HMS ''Woolwich'' was a 54-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 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 ...

, built by Phineas Pett III 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 ...

and launched in 1675. She underwent a rebuild in 1702. In 1705, when Thomas Ekines was in command, she was involved in the seizure of a Dutch ship which Ekines claimed was trading with Britains enemies of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. Although Ekines right to seize the ship was upheld, his further seizure of the bulk of the cargo for his personal gain caused major problems for his ongoing naval career. On 10 June 1736 she was ordered to be stripped 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 ...

, and rebuilt by

Richard Stacey Richard Stacey (1663–1743) was an English shipbuilder and ship designer employed by 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 ...

to the lines of a 50-gun fourth rate according to the 1733 proposals of the

1719 Establishment The 1719 Establishment was a set of mandatory requirements governing the construction of all Royal Navy warships capable of carrying more than 20 naval long guns. It was designed to bring economies of scale through uniform vessel design, and en ...

. She was relaunched on 6 April 1741. ''Woolwich'' was broken up at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century ...

in 1747.

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 1670s ships Ships built in Woolwich Ships built in Deptford {{UK-line-ship-stub