More information : At anchor in St. Helen's Roads, with topmasts and yards struck. After the bower anchor cable parted, an attempt was made to weigh, but this failed as the anchor could not be brought home. Just after midnight, the small bower cable parted, and the sheet and stream anchors were let go, but no sooner had they brought up the ship than they parted. An attempt was then made to set sail, but the sails were immediately blown out. Driving before the hurricane, she grounded on the mud near the mainland shore, but was successfully floated off. The RESOLUTION was now driven up-Channel, in an increasingly poor condition, with the pumps unable to cope. During the morning, when it became clear that she could not survive for much longer, she was run ashore on the coast near Pevensey. All 221 men survived the wreck. (3)
Wrecked off Pemsey (Pevensey) in the Great Gale. (4)
Armament was 72 guns before being rebuilt; and then she was a 70-gun vessel (4) but she is also described as a 68-gun ship of 885 tons. (5)
Date of loss is also given as 16-NOV-1703 (1) and position of loss as 'on the Sussex coast'. (2)
Wrecked 1703. (7)
'Portsmouth, from on board the MEDWAY, Nov. 28. The LICHFIELD PRIZE of 40 guns is lost; the RESOLUTION, NEWCASTLE, forced ashore.' (8)
'There having been various and confused accounts given last week of the loss sustained amongst Her Majesty's ships of war in the late storm, we present the public with the following authentic list of all that are irrecoverably lost...
'The RESOLUTION, a third rate, Capt. Lisle, on the coast of Sussex. All her company saved.' (9)
'At Portsmouth was a great fleet...several of the ships were blown quite out to sea...the NEWCASTLE was heard off upon the coast of Sussex, where she was lost with all their men but 23; the RESOLUTION, the EAGLE advice boat...felt the same fate, only saved their men...' (10)
Third rate, RESOLUTION, of 211 men and 70 guns, Thomas Liell, at "Pemsey", officers and men saved. (10)
The RESOLUTION was built in Harwich between 1665 and 1667 and was one of three Third-Rate vessels built by the noted maritime architect Sir Anthony Deane.
She sank during the Great Storm on 26-NOV-1703, after being blown across the Solent, striking the Owers Banks 6 or 7 times, before the crew were able to raise a scrap of sail and round Beachy Head. By this time the ship was taking on water, the hold was full up to the level of the orlop beams, and so the decision was made to attempt to beach her in Pevensey Bay. The remains of the vessel had been burned by French privateers by January 1704. (11)
RESOLUTION had two gun decks at at the time of loss was one of only two Third Rates which still carried some brass ordnance. Her ordnance manifest consisted of 12 x 9ft iron demi-cannon, 8 x 8.5ft iron demi-cannon; 2 x 10ft iron culverins; 1 x 10ft iron 12pdr; 5 x 9.5ft iron 12pdr; 6 x 9ft iron 12pdr; 6 x 8.5ft iron 12pdr; 4 x 8ft iron 12pdr; 6 x 6.5ft bronze sakers; 2 x 5.5ft bronze sakers; 2 x 5ft bronze sakers, totalling 54 guns. This manifest was produced before the rebuild in 1697-8. (12)
On 26-NOV-1703, the RESOLUTION was riding at her station 3 miles off Bembridge, Isle of Wight, when the storm began. The bow anchor cable parted, and after dropping the sheet and stern anchors, their cables also parted. By this time the wind was coming from the south-west and there was an ebb tide. After her cables parted, she was blown across the Solent, striking the Owers Banks six or seven times, before crew could attempt to raise enough sail to round Beachy Head. By this time the vessel was taking on water, up to the orlop beams, and the decision was then made to beach her in Pevensey Bay.
Contemporary accounts by both the First Lieutenant and the Captain, state that the only solution left to them was to run the ship ashore.
It appears that the crew worked hard to salvage the guns; Thomas Liell wrote to the Navy Board, initially optimistic about retrieving all the guns, but the tides were against them and the slack fell under darkness, also impeding their recovery. He was also concerned about possible theft from the "country people". On the 5th of December he wrote again to the Navy Board, stating that the guns remained on the ship, but he was concerned that her sides might break, causing the guns to fall out into the sand, and making recovery "very chargeable".
A number of contemporary accounts seem to suggest that the wreck sank in fairly shallow water, and that it was possible to walk around her.
William Boswell wrote to the Navy Board on 01-JAN-1704 stating that French privateers had burned the remains of the wreck (12) "..down to ye ballast, and ye upperworks to a strake under ye lower wale: her masts is all confound: I am now endeavouring to save ye iron: I will endeavour to get what I can as lowe downe as ye flower ruder heads: after I have got all I can easily carry (?) and ye ruther iron off..." (13) Thereafter attempts were made to salvage iron fittings. On 17-JUL of the same year Boswell reported "...ye guns are fretted themselves too deepe in ye sande and gravell that you cannot discover not above seven of them and they are all holed." (12)
Built: 1667
Builder: Deane
Where Built: Harwich
Rebuilt: 1698
Where Rebuilt: Chatham
Armament: 70 guns
Owner: Royal Navy
Commanding Officer: Thomas Lyell RN; Lisle (9); Thomas Liell (10)(12)
Crew: 221; 211 (10)
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss
Additional sources cited in sources (12) and (13):
PRO. ADM 106/574; 106/581; ADM/1/2034 |