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 ...

The Hon. Robert Boyle-Walsingham (March 1736 – 5 October 1780) was an Irish

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 ...

officer and

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. He was killed in the

Great Hurricane of 1780 The Great Hurricane of 1780 was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record. An estimated 22,000 people died throughout the Lesser Antilles when the storm passed through the islands from October 10 to October 16. Specifics on the hurricane's tr ...

while serving as a

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

in HMS ''Thunderer''.

Early life and family

Robert Boyle was born in March 1736, the son of

Henry Boyle, 1st Earl of Shannon Henry Boyle, 1st Earl of Shannon, PC (1682 – 28 December 1764), was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer who served as the speaker of the Irish House of Commons from 1733 to 1756. A prominent parliamentarian who sat for almost fifty years i ...

, by his wife Henrietta, daughter of

Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington Charles Boyle, 3rd Earl of Cork and 2nd Earl of Burlington, 4th Baron Clifford, PC (died 9 February 1704) was an English peer, courtier and politician. Early life Hon. Charles Boyle was the eldest son of Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan ...

. His great-grandfather

Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery (25 April 1621 – 16 October 1679), styled Lord Broghill from 1628 to 1660, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England at various times between 1654 and 1679. Boyle foug ...

had married Lady Margaret, daughter of

Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, (13 August 15843 June 1640) was an English nobleman and politician. Born at the family estate of Saffron Walden, he was the son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, by his second wife, Catherine Knyvet ...

; another daughter Lady Anne married Thomas Walsingham. Robert Boyle eventually succeeded to the estate of the Walsinghams' daughter Elizabeth, Lady Osborne (died 1733), and adopted the name Walsingham. On 17 July 1759 Boyle-Walsingham married Charlotte Hanbury Williams, the daughter of

Sir Charles Hanbury Williams Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, KB (8 December 1708 – 2 November 1759) was a Welsh diplomat, writer and satirist. He was a Member of Parliament from 1734 until his death. Early life Hanbury was the son of a Welsh ironmaster and Member of Parl ...

. Together the couple had two children; Richard (1762–1831) and

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

(1769–1831), who in 1806 successfully claimed the Barony of de Ros.

Military career

Boyle joined the

on 22 January 1748, initially serving as an

ordinary seaman __NOTOC__ An ordinary seaman (OS) is a member of the deck department of a ship. The position is an apprenticeship to become an able seaman, and has been for centuries. In modern times, an OS is required to work on a ship for a specific amount o ...

on the 12-gun

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

HMS ''Dublin''. On 3 June 1749 he transferred as an

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

to the 44-gun

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 ...

HMS ''Assurance'', in which he was promoted to

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

on 24 June 1751. Boyle continued in ''Assurance'' until the ship was wrecked on 24 April 1753. He then joined the 74-gun

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 ...

HMS ''Cumberland'' on 24 September of the same year, before moving to the 60-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 ...

HMS ''Anson'' on 21 April 1754. He passed his examination for promotion to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 16 November, having left ''Anson'' ten days earlier. The next year was spent in unemployment, before Boyle was promoted to lieutenant on 23 March 1756, appointed to serve as the fourth lieutenant of the 64-gun ship of the line HMS ''Revenge''. He fought in ''Revenge'' at the

Battle of Minorca The island of Menorca in the Mediterranean Sea has been invaded on numerous occasions. The first recorded invasion occurred in 252 BC, when the Carthaginians arrived. The name of the island's chief city, Mahón (now Maó), appears to derive from t ...

on 20 May, before being promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on 16 February the following year. His first command was the 18-gun storeship HMS ''Crown'', from which he was translated into the 10-gun

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

HMS ''Badger'' on 8 March. Boyle was promoted to

post-captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...

on 15 June, being given command of the 44-gun frigate HMS ''Jason''. Again quickly moving ships, Boyle joined the 28-gun frigate HMS ''Boreas'' on 3 August. In the following year ''Boreas'' fought at the Siege of Louisbourg between 6 June and 27 July, and Boyle saw further action in the ship at the Raid on Le Havre on 3 July 1759. He continued in command of ''Boreas'' until 18 February 1760 and joined his next ship, the 64-gun ship of the line HMS ''Modeste'', on 20 February 1761. Between 7 January and 10 February of the following year Boyle fought at the Invasion of Martinique, subsequently leaving ''Modeste'' on 27 April. Boyle remained without a command only until 2 July when he joined the 50-gun fourth rate HMS ''Romney'', which he commanded until 7 February 1763 when the ship was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

Death

A long period of

half pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the Eng ...

followed until Boyle was given command of the 74-gun ship of the line HMS ''Thunderer'' on 23 February 1778. He fought in her at the Battle of Ushant on 27 July the same year, and then at the

Affair of Fielding and Bylandt The affair of Fielding and Bylandt was a brief naval engagement off the Isle of Wight on 31 December 1779 between a Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Commodore Charles Fielding, and a naval squadron of the Dutch Republic, commanded by rear-admir ...

on 31 December 1779. Continuing on in ''Thunderer'', Boyle was appointed to serve as a

on 15 February 1780. Sent to serve in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, Boyle was killed when ''Thunderer'' was wrecked off

San Domingo Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and t ...

in the

on 5 October.

Political career

Besides his naval career, Boyle sat in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

for

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

between 1758 and 1768, and in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

for

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

between 1758 and 1761,

Fowey Fowey ( ; kw, Fowydh, meaning 'Beech Trees') is a port town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, with the local ch ...

from 1761 to 1768, and then Knaresborough again from 1768 to his death. In 1760 Boyle's portrait was painted by

Nathaniel Hone the Elder Nathaniel Hone (24 April 1718 – 14 August 1784) was an Irish-born portrait and miniature painter, and one of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Early life The son of a Dublin-based Dutch merchant, Hone moved to England ...

. In 1770 he became first

Provincial Grand Master Provincial Grand Master (abbreviated PGM or PrGM), sometimes called District Grand Master or Metropolitan Grand Master, is a fraternal office held by the head of a Provincial Grand Lodge, who is directly appointed by the organisation's Grand Master ...

for Kent of the

Premier Grand Lodge of England The organisation now known as the Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster. Originally concerned with the practice of Freemasonry in London and Westminster, it soon became known as ...

, and he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

on 5 March 1778.

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle-Walsingham, Robert 1736 births 1780 deaths Irish sailors in the Royal Navy Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Waterford constituencies Irish MPs 1727–1760 Irish MPs 1761–1768 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780

Walsingham Walsingham () is a civil parish in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. It also contains the ruins of two medieval Christian monasticism, monastic houses.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Exp ...

Royal Navy officers Younger sons of earls Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England