HMS ''Venerable'' was a 74-gun

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ship of the line of the

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, launched on 19 April 1784 at

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Service history

In 1795, ''Veneraable'' is known to have been under the command of Captain James Bissett. In 1797, ''Venerable'' served as Admiral Duncan's flagship at the Battle of Camperdown.Ships of the Old Navy, ''Venerable''. In 1801, ''Venerable'' took part in the

First Battle of Algeciras The First Battle of Algeciras was a naval battle fought on 6 July 1801 (17 messidor an IX of the French Republican Calendar) between a squadron of British Royal Navy ships of the line and a smaller French Navy squadron at anchor in the forti ...

on 6 July and the

Second Battle of Algeciras The Second Battle of Algeciras (also known as the Battle of the Gut of Gibraltar) was a naval battle fought on the night of 12 July 1801 (23 messidor an IX of the French Republican Calendar) between a squadron of British Royal Navy ships of ...

on 12–13 July. During the latter engagement, she was driven ashore on the coast of

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in Algeciras Bay, but she was refloated, repaired, and returned to service.

Fate

''Venerable'' was wrecked on 24 November 1804, off Roundham Head near

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

. Three of her crew were lost. Newspapers reported a dispatch dated 28 November: The Venerable had gone to pieces in a tremendous gale, the number of men drowned is said to be 13 — they are supposed to have been intoxicated when the ship struck. The commander of the Venerable was captain Hunter a brave and skilful officer and a gentleman of considerable literary and scientific acquirements who was for some time governor of New South Wales and has favoured the public with an interesting account of that colony. Two days later, on 26 November, the hired armed ship sailed from Plymouth to Torbay with , six gun-vessels and yard-lighters, and other craft, to save the stores, guns, etc. from the wreck of ''Venerable''.''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 12, p.504.

Citations and notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *Michael Phillips
Venerable (74) (1784)
Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 8 August 2007.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Venerable (1783) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Culloden-class ships of the line 1784 ships Ships built by the Blackwall Yard Maritime incidents in 1801 Shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Shipwrecks of Spain Maritime incidents in 1804 Shipwrecks of England