HMS ''Clarence'' was an 84-gun

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 tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, launched on 25 July 1827 at

Pembroke Dockyard Pembroke Dockyard, originally called Pater Yard, is a former Royal Navy Dockyard in Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales. History It was founded in 1814, although not formally authorized until the Prince Regent signed the necessary Order in Cou ...

. The second navy ship to bear the name, she was ordered as

HMS Goliath Six ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Goliath'' after the Biblical giant, Goliath. * The first was a 74-gun third-rate that fought in the Battle of the Nile. * The second HMS ''Goliath'' was renamed in 1826 prior to completio ...

but renamed in 1826 prior to completion. In 1872 she was lent to the Liverpool Catholic Reformatory Association for use as a boys

reformatory ship A reformatory or reformatory school is a youth detention center or an adult correctional facility popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Western countries. In the United Kingdom and United States, they came out of social concerns ...

, but was destroyed by a fire set by six of the boys whilst at her mooring in the

Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

in 1884.Gossett (1986), p.122. Liverpool Catholic Reformatory Association was lent a replacement in 1885 called , a 120 gun first-rate ship reduced to a 72-gun screw ship in 1860. Renamed ''Clarence'', she was ultimately also destroyed in the Mersey by

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

on 26 July 1899."A Reformatory Ship Destroyed By Fire". ''The Times'' (35892): Col A, p. 6. 27 July 1899.

Notes

References

* *Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850. Conway Maritime Press. . Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Canopus-class ships of the line Ships built in Pembroke Dock 1827 ships Maritime incidents in January 1884 {{UK-line-ship-stub