Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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Wikipedia
HMS Royal Charles was an 80-gun First Rate three-decker ship of the line of the English Navy. She was originally called the Naseby, built by Peter Pett, and launched at Woolwich dockyard in 1655, for the navy of the Commonwealth of England,[1] and named in honour of Oliver Cromwell's decisive 1645 victory over the Royalist forces during the English Civil Wars. She was ordered in 1654 as one of a programme of four Second Rates, intended to carry 60 guns each. However, she was altered during construction to mount a complete battery of guns along the upper deck (compared with the partial battery on this deck of her intended sisters, on which there were no gunports in the waist along this deck), and so was reclassed as a First Rate.
With the Restoration of the monarchy in June 1660 she was renamed HMS Royal Charles, and served as the ship that brought King Charles II back to England in 1660, captained by Sir Edward Montagu, and also carrying Samuel Pepys. Under her new name, she thus joined the Royal Navy which formally came into being in 1660.
At 1,229 tons, Naseby was larger than Sovereign of the Seas, the first three-deck ship of the line, built by Phineas Pett, Peter's father. Unlike Sovereign of the Seas, Naseby was to enjoy only twelve years in service.
As Royal Charles she took part in the Second Anglo-Dutch War. In 1665 she fought in the Battle of Lowestoft under the command of the Lord High Admiral, James Stuart, Duke of York, her captain being Sir William Penn. During that battle she probably destroyed the Dutch flagship Eendracht. In 1666 she participated in two further actions, the Four Days Battle and the defeat of Admiral Michiel de Ruyter in the St. James's Day Battle off the North Foreland.
In 1667, flagging English national esteem was further depressed by the raid on the Medway in which a Dutch fleet invaded the Thames and Medway rivers and on 12 June captured the uncommissioned Royal Charles,[1] removing her with great skill to Hellevoetsluis in the United Provinces. The Dutch did not take her into naval service because it was considered that she drew too much water for general use on the Dutch coast. She was auctioned for scrap in 1673.
Her metal stern piece, showing the English coat of arms with a lion and unicorn (see lion and unicorn) along with the white ensign, is now on display in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
Annotations
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The Naseby: This ship was so named to commemorate the great parliamentarian victory over the royalist army near Naseby on June 14th 1645. The New Model Army was commanded by Cromwell, Fairfax, Skippon and Henry Ireton while the royalists were commanded by Charles I, the princes Rupert and Maurice of the Rhine,Sir Jacob Astley and Marmaduke Langdale. The battle lasted a mere three hours and the parliamentarians lost no more than 300 men. On the other hand the king’s army was decimated. This battle did not end the civil war but it made the outcome inevitable as the royalists never recovered strength after this. Interestingly, the royalist infantrymen who surrendered could join the New Model Army provided they took the Covenant which was a prerequisite to serve. Ironically the Naseby was the same ship sent to Holland to bring Charles II back from his continental exile but it was then hastily renamed the Royal Charles.The Royal Charles saw action in the second Anglo-Dutch war but unfortunately it was captured by the Dutch when they humiliated Britain by sailing up the Medway in june 1666. It was towed back to Holland where it arrived amidst jubilation as one of the greatest spoils of war.
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Here are two Dutch paintings of the Nazeby (which by then had been renamed the “Royal Charles”) which give a very good idea of what a 17th-century warship was like. This was one of the most powerful warships of its era.
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/mag/pages/title3.cfm?picture=33&key=11784&letter=D
Here the ship has been captured and is being taken to the Netherlands, which is why it is flying Dutch flags. If you look closely at its stern you will see the Lion-and-Unicorn of the Royal Coat of Arms. This has been preserved and is now in the Rikjsmuseum in Amsterdam.
http://www.btinternet.com/~j.pasteur/RoyalCharles.html
This painting shows it still flying the Union Jack (which you can see does not have the red diagonal stripe that later symbolized Ireland).
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The Naseby was first launched in 1655. Cromwell had provoked a war with Spain in May of that year by seizing Jamaica, and the Naseby was the flagship of the fleet sent in 1656 to harass Spanish shipping.
Commanded by Robert Blake, the fleet destroyed the entire Spanish treasure fleet anchored on the island of Tenerife in 1657. This event is sometimes described as the death-knell for Spain as a major power. Blake died just a few months later.
The ship was designed by Peter Pett, the shipwright who built the ‘Sovereign of the Seas’, the first three-decked ‘first-rate’, for Charles I in 1637. The unorthodox form of taxation Charles used to pay for that expensive ship was one of the major grievances held against him by the Long Parliament in 1640. Pett thus forms a link from Charles I through the governments of the ’50s to Charles II, who was brought back on the later ship of Pett’s design.
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The Naseby, named for Oliver Cromwell’s crushing victory over the royal forces in 1645, was launched at Woolwich dockyard in 1655. At 1230 tons, she was larger than the celebrated …
Captain Sir Edward Montagu, another army man who joined the navy, was ordered over to Holland with some 37 great ships to bring him back. The Naseby was the flagship of this fleet.
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/1258/ships.html
…..it is at the bottom of the page.
Within a decade, the word “frigate” was being used to denote either a ship with a higher than usual keel:beam ratio or one with a good turn of speed. It must be in this sense that the word was used in relation to the 90-gun Naseby.
….At this time there were in 1660 a huge fleet of 154 ships. Most of them in uncommissioned due to insufficient funds
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Montagu’s first command on the Naseby
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Naseby in a fight “Spoiler”
battle of lowerstotf
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/uploads//jpg/BHC0283.jpg -
Wheatley adds the following :
“The Naseby now no longer England’s shame,
But better to be lost in Charles his name.”
Dryden, Astraa Redux. -
from J Evelyn:1655
9th … my Bro: dining with me, we went to see the greate Ship(*2) newly built, by the
Usurper Oliver, carrying 96 brasse Guns, & of 1000 tunn: In the prow was Oliver on horseback
trampling 6 nations under foote, a Scott, Irishman, Dutch, French, Spaniard & English as was
easily made out by their several habits: A Fame held a laurell over his insulting head, & the word
God with us:
(2) The Naseby, renamed the Royal Charles in 1660, E went aboard
in 1665. -
surviving ‘counter decoration’ - the royal arms, includes historical info etc. on tabs:-
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Excellent website, Michael - thanks very much!
