HMS ''Weymouth'' was a 44-gun
fifth rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower.
Rating
The rating system in the Royal ...
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 ...
. She was previously the merchantman ''Wellesley'', built in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
in 1796. She successfully defended herself against a French frigate, and made two voyages to Britain as an
East Indiaman for the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
. The
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
purchased her in May 1804; she then became a storeship in 1806. On her last voyage for the Royal Navy, in 1820, she carried settlers to South Africa. She was then laid up in
ordinary. In 1828, she was converted to a prison ship and sailed to Bermuda where she served as a
prison hulk
A prison ship, often more accurately described as a prison hulk, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. While many nation ...
until 1865 when she was sold for breaking up.
Merchantman
In late 1799, the Commissioners of the Navy engaged ''Bellona'' and ''Wellesley'' to "convey stores, &c. to the different Settlements in India, on account of Government."
''Wellesley'' was under the command of Captain Peter Gordon on 9 August 1800, when she encountered the French 36-gun frigate
''Franchise'' off the coast of Brazil. ''Wellesley'' was carrying provisions and stores for the fleet at the
Cape
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.
History
Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
and India; her crew consisted mostly of
lascar
A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland, or other land east of the Cape of Good Hope, who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the middle of the ...
s and Chinese. The French frigate was the sole survivor from a surprising defeat of a French squadron in the
action of 4 August 1800. Captain
Pierre Jurien, of ''Franchise'', attacked ''Wellesley'', but Gordon succeeded in driving him off. Gordon had about ninety men, including passengers. The engagement lasted about an hour and although the frigate had 12-pounder guns to ''Wellesleys'' 9 and 6-pounders, the British suffered no casualties. The frigate tailed the British for some two days, but then gave up.
''Wellesleys'' insurance company presented Gordon with a sugar bowl, tray, and pair of candlesticks, all inscribed, "Presented by the Bengal Phoenix Insurance Society to Capt. P. Gordon of the Wellesley for defending that ship against a French Frigate of 36 Guns on the coast of Brazil, the 9th of August 1800".
That autumn, ''The Times'' reported, "The following ships arrived at the Cape, and departed from thence in September and October (1800): The Bellona, Union, Sarah, Wellesley, Cecilia, Kent, and Thetis."
In 1801, ''Wellesley'' was designated a troop transport, one of a number of country ships that took, or were to take troops to Egypt as part of a force seeking to dislodge French forces there that threatened access to India. She carried a detachment of the
80th Regiment of Foot
The 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot to form the South Staffordshire Regim ...
, but after eight weeks at sea she returned to Bombay. Gordon explained that it had been impossible to make safe passage to the Red Sea.
''Wellesley'' first appeared in ''Lloyd's Register'' in the volume for 1801. Her master appeared as J. Purrier, and her owner as "Lambert". The register describeds her as trading between London and India, and being armed with twelve 9-pounder and ten 6-pounder guns.
[''Lloyd's Register'' (1801).]
In the next few years, ''Wellesley'' made two trips from Bengal to Britain for the British
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
(EIC). ''Lloyd's Register'' published in mid-1802 shows Gordon replacing Purrier as master.
EIC voyage 1 (1801-1802): Captain Gordon acquired a
letter of marque on 25 April 1800.
[ Under his command, ''Wellesley'' passed ]Saugor
Sagar is a city, municipal corporation and administrative headquarter in Sagar district of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Situated on a spur of the Vindhya Range, above sea-level. The city is around northeast of state capital ...
on 8 December 1801, on her way to Britain. She reached St Helena on 24 February 1802, and arrived at the Downs on 9 June.[British Library: ''Wellesley''.]
/ref>
EIC voyage 2 (1803-1804): Gordon sailed ''Wellesley'' for England, leaving Madras on 20 August 1803. She reached St Helena on 8 November, Ventry Harbour, Ireland, on 13 January 1804, and Carrick Road on 7 February. She arrived at the Downs on 24 February.[
]
Royal Navy service
The Admiralty purchased ''Wellesley'' in May 1804 and between May and August she was in the yards of Perry & Co, at Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of D ...
for fitting out. Further fitting took place at Woolwich Dockyard
Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich in north-west Kent, where many ships were built from the early 16th century until th ...
in November.
''Weymouth'' was commissioned under the first commander, Captain Alexander Fraser, in August 1804. The following month Captain John Draper assumed command. ''Weymouth'' provided the naval escort for a convoy of five East Indiamen
East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...
and two whaler
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...
s that left Portsmouth on 1 February 1805. The Indiamen were , , , , and . On 5 February the incompetence of her pilot caused the loss of ''Earl of Abergavenny'' and 263 of the people on board. The convoy continued on with ''Weymouth'' going on to India.
''Weymouth'' returned to Britain in 1806, having left Madras on 8 September 1805 escorting , ''Baring'', ''Duke of Montrose'' ''Lord Hawkesbury'', and ''Devaynes''. She was then fitted as a storeship at Woolwich, recommissioning in September 1807 under Commander Martin White. White made two voyages to the Mediterranean, after which she operated in the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
by 1809.
She passed under a succession of masters over the next few years. While under the command of Richard Turner, master, in August 1815 she accompanied the 74-gun
The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...
, and the troopship HMS ''Ceylon'' as ''Northumberland'' carried Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
into exile at Saint Helena.
She was at St Helena on 15 November 1815. On 14 September 1817, she was at Lebida (Leptis Magna
Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by other names in antiquity, was a prominent city of the Carthaginian Empire and Roman Libya at the mouth of the Wadi Lebda in the Mediterranean.
Originally a 7th-centuryBC Phoenician foundation, it was great ...
), together with . There they loaded columns, marbles, and other antiquities. ''Weymouth'' then left for Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. In March 1818, she delivered them at Deptford, together with a nine-ton granite head that at the time was believed to be that of Memnon
In Greek mythology, Memnon (; Ancient Greek: Μέμνων means 'resolute') was a king of Aethiopia and son of Tithonus and Eos. As a warrior he was considered to be almost Achilles' equal in skill. During the Trojan War, he brought an army t ...
, King of Abydos, Egypt. Henry Salte, the British Consul General to Egypt had sent it as a present to the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, and ''Weymouth'' had loaded it at Malta.
In 1820, ''Weymouth'' visited the Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...
. On this voyage she embarked 478 British 1820 Settlers
The 1820 Settlers were several groups of British colonists from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, settled by the government of the United Kingdom and the Cape Colony authorities in the Eastern Cape of South Africa in 1820.
Origins
After ...
at Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
to take them to Algoa Bay. Captain Turner left Portsmouth on 7 January 1820, arrived in Table Bay
Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named b ...
on 25 April 1820.''British 1820 Settlers to South Africa'': ''Weymouth''.
/ref> At Simon's Bay
Simon's Town ( af, Simonstad), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern si ...
, ''Weymouth'' took on board the immigrants that had come on . ''Weymouth'' arrived in Algoa Bay on 15 May 1820.
Fate
''Weymouth'' was laid up in ordinary at Deptford
Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...
in November 1821. Between February and October 1828 she was fitted out as a prison ship. In September William Miller became master, and in 1829 sailed her to Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = "Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
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. There she served as a prison hulk. On 12 September 1839, her bows were severely damaged in a hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
at Ireland Island, Bermuda
Ireland Island is the north-westernmost island in the chain which comprises Bermuda. It forms a long finger of land pointing northeastwards from the main island, the last link in a chain which also includes Boaz Island and Somerset Island. It ...
. She was described as a victualling depot ship
A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing and ...
of 1,160 tons.
''Weymouth'' was finally sold there for £300 on 2 July 1865 and was broken up.
Legacy
At Fairbairn College, Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, one of the sports fields is named after HMS ''Weymouth''.
Notes
Citations
References
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External links
The Ships List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weymouth (1804)
Fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy
1796 ships
Convict ships
British ships built in India
Ships of the British East India Company
Age of Sail merchant ships
Ships of the 1820 settlers
Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Maritime incidents in September 1839