English ship Norwich (1655)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Norwich.

History
England [1]
Name	Norwich
Operator	Navy of the Commonwealth of England   Royal Navy (from 1660)
Ordered	28 December 1654
Builder	Phineas Pett, Chatham Dockyard
Launched	11 September 1655
Commissioned	1655
Fate	Bilged and run ashore in 1682
General characteristics as built 1655
Type	22-gun fifth rate
Tons burthen	26590⁄94 bm
Length	80 ft 0 in (24.4 m) keel for tonnage
Beam	25 ft 0 in (7.6 m) for tonnage
Draught	12 ft (3.7 m)
Depth of hold	10 ft 6 in (3.2 m)
Sail plan	ship-rigged
Complement	100 in 1660 and 1666, 160 by 1673, later reduced
Armament	As built 1655 18 x demi-culverins (UD) 4 x sakers (QD)

Norwich was a fifth-rate warship of the Commonwealth of England's naval forces, one of six such ships ordered on 28 December 1654, all six built in the state dockyards (the others were Pembroke, Dartmouth, Cheriton, Wakefield, and Oxford). She was built by Master Shipwright Phineas Pett at Chatham Dockyard, and was launched on 11 September 1655 as a 22-gun fifth rate. She was named Norwich to commemorate the funding raised by subscription from the girls of that city to arm the 11th Troop of Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army.

Her length was recorded as 80 feet 0 inches (24.4 metres) on the keel for tonnage calculation. The breadth was 25 feet 0 inches (7.6 metres) with a depth in hold of 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m). The tonnage was thus calculated at 26590⁄94 bm tons. ^[1]

She was originally armed with 22 guns, comprising 18 demi-culverins on the single gundeck and 4 sakers on the quarterdeck. At the Restoration in 1660 she was taken into the Royal Navy as HMS Norwich. By 1665 she actually carried 26 guns, comprising 18 demi-culverins on the gundeck, and 6 sakers on the quarterdeck, together with 2 3-pounders. The Norwich took part during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in the Battle of Lowestoft and the Battle of Vagen in 1665 and in the Battle of Nevis and Battle of Martinique during 1667. ^[1] On 19 June 1682 she bilged off Port Royal, Jamaica, was freed but then run ashore to prevent foundering, and later abandoned on 26 June. ^[2]

Citations

1. Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714, p.156.
2. David Hepper, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1640-1860 (Seaforth Publishing, 2023), ISBN   978-1-3990-3102-8.

References

• Rif Winfield (2009), British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603 – 1714, by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2009, ISBN   978-1-84832-040-6, EPUB ISBN   978-1-78346-924-6, Chapter 5, The Fifth Rates
• Jim Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy, by James J. Colledge, revised and updated by Lt Cdr Ben Warlow and Steve Bush, published by Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, Great Britain, © 2020, EPUB ISBN   978-1-5267-9328-7.