''Assurance'' was a 32-gun

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 ...

of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Navy, built by Peter Pett I at

Deptford Dockyard Deptford Dockyard was an important Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and man ...

and launched in 1646. She was in the Parliamentary force during the English Civil War, then served as part of the Commonwealth Navy. During her time in the Commonwealth Navy she partook in the Battles of Dover, Portland, Gabbard and Texel. She foundered in a gale at Woolwich in 1660 and was salved. After the Restoration she was incorporated into the new

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and took part in the

Battle of Lowestoft The Battle of Lowestoft took place on during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the Dutch Republic, United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam, Jacob van Wassenaer, Lord Obdam, at ...

in 1665, the

Four Days' Battle The Four Days' Battle was a naval engagement fought from 11 to 14 June 1666 (1–4 June O.S.) during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. It began off the Flemish coast and ended near the English coast, and remains one of the longest naval battles in ...

in 1666, and the

Battle of Texel The naval Battle of Texel or Battle of Kijkduin took place off the western coast of the island of Texel on 21 August 1673 (11 August O.S.) between the Dutch and the combined English and French fleets. It was the last major battle of the T ...

in 1673. She was reduced to a Fifth Rate in 1690 before being sold in 1698. ''Assurance'' was the second vessel to carry that name, since it had been used for a 48-gun

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...

named ''Hope'' launched at Deptford in 1559, rebuilt and renamed ''Assurance'' in 1604 and broken up in 1645.

Construction and specifications

She was ordered in December 1645 from Deptford Dockyard to be built under the supervision of Master Shipwright Peter Pett I. She was launched in 1646. Her dimensions were length of gundeck, length of keel for tonnage, breadth , depth in hold , with a draught of . The tonnage calculation was thus 340 tons. She was subsequently girdled to improve stability, raising her breadth to , her depth in hold dropped to and her tonnage rose to 400 bm. A later report quoted her with a burthen tonnage of 456, signifying a possible later re-girdling to a breadth of . Her /armament varied during her time as a fourth rate. When she was launched she had 32 guns, with 11 pairs of gunports on the single gundeck. In 1666 she carried 38 guns: ten

culverin A culverin was initially an ancestor of the hand-held arquebus, but the term was later used to describe a type of medieval and Renaissance cannon. The word is derived from the antiquated "culuering" and the French (from " grass snake", follo ...

s,A culverin was a gun of 4,500 pounds with a 5.5-inch bore firing a 17.5-pound shot with a 12-pound powder charge. twenty-four demi-culverinsA demi-culverin was a gun of 3,400 pounds with a four-inch bore firing a 9.5-pound shot with an eight-pound powder charge. and four sakers.Brian Lavery, ''The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War 1600 – 1815'', p.102A sacar or saker was a gun of 1,400 pounds with a 3.5-inch bore firing a 5.5-pound shot with a 5.5-pound powder charge. By this time she had a full-length upper deck, with 11 pairs of gunports, plus 2 pairs on the quarterdeck for sakers or 3-pounders. In 1677 her gun armament was 42 guns in wartime and 38 guns in peacetime. Her armament consisted of twenty demi-culverins, eighteen 6-pounder guns and four sakers. In 1685 her armament was 42 guns consisting of ten culverins, twelve demi-culverins, sixteen 6-pounder guns and four 3-pounder guns. She was completed with an initial cost of £2,352The cost accounting for inflation of approximately £ in reference to today. or 336 tons @ £7The cost accounting for inflation of approximately £ in reference to today. per ton.

Commissioned service

Service in the English Civil War

She was commissioned in 1646 for service with the Parliamentary forces under Captain William Penn for service in the Winter Guard through 1647. She was in the Irish Sea in 1647 through 1649.

Service in the Commonwealth Navy

In 1650 she was under the command of Captain Benjamin Blake with Robert Blake's Fleet at Tagus. She took a 28-gun Portuguese frigate in single combat in October 1650. She returned home in 1650. She again was under Captain Penn in the Mediterranean in 1651. At the

Battle of Dover The Battle of Dover may refer to: * Battle of Sandwich (1217), also known as Battle of Dover, 24 August 1217, a naval engagement between England and France in the First Barons' War * Battle of Dover (1652) The naval Battle of Dover , fought on ...

she was a member of Rear-Admiral Nehemiah Bourne's squadron of nine ships on 19 May 1652. This battle is sometimes recorded as the 'Battle of Goodwin Sands. At the

Battle of Kentish Knock The Battle of the Kentish Knock (or the Battle of the Zealand Approaches) was a naval battle between the fleets of the Dutch Republic and England, fought on 28 September 1652 (8 October Gregorian calendar), during the First Anglo-Dutch War near ...

she was a member of Robert Blake's Fleet of sixty-eight ships on 28 September 1652. Then she was under Captain Robert Sanders at the

Battle of Portland The naval Battle of Portland, or Three Days' Battle, took place during 18–20 February 1653 (28 February – 2 March 1653 (Gregorian calendar)), during the First Anglo-Dutch War, when the fleet of the Commonwealth of England under General at ...

. Later in 1653 Captain Philip Holland took command. She partook in the

Battle of the Gabbard The Battle of the Gabbard, was a naval battle fought from 2 to 3 June 1653 during the First Anglo-Dutch War. It took place near the Gabbard shoal off the coast of Suffolk, England, between fleets of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Repu ...

as a member of White Squadron, Rear Division on 2/3 June 1653. This fight was followed by the

Battle of Scheveningen The Battle of Scheveningen was the final naval battle of the First Anglo-Dutch War. It took place on July 31st 1653 between the fleets of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic. The Dutch fleet suffered heavy losses. Background A ...

where she was a member of White Squadron, Rear Division on 31 July 1653. She was off the Dutch coast for the winter of 1653/54. She joined Robert Blake's Fleet in the Mediterranean in August 1655 remaining with him until July 1656, when she returned home for service in the English Channel. She partook in operations in the Sound in 1659. She foundered at Woolwich on 9 December 1660 with the loss of 20 of her crew.

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

states in his diary that ''Assurance'' sank near

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

during a storm in December 1660, with the loss of twenty men. He visited the site a few days later. The ship was subsequently refloated by 17 December.

Service after the Restoration in 1660

On 4 May 1661 she was under the command of John Tyrwhitt and was with the Earl of Sandwich's squadron at Tangiers, then Algiers on 31 July. She was with Lawson's squadron in the Mediterranean later in the year. On 7 September 1664 she was under command of Captain John Jeffereys. She partook in the

as a member of White Squadron, Center Division on 3 June 1665. On 18 June she was under Captain Philmon Bacon She was in action on 3/4 September 1665 and captured the 50-gun ''Westfriesland''. On 18 September 1665 she was under the command of Captain Thomas Guy. She participated in the Battle of the Galloper Sand (also known as the

) in Prince Rupert's Squadron, Van Division on 4 June 1666 losing 3 killed with 4 wounded. Captain John Narborough took command on 11 June 1666. She was at the

Battle of Orfordness The St James' Day Battle took place on 25 July 1666 (4 August 1666 in the Gregorian calendar), during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. It was fought between an English fleet commanded jointly by Prince Rupert of the Rhine and George Monck, and a ...

as a member of White Squadron, Center Division on 25 July 1666. She was also present in the attack on Dutch shipping in the

Vlie The Vlie or Vliestroom () is the seaway between the Dutch islands of Vlieland, to its southwest, and Terschelling, to its northeast. The Vlie was the estuary of the river IJssel in medieval times. Today it's still possible to reach the port of ...

(also known as

Holmes's Bonfire Holmes's Bonfire was a Raid (military), raid on the Vlie estuary in the Netherlands, executed by the English Fleet during the Second Anglo-Dutch War on 19 and 20 August 1666 New Style (9 and 10 August Old Style). The attack, named after the comma ...

) on 9/10 August 1666. In June 1667 she sailed for the West Indies with Rear Admiral John Harmon's Squadron for Martinique. She was in action there on 24/25 June before returning to Home Waters. Captain Ralph Lassells took command on 15 May 1672. She was at the

Battles of Schooneveld The Battles of Schooneveld were two naval battles of the Franco-Dutch War, fought off the coast of the Netherlands on 7 June and 14 June 1673 (New Style; 28 May and 4 June in the Julian calendar then in use in England) between an allied Anglo ...

as part of Red Squadron, Rear Division first on 28 May and then 4 June 1673. She was at the

on 11 August 1673. Captain Sir Robert Robinson took command on 1 May 1676 for service in the Mediterranean. She moved to the English Channel under Captain Thomas Lovell who took command on 14 May 1678 for service in the English Channel. On 19 May 1680 she was under Captain Stephen Akerman and sailed for Newfoundland, then later was in the Soundings and finally with the Herring convoy in 1682/83. 24 May 1688 saw Captain Randall M'Donald in Command with Dartmouth's Fleet. Captain M'Donald was dismissed on 13 December 1688. In 1689 she was under command of Captain Simon Foulkes off Dunkirk. In 1690 Captain John Mayne was her commander with the Fleet. Also in 1690 she was reduced to a Fifth Rate. In 1691 Captain Isaac Townsend took command and sailed to Virginia in 1692. Captain John Price followed by Captain William Fazeby were her commanders as she served as guardship at Sheerness.

Disposition

''Assurance'' was sold in 1698.

Notes

Citations

References

* Rif Winfield (2009), ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603 – 1714'', published by Seaforth Publishing, England, , EPUB * Jim Colledge, ''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, © 2020, EPUB , (EPUB), Section A (Assurance), Section H (Hope) * Brian Lavery (1987), ''The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War 1600 – 1815'', published by Conway Maritime Press, {{DEFAULTSORT:Assurance (1646) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Ships built in Deptford 1640s ships Ships of the English navy