The ''1649 Programme'' of five additional warships for the Navy of the new
English Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...
("to be frigate fashion") was approved by
the Council of State on 25 March 1649, less than two months after the execution of
King Charles I and the creation of a republican government. Three of these frigates, intended to be classed as
Fourth rate
In 1603 all English warships with a complement of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers, a six-tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided ...
s, were ordered in late March (although of these the
''Worcester'' would be delayed and altered while building to a
Third rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker).
Rating
When the rating system was f ...
), while on 12 April orders were placed for two larger Third rates to serve as flagships for the Winter Guard (
''Speaker'' and
''Fairfax''). The vessels as completed would actually have a varying number of guns and the dimensional data would vary considerably. They followed on from the three vessels ordered in December 1645 (the
1646 Programme Group) and four more in 1747 (the
1647 Programme Group).
Designs, specifications and reconstruction
The construction of the vessels was assigned to the state dockyards. The ships would be designed by and built under the supervision of the Master Shipwright of each Dockyard. As with most vessels of this time period only launch years are available. The dimensions and armament of these various frigates was so varied that it will be listed in the articles on the individual vessels.
[Winfield]
By 1660 all four surviving vessels had been reconstructed (although precise details of the work is unrecorded) and the ''Portsmouth'' and ''President'' were each established with 38 guns and 130 men, while the ''Worcester'' had 48 guns and 230 men and the ''Speaker'' had 50 guns and 220 men.
Ships of the 1649 Programme
Citations
References
* British Warships in the Age of Sail (1603 – 1714), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © Rif Winfield 2009, EPUB , Chapters 3 (the Third Rates) and 4 (the Fourth Rates - 'Small Ships'), Vessels acquired from 24 March 1603, 1649 Programme
* 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
{{1649 Programme Group
Frigates of the Royal Navy
Ships of the Royal Navy