HMS ''Royal Katherine'' (HMS ''Ramillies'' after 1706) was an 84-gun

full-rigged A full-rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing ship, sailing vessel with a sail plan of three or more mast (sailing), masts, all of them square rig, square-rigged. Such a vessel is said to have a ship rig or be ship-rigged, with each mas ...

second-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

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 ...

, launched in 1664 at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich - originally in north-west Kent, now in southeast London - whe ...

. Her launching was conducted by Charles II and attended by

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 ...

. ''Royal Katherine'' fought in both the

Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

and

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 ...

s and afterwards, the

War of the Grand Alliance The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

before entering the dockyard at Portsmouth for rebuilding in 1702. In this rebuilding, she was upgraded to carry more guns, 90 in total, and served 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 ...

during which she was renamed ''Ramillies'' in honour of John Churchill's victory at the

Battle of Ramillies The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand AllianceAustria, England, and the Dutch Republicthe battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon armies of K ...

. She was rebuilt again in 1742–3 before serving as the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of the ill-fated Admiral

John Byng Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral John Byng (baptised 29 October 1704 – 14 March 1757) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participate ...

in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. ''Ramillies'' was wrecked at Bolt Tail near

Hope Cove Hope Cove is a small seaside village within the civil parish of South Huish in South Hams district, Devon, England. It is located west of Salcombe and south west of Kingsbridge. It has two beaches, and is sheltered by the headland of Bolt Tai ...

on 15 February 1760.

Launch

''Royal Katherine'' was launched in 1664 by Charles II, an event attended by naval administrator

. Pepys recorded the occasion in his diary and it was dramatised by

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

in 2012 as part of series 5 of ''The Diary of Samuel Pepys''.

Anglo-Dutch wars

''Royal Katherine'' participated in 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 ...

fighting 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 ...

on 13 June 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 ...

from 11 June to 14 June 1666 and the St. James's Day Battle on 4 August 1666. She was scuttled in June 1667 to prevent her capture by the Dutch during the

Raid on the Medway The Raid on the Medway, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in June 1667, was a successful attack conducted by the Dutch navy on English warships laid up in the fleet anchorages off Chatham Dockyard and Gillingham in the county of Kent. At th ...

. Refloated, ''Royal Katherine'' fought again during the

of 1672–4. She was captured by the Dutch during the

Battle of Solebay The Battle of Solebay took place on 6 June 1672 New Style, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, near Southwold, Suffolk, in eastern England. A Dutch States Navy, Dutch fleet under Michiel de Ruyter attacked a combined Kingdom of England, Anglo-King ...

on 7 June 1672 but was retaken the same day. ''Royal Katherine'' was also part of the Anglo-French fleet for the

Battle 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 ...

. She saw action in the

, fighting at the

Battle of Barfleur The action at Barfleur was part of the battle of Barfleur-La Hougue during the War of the Grand Alliance. A French fleet under Anne Hilarion de Tourville was seeking to cover an invasion of England by a French army to restore James II to the ...

on 29 May 1692.

Rebuilds

''Royal Katherine'' was rebuilt at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in 1702 and became a 90-gun second rate. She served as the flagship of Admiral

George Rooke Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke (1650 – 24 January 1709) was an Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and again at the Battle of Schooneveld duri ...

in the

from 1701. Between 1 and 4 August 1704 Anglo-Dutch forces of the Grand Alliance under

Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt Prince George Louis of Hessen-Darmstadt (25 April 1669 – 13 September 1705) was a Field Marshal in the Austrian army. He is known for his career in Habsburg Spain, as Viceroy of Catalonia (1698–1701), head of the Austrian army in the War of ...

together with Admiral Sir George Rooke, flying his flag aboard HMS Royal Katherine, lead Royal Navy and Royal Marines units to capture Gibraltar. In 1706 she was renamed ''Ramillies'' in honour of John Churchill's victory at the

fought that year. ''Ramillies'' was rebuilt again 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 ...

between 30 November 1742 and 8 February 1743. She remained a 90-gun second rate in accordance with 1741 proposals 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 ...

, relaunching on 8 February. She saw service in the

and was the flagship of Admiral

when he failed to relieve Port Mahon and so lost the island of Minorca to the French. Byng was later controversially executed for this action.

Wreck

''Ramillies'' was wrecked at Bolt Tail near

on 15 February 1760. The

ship's master The master, or sailing master, is a historical rank for a naval officer trained in and responsible for the navigation of a sailing vessel. In the Royal Navy, the master was originally a warrant officer who ranked with, but after, the lieutenant ...

had mistaken their location as ''Ramillies'' approached the Devon shore, and the vessel was already within Hope Bay when the error was identified. There was a strong onshore wind and ''Ramillies'' captain ordered the anchors lowered to hold the vessel fast until it could turn back to open sea, but no purchase could be found on the sandy seabed and the ship continued to drift towards the coast.Rodger 1986, p. 46 After several hours she struck the cliffs beneath Bolt Tail and sank; twenty-six seamen and one midshipman survived from her crew of 850 men. The sinking became the subject of a popular contemporary folk song, "The Loss of the Ramillies", a version of which has been recorded by the English folk band Brass Monkey.Loss of the Ramillies at sniff.numachi.com
/ref>

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850''. Conway Maritime Press. . *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Katherine (1664) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Ships built in Woolwich Maritime incidents in 1760 1660s ships