1677 Construction Programme

Group of 17th century Royal Navy ships June 2022 December 2022 1677 Construction Programme 1677 Construction Programme Portsmouth Dockyard Deptford Dockyard Harwich Dockyard Chatham Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard Francis Bayley, Bristol Sir Henry Johnson, Blackwall Kingdom of England Kingdom of Great Britain after 1707 Royal Oak 1674 2 1691 Programme Group 1677–1680 1679–1765 20 13 7 1677 Specifications 70/62-gun third-rate ship of the line 1,012 65 94 tons (bm) * 150 ft 0 in m 2 on gundeck * 121 ft 0 in m 2 on keel for tonnage 39 ft 8 in m 2 on 17 ft 0 in m 2 on ship-rigged 1677 – 460/380/300 personnel * 1677 Establishment 70/62 guns * 26 × demi-cannons 54 cwt – 9.5 ft (LD) * 26 × 12-pdr guns 32 cwt – 9 ft (UD) * 10 × sakers 16 cwt – 7 ft (QD) * 4 × sakers 16 cwt – 7 ft (Fc) * 4 × 3-pdr guns 5 cwt – 5 ft (RH) The 1677 Construction Programme was a group of Royal Navy ships of the line approved on 5 March 1677. This program authorised the construction of thirty new warships for the Royal Navy and was a compromise between the 40 ship programme proposed by Samuel Pepys in 1675 and the Parliamentary counter proposal of twenty ships in 1676.Winfield 2009 268 This programme included the construction of one first rate, nine second rates, and twenty third rate naval vessels.Clowes 1898, Chapter XXII, page 248 Design and specifications The design was to initiate standardisation in the ships to include the mast structures, rigging to stabilise the masts, and the sail plans. Included in this standardisation were the ordnance carried and crew size. The dimensions of the ships were to a standardised formula, though individual shipbuilders were still allowed to tweak the designs of individual ships. The standardised dimensions were for a gundeck of 150 ft 0 in m 2 off with a keel (length for tonnage calculation) of 121 ft 0 in m 2 off with a breadth of 39 ft 8 in m 2 off and a depth of hold on 17 ft 0 in m 2 off to obtain a builder's measure tonnage of 1,012 65 94 tons.Winfield 2009 268 The vessels were to have twenty-six gunports on both the lower and upper decks split evenly at thirteen per deck per side. Three vessels (Lenox, Hampton Court, and Captain) were initially to be completed with only twelve-gunports on the upper deck per side. The initial gun establishment would be for 70 guns in wartime and 62 guns for peacetime consisting of twenty-six demi-cannons (54 cwt, 9.5 ft) on the lower deck, twenty-six 12-pounder guns (32 cwt, 9 ft) on the upper deck, ten sakers (16 cwt, 7 ft) on the quarterdeck and four sakers (16 cwt, 7 ft) on the foc's'le with four 3-pounder guns (5 cwt, 5 ft) on the poop deck or roundhouse.Winfield 2009 268 As time progressed the established armament of the ships changed. In 1685 the gun armament changed to twenty-two demi-cannons and four culverins on the lower deck with the remaining guns being unchanged, In 1703 the guns were changed again. The Establishment for a 70/62-gun Third Rate was now twenty-four/twenty-two 24-pounder guns on the lower deck, twenty-six/twenty-four 9-pounder guns on the upper deck, Twelve/ten 6-pounder guns on the quarterdeck, four/two 6-pounder guns on the foc's’le, and four 4-pounder guns on the poop deck or roundhouse. The actual composition of the gun armaments varied and will be specified on the individual ship articles.Winfield 2009 268 The established crew complement for a Third Rate for sailors (personnel for the working of sails and rigging) would initially be 160 personnel, though it was later reduced to 150 personnel. Each gun would be assigned a specific gun manning: i.e. six men for a demi-cannon (or 32-pounder), culverins (or 18-pounder) would have five men, a 12-pounder would have four, sakers would have three men per gun and 5-pounders would have two men per gun.Clowes 1898, Chapter XXII, page 248 The establishment for a Third Rate was for a crew of 460/380/300 personnel based on the armament carried and whether it was wartime or peacetime conditions and the number of guns carried.Winfield 2009 268 Within this programme many new names would be instituted. Four vessels would be named for the illegitimate sons of the King, Charles II. HMS Lenox would be named for Charles Lennox, created the Duke of Lennox in 1675. HMS Burford would be named for Charles Beauclerk, created the Duke of Burford in 1676. HMS Grafton was named for Henry Fitzroy, created the Duke of Grafton in 1675. HMS Northumberland was named for George Fitzroy, created the Duke of Northumberland in 1678.Winfield 2009 269 Third Rates of the 1677 Programme + First Batch (1677 Orders)Winfield 2009 269–276 Ship's Name Builder Launch Date Remarks Lenox 1678 2 Deptford Dockyard 18 April 1678 Rebuilt Deptford 1701 Rebuilt Chatham 1721–26 sunk as breakwater Sheerness April 1756 Hampton Court 1678 2 Deptford Dockyard 10 July 1678 Rebuilt Blackwall 1701 taken by French 2 May 1707 Anne 1678 2 Chatham Dockyard November 1678 Ran ashore and burnt to avoid capture 6 July 1690 Restoration 1678 2 Harwich Dockyard 28 May 1678 Rebuilt Portsmouth 1702 Wrecked in Great Storm 26/27 November 1703 Berwick 1679 2 Chatham Dockyard May 1679 Rebuilt Deptford 1700 Hulked at Portsmouth October 1715 Broken at Portsmouth 1742 Burford 1679 2 Woolwich Dockyard November 1679 Rebuilt Deptford 1699 Wrecked 14 February 1719 Eagle 1679 2 Portsmouth Dockyard 31 January 1679 Rebuilt Chatham 1699 Wrecked 22 October 1707 Expedition 1679 2 Portsmouth Dockyard 10 September 1679 Rebuilt at Chatham 1699 Rebuilt Portsmouth 1709–14 Renamed Prince Frederick 2 January 1715 Rebuilt Deptford 1736–40 Converted to Lazerette 1764 Sold 1784 Grafton 1679 2 Woolwich Dockyard 17 May 1679 Rebuilt at Rotherhithe 1697 Captured off Brighton by French 2 May 1707 Pendennis 1679 2 Chatham Dockyard 1679 Wrecked on Kentish Knock 26 October 1689 Northumberland 1679 2 Francis Bayley, Bristol June 1679 Rebuilt Chatham 1699–1702 Wrecked in Great Storm 26/27 November 1703 Captain 1678 2 Woolwich Dockyard 1678 Laid up 1699 and rebuilt at Portsmouth 1706–08 Rebuilt Portsmouth Dockyard 1706/08 Rebuilt Portsmouth Dockyard 1720/22 Hulked Portsmouth 1739/40 Breaking completed Portsmouth May 1762 + Second Batch (1678 Orders)Winfield 2009 276–279 Ship's Name Builder Launch Date Remarks Essex 1679 2 Sir Henry Johnson, Blackwall 1679 Rebuilt at Rotherhithe 1699–1700 Rebuilt Woolwich Dockyard 1736–40 Wrecked Quiberon Bat 22 October 1759 Kent 1679 2 Sir Henry Johnson, Blackwall 1679 Rebuilt at Rotherhithe 1697–99 Rebuilt at Woolwich 1722 Breaking completed in December 1744 Exeter 1680 2 Sir Henry Johnson, Blackwall March 1680 Burnt by Accident Portsmouth 12 December 1691, hulked at Portsmouth and broken 1717 Suffolk 1680 2 Sir Henry Johnson, Blackwall May 1680 Rebuilt Blackwall 1699 Rebuilt Chatham 1716/18 Rebuilt Woolwich 1736–39 Broken 12 June 1765 Hope 1678 2 Robert Castle, Deptford 1678 Captured by French 16 April 1695, in French service, destroyed at Battle of Vigo 12 October 1702 Elizabeth 1679 2 Robert Castle, Deptford 3 March 1679 Rebuilt Portsmouth 1699–1704 Captured by French 23 November 1704 Stirling Castle 1679 2 Deptford Dockyard 29 July 1679 Rebuilt Chatham 1699 Wrecked in Great Storm 26/27 November 1703 Bredah 1679 2 Harwich Dockyard 26 September 1679 Destroyed by explosion in Cork Harbour 12 October 1690 Citations References Colledge (2020), Ships of the Royal Navy, by J.J. Colledge, revised and updated by Lt-Cdr Ben Warlow and Steve Bush, published by Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, Great Britain, © the estate of J.J. Colledge, Ben Warlow and Steve Bush 2020, EPUB 978-1-5267-9328-7 Clowes (1898). The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to the Present. by William Laird Clowes, published by Sampson Low, Marston & Company, London. England, © 1898 Winfield Rif 2009 British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714 Barnsley, South Yorkshire Seaforth 978-1-78346-924-6 Category:Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Category:1670s ships