Tonnant
Wood Location Burnham Thorpe, NORFOLK Ship Information
Ship Commander - Capt Charles Tyler
Guns - 80
Constructed at - Toulon
Killed in the battle - 26
Injured in the battle - 50
Wood Information
Size - 11.5 acres
Owner - Holkham Estate
To be planted - November 2005
Nelson said “I am a Norfolk man, I glory in being so” and to celebrate his famous connection with the county, Lord Leicester at his Holkham Estate has set aside around ten acres for a new wood at Nelson’s birthplace, Burnham Thorpe.
Horatio Nelson was born in Burnham Thorpe, on September 29 1758 to the Reverend Edmund Nelson and Catherine Nelson, his mother was a grandniece of Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford. His mother died when Nelson was nine. He learnt to sail on Barton Broad on the Norfolk Broads, and by the time he was twelve, he had enrolled in the Royal Navy. The village public house also called ‘The Lord Nelson’ was also the village pub during Nelson’s lifetime and it is reported that Nelson often visited and ate at the Inn and used the upstairs room (which still exists) to meet with his captains before setting sail.
The two fields chosen for the new wood have been arable farmland but the new wood will connect with existing hedges and a line of alder and willow on the rear boundary. Tonnant Wood will be planted with a mixture of native broadleaved species, predominantly oak, in recognition of it's importance to timber ship building at the time of Trafalgar. The site will have a new car park and will be open for people to visit and enjoy. Nelson was the son of the Rector of Burnham Thorpe and the new wood is within sight of the village church on the fringe of the village. Nelson was based in Norfolk when HMS Tonnant was captured from the French at the Battle of the Nile in 1798.
The Estate is working in partnership with the Woodland Trust to provide five days of school planting when children from neighbouring primary schools will be invited to plant trees and learn about the connections between woods and our maritime history. There will be a community tree planting day over a weekend.
Events in Tonnant Wood
There will be a week long schools planting programme in November 2005.
A community planting day will take place on Sunday 27th November 2005. More details to follow closer to the time.
More information
Charles Tyler
Was the third son of Captain Peter Tyler, 52nd Foot, and Hon. Anna Maria Roper, daughter of Henry, 8th Lord Teynham. He was born in 160, and entered the service in 1771. Captain of the Tonnant (80g) in the battle of Trafalgar, 1805 – severely wounded, gold medal, the thanks of Parliament, and a sword of honour from the Patriotic Fund. For his wound – a musket ball in the right thigh – he received a grant from the Patriotic Fund, and a Government pension of £250 per annum. Died at the Spa, Gloucester in 1835.
HMS Tonnant
HMS Tonnant was built at Toulon in 1791 and taken from the French at the Battle of the Nile, where she was dismasted in a fight with HMS Majestic and, being unable to escape, had no option but to surrender. Taken into British service she represented the largest type of two decker then in service, and was the only 80 gun ship in Nelson’s fleet at Trafalgar.
In 1803, Tonnant joined the British squadron blockading the port of Ferrol, and in the battle formed part of Admiral Collingwood’s column being fourth in line. As she broke through the line of the combined French and Spanish fleet Tonnant discharged a full broadside into the stem of the Spanish Monarca (74 guns) doing dreadful damage. Monarca dropped away and struck her colours but Tonnant was unable to take possession, and Monarca re-hoisted them, for which she paid dearly when engaged by HMS Bellerophon. Captain Tyler then headed for the Algesiras (74 guns), which was the flagship of the French Admiral Magan. The two ships collided and the battle was fought at such close quarters, that the Tonnant’s crew played fire hoses on the side of the Algesiras to prevent flame from her guns setting alight to her planking. The Tonnant’s crew suffered severely on deck from sharpshooters stationed on the masts of the Algesiras, but the masts were brought down throwing the French crewmen overboard. Algesiras’s crew endeavored to board Tonnant but were beaten back, and she in turn was taken by boarding and surrendered at 2.15. She had taken 169 casualties compared to Tonnant’s 76.
The Tonnant continued the battle and engaged the Spanish San Juan Nepomuceno (74 guns), which surrendered at 2.30, but the prize party sent to take possession were swamped in their boat, and the opportunity was lost. In the storm that followed the battle the crew of the Algesiras retook their ship and managed to reach Cadiz, but, being badly damaged, she was never able to leave port again. Tonnant reached Gibraltar on the 28th October, and after returning to England for further repairs rejoined the fleet. She saw out her career on blockade off the French coast and in North America where she took an active part in the campaigns of the American War of 1812- 14. Tonnant was broken up in 1821.
Many thanks to Alan Aberg at the Society for Nautical Research for providing us with information on the ships and their commanders.
