Dutch ships-of-the-line building at Flushing in 1823 as described in a diary

Zr.Ms. De Zeeuw

In 1823 two friends, namely Jacob van Lennep and Dirk van Hogendorp made a journey in the northern provinces of the Netherlands; still today the Netherlands. That year what later became Belgium was still part of the Netherlands.

Admiral Otto Willem Gobius allowed them to visit the naval yard at Flushing at 27th August. Here they have to climb on 'two stairways to heaven' connected to each other. In each of those stairways [perhaps a better translation is scaffoldings] was a ship-of-the-line of a surprising height being built. The two friends walked through the frame of one ship and visited all the floors [=decks]. The building costs of each ship were ƒ 1.000.000,00. Next they visited the large building [presumably the Arsenal] where the carpenters and other labourers worked and were all the stores which came from Antwerp were stored. The loft above this building had a length of 300 feet and where the models for the sterns, statutes and so one were stored. There was also workshop quipped with a new engine to drill holes in iron. The second yard was used for fitting out, the so-called equipage and divided in several fine halls, one with guns, bombs, bullets, another with rifles, sables, pikes and so on and with a statue of the king at the end. There was also a rope magazine where ropes with a thickness of 2 feet were made. At the end they visited the frigate Diana.

They didn't mention the names of the ships-of-the-line. That year there were just two ships being built at Flushing, so it's possible to identify them.

The 84-guns 3-decker Neptunus set on stocks 27 December 1821 and launched in 1825. In 1844 she was renamed Koning der Nederlanden to be rebuilt as a 32-guns floating battery at Flushing 1859-1860 and renamed Neptunus. In 1876 she was stricken. Dimensions 54,16m (between perpendiculars) x 14,70m x 12,30m and with a draught of 6,46m fore and 7,12m aft and of 3000 tons.

The second ship must be the 84-guns Zeeuw; set on stocks August 1819 and launched 1825. In 1827 she was used as a troop transport towards the Dutch East Indies, in 1860 rebuilt as floating battery and renamed Jupiter and to be stricken in 1873.

The 44-gun frigate Diana they visited was in 1815 bought from the British Navy to replace the Rotterdam, which was sold in England. Built at Rotherhithe 1794, she was commissioned in Dutch naval service 10 April 1815, decommissioned 15 November 1838 and while lying in the dry dock at Willemsoord caught fire and lost. The wreck was afterwards sold.

Sources

M. Elisabeth Kluit. Nederland in den goeden ouden tijd zijnde het dagboek van hunne reis te voet, per trekschuit en per diligence van Jacob van Lennep en zijn vriend Dirk van Hogendorp door de Noord-Nederlandsche provintiën in den jare 1823. Utrecht, 1942.

A.J. Vermeulen. De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962.