| Gloucester | 4481 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominal Guns | 52 | B028 | |
| Nationality | Great Britain | B028 | |
| Operator | The Royal Navy | B028 | |
| Ordered | 1652/12 | BWAS-1603 | |
| Acquired | 1654/03 | BWAS-1603 | |
| Shipyard | Limehouse | B028 | |
| Constructor | Mathew Graves | B065 | |
| Category | Third Rate | B028 | |
| Ship Type | Ship of the Line | B028 | |
| Wrecked | 1682/05/06 | B028 | |
Dimensions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimension | Measurement | Type | Metric Equivalent | B065 |
| Length of Keel | 117' 0" | Imperial Feet | 35.6616 | Breadth | 34' 10" | Imperial Feet | 10.6172 | Depth in Hold | 14' 6" | Imperial Feet | 4.4196 | Burthen | 755 | Tons BM |
| Dimension | Measurement | Type | Metric Equivalent | TRN2 |
| Draught Aft | 18' 0" | Imperial Feet | 5.4864 | |
| Dimension | Measurement | Type | Metric Equivalent | BWAS-1603 |
| Length of Keel | 117' 0" | Imperial Feet | 35.6616 | Breadth | 34' 10" | Imperial Feet | 10.6172 | Depth in Hold | 14' 6" | Imperial Feet | 4.4196 | Draught Aft | 17' 6" | Imperial Feet | 5.334 | Burthen | 755 11 /94 | Tons BM |
Armament | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1666 | Broadside Weight = 493 Imperial Pound ( 223.5755 kg) | BWAS-1603 | ||
| Gun Deck | 19 | British Demi-Cannon | ||
| Gun Deck | 34 | British Demi-Culverin | ||
| Gun Deck | 4 | British Culverin | ||
| Crew Complement | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | # of Men | Notes | Source |
| 1656/12/25 | 310 | 280 Sailors and 30 Soldiers | TRN2 |
| 1660 | 210 | BWAS-1603 | |
| 1666 | 280 | BWAS-1603 | |
| Commanders | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Rank | Name | Source |
| 1654 | 1656 | Captain | Benjamin Blake | BWAS-1603 |
| 1656 | 1656 | Captain | Richard Newberry | BWAS-1603 |
| 1658 | 1658 | Captain | Eustace Smith | BWAS-1603 |
| 1659 | 1659 | Captain | William Whitehorne | BWAS-1603 |
| 1664/06/10 | 1664/09/07 | Captain | Christopher Myngs | BWAS-1603 |
| 1664/09/08 | 1665/03/25 | Captain | John Harman | B051 |
| 1665/03/28 | 1666/06/09 | Captain | Robert Clarke | B051 |
| 1666/06/10 | 1667/10/26 | Captain | Richard May | B051 |
| 1672/01/16 | 1672/04/03 | Captain | John Holmes | BWAS-1603 |
| 1672/04/16 | 1673/08/12 | Captain | William Coleman | BWAS-1603 |
| 1673/08/14 | 1674/03/31 | Captain | Sir William Jennings | B051 |
| 1682/04/08 | 1682/05/06 | Captain | Sir John Berry | BWAS-1603 |
| Commissioned Officers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Rank | Name | Source |
| 1664 | 1664 | Lieutenant | Sir William Jennings | B051 |
| Service History | Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1654/12/25 | Left Spithead as part of Sir William Penn fleet for the Caribbean | BWAS-1603 |
| 1655/06/25 | Left in the West Indies when William Penn returned to England | TRN2 |
| 1665/06/03 | Present at the Battle of Lowestoft | |
| 1666 | Re-classed as a 60 gun Third Rate | |
| 1666/05/05 | While stationed of the Texel, intercepted a Dutch flotilla of twelve ships bound from the Baltic to Amsterdam, and took seven of them | TRN2 |
| 1666/06/01 | Present at the Four Days Battle | |
| 1666/07/25 | Present at the St James Day Battle | |
| 1672/03/13 | Present at the Battle of Smyrna Convoy | |
| 1672/05 | Flagship a squadron of ten sail watching the Dutch Ports, the squadron was chased to Sheerness by thirty Netherlands ships | TRN2 |
| 1673/05/28 | Present at the First Battle of Schooneveld | |
| 1673/06/04 | Present at the Second Battle of Schooneveld | |
| 1673/08/11 | Present at the Battle of Texel | |
| 1682/05/06 | Wrecked off Yarmouth | B028 |
| Notes on Ship | |
|---|---|
| Loss of the Gloucester | TRN2 |
| The year 1682 was a year of peace, and is mainly remarkable for the circumstances which attended the loss of the Gloucester, in which the Duke of York was on his way to Leith. The captain of the ship, and senior officer of the escorting squadron, was Sir John Berry; but the navigation of the vessel had been entrusted to Captain James Aire. The Gloucester, in the early morning of May 6th, ran upon the Lemon and Oar, and upwards of one hundred and thirty persons, including Robert, third Earl of Roxburghe, and several other noblemen and gentlemen of the Duke's suite, perished. There is some reason for believing that the ship was deliberately wrecked by Aire, acting as agent for a party of conspirators who desired the death of the Duke of York. | |
| Sources | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ID | Description | Author | Type |
| B028 | Ships of the Royal Navy - Volume I | J. J. Colledge | Book |
| BWAS-1603 | British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603 - 1714 | Rif Winfield | Book |
| B065 | The Ship of the Line Vol I | Brian Lavery | Book |
| TRN2 | The Royal Navy : a history from the earliest times to the present Vol II | William Laid Clowes | Digital Book |
| B051 | Biographia Navalis - Volume I | John Charnock | Book |