The Brave
Benbow website [ visit link ]
makes mention of the busts:
"Busts, head and shoulders, within
decorated roundels, of British admirals in uniforms of their period. Each
roundel consists of a plain outer moulding with inner circular wreath (laurel?)
topped by single rose motif. The base has an inscription panel with each
admiral’s surname. The innermost moulding is rimmed by a rope. All are in very
high relief. Each head is either more or less face on or at a three quarter turn
to the left or right. They run along the top of the north facade of the building
facing the river. From left to right (east to west): Anson, Drake, Cook (these
first three on east pavilion), Howard, Blake, Benbow, Sandwich (over door),
Rodney, Duncan, Collingwood, Howe, Nelson, St Vincent."
The building
is Grade II listed and the entry at the English Heritage website [
visit link
]
tells us:
"Former rackets courts, now
laboratories. The western block 1874-5 by Colonel Clarke RE, the central screen
and eastern part identical in design and added in 1882-3 by General Pudsey RE to
form a symmetrical composition. Converted to laboratories in c.1906. Stone and
stuccoed facades, roof hidden by high parapets. Seven-bay screen with higher
two-bay ends. Tuscan pilasters across screen break forward into pairs of Ionic
columns set between engaged columns with fluted capitals, all these in antis
under projecting parapets at ends. The parapets are elaborate, with raised
centrepieces supported on swags and urns set on high and elaborately carved
plinths as cornerpieces; all this decoration the work of C R Smith. Rusticated
ground floor. At first-floor height busts in high relief set in roundels depict
from east to west: Anson, Drake, Cook, Howard, Blake, Benbow, Sandwich, Rodney,
Duncan, Collingwood, Howe, Nelson and St Vincent. Nine-bay side elevations and
three-bay rear also denoted by pilasters, the ground floor rusticated under
fluted frieze and with empty first-floor roundels. Above these a deep frieze and
an attic storey also broken into bays by short pilaster strips."
The Royal Naval Museum website [visit
link] tells us about George Rodney:
"No trace of Rodney’s actual birth
date has ever been found but records show that he was baptised on 13th February
1719 at St Giles-in-the-Fields, London. Rodney entered the navy in July 1732 on
board HMS Sunderland. In May 1733 he joined HMS Dreadnought, followed by HMS
Somerset in 1739 and was promoted to Lieutenant and appointed to HMS Dolphin
later that year. In 1741 he was Lieutenant of HMS Essex, serving in the Channel
and Mediterranean, and was promoted Captain on 9th November 1742. In September
1743 Rodney was appointed to HMS Sheerness, and in October 1744 transferred to
HMS Ludlow Castle, serving in the North Sea. A year later Rodney was appointed
to HMS Eagle, and during 1746 he was mainly employed in cruising off the south
coast of Ireland for the protection of trade. His ship was involved in the
defeat of the French fleet at the battle of Cape Finisterre on the 14th October
1747.
In 1748, Rodney was appointed to
HMS Rainbow as Governor of Newfoundland, with secret orders to support the
colonists against the encroachments of the French in Nova Scotia. When the ship
was paid off in 1752, Rodney commanded various guardships at Portsmouth and sat
in the House of Commons. In February 1757, he was moved to HMS Dublin, and in
the autumn of that year was part of Hawke’s fleet which was involved in the
abortive attack on the Basque Roads. He then served on the North America
station, and was promoted Rear-Admiral on 19th May 1759.
Rodney, with HMS Achilles as his
flagship, was immediately appointed to command a squadron, which on the 6th July
bombarded Le Havre, destroying the stores and flat bottomed boats prepared for
the contemplated invasion of England. He continued to be stationed off Le Havre
until 1761, when he went out to the West Indies as Commander-in-Chief on the
Leeward Islands station. In February 1762, he attacked and reduced Martinique,
and took possession of St Lucia, Grenada and St. Vincent. For these actions, he
was promoted Vice-Admiral on 21st October 1762. In August 1763, he returned to
England, and on 21st January 1764 was created a baronet. In November 1765, he
was appointed Governor of Greenwich Hospital, and during the five years that he
held this appointment, he introduced several measures to improve the comfort and
well-being of the pensioners. He fought in the general election in 1768 at great
expense to himself but was returned as MP for Northampton. He was promoted Rear
Admiral of Great Britain (an honorary nominal rank) in August 1771. In the same
year, he was forced to relinquish his post at Greenwich Hospital to take up the
command at Jamaica. He was furious with this decision, arguing with Lord
Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty, that he was not allowed to continue to
enjoy the benefits of the Greenwich Hospital appointment – a precedent which had
been enjoyed by others before. The election had left him financially ruined and
he needed a post such as Greenwich to re-establish his wealth.
Rodney served in Jamaica until
1775, and then retired to Paris to escape his many creditors. He was only able
to return to England in May 1778, due to a loan from the French Marshal Biron.
Rodney’s return was welcomed since the Admiralty was finding it difficult to
maintain public confidence in a navy with few naval commanders of any
significant talent.
Although promoted to Admiral in
January 1778, it was not until 1779 that Rodney was offered the command of the
fleet on the Leeward Islands station. On his way to the West Indies, he was to
relieve Gibraltar, which at the time was being closely blockaded by the Spanish.
Rodney intercepted a Spanish squadron of nine ships off Cape St Vincent, and in
a battle fought on 16th January 1780, well into the night and amidst a raging
storm that came up, he sank one ship, and captured six others, without any loss
to his own fleet. The battle became known as the “moonlight battle”. His
achievement was recognised by his appointment as Knight Commander of the Bath
and given the freedom of the City of London.
After the relief of Gibraltar,
Rodney proceeded to the West Indies as Commander-in-Chief. His financial
situation always made him look out for opportunities to gain financial advantage
such as in prize money, and to this end, he seized the Dutch Island of St
Eustatius as soon as he arrived at the station. The treasure concerned was
immense, but the capture caused much legal wrangling that left little in the way
of actual gain for Rodney. The problems caused by this venture also meant that
Rodney was not available to defend Martinique against a French fleet, forcing
Admiral Hood to retreat to Antigua. Ill health was partially to blame and after
resigning his commission, Rodney returned home in 1781, where he was given the
honorary rank of Vice-Admiral of Great Britain on the 6th November. He returned
to the West Indies on 16th January 1782, where he won a decisive victory over
the French fleet under Admiral de Grasse, at the battle of Les Saintes off
Dominica on the 12th April. Four enemy ships were captured including De Grasse’s
flagship Ville de Paris. Rodney’s victory restored the English prestige, and
enabled the British government to negotiate peace with France on much more
favourable terms. On the 22nd May both Houses of Parliament voted thanks to him,
and on 19th June 1782 Rodney was raised to the peerage, and given the title
Baron Rodney of Stoke-Rodney and voted a pension of £2000. Rodney retired from
the navy after this, and in his last years also retired from public
life.
Rodney died suddenly on 23rd May
1792, in his home in Hanover Square, London. Rodney married twice. His first
marriage was to Jane Compton in 1753, and they had two sons. His second marriage
was to Henrietta Clies in 1764 and they had three daughters and two
sons."