HMY ''Mary'', was an English royal yacht 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 built by master shipwright

Phineas Pett Phineas Pett (1 November 1570 – August 1647) was a shipwright and First Resident Commissioner of Chatham Dockyard and a member of the Pett dynasty. Phineas left a memoir of his activities which is preserved in the British Library and was publi ...

and launched 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 1677. She had eight guns and measured She now measured 155 bm. She experienced a very long career of naval service spanning 139 years, having been rebuilt in 1727.

Early service

Her first captain, Christopher Gunman, was court martialled for the loss of in 1682. Lawrence Wright then took command until 1685. She was briefly commanded by William Fazeby in 1688, then by Greenvile Collins from 1689 and employed on surveying duties. From 1694 to 1718 she was commanded by John Guy and during this period saw service in the Baltic Fleet in 1700. Command passed to Charles Molloy in 1719.

Rebuild

''Mary'' was rebuilt in 1727 under the direction of Richard Stacey 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 ...

. She now measured 163 bm, was long along the gundeck; along the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

; with a beam of ; and a hold depth of . She was armed with eight 3-pounder guns and ten ½-pounder swivels, and had a complement of 40 men.

Later service

Captain Molloy returned to command of ''Mary'' until 1743. She was then commanded by Captain Robert Allen from 1744 until his death in 1752, when command passed to Captain John Campbell. During the period from 1756 to 1763 she was unemployed except for undertaking a Royal Escort in August–September 1761. Captain Campbell recommissioned her in December 1763 and continued in command until 1770. Richard Edwards then took over command until 1776. She was unemployed between 1777 and 1780. Following a large repair at Deptford, she was recommissioned by Captain Hon. Philip Tufton Perceval in 1781 and paid off in 1795. She was commissioned again in February 1797 under Captain James Hill, only to be paid off again in December of that year. She was recommissioned by Captain Sir Thomas Thompson in July 1801 and he stayed in command until 1805. Sir Edward Hamilton was given command in July 1806, and remained in ''Mary'' until 1815, except for a brief period in 1809 when Thomas Francis Fremantle acted as captain.

Fate

''Mary''s career came to an end when she was

broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sold for re-use, ...

in April 1816.

References

External links