July 1854. She fitted out at Devonport Dockyard

HMNB Devonport

Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

, finally being commissioned for service on 15 March 1855, having cost a total of £146,067, with £76,379 being spent on the hull as a sailing ship, and a further £24,620 spent on the machinery.

Service

In 1855 she served in the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 as flagship of Sir Michael Seymour. She was a guard ship

Guard ship

A guard ship is a warship stationed at some port or harbour to act as a guard, and in former times in the Royal Navy to receive the men impressed for service...

 at Devonport by 1859, when future admiral Robert Spencer Robinson

Robert Spencer Robinson

Admiral Sir Robert Spencer Robinson KCB was a British naval officer, who served as two five-year terms as Controller of the Navy from February 1861 to February 1871, and was therefore responsible for the procurement of warships at a time when the Royal Navy was changing over from unarmoured wooden...

 was her captain between 1 February 1858 and May 1859. Exmouth was lent to the Metropolitan Asylums Board

Metropolitan Asylums Board

The Metropolitan Asylums Board was established under Poor Law legislation, to deal with London's sick poor. It was established by the Metropolitan Poor Act 1867 and was wound up in 1930, its functions being transferred to the London County Council. Despite its name, the MAB was not involved in...

 to serve as a training ship in 1877. She was sold to George Cohen on 4 April 1905 and then broken up at Penarth

Penarth

Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...

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