HMS ''Ruby'' was a 50-gun

fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

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 ...

, built by

Joseph Allin Joseph Allin was an 18th century shipbuilder to the Royal Navy. His works merge with those of his namesake son who was also a Master Shipwright at Portsmouth Dockyard and later Surveyor to the Navy at which point he became Sir Joseph Allin. Jo ...

the elder at

Deptford Dockyard Deptford Dockyard was an important naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and many significant events a ...

to the

1706 Establishment The 1706 Establishment was the first formal set of dimensions for ships of the Royal Navy. Two previous sets of dimensions had existed before, though these were only for specific shipbuilding programs running for only a given amount of time. In c ...

, and launched on 25 March 1708. She achieved an unwelcome notoriety in March 1741 when her

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Samuel Goodere Samuel Goodere (1687–1741) was a captain in the British Royal Navy, who was the third son of Sir Edward Goodere, 1st Baronet. He was convicted and hanged at Bristol for the murder of his elder brother, Sir John Dineley Goodere, 2nd Baronet, in ...

, was convicted of murder at

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and subsequently hanged; he had enticed his elder brother,

Sir John Dineley Goodere, 2nd Baronet Sir John Dineley 2nd Baronet (c. 1680 – 1741) of Burhope/Burghope House in the parish of Wellington Herefordshire, was a British aristocrat and murder victim. Early life He was born John Goodere in about 1680, the second son, and eventual heir, ...

, on board, and had caused him to be strangled in the

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

's cabin. Emlyn, Sollom, ed., ''Complete Collection of State Trials'' (1742) vol. VI p. 797 et seqq.; online (PDF
here
/ref> ''Ruby'' was renamed HMS ''Mermaid'' in 1744, and was sold out of the service in 1748.

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 1700s ships {{UK-line-ship-stub