A fifth-rate warship being refitted, sketched by Willem van de Velde the Younger, believed to be Dartmouth | |
History | |
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England | |
Name | HMS Dartmouth |
Ordered | 28 December 1654 |
Builder | Portsmouth Dockyard |
Cost | £1,693-5-0d |
Launched | 22 September 1655 |
Commissioned | 1655 |
Fate | Wrecked 9 October 1690 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | 22-gun fifth-rate frigate |
Tons burthen | 260.7 tons bm |
Length | 80 ft (24.4 m) (keel) |
Beam | 24 ft 9 in (7.5 m) |
Depth of hold | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
Propulsion | Sails |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Armament |
|
HMS Dartmouth was a small frigate or fifth-rate ship, one of six ordered by the English Council of State on 28 December 1654, and built in 1655.
HMS Dartmouth was one of a number of ships built for The Protectorate by John Tippetts, Master Shipwright at Portsmouth Dockyard from 1650 to 1668. [1] Tippetts learned his trade working in Denmark, which employed Dutch ship-building techniques; the archaeological survey indicates these were used to build Dartmouth, the only known English example of such a ship. [2]
Dartmouth had a length at the gun deck of 80 ft (24.4 m), a beam of 24 ft 9 in (7.5 m), and a depth of hold of 10 ft (3.0 m).[ citation needed ] The ship's tonnage was 260.7 tons burthen. [3] Originally built for 22 guns, [3] her armament was subsequently increased to 36 guns (19 demi-cannon.[ citation needed ]
On April 1666, in the Second Anglo-Dutch War, Dartmouth together with the larger (fourth-rate) frigate Sapphire and the 12-gun Little Gift, captured three Dutch armed merchant ships off the coast of Ireland. [4]
On 28 May 1672, Dartmouth took part in the Battle of Solebay, the opening battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War. [5] [6]
In 1676–1677, Dartmouth served in the Mediterranean against the Barbary Pirates. She was part of Rear Admiral John Narborough's squadron, which fought pirates based in Tripoli and in Algiers. [5] [7] [8]
On 1 May 1689, Dartmouth, by now with an armament ofn36 guns, took part in the Battle of Bantry Bay, in which a fleet of 24 French war ships, covering the landing of equipment for Irish Jacobite forces in the south-west of Ireland, fought 19 English war ships. The French had the better of the battle, badly damaging the English ships, but failed to press their advantage. [9] [10]
Later that year, Dartmouth, commanded by Captain John Leake, participated in the relief of the Siege of Derry. The town of Derry, which lies on the River Foyle near its mouth on Lough Foyle, was besieged by supporters of James II of England and defended by northern Irish Protestants supporting King William.
In May and June 1689 Dartmouth escorted a convoy from England to Ireland that brought a relief force, commanded by Major-General Percy Kirke, destined for Derry. On 17 May 1689, the convoy sailed from Liverpool [11] with 24 transport ships, escorted by three men-of-war, HMS Swallow, HMS Bonaventure, and HMS Dartmouth. The fleet, carrying four battalions (about 2000 men), arrived in Lough Foyle early in June.
As the access to Derry from Lough Foyle by the river was defended by shore batteries and blocked by a boom across the river, Kirke did not dare use this route to approach the town. However, a desperate last-minute attempt succeeded on the 28 July. The Dartmouth engaged the shore batteries, while the armed merchant ship Mountjoy rammed and breached the boom. The Mountjoy and another armed merchant, the Phoenix, forced their way past the defences and relieved the siege. [12]
In 1690, Dartmouth was employed in operations along the west coast of Scotland against Jacobite rebels. On 9 October, Dartmouth and two other smaller ships were sent to persuade the MacLeans of Duart to sign Articles of Allegiance to William III and Mary II. They encountered a heavy storm whilst in the Sound of Mull, and anchored to ride out the poor weather. Dartmouth was driven onto rocks and wrecked, with the loss of most of her crew, including her commanding officer, Edward Pottinger. [13] [14]
In 1973, divers from Bristol discovered a wreck on the north coast of Eilean Rudha an Ridire, an island in the Sound of Mull. A recovered brass ship's bell confirmed the wreck as the Dartmouth. [16] The site underwent three years of archaeological survey. Twenty iron guns were identified, and parts of the ship's hull were recovered for closer examination. A varied selection of 17th century military, navigational, medical and domestic items were also recovered. The archaeological study supported traditional accounts of the ship's wrecking, [17] and revealed that parts of Dartmouth's construction differed from conventional methods used during the period.
On 11 April 1974, the wrecksite was one of the first to be designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act. It was redesignated on 25 June 1992. The site became a Historic Maritime Protected Area in 2013. [18]
Lough Swilly in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three glacial fjords in Ireland.
The Apprentice Boys of Derry is a Protestant fraternal society with a worldwide membership of over 10,000, founded in 1814 and based in the city of Derry, Northern Ireland. There are branches in Ulster and elsewhere in Ireland, Scotland, England, Australia and Toronto, Canada. The society aims to commemorate the 1689 Siege of Derry when Catholic James II of England and Ireland and VII of Scotland laid siege to the walled city, which was at the time a Protestant stronghold. Apprentice Boys parades once regularly led to virulent opposition from the city's Irish nationalist majority, but recently a more conciliatory approach has taken place and now the parades are virtually trouble-free. The 2014 'Shutting of the Gates' parade was described as "the biggest in years" and was violence-free.
Rear admiral Sir John Berry was an English officer of the Royal Navy.
Robert Lundy was a Scottish army officer best known for serving as Governor of Londonderry during the early stages of the Siege of Derry.
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HMS Saldanha was a 36-gun Apollo-class frigate of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1809 and wrecked on the coast of Ireland in 1811. Before she was wrecked she participated in the capture of a noted French privateer.
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Events from the year 1689 in Ireland.
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HMS Jersey was a 40-gun fourth rate frigate of the English Navy, originally built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England at Maldon, and launched in 1654. By 1677 her armament had been increased to 48 guns.
HMS Pendennis was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Kingdom of England built at Chatham in 1677/79. She was in the War of English Succession. She was in the Battle of Bantry Bay. She was wrecked on the Kentish Knock in October 1689.
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They set sail from Liverpool on the 17th of May; but were delayed by contrary winds.