Model of the Dry Dock at Flushing

's Lands Werf Vlissingen (possibly), c. 1783

Flushing dry dock, model, c. 1783. In 1705 Flushing (Vlissingen) became the first Dutch harbour with a dry dock. A ship coming in for repairs would sail in at high tide and be supported by stocks. The sluice gates would then be closed and the water released with the ebb tide. The last remaining water was pumped out with a horse-powered mill. Ship's carpentry tools are shown on the floor of the dock and on the vessel's deck.

  • Artwork typedemonstration model
  • Object numberNG-MC-2
  • Dimensionspackaging capsule: height 55 cm x width 159 cm x depth 70 cm, model: height 59 cm x width 149.5 cm x depth 45.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicswood, brass, rope and paint

's Lands Werf Vlissingen (possibly), after John Perry

Model of the Dry Dock at Flushing

? Flushing, unknown, c. 1783

Inscriptions

  • inscription, on the ship’s taffrail:VERWAGT HERSTEL

Conservation

  • P. Borst, 1976: restored
  • Richard Schoevaart, oktober 1998: cleaned; minor repairs; retouched

Provenance

...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883

Object number: NG-MC-2

Entry

Polychromed wooden construction model of a dry dock with a three-masted ship.

The walls are not planked, exposing the pile foundations; half the floor is left off, revealing the timbers underneath. At one end of the model the lock has curved lock gates with balance beams and capstans, and a paddle on either side. The other end is closed and also has two paddles. The paddles are fixed with moveable jack screws. The dock widens towards the back, with stairs leading into it on either side. The ship model is a polychrome bracket model, the planking left off, with closed topsides, a schematic deck and shortened masts. The ship has a round tuck, hollow counter, a single-storey taffrail with carvings and single-storey quarter galleries. On the floor of the dock and the deck of the ship a large number of shipwright’s tools and utensils are displayed.

The dry dock of Flushing was the first dry dock in the Netherlands, designed by the Englishman John Perry (1670-1733) and built from 1704 to 1705 under supervision of Dockmaster Jacob de Roo.1J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 2. It was a tidal dock, kept dry using horsepowered chain pumps. However, the lock gates were too narrow and too low, necessitating the outlying basin to be emptied to such a low level that the ships could not be kept afloat. The dry dock was not used after 1756 and was not repaired until 1836-37, following long delays.2A model showing the dry dock as it was in 1756 is in the collection of the Zeeuws Maritiem Museum muZEEum in Flushing, inv. no. 2934. During this reparation the lock gates were replaced by a caisson and the dock was equipped with a steam engine. Although graded as a listed building since 1964, the dock was filled in 1974. It was excavated in 2010 and is currently being restored.

Scale unknown.

Literature

A.E. Tromp, ‘Aanleg en gemaakte veranderingen aan het dok der Marine te Vlissingen en de daar voor liggende grote zeesluis, met vermelding van belangrijke bijzonderheden der constructie en andere’, Verhandelingen en berigten betrekkelijk het zeewezen (1851), pp. 531-78, 791-842; J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 2; H.G. van Grol, De geschiedenis der oude havens van Vlissingen, alsmede de invloed van Oranje op hare verdere ontwikkeling, Flushing 1931; R.M. Haubourdin et al., De physique existentie dezes lands. Jan Blanken, inspecteur-generaal van de waterstaat (1755-1838), exh. cat. Amsterdam (Rijksmuseum) 1987, no. 24; W. Weber, ‘Hetgeen het zwaarste is, moet het zwaarste wegen’. De invloed van de marinewerf op Vlissingen van 1814 tot en met 1868, [Flushing 1995]; J. Reynaert, Tegen de stroom oproeien. Scheepsbouw bij de Zeeuwse admiraliteit tijdens de eerste helft van de 18de eeuw, Gent 2007 (thesis Universiteit Gent), pp. 43-54

Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'possibly 's Lands Werf Vlissingen, Model of the Dry Dock at Flushing, Flushing, c. 1783', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200314886

(accessed 11 December 2025 22:23:52).

Footnotes

  • 1J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 2.
  • 2A model showing the dry dock as it was in 1756 is in the collection of the Zeeuws Maritiem Museum muZEEum in Flushing, inv. no. 2934.