 Sir Cloudesly Shovel in the Association with the Eagle, Rumney and the Firebrand, lost on the rocks of Scilly | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Firebrand |
| Builder | Limehouse [1] |
| Launched | 1694 |
| Fate | Ran aground in 1707 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Fireship |
| Tons burthen | 268 bm [2] |
| Complement | 45 [2] |
| Armament |
|
Firebrand was a Royal Navy fireship built at Limehouse in 1694, [3] the first Royal Naval vessel to bear the name.
Firebrand served in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. [2] She is recorded as convoying five merchantmen in company with Winchester near Barbados in March 1695. [4]
Firebrand was lost during the Scilly naval disaster of 1707 when a navigational error sent Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet through dangerous reefs west of Cornwall while on their way from Gibraltar to Portsmouth. On the night of 22 October 1707, Firebrand, commanded by Captain Francis Percy, smashed into the Outer Gilstone Rock off the Isles of Scilly. She was lifted off by a huge wave first, and Percy managed to steer his badly damaged ship along the southern side of the Western Rocks [5] between St Agnes and Annet, but she foundered in Smith Sound, sinking close to Menglow Rock and losing 28 of her crew of 40. [6] Percy and a group of his men managed to get ashore by boat, another five of the crew got ashore on pieces of wreckage. [7] Three more ships (Eagle, Romney and Shovell's flagship Association) also sank that night, bringing the total of sailors lost to nearly 2,000. [8] The Scilly naval disaster was one of the greatest maritime disasters in British history. It was largely as a result of this disaster that the Board of the Admiralty instituted a competition for a more precise method to determine longitude.
Firebrand lies between the islands of St Agnes and the islet of Annet in position 49°53′20″N06°20′35″W / 49.88889°N 6.34306°W [9] at a depth of 8 to 25 meters. [10] The wreck was discovered in Smith Sound in 1982, and several items were recovered, including guns and anchors, a wooden "nocturne" (for the time at night), a bell and carved cherubs. [11] In 2006, researchers and students from Bristol University conducted the first archaeological survey of the vessel. This was also the first physical study of this type of Royal Navy ship. [1] [2]
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and then at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a captain he fought at the Battle of Bantry Bay during the Williamite War in Ireland.
Rear-Admiral Sir John Narborough was an English naval commander. He served with distinction in the Anglo-Dutch Wars and against the pirates of the Barbary Coast. He is also known for leading a poorly understood expedition to Valdivia and Patagonia in 1670–1671. In the 1680s he was involved in the scavenging of wrecked Spanish treasure ships.
Association was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1697. She served with distinction at the capture of Gibraltar, and was lost in 1707 by grounding on the Isles of Scilly in the greatest maritime disaster of the age. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.
HMS Somerset was a three-decker 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Chatham Dockyard on 31 May 1698. She was the first ship to bear the name.
Tresco Abbey Gardens are located on the island of Tresco in the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom. The 17 acre gardens were established by the nineteenth-century proprietor of the islands, Augustus Smith, originally as a private garden within the grounds of the home he designed and built. The gardens are designated at Grade I in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
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 St Andrew was a 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard under the supervision of Christopher Pett until his death in March 1668, completed by Jonas Shish, and launched in 1670. Commanded by George Churchill, she took part in the 1692 victory over the French navy at Barfleur & La Hogue.
HMS Swiftsure was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Sir Anthony Deane at Harwich, and launched in 1673. By 1685 she had been reduced to a 66-gun ship.
HMS Eagle was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard on 31 January 1679.
HMS Torbay was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford Dockyard on 16 December 1693. In 1707, she served as flagship of Rear-Admiral of the Blue Sir John Norris and belonged to Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet. She saw action during the unsuccessful Battle of Toulon and was present during the great naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly when Shovell and four of his ships were lost, claiming the lives of nearly 2,000 sailors. Torbay suffered little to no damage and finally managed to reach Portsmouth.
HMS Orford was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford in 1698. She carried twenty-two 24-pounder guns and four (18-pounder) culverins on the lower deck; twenty-six 12-pounder guns on the upper deck; fourteen (5-pounder) sakers on the quarter-deck and forecastle; and four 3-pounder guns on the poop or roundhouse.
HMS Romney was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Blackwall Yard on 23 October 1694. Commanded by Captain William Coney, Romney was wrecked on the Scilly Isles on 26 October 1707 when a disastrous navigational error sent Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet through dangerous reefs while on their way from Gibraltar to Portsmouth. Four ships were lost, with nearly 2,000 sailors. Romney hit Bishop Rock and went down with all but one of her crew. The sole survivor was George Lawrence, who had worked as a butcher before joining the crew of Romney as quartermaster. The Scilly naval disaster was one of the greatest maritime disasters in British history. It was largely as a result of this disaster that the Board of the Admiralty instituted a competition for a more precise method to determine longitude.
HMS Panther was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard and launched on 15 March 1703.
HMS Phoenix was originally built as a fireship. In 1707, she belonged to Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet. She saw action during the unsuccessful Battle of Toulon and was present during the great naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly when Shovell and four of his ships were lost, claiming the lives of nearly 2,000 sailors. Phoenix ran ashore between Tresco and St Martin's and had to be beached, but could be kept seaworthy and finally managed to reach Portsmouth. In 1709, the former fireship was re-built as a 20-gun sixth-rate frigate. When under the command of Vincent Pearse, she sailed to Nassau, Bahamas in February 1718, to offer the king's pardon to pirates who were willing to surrender and abandon piracy. She also played a minor role in the 1740 Siege of St. Augustine during the War of Jenkins' Ear. In 1741, under the command of Captain Fanshaw, she was involved in the defence of Charlestown, South Carolina from Spanish pirates.
The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 was the loss of four warships of a Royal Navy fleet off the Isles of Scilly in severe weather on 22 October 1707. Between 1,400 and 2,000 sailors lost their lives aboard the wrecked vessels, making the incident one of the worst maritime disasters in British naval history. The disaster has been attributed to a combination of factors, including the navigators' inability to accurately calculate their positions, errors in the available charts and pilot books, and inadequate compasses.
The Naval Air Command Sub Aqua Club (NACSAC) was an organisation within the Royal Navy that oversaw sports and technical diving training activities for naval aviation and fleet units. Today it has branches at RNAS Culdrose and RNAS Yeovilton. Both bases provide training, and club members regularly dive in their local areas on weekends. Diving instruction, from beginner to advanced level, is offered under the auspices of the British Sub-Aqua Club. In 2005 NAC-SAC was closed down as an organisation in favour of a Royal Navy Sub Aqua Club, which is what Lieut. Graham and CPO Larn had wanted from the outset of NAC-SAC which was only given that title since HMS Vernon, the RN Diving School at Portsmouth, would not support the idea of sport diving within the service.
The Western Rocks are a group of uninhabited skerries and rocks in the south–western part of the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom, and are renowned for the numerous shipwrecks in the area and the nearby Bishop Rock lighthouse. In 1971, the rocks and islands were designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for their breeding sea birds. Landing on the islands is both difficult and discouraged and there are few published records of visits by naturalists.
Richard James Vincent Larn, OBE is a retired Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Navy, a businessman and maritime history writer who is widely regarded as one of Britain's leading historic shipwreck experts.
The Tearing Ledge Wreck consists of the remains of a ship, possibly one of the ships belonging to Admiral Cloudisley Shovell's fleet of 21 vessels returning from the Siege of Toulon via Gibraltar, that were found in 1969 on Tearing Ledge, Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly. The site was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act on 12 February 1975. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by the National Heritage List for England.
