PERFECT PROPORTIONS

Pepys was captivated by the beauty and craftsmanship of ship models. These were the forerunner of modern shipbuilders’ plans.

During the 1650s the navy began to order wooden scale models of all ships under construction. These were usually 48 times smaller than the real ship and were perfect in every detail.

In 1661 Pepys borrowed Lord Mountagu’s model of the Royall James to hang in his room. As a naval administrator, Pepys realised that he needed an intimate knowledge of ship construction in order to identify all classes of vessel. He began to use ship models to learn his trade and received lessons from Master Mariner, Richard Cooper. Within a few years Pepys had a fine collection of his own.

The collection was bequeathed to his friend William Hewer in 1703, with the recommendation that it ‘may be preserved for publick benefit’. Sadly the collection seems to have been dispersed after Hewer’s death and its fate is unknown.

'Up early and to my office; where Cooper came to me and begun his lecture upon the body of a ship – which my having of a modell in the office is of great use to me, and very pleasant and useful it is.'

30 JULY 1662