HMS ''Anne'' was a 70-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). Years of experience proved that the third r ...
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 tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...
of the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, built under the 1677 Construction Programme by
Phineas Pett II Phineas () is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Phineas, an Anglicized name for the priest Phinehas in the Hebrew Bible
* King Phineas, the first king of the Beta Israel in Ethiopia
* Phineas Banning (1830–1885), Am ...
at
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...
during 1677/78.
She fought in the War of English Succession 1688 to 1697. She fought in the Battle of Beachy Head where she was severely damaged and ran aground. She was burnt by the English to avoid capture by the French. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...
.
She was the sixth vessel to bear the name ''Anne'' since it was used for a ballinger built at Southampton in 1416 and sold on 26 June 1426.
Construction and Specifications
She was ordered in April 1677 to be built at Chatham Dockyard under the guidance of Master Shipwright Phineas Pett. She was launched in November 1678. Her dimensions were a gundeck of with a keel of for tonnage calculation with a breadth of and a depth of hold of . Her builder's measure tonnage was calculated as 1,051
tons. Her draught was .
[Winfield (2009), Chapter 3, Vessels acquired from 2 May 1660, 1677 Construction Programme, First Batch (1677 Orders), Anne][Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 162.]
Her initial gun armament was in accordance with the 1677 Establishment with 72/60 guns consisting of twenty-six demi-cannons (54 cwt, 9.5 ft) on the lower deck, twenty-four 12-pounder guns (32 cwt, 9 ft) on the upper deck, ten sakers (16 cwt, 7 ft) on the quarterdeck and four sakers (16 cwt, 7 ft) on the foc’x’le with four 3-pounder guns (5 cwt, 5 ft) on the poop deck or roundhouse. By 1688 she would carry 70 guns as per the 1685 Establishment . Their initial manning establishment would be for a crew of 460/380/300 personnel.
Commissioned Service
![Battle of Beachy Head, 10 July 1690](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Battle_of_Beachy_Head%2C_10_July_1690.PNG)
''Anne'' was commissioned in 1687 under the command of Captain
Cloudesley Shovell
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell (c. November 1650 – 22 or 23 October 1707) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and then at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. ...
as the flagship of the
Duke of Grafton
Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke ...
was part of the fleet that escorted the
Queen of Portugal Maria Sophia of Neuberg to
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
. With the outbreak of the War of English Succession, she was commissioned in 1690 under the command of Captain
John Tyrrell. She participated in the
Battle of Beachy Head on 30 June 1690 as a member of Blue Squadron.
[Winfield (2009), Fleet Actions 6.2 Battle of Beachy Head] Dismasted in the battle, ''Anne'' was run aground near
Winchelsea
Winchelsea () is a small town in the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. Th ...
and burnt on the 5th July 1690 to avoid capture.
She was the only English ship lost during the battle. The remains, on the low water mark of the beach near
Pett Level
Pett is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Rother District, Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is located north-east of Hastings on the edge of Pett Level, the one-time marshes stretching along the co ...
,
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
, were designated under the British
Protection of Wrecks Act
The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides protection for designated shipwrecks.
Section 1 of the act provides for wrecks to be designated because of historical, archaeological or ...
on 20 June 1974. The wreck is owned by the Nautical Museums Trust (Shipwreck Museum Hastings).
Citations
References
*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850''. Conway Maritime Press. .
* Colledge (2020), Ships of the Royal Navy, by J.J. Colledge, revised and updated by Lt Cdr Ben Warlow and Steve Bush, published by Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, Great Britain, © 2020, (EPUB), Section N (Northumberland)
* Winfield (2009), British Warships in the Age of Sail (1603 – 1714), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2009, EPUB
* Clowes (1898), The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to the Present (Vol. II). London. England: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, © 1898
* Endsor, Richard (2017) Title 'The Warship Anne' History of the new naval fleet of 30 ships begun in 1677 by King Charles II, and the Warship Anne a third rate 70 gun ship.
* Historical European Naval situation, Ship Design, construction, Armamant, Battle History, Wreck, Remains Today. Publisher: CONWAY - Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, ISBN: PB: 978-1-8448-6439-3
External links
"''Anne''" National Heritage List for England
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anne (1678)
Ships of the line of the Royal Navy
1670s ships
Protected Wrecks of England
1678 in England
Ships built in England
1690 in England
17th-century maritime incidents