HMS ''Plumper'' was part of the 1847 Program, she was ordered on the 25 of April as a steam schooner from Woolwich Dockyard with the name ''Pincher''. However, the reference Ships of the Royal Navy, by J.J. College, (c) 2020 there is no entry that associates this name to this build.Colledge The vessel was reordered on August 12 as an 8-gun

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

as designed by John Fincham, Master Shipwright at Portsmouth. Launched in 1848, she served three commissions, firstly on the West Indies and North American Station, then on the West Africa Station and finally in the Pacific Station. It was during her last commission as a survey ship that she left her most enduring legacy; in charting the west coast of British Columbia she left her name and those of her ship's company scattered across the charts of the region. She

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

for the last time in 1861 and was finally sold for breaking up in 1865. ''Plumper'' was the fifth named vessel since it was introduced for a 12-gun gunvessel launched by Randall of Rotherhithe on 17 May 1794 and sold in January 1802.

Construction

''Plumper''’s keel was laid in October 1847 at Portsmouth Dockyard and launched on 5 April 1848. Her gundeck was with her keel length reported for tonnage calculation of . Her maximum breadth was reported for tonnage was . She had a depth of hold of . Her builder's measure tonnage was 490 tons and displaced 577 tons. Her mean draught was .Lyon Winfield, page 213 Her machinery was supplied by Miller, Ravenhill & Company. She shipped two rectangular fire tube boilers. Her engine was a 2-cylinder vertical single expansion (VSE) oscillating steam engine with cylinders of in diameter with a stroke, rated at 60 nominal horsepower (NHP). She had a single screw propeller of in diameter. Her main armament consisted of two Blomefield 32-pounder 56 hundredweight (cwt) muzzle loading smooth bore (MLSB) 9.5-foot solid shot guns and six Blomefield (bored up from 18-pounders) 32-pounder 25 cwt MLSB 6-foot solid shot guns on broadside trucks.

Trials

During steam trials her engine generated 148 indicated horsepower (IHP) for a speed of 7.4 knots. Plumper was completed for sea on the 17th of December 1848 at a cost of £20,446.

Commissioned Service

First commission (1848–1853)

She was commissioned on 6 November 1848 under Commander Matthew S. Nolloth, RN for Particular Service with

Admiral Sir Charles Napier Admiral Sir Charles John Napier KCB GOTE RN (6 March 1786Priscilla Napier (1995), who is not elsewhere free from error, gives the birth year as 1787 (p. 1, and book title), but provides no evidence. All other authorities agree on 1786. – 6 N ...

’s Western Squadron. In January 1849 she was sent to the North America and West Indies Station. Curiously, a report was published in the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

'' on 14 April 1849 of a sighting of a sea serpent off the Portuguese Coast. HMS Plumper sea serpent 1848

On 25 June 1850, she ran aground and was damaged off

Digby, Nova Scotia Digby is an incorporated town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is in the historical Digby County, Nova Scotia, county of Digby and a separate municipality from the Municipality of the District of Digby. The town is situated on the western s ...

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...

. She was refloated and taken in to Digby for repairs. In June 1851 she deployed to the south-east coast of America and during this period she captured the slavers ''Flor-do-Mar'' on 14 June 1851 and ''Sarah'' on 9 June 1851 (with HMS ''Cormorant''). She is recorded as arriving in Portsmouth from Brazil with of gold trans-shipped from the ''Emperor'' on 31 December 1852. She paid off at Portsmouth on 6 January 1853.Winfield

Second commission (1853–1856)

After a short refit she recommissioned at Portsmouth under Commander John A.L. Wharton, RN on 1 August 1853 for service on the West Coast of Africa. At the time, the

West Africa Squadron The West Africa Squadron, also known as the Preventative Squadron, was a squadron of the British Royal Navy whose goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. Formed in 1808 after the British Parliame ...

was employed overwhelmingly in anti-slavery patrols. She changed commanders on 5 April 1855 when Commander William H. Haswell took command. The

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

records the capture of a slaving vessel of unknown name by ''Plumper'' on 19 October 1855. By October 1856 her gun armament was increased to 12 guns. She returned to Home Waters paying off at Portsmouth on 9 December 1856.

Third commission (1857–1861)

She recommissioned at Portsmouth on 10 December 1856 under Captain George Henry Richards, RN for service on the Pacific Coast of British North America as a survey ship. During her tenure there she surveyed the lower

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

Burrard Inlet french: Baie Burrard , image = Burrard Inlet 201807.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Aerial view of Burrard Inlet , image_bathymetry = Burrard-Inlet-map-en.svg , alt_bathymetry ...

, Howe Sound, Sunshine Coast and the waters around Esquimalt and Victoria on Vancouver's Island. The ''Plumper'', having embarked a company of

Royal Marine The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

s, was involved in the Pig War crisis between the United States and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

in 1859; along with ''Tribune'', which was commanded by Captain

Geoffrey Hornby Admiral of the Fleet Sir Geoffrey Thomas Phipps Hornby GCB (10 February 1825 – 3 March 1895) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he saw action at the capture of Acre in November 1840 during the Egyptian–Ottoman War. As a captai ...

, the ''Plumper'' and HMS ''Satellite'' were dispatched by Governor James Douglas to prevent American soldiers from erecting fortifications on

San Juan Island San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km2 (55.053 sq mi) and a population of 6,822 as of the 2000 census. Washington State Fe ...

and bringing in reinforcements. Francis Brockton was the ship's engineer under Captain Richards when, in 1859, Brockton found a vein of coal in the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

area. After the discovery, which Richards reported to Governor James Douglas, Richards named the area of the find

Coal Harbour Coal Harbour is the name for a section of Burrard Inlet lying between Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula and the Brockton Point of Stanley Park. It has also now become the name of the neighbourhood adjacent to its southern shoreline. Neighbourhoo ...

and named

Brockton Point Brockton Point is a headland off the Downtown Peninsula of Vancouver, on the north side of Coal Harbour. Named after Francis Brockton, it is the most easterly part of Stanley Park and is home to a 100-year-old lighthouse and several hand-carved ...

, at the east end of what is now

Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal ...

in Vancouver, after Francis Brockton. Commander Anthony Hoskins brought HMS ''Hecate'' out to the Pacific Station and swapped commands with Richards, taking command of the ''Plumper'' in January 1861. He then returned to the United Kingdom, paying the ship off at Portsmouth on 2 July 1861.

Disposal

''Plumper'' was sold to White of

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

for breaking on 2 June 1865.

Legacy

Several significant features of the coast of British Columbia are named after ''Plumper'', including Plumper Sound in the

Southern Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands are a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from "Gulf of Georgia," the original term used by George Vancouver in his ma ...

region of British Columbia and Plumper Cove at Keats Island (from which Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park takes its name). Other features were named after the ship's company, including: *

Campbell River, British Columbia Campbell River, or Wiwek̓a̱m, is a city in British Columbia on the east coast of Vancouver Island at the south end of Discovery Passage, which lies along the 50th parallel north along the important Inside Passage shipping route. Campbell River ...

for Dr Samuel Campbell, the ship's surgeon. *

Pender Island Pender Island ( Saanich: ) is one of the Southern Gulf Islands located in the Gulf of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. Pender Island is approximately in area and is home to about 2,250 permanent residents, as well as a large seasonal popula ...

and

Pender Harbour, British Columbia Pender Harbour is a harbour community on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, on the east side of Malaspina Strait. The harbour itself is an intricate amalgam of bays and coves that encroach inland for five kilometres and provide over 60 kilometres ...

for

Daniel Pender Daniel Pender was a Royal Navy Staff Commander, later captain, who surveyed the Coast of British Columbia aboard , and from 1857 to 1870. Pender was recorded as the second master of the admiralty survey vessel, HMS ''Plumper'', in 1857 when h ...

. *

Mayne Island Mayne Island is a island in the southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia. It is midway between the Lower Mainland of BC and Vancouver Island, and has a population of 995. Mount Parke in the south-central heart of the island is its highe ...

for Lieutenant

Richard Charles Mayne Rear-Admiral Richard Charles Mayne (7 July 1835 – 29 May 1892) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer, who in later life became a Conservative politician. Richard Mayne was the son of Sir Richard Mayne KCB (the first joint commissioner of the ...

. *

for the ship's engineer, Francis Brockton. *

Mudge Island Mudge Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands in the Salish Sea, in British Columbia (BC), Canada. It lies between Gabriola Island and Vancouver Island, and is considered part of the De Courcy group of islands. It is about wide and long. Dod ...

for William Fitzwilliam Mudge, a ship's officer. An image of the ship appears on the coat-of-arms of the town of Sidney on southern

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

Citations

References

* Lyon Winfield, The Sail & Steam Navy List, All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815 to 1889, by David Lyon & Rif Winfield, published by Chatham Publishing, London © 2004, * The Navy List, published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London * Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail (1817 – 1863), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2014, e, Chapter 12 Screw Sloops, Vessels ordered or reordered as steam screw sloops (from 1845), Plumper * Colledge, 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, e (EPUB), Section P (Plumper, Pincher) {{DEFAULTSORT:Plumper (1848) Victorian-era sloops of the United Kingdom Sloops of the Royal Navy Survey vessels of the Royal Navy Ships built in Portsmouth Pre-Confederation British Columbia 1848 ships