History | |
---|---|
Great Britain | |
Name | HMS Chester |
Ordered | 20 March 1690 |
Builder | Joseph Lawrence, Woolwich Dockyard |
Launched | 21 March 1691 |
Captured | 1707 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type | 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line |
Tons burthen | 663 55/94 bm |
Length | 125 ft 1 in (38.1 m) (gundeck) 105 ft 10 in (32.3 m) (keel |
Beam | 34 ft 4 in (10.5 m) |
Depth of hold | 13 ft 10.25 in (4.2 m) |
Propulsion | Sails |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Armament | 50 guns of various weights of shot |
HMS Chester was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched 21 March 1691. She was ordered on 20 March 1690 to be built at Woolwich Dockyard by Master Shipwright Joseph Lawrence - on the same day as her stable-mate Centurion (to be built at Deptford Dockyard), and six days after the first ship of this batch (the Chatham to be built at Chatham Dockyard) - to a similar design to the prototype of this "123-ft" type - the Sedgemoor of 1687. [1] She was launched on 21 March 1691 (15 days after the Centurion and 30 days before the Chatham).
She was captured by the French 56-gun privateer Jason at the Battle at The Lizard on 21 October 1707. [1]
HMS Cornwall was an 80-gun, third rate, ship of the line built for the Royal Navy in the 1690s. She served in the War of the Grand Alliance, and in her first year took part in the Battle of Barfleur and the action at La Hougue.
HMS Montague was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 August 1779 at Chatham Dockyard.
HMS Charles was a 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Christopher Pett at Deptford Dockyard until his death in March 1668, then completed by Jonas Shish after being launched in the same month. Her name was formally Charles the Second, but she was known simply as Charles, particularly after 1673 when the contemporary Royal Charles was launched.
HMS London was a 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Christopher Pett at Deptford Dockyard until his death in March 1668, and completed by Jonas Shish and launched in 1670.
HMS Royal James was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Anthony Deane and built by his successor as Master Shipwright at Portsmouth Dockyard, Daniel Furzer, and launched in 1675. She was renamed HMS Victory on 7 March 1691 after the old second rate Victory of 1666 was condemned by survey and taken to pieces. Recommissioned in January 1691 under Captain Edward Stanley, as the flagship of Admiral Sir John Ashby she participated in the Battle of Barfleur on 19 May 1692 – 24 May 1692.
Merhonour was a ship of the Tudor navy of England. It was built in 1590 by Mathew Baker at Woolwich Dockyard, and was rebuilt by Phineas Pett I at Woolwich between 1612 and 1615, being relaunched on 6 March 1615 as a 40-gun royal ship. It was then laid up at Chatham, only briefly returning to service in the 1630s. It was nevertheless considered to be one of the fastest ships in the Navy.
HMS Neptune was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built under the 1677 "Thirty Great Ships" Programme and launched in 1683 at Deptford Dockyard.
HMS Suffolk was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by contract of 20 February 1678 by Sir Henry Johnson at Blackwall. She participated in the War of the English Succession 1689 - 1697, in the Battles of Beachy Head and Barfleur. She was rebuilt in 1699. She was actively involved in the War of Spanish Succession 1702 - 1713. Her later career was as guard ship duties, deployments to the Baltic Sea and the West Indies. She was finally broken in 1765 after lying in Ordinary for almost twenty years.
HMS Deptford was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Woolwich Dockyard in 1687. This was the second of three 50-gun ships ordered in 1682/3.
HMS St Albans was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, launched at Deptford Dockyard in 1687. One of only three 50-gun ships to be built during James II's brief reign, she was first commissioned on 22 October 1688 under Captain William Constable, and joined Lord Dartmouth's fleet in that month. The ship fought in the Battle of Bantry Bay on 1 May 1689, at the capture of a French 36-gun ship on 18 July 1690 off Rame Head and in the Battle of Barfleur on 24 May 1692 and in the Battle of Placentia, Newfoundland on 16-21 September 1693.
HMS Sedgemoor was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, launched at Chatham Dockyard in May 1687. One of only three 50-gun ships to be built during James II's brief reign, she was first commissioned on 5 May 1687 under Captain David Lloyd, who was still in command when she was wrecked twenty months later.
HMS Weymouth was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard on 8 August 1693. She was one of two 50-gun ships ordered on 15 August 1690 to be built by Master Shipwright William Stigant at Portsmouth Dockyard. However, unlike the Norwich, the Weymouth was delayed until 1693 and - instead of the 123 ft length originally specified - was lengthened to 132 ft 4 in, thus becoming the prototype for the 1693 batch ordered with a design extended to some 130 ft.
HMS Chatham was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, the first of five such ships to be ordered in 1690. The Chatham was built by Master Shipwright Robert Lee at the eponymous dockyard, and launched on 20 October 1691. She was designed to the same lines as Lee's previous 50-gun ship, the Sedgemoor of 1687 - her specification was for a length of 123 ft, breadth of 34ft 3in and depth in hold of 13ft 9in, although she measured very slightly more on completion.
HMS Centurion was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched in 1691. She was ordered on 20 March 1690 to be built at Deptford Dockyard by Master Shipwright Fisher Harding - on thye same day as her stable-mate Chester, and six days after the first ship of this batch - to a similar design to the prototype of this "123-ft" type - the Sedgemoor of 1687. The specified dimensions in the ordxer were for a length of 125 ft by 32ft 6in by 13ft 4in, but on completion she measured about 8 inches longer and in breadth. She was launched on 6 March 1691.
HMS Norwich was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1691. She was one of two 50-gun ships ordered on 15 August 1690 to be built by Master Shipwright William Stigant at Portsmouth Dockyard.
HMS Falmouth was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 18th century. The ship participated in several battles during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–15) and the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–48).
HMS Gloucester was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line built at Deptford by Joseph Allin the elder for the Royal Navy in 1710/11. She participated in the War of the Spanish Succession. The ship was burned to prevent capture after she was damaged in a storm during Commodore George Anson's voyage around the world in 1742.
HMS Maidstone was a member of the standardized 20-gun sixth rates built at the end of the 17th century. After commissioning she spent her career between Home Waters and North America with junkets to the West Indies and once to the Mediterranean. Mainly employed as a trade protection vessel. She was sold in 1714.
HMS Flamborough was a member of the standardized 20-gun sixth rates built at the end of the 17th century. She was commissioned for service in Home waters, then Mediterranean. She was captured by the French in 1705 and scuttled.
The 1649 Programme of four 370 ton Fourth Rate vessels was approved by Parliament on 9 January 1647. The ships were to carry a minimum of 32 guns in peacetime and 38 guns in wartime. Each vessel would have 11 pairs lower deck gun ports and eventually an equal number on the upper deck with two pairs on the quarterdeck. The vessels would actually have varying number of guns and the dimensional data would vary considerably. Three vessels were ordered in December 1645.