HMS Waterloo was a 120-gun first rate 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...

, launched on 10 June 1833 at Chatham

Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...

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Waterloo was cut down to an 89-gun 2-decker and converted to steam at Chatham 1 April 1859—12 December 1859. Following the loss of the modern 101-gun steam 2-decker Conqueror

HMS Conqueror (1855)

HMS Conqueror was a a 101-gun Conqueror class screw propelled first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1855, but spent only six years in service before being wrecked on Rum Cay in the Bahamas in 1861....

 in 1861, Waterloo was renamed Conqueror in 1862. In 1864 she served on the China station under the command of Captain William Luard

William Luard

Admiral Sir William Garnham Luard, R.N., K.C.B. was a leading British naval figure during the latter half of the 19th century.Born in 1820, he was the eldest son of a local magistrate, William Wright Luard J.P., D.L. of Witham Lodge, Witham, Essex and Anne Garnham, only child of Thomas Garnham of...

, and was paid off in 1866.

In 1877 she was renamed Warspite and served as a training ship at Greenhithe

Greenhithe

Greenhithe is a town in Dartford District of Kent, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe.Greenhithe, as it is spelled today, is located where it was possible to build wharves for transshipping corn, wood and other commodities; its largest cargoes were of chalk and...

/Woolwich

Woolwich

Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...

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She was destroyed by fire in 1918, with 250 boys embarked at the time. Three teenage boys later claimed to have started the fire deliberately. They were charged for the alleged act and ordered to three years' detention at a reformatory

Reformatory

Reformatory is a term that has had varied meanings within the penal system, depending on the jurisdiction and the era. It may refer to a youth detention center, or an adult correctional facility. The term is still in popular use for adult facilities throughout the United States, although most...

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