HMS Exmouth was a second-rate ship of the line in the Royal Navy, classified as an Albion-class vessel with a 91-gun armament and powered by steam screw propulsion. Constructed at Devonport Dockyard, her keel was laid on 13 September 1841 after an order placed on 12 March 1840. The ship spent over a decade on the stocks before being modified to include steam propulsion; this conversion began on 20 June 1853. She was launched on 12 July 1854 by the daughter of Admiral Stopford, in the presence of a large crowd estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 spectators. Following her launch, HMS Exmouth was fitted out at Devonport and commissioned into service on 15 March 1855. The total cost of her construction was approximately £146,067, with £76,379 allocated for her hull as a sailing vessel and an additional £24,620 spent on her machinery. During her active service, she played a significant role in the latter stages of the Crimean War, serving as flagship of Sir Michael Seymour in the Baltic Sea in 1855. In May 1857, HMS Exmouth ran aground in Crewgreace Bay, west of The Lizard, Cornwall. She was subsequently refloated, but her captain, Harry Ayres, was court-martialed and reprimanded for negligence, along with her master, Edward Fancourt Cavell. By 1859, she served as a guard ship at Devonport, with notable naval officer Robert Spencer Robinson among her captains from 1858 to 1859. From 1877, the vessel's role shifted when the Admiralty lent her to the Metropolitan Asylums Board to serve as a training ship at Grays, Essex, replacing the destroyed Goliath. This service aimed to provide vocational training for boys under poor law supervision, benefiting both the individuals and the nation. HMS Exmouth remained in this role until she was sold by the Admiralty to George Cohen on 4 April 1905. She was subsequently broken up at Penarth, South Wales, marking the end of her maritime service.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.