English ship Primrose (1651)

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

History
England [1]
Name	Primrose
Namesake	the Primrose flower ( Primula vulgaris )
Operator	Navy of the Commonwealth of England
Ordered	early 1651
Builder	John Taylor, Wapping, London
Launched	July 1651
Commissioned	1652
Fate	Foundered 13 March 1656
General characteristics as built 1651
Type	22-gun fifth rate
Tons burthen	28776⁄94 bm
Length	86 ft 0 in (26.2 m) keel for tonnage
Beam	25 ft 1 in (7.6 m) for tonnage
Draught	12 ft 0 in (3.7 m)
Depth of hold	10 ft 0 in (3.0 m)
Sail plan	ship-rigged
Complement	100 in 1651
Armament	As built in 1651 18 x demi-culverins (UD) 4 x sakers (QD)

Primrose was a fifth-rate warship of the Commonwealth of England's naval forces, one of four such ships built under the 1651 Programme (the other three were Pearl, Mermaid and Nightingale). She was built under contract at Captain John Taylor's shipyard at Wapping, and was launched in July 1651. Her length on the keel was 86 feet 0 inches (26.2 metres) for tonnage calculation. The breadth was 25 feet 1 inch (7.6 metres) with a depth in hold of 10 ft 0 in (3.0 m). The tonnage was thus 28776⁄94 bm tons. ^[1] She was completed at an initial contract cost of £1,865.10.0d ^{[Note 1]} (or £6.10.0d per ton for the 287 tons bm) ^{[Note 2]} per ton. ^[1]

She was originally armed with 22 guns, comprising 18 demi-culverins on the single gundeck and 4 sakers on the quarterdeck, but by 1653 she had 26 guns (seemingly 4 more sakers added). After commissioning she spent her early career in the English Channel, searching for Spanish frigates. On 13 March 1656 the Primrose grounded on the Seven Stones Reef off Land's End and foundered. ^[2]

Notes

1. The cost accounting for inflation of approximately £333,000 in reference to today.
2. The cost accounting for inflation of approximately £1,100 in reference to today.

Citations

1. Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714, p.151.
2. David Hepper, British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail 1649-1860, Seaforth Publishing, England © 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, Section M (Mermaid)