The ''Lively'' class were a successful class of sixteen

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

38-gun

sailing frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

Origins

The ''Lively'' class were a series of sixteen ships built to a 1799 design by Sir William Rule, which served in the

during the Napoleonic Wars. The prototype and name ship of the class was of 1804. In contemporary usage the class was referred to as the 'Repeat Lively class'. As such the prototype ship was not considered to be part of the class at the time. They were considered the most successful British frigate design of the period, much prized by the Navy Board; after the prototype was launched in 1804 (by which time four more frigates had already been ordered to the same design), a further eleven sister-ships were ordered to her design, although this was slightly modified (in 1805) to have the gangways between forecastle and quarterdeck more integrated into the upperworks, a step towards the final enclosure of the waist. This was reinforced in 1809 by the abandonment of breastworks at the break of the quarterdeck and forecastle and in 1810 by the narrowing of the waist by the addition of gratings inboard of the gangways. At the same date, 'top riders', angled reinforcing timbers for the upperworks, were discontinued.

Characteristics and performance

The captain's reports on the performance of this class were remarkable for their absence of serious criticism. The vessels of the class were fast, recording 13kts large and 10-11kts close-hauled, weatherly and manoeuvrable. They were excellent heavy-weather ships, perfectly able to cope with a "head sea." They stowed their provisions well; they were capable of stowing provisions and fresh water for up to six months of cruising. Indeed, "riding light," after a substantial proportion of fresh water and provisions had been consumed, affected their sailing qualities adversely, so that most captains filled any emptied freshwater stowage capacity with seawater.Gardiner (2000), p. 142.

Ships in class

* ** Builder:

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich in north-west Kent, where many ships were built from the early 1 ...

** Ordered: 15 October 1799 ** Laid down: November 1801 ** Launched: 23 July 1804 ** Completed: 27 August 1804 ** Fate: Wrecked off

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 ...

on 10 August 1810. * ** Builder: Charles Ross,

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

** Ordered: 7 November 1803 ** Laid down: March 1804 ** Launched: 10 August 1805 ** Completed: 19 October 1805 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, ...

. ** Fate: Broken up April 1858 at Chatham Dockyard. * ** Builder: George Parsons,

Bursledon Bursledon is a village on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It is located within the borough of Eastleigh. Close to the city of Southampton, Bursledon has a railway station, a marina, dockyards and the Bursledon Windmill. Nearby villages i ...

. ** Ordered: 7 November 1803 ** Laid down: April 1804 ** Launched: 27 June 1805 ** Completed: 26 September 1805 at

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...

. ** Fate: Broken up October 1856 at Portsmouth Dockyard. * ** Builder: Balthasar & Edward Adams,

Bucklers Hard Buckler's Hard is a hamlet on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the English county of Hampshire. With its Georgian cottages running down to the river, Buckler's Hard is part of the Beaulieu Estate. The hamlet is some south of the village of ...

. ** Ordered: 7 November 1803 ** Laid down: March 1806 ** Launched: 23 April 1807 ** Completed: 27 June 1807 at

. ** Fate: Burnt by accident 1861 at

Shoeburyness Shoeburyness (; also called Shoebury) is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. east of the city centre. It was an urban district of Essex from 1894 to 1933, when it ...

. * ** Builder: Woolwich Dockyard ** Ordered: 7 November 1803 from Joseph Graham at Harwich; this builder became bankrupt in 1806 and the contract was transferred to Woolwich Dockyard on 6 January 1806. ** Laid down: April 1806 ** Launched: 17 October 1807 ** Completed: 2 December 1807 ** Fate: Broken up at Portsmouth in December 1860. * ** Builder: Robert Guillaume, Northam, Southampton. ** Ordered: 4 June 1805 ** Laid down: December 1805 ** Launched: 7 July 1807 ** Completed: 26 August 1807 at

. ** Fate: Wrecked off

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

on 26 February 1815. * ** Builder: George Parsons,

. ** Ordered: 15 June 1805 ** Laid down: July 1805 ** Launched: 23 April 1807 ** Completed: 4 August 1807 at

. ** Fate: Sold to break up 1861 at Charlton. * ** Builder: Charles Ross,

** Ordered: 24 August 1805 ** Laid down: October 1805 ** Launched: 16 August 1806 ** Completed: 6 October 1806 at

. ** Fate: Broken up April 1822 at Plymouth Dockyard. * ** Builder:

Plymouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roy ...

** Ordered: 28 September 1808 ** Laid down: November 1808 ** Launched: 17 April 1810 ** Completed: 21 June 1810 at Plymouth Dockyard. ** Fate: Sold 10 May 1897 to be broken up. * ** Builder:

** Ordered: 28 September 1808 ** Laid down: December 1808 ** Launched: 3 April 1810 ** Completed: 15 June 1810 at Plymouth Dockyard. ** Fate: Broken up at Plymouth September 1822. * ** Builder:

** Ordered: 28 September 1808 ** Laid down: May 1809 ** Launched: 2 June 1810 ** Completed: 6 July 1810 at

** Fate: Captured by United States 25 October 1812. Served as . Broken up 1834. * ** Builder:

** Ordered: 28 September 1808 ** Laid down: September 1809 ** Launched: 11 December 1810 ** Completed: 2 February 1811 ** Fate: Sold to be broken up 1854. * ** Builder:

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 ...

** Ordered: 12 June 1809 ** Laid down: July 1810 ** Launched: 16 March 1811 ** Completed: 25 January 1812 ** Fate: Broken up 1858. * ** Builder: George Parsons,

Warsash Warsash is a village in southern Hampshire, England, situated at the mouth of the River Hamble, west of the area known as Locks Heath. Boating plays an important part in the village's economy, and the village has a sailing club. It is also home ...

. ** Ordered: 14 December 1810 ** Laid down: January 1811 as HMS ''Nereide'' (renamed later that year) ** Launched: 13 April 1812 ** Completed: 22 June 1812 at

** Fate: Broken up 1875. * ** Builder: Richard Blake & John Tyson,

. ** Ordered: 14 December 1810 ** Laid down: September 1811 ** Launched: 11 September 1813 ** Completed: 29 September 1815 at

** Fate: Broken up 1862. * ** Builder: John Parsons & John Rubie,

. ** Ordered: 21 March 1812 ** Laid down: July 1812 ** Launched: 31 May 1813 ** Completed: 13 September 1813 at

** Fate: Sold to be broken up 1885.

References

Bibliography

* Robert Gardiner, ''The Heavy Frigate'', Conway Maritime Press, London 1994. *Gardiner, Robert (2000) ''Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars,'' Chatham Publishing, London. * Rif Winfield, ''British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714–1792'', Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2007. . * Rif Winfield, ''British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793–1817'', 2nd edition, Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2008. {{ISBN, 978-1-84415-717-4. Frigates of the Royal Navy Ship classes of the Royal Navy Lively class