HMS ''Nonsuch'' 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 ...

of 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 ...

, one of four ordered in September 1694 ( ''Blackwall'' and ''Guernsey'' on 12 September and ''Nonsuch'' and ''Warwick'' on 25 September) to be built by commercial contracts; eight further ships of this type were ordered on 24 December (six to be built by contract and two in Royal Dockyards). The ''Nonsuch'' was built by Robert and John Castle at their

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 ...

shipyard and launched on 20 August 1696.Rif Winfield, ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714'', p.136. On 22 June 1715 she was ordered to undergo a major Repair (in effect, a rebuilding) which was undertaken by Master Shipwright John Naish at

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is loc ...

. Work commenced in August 1716 and the ship was re-launched on 29 April 1717. She was not recommissioned until May 1722 after being sheathed for a voyage to the Guinea coast of Africa, for which she sailed in January 1723 under the command of Captain

Lord Archibald Hamilton Lord Archibald Hamilton (1673 – 5 April 1754) was a Royal Navy officer, nobleman and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons from 1708 to 1747. In the 1690's, he was ...

. From there she proceeded to the West Indies, returning to Portsmouth to pay off in July 1724.Rif Winfield, ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792'', p.143. The ''Nonsuch'' was converted into a hulk in 1740 (with a new ship to be built in her stead), and she continued to serve in this capacity until 1745, when she was broken up.

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850''. Conway Maritime Press. . * Winfield, Rif (1997), ''The 50-Gun Ship: A Complete History''. Chatham Publishing (1st edition); Mercury Books (2nd edition 2005). . * Winfield, Rif (2009) ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.'' Seaforth Publishing. . * Winfield, Rif (2007) ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.'' Seaforth Publishing. . Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1690s ships {{UK-line-ship-stub