The ''Langport'' was a 52-gun

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 ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

ordered in December 1652 for the navy of the

Commonwealth of England 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 ...

and built by shipbuilder William Bright at

Horsleydown Southwark St John Horsleydown was a small parish on the south bank of the River Thames in London, opposite the Tower of London. The name Horsleydown, apparently derived from the "horse lie-down" next to the river, is no longer used. The pari ...

Bermondsey Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She was launched in 1654, and named for the Parliamentary victory at the

Battle of Langport The Battle of Langport took place on 10 July 1645 during the First English Civil War, near Langport in Somerset. Following its previous success at Naseby in June, in the Battle of Langport, the New Model Army under Sir Thomas Fairfax destr ...

in 1645. She took part in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on 20 April 1657. After

the Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state. This may refer to: *Conservation and restoration of cultural property **Audio restoration **Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property **Film restoration ** Image ...

in 1660, the ''Langport'' was taken 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 renamed HMS ''Henrietta'' after the Queen Consort. By 1666 her armament had officially risen to 58 guns, comprising 20

demi-cannon The demi-cannon was a medium-sized cannon, similar to but slightly larger than a culverin and smaller than a regular cannon, developed in the early 17th century. A full cannon fired a 42-pound shot, but these were discontinued in the 18th centur ...

, 4

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, 26 12-pounders and 8

demi-culverin The demi-culverin was a medium cannon similar to but slightly larger than a saker and smaller than a regular culverin developed in the late 16th century. Barrels of demi-culverins were typically about long, had a calibre of and could weigh up to ...

s; however, she actually carried 22 demi-cannon, 4 culverins, 37 demi-culverins and 2 sakers. During the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...

the ''Henrietta'' 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, and in 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 ...

and the

St James's Day Fight 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 ...

in 1666. Post-war she was reduced to 60 guns, although by 1673 this has become 62 guns. In the

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War, began on 27 March 1672, and concluded on 19 February 1674. A naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France, it is considered a related conflict of the wider 1672 to 1678 Franco-Dutch W ...

she fought in both

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 ...

and in 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 ...

during 1673. The ''Henrietta'' was wrecked during a storm in the

Cattewater The city of Plymouth, Devon, England is bounded by Dartmoor to the north, the Hamoaze to the west, the open expanse of water called Plymouth Sound to the south and the river Plym to the east. The Cattewater is that stretch of water where the mout ...

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...

on Christmas Day of 1689.

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *Winfield, Rif (2009) ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates''. Seaforth Publishing. . Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1650s ships Speaker-class ships of the line Ships of the English navy {{UK-line-ship-stub