“Load me well and keep me clean, I’ll carry my ball to Calais Green.”
The accompanying image is taken from a post card, which I have in my collection. The card was published by Gale and Folden Ltd., probably in the early 1900s. I was curious to find out if this rather ornate piece of ordnance was still in existence and this started my research.
The piece is located at The Castle, Port of Dover, where it has remained since the end of the English civil wars. The bronze cannon is described as a “basilisk.” The tube is 24 feet in overall length and has a 4.75-inch bore. In 1613 the gun was loaded with 18 pounds of powder and a 10- pound ball. At 2 degrees elevation the shot carried a distance of 1200 yards.
The highly decorated tube was cast in the city of Utrecht in 1544 by Jan Tolhuys, bell and gun founder of that city. In May of 1545 the piece presented as a gift to Henry VIII by Maximilian van Egmont, Count of Buren. The count was a military commander in the service of the emperor and was on friendly terms with Henry.
As is typical of pieces of this era, the tube decorations, cast in relief, are a tribute to the founder’s artistic and mechanical skills.
The first reinforce bears the arms of the two men. The second reinforce and the chase are faceted and with the bands carrying the images of flowers, females and mythical creatures. Figures of Victory, Liberty and the Roman god of the river Scheldt, which flows through Utrecht, complete the adornments.
It should be mentioned that the couplet which appears on the breech of the cannon bears no relation to the one that appears on the post card. The breech inscription reads, in Dutch: “As breaker of ramparts and walls, Am I known; O’er mountain and valley fly balls, By me thrown.”
The verse on the card may be a later more popular rendering.
The gun has been variously known as both Queen Elizabeth’s and also Queen Anne’s “pocket pistol.”
The unusual iron carriage dates from the 19th century. It was designed by the Inspector of the Royal Carriage Works, Woolwich, and was cast in Kent in 1827. On the rear transom is the inscription, “Constructed, Royal Carriage Department, Field Marshal, Duke of Wellington, Master General, MDCCCXXVII.”
Since it was thought at the time that the gun was presented to Elizabeth I the carriage bears a relief of the head of her archenemy Philip II of Spain surrounded by vipers.
Webster’s International Dictionary describes “basilisk” as follows: “a fabulous creature, either serpent or lizard, whose hissing sound and vaporous breath are deemed to be fatal” — an apt description, well befitting a cannon with its shrieking missile and sulfurous blast.
Author’s Note: I am deeply indebted to Messrs. Philip McGrath and Nicholas Hall of the Royal Armouries, Fort Nelson and HM Tower of London, for providing me with much of the information needed to produce this article.
(About the Author: Capt. Art Krause of Spruce Head Island maintains the Ordnance Survey, State of Maine. When he finds a cannon with an interesting history he will often share this information with the readers of The Artilleryman.)