Phineas Pett - Life of Phineas Pett

Life of Phineas Pett

On his father's death in 1589, Phineas was left destitute. He had been sent to the Free School at Rochester for three years and then moved to a private school in Greenwich, until in 1586 aged 16 he entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge. By 1601 Phineas had been appointed assistant to the Master Shipwright at Chatham; over the years his good services, particularly in fitting out the Fleet in six weeks, won support for him at court.

Phineas Pett first met the young Prince Henry in 1604, through the good graces of the Earl of Nottingham, William Howard, the Lord High Admiral. Pett made a miniature ship for the Prince at Chatham. The keel was 28 feet and the breadth 12 feet, and was finished "battlement-wise" like the Ark Royal. On the 22 March Pett presented the ship to Prince Henry, who named it the Disdain and "entertained it with great joy, being purposely made to disport himself withal." On 26 April 1604, James I of England gave Phineas, described as a servant of Prince Henry, a grant of a shilling a day. The grant also mentions Phineas's elder brother, Joseph. Phineas and Joseph were named in the royal charter for the incorporation of masters and wardens of the "Art and Mystery of Shipbuilding in England" in April 1605.

In 1607, Pett made and gave a model of a ship intended for Prince Henry to Howard. Howard thought the model good enough for the direct attention of King James and the Prince. He arranged for a presentation in the presence of both at Richmond Palace on 12 November 1607. The model was set up in a private room off the Long Gallery, in an arched frame curtained with crimson taffeta. King James being likewise impressed and "exceedingly delighted with the sight of the model" placed the task of constructing a full-size replica of the ship in Pett’s charge.

In 1610, Phineas's wife gave birth to their son, Peter, and in the same year, his (step) Aunt Lydia died. In his diary for 1616, he records that he was ‘elected and sworn Master of the Corporation of Shipwrights at our common hall and meeting place at Redriff.’ From sometime around 27 March 1616, Pett expected to profit from a commission by Sir Walter Raleigh to build him a vessel of 500 tons for 500L. Admiral Howard permitted Pett to lay her keel on the galley dock at Woolwich, with the consent of King James.

In 1631, he was appointed a commissioner of the King for making "a general survey of the whole navy at Chatham." For this and other works Pett was promoted by Charles to be a principal officer of the Navy, receiving £200 per annum. His patent was sealed on 16 January 1631. In the same year the King, Charles I of England, visited Woolwich to view the launch of the Vanguard, which Pett had built. The king honoured Phineas by participating in a banquet at his lodgings. Pett was later the First Commissioner at Chatham and held this same post from 1630 until his death in 1647

In June 1634 Phineas made a model ship on wheels for the four-year old Prince Charles, for use in the long gallery at St James's Palace.

Phineas lived for ten years after the Sovereign of the Seas was launched. In the burial register of the parish of Chatham it is recorded, "Phineas Pett, Esqe. and Capt., was buried 21 August, l647."

Besides his obvious skill as a shipwright, Phineas wrote an autobiography.

Peter Pett, son of Phineas.

Pett's innovations were perhaps to be finally realized in the designs of his son Peter Pett for the Frigate: a design of English shipwrightry worthy of Baker. Sir Peter Pett was almost as distinguished as his father. He was the builder of one of the first frigates, the Constant Warwick.

Sir William Symonds says of this vessel: "She was an incomparable sailer, remarkable for her sharpness and the fineness of her lines; and many were built like her." Pett "introduced convex lines on the immersed part of the hull, with the studding and sprit sails; and, in short, he appears to have fully deserved his character of being the best ship architect of his time."