History | |
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Name | HMS Royal William |
Ordered | 30 December 1823 |
Builder | Pembroke Dockyard |
Laid down | October 1825 |
Launched | 2 April 1833 |
Fate | Burnt, 1899 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type | Broadened Caledonia-class ship of the line |
Tons burthen | 2694 bm |
Length | 205 ft 5.5 in (62.624 m) (gundeck) |
Beam | 54 ft 6 in (16.61 m) |
Depth of hold | 23 ft 2 in (7.06 m) |
Propulsion | Sails |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Armament |
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HMS Royal William was a 120-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 2 April 1833 at Pembroke Dock having taken eight years to build. [1] She was one of the largest ships ever built by the Royal Navy at that time, with a crew of 900 men. However, she was built during the long period of peace in Great Britain and never saw any meaningful service.
Royal William was fitted with screw propulsion in 1860 but never put into seagoing state for operation. [1] In 1885 she was lent to the Liverpool Roman Catholic Reformatory Society, who renamed her HMS Clarence [2] to replace their first reformatory school ship of that name destroyed by arson in 1884. As the new Clarence, she was ultimately also destroyed by arson, on 26 July 1899 on the River Mersey near New Ferry on the Wirral Peninsula in England. [2] [3]
The figurehead of Royal William (in its original state) was for many years placed beside the historic 1775 Mutton Cove "covered slip number 1" in Plymouth harbour. In the 1990s it was replaced by a fibreglass copy, the wooden original is now preserved in The Box, Plymouth.
The "Royal William" public house in Liverpool was named after the ship. The pub was demolished in 1998.
HMS Minden was a Royal Navy 74-gun Ganges-class third-rate ship of the line, launched on 19 June 1810 from Bombay, India. She was named after the German town Minden and the Battle of Minden of 1759, a decisive victory of British and Prussian forces over France in the Seven Years' War. The town is about 75 km away from Hanover, from where the House of Hanover comes—the dynasty which ruled the United Kingdom from 1714 until 1901.
HMS Ganges was an 84-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 10 November 1821 at Bombay Dockyard, constructed from teak. She was the last sailing ship of the Navy to serve as a flagship, and was the second ship to bear the name.
HMS Cornwall was a 74-gun third-rate Vengeur-class ship of the line built for the Royal Navy in the 1810s. She spent most of her service in reserve and was converted into a reformatory and a school ship in her later years. The ship was broken up in 1875.
HMS Royal Oak was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Jonas Shish at Deptford and launched in 1674. She was one of only three Royal Navy ships to be equipped with the Rupertinoe naval gun. Life aboard her when cruising in the Mediterranean Sea in 1679 is described in the diary of Henry Teonge.
HMS Raisonnable was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, named after the ship of the same name captured from the French in 1758. She was built at Chatham Dockyard, launched on 10 December 1768 and commissioned on 17 November 1770 under the command of Captain Maurice Suckling, Horatio Nelson's uncle. Raisonnable was built to the same lines as HMS Ardent, and was one of the seven ships forming the Ardent class of 1761. Raisonnable was the first ship in which Nelson served.
HMS Cambridge was an 80-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Joseph Allin and built at Deptford Dockyard by Adam Hayes to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 21 October 1755.
The Caledonia-class ships of the line were a class of nine 120-gun first rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir William Rule. A tenth ship was ordered on 29 October 1827 to the same design, but was launched in 1833 as Queen to a fresh design by Sir William Symonds.
HMS Waterloo was a 120-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 10 June 1833 at Chatham.
HMS Impregnable was a 104-gun first rate three-decker ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 1 August 1810 at Chatham. She was designed by Sir William Rule, and was the only ship built to her draught.
HMS Union was a 98-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 November 1811 at Plymouth Dockyard.
HMS Caesar, also Cæsar, was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 November 1793 at Plymouth. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only ship built to her draught. She was also one of only two British-built 80-gun ships of the period, the other being HMS Foudroyant.
HMS Agincourt was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 March 1817 at Devonport.
HMS Royal Sovereign was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard and launched in July 1701. She had been built using some of the salvageable timbers from the previous Royal Sovereign, which had been destroyed by fire in 1697.
HMS Nile was a two-deck 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 June 1839 at Plymouth Dockyard. She was named to commemorate the Battle of the Nile in 1798. After service in the Baltic Sea and the North America and West Indies Station, she was converted to a training ship and renamed HMS Conway, surviving in that role until 1953.
HMS Clarence was an 84-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 25 July 1827 at Pembroke Dockyard. The second navy ship to bear the name, she was ordered as HMS Goliath but renamed in 1826 prior to completion.
HMS Cumberland was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 October 1842 at Chatham Dockyard. She carried a crew of 620 men.
HMS Lichfield was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Portsmouth Dockyard and launched on 4 February 1695.
HMS St Albans was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Rotherhithe and launched on 10 December 1706.
HMS Plymouth was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Devonport Dockyard to the 1706 Establishment of dimensions, and launched on 25 May 1708.
HMS Neptune was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Portsmouth Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 17 July 1757.