''Walpole'' was launched on the Thames in 1779. She made seven voyages 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 Southea ...

(EIC). On the sixth voyage, on her way to China, her captain discovered an island that he named

Walpole Island Walpole Island is an island and First Nation reserve in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the border between Ontario and Michigan in the United States. It is located in the mouth of the St. Clair River on Lake St. Clair, about by road from Winds ...

. She was sold for breaking up in 1799.

Career

1st EIC voyage (1779–1781): Captain Burnet Abercromby sailed from Portsmouth on 16 June 1779, bound for

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and Bengal. ''Walpole'' reached 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 ...

on 10 October and

on 17 January 1780. She arrived at Kedgeree on 12 March. Homeward bound, she sailed from Kedgeree on 1 December and reached

St Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

on 14 March. She stayed there until 29 July. She arrived at the Downs on 20 October. 2nd EIC voyage (1783–1784): Captain Henry Churchill sailed from Portsmouth on 10 March 1783, bound for St Helena, Bencoolen, and China. ''Walpole'' reached St Helena on 22 May and Benkulen on 6 September. From Bencoolen she stopped at

Manna Manna ( he, מָן, mān, ; ar, اَلْمَنُّ; sometimes or archaically spelled mana) is, according to the Bible, an edible substance which God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert during the 40-year period follow ...

on 1 October. She arrived at

Whampoa Anchorage Pazhou is a subdistrict of Haizhu in southeastern Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, in China. , formerly Whampoa Island, has a total area of and is the site of Pazhou Pagoda. Its eastern bay was formerly the chief anchorage for ships parti ...

on 17 December. Homeward bound, ''Walpole'' crossed the Second Bar on 25 February 1784, reached St Helena on 14 June, and arrived at the Downs on 21 September. 3rd EIC voyage (1786–1788): Captain Churchill sailed from the Downs on 4 March 1786, bound for Madras, Bengal, and China. ''Walpole'' was at Madeira on 22 March and

Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from he, יוֹחָנָה, translit=Yôḥānāh, lit=God is gracious. Variants in English include Joan (given name), Joan, Joann, Joanne (given name), Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in ...

on 13 July. She reached Madras on 9 August but then sailed to Diamond Point, where she arrived on 23 August. ''Walpole'' sailed from Diamond Point on 24 December and arrived at Cox's Island on 26 December. She sailed from Cox's Island on 14 January 1797 and returned to Madras on 31 January. She then sailed up to Kedgeree, where she arrived on 4 March. From Kedgeree she reached Madras on 13 May and Penang on 12 July on her way to China. ''Walpole'' arrived at Whampoa on 3 September. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 19 January 1788, reached St Helena on 6 April, and arrived at the Downs on 24 June. 4th EIC voyage (1789–1790): Captain Churchill sailed from the Downs on 4 April 1789. '"Walpole'' reached Batavia on 24 July and arrived at Whampoa on 24 September. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 7 January 1790, reached St Helena on 31 March, and arrived at the Downs on 31 May. 5th EIC voyage (1792–1793): Captain Churchill sailed from the Downs on 29 April 1792, bound for China. She arrived at Whampoa on 14 September. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 19 December, reached St Helena on 7 March 1793, and arrived at the Downs on 16 June. 6th EIC voyage (1794–1795): Captain Thomas Butler acquired a letter of marque on 28 April 1794. He sailed from Plymouth on 23 June, bound for China. ''Walpole'' reached the Cape on 10 September. From there Butler, near St Paull, left the fleet of Indiamen bound to China. He hoped to find a faster route. ''Walpole'' sailed through Bass Strait and then sailed north. She did not stop at

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

. On his way to China, Butler discovered an island that he named Walpole Island, a name it has retained to the present. ''Walpole'' arrived at Whampoa on 8 January 1795. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 27 March, reached Malacca on 26 April and St Helena on 24 August. She arrived back at the Downs on 3 December. 7th EIC voyage (1798–1799: Captain Butler acquired a letter of marque on 20 February 1798. He sailed from Portsmouth on 24 March, bound for Madras and Bengal. ''Walpole'' reached the Cape on 5 June and Bombay on 10 August. She reached Madras on 28 September and Diamond Harbour on 29 October. Homeward bound, she left Diamond Harbour on 20 January 1799. She was at Colombo on 3 February and St Helena on 18 May, and arrived back at the Downs on 28 July.

Fate

''Walpole'' was sold in 1799 for breaking up.

Citations

References

* * {{cite journal , last1=Richards , first1=Rhys , year=1986 , title=The Easternmost Route to China, 1787–1792: Part 2 , journal=The Great Circle , volume=8 , issue=12 , pages=104–116 1779 ships Age of Sail merchant ships of England Ships of the British East India Company