Beware of the Rug: If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 508

Thursday, June 17, 2021

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 508

Sir Francis Drake statue, Plymouth, Hoe, England

Signed Aubrey, the postcard shared this week features an ink drawing or etching of the Sir Francis Drake statue found in Plymouth Hoe, England. The card was distributed by British Manufacture, series B.C.M./OKETUB. The blurb on the back of the cards says: “Drake Statue. This stone image of Sir Francis Drake stands within sight of the spot where he finished his game of bowls before setting out to defeat the Spanish Armada.”

The sculptor, Joseph Edgar Boehm (1834-1890), made two of these statues. One, completed in 1883, is found at Plymouth Road, Tavistock, Devon, England, and the other, shown on the card, was unveiled on Plymouth Hoe in 1884 by Lady Fuller Drake. In 1979 the Sir Francis Drake Commission of California gifted a plaque to be added to the base of the Hoe statue commemorating Drake’s coming ashore in Marin County, California in 1579. The statues are made of bronze and granite.

Plymouth Hoe, or the Hoe, is a large open public space in the city of Plymouth. The Hoe is known as the place where Drake played a game of bowls in 1588 while waiting for the tide to change so he could set forth to engage with the Spanish Armada. While it is a colorful story, it is not possible to prove that it happened.

Some form of lawn bowling was played in England as early as the 1200s. It was later banned for a period of time by kings and parliaments for fear of it replacing archery training, an important battlefield skill. Later the game could be played on private grounds. The term bowl for wooden ball is found recorded in the 1400s. The advent of the lawn mower in 1830 allowed for more modern playing fields and grass courts for not only lawn bowling but also football (soccer) and tennis. Today the game is played in over 40 countries.

Sir Francis Drake was born ca 1540 and died 1596. An English explorer, slave trader, privateer, naval officer, sea captain, and politician, he is best known for circumnavigating the world in a single expedition from 1577 to 1580 on his ship the Golden Hind. His naval successes made him a hero in England but the Spanish considered him a pirate and offered a reward of 20,000 ducats, about £6 million or $8 million today. He was buried at sea, wearing full armor and placed in a lead lined coffin, near Portobelo on the Isthmus of Panama. Although attempts have been made to find the coffin, Drake’s body has never been recovered.

Several replicas of the Golden Hind have been made including the one pictured below. It is a full-sized reconstruction of the ship built in Appledore, Devon, England, using traditional methods, and launched in 1973. It has traveled and been exhibited around the world. Since 1996 it has been in Bankside, Southwark, London where it is open to the public and hosts educational programs.