HMS ''Gloucester'' was a 50-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 ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

built at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

Joseph Allin Joseph Allin was an 18th-century shipbuilder to the Royal Navy. His works merge with those of his namesake son who was also a Master Shipwright at Portsmouth Dockyard and later Surveyor to the Navy at which point he became Sir Joseph Allin. Jo ...

the elder for the

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 ...

in 1710/11. She participated in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

. The ship was burned to prevent capture after she was damaged in a storm during

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

George Anson's voyage around the world While Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain was fighting the War of Jenkins' Ear with Spain in 1740, Commodore (Royal Navy), Commodore George Anson, 1st Baron Anson, George Anson led a squadron of eight ships on a mission to disrupt or captur ...

in 1742.

Description

''Gloucester'' had a length at the

gundeck The term gun deck used to refer to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides. The term is generally applied to decks enclosed under a roof; smaller and unrated vessels carried their guns ...

of and at the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

. She had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of and a depth of

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (compartment), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called ...

of . The ship's

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on '' tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a cal ...

was 714 tons burthen.Winfield 2009, p. 849. ''Gloucester'' was armed with twenty-two 18-pounder cannon on her main

, twenty-two 9-pounder cannon on her upper gundeck, and four 6-pounder cannon each on the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

and

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck (ship), deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is t ...

.Lavery, p. 168. The ship had a crew of 185–280 officers and ratings.

Construction and career

''Gloucester'', named after the eponymous port, was the fourth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy.Colledge, p. 143 She was ordered on 29 July 1710 and was built by Master Shipwright

to the

1706 Establishment The 1706 Establishment was the first formal set of dimensions for ships of the Royal Navy. Two previous sets of dimensions had existed before, though these were only for specific shipbuilding programs running for only a given amount of time. In ...

of dimensions 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 ...

. The ship was launched on 4 October 1711 and commissioned that same year under

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

James Carlton for service in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. ''Gloucester'' was ordered to be dismantled to be rebuilt to the dimensions of the

1719 Establishment The 1719 Establishment was a set of mandatory requirements governing the construction of all Royal Navy warships capable of carrying more than 20 naval long guns. It was designed to bring economies of scale through uniform vessel design, and e ...

Sheerness Sheerness () is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby ...

on 6 November 1724 and this was completed on 20 January 1725. The rebuilding was suspended until 22 May 1733 when the ship was reordered to the 1733 revisions; she was relaunched on 22 March 1737.Lavery, p. 171.

Fate

In 1742 ''Gloucester'' was damaged in a storm under Captain

Matthew Michell Captain Matthew Michell (often misspelt Mitchell, 1705 – 29 April 1752) was an English politician and Royal Navy officer. He served in the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Westbury from 1748 until his death. Naval service Early ...

, and she was burned in order to avoid her being captured. Her fate and other mentions of her voyage are described in the 2023 book The Wager by

David Grann David Elliot Grann (born March 10, 1967) is an American journalist, a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'', and author. His first book, '' The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon,'' was published by Doubleday in February 200 ...

Notes

References

* * * Winfield, Rif (2009) ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.'' Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. . *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gloucester (1711) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1710s ships Maritime incidents in 1742