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Ships of Royal Navy in 1685

 

HMS Adventure, a 4th Rate built in 1646.

In 1685 during the Whig Rebellions that broke out after the ascension of James II in 1685, Argyll and Monmouth between them hired several ships to carry them to the Highlands and to the West Country, respectively. Argyll had three ships, each armed with several guns, and they were able to capture a few small merchant vessels along the way. But when it came to a confrontation with a Royal Navy squadron in Loch Ruel, their Dutch crews refused to fight. Likewise, Monmouth had three ships, but only one of them was armed, the small frigate Helderenberg. This vessel hung around Lyme for a few days in June before shoving off for Portugal.

Ultimately there was no real naval action during either Argyll's Rising or Monmouth's Rebellion. But what if there had been? Barry Hilton has imagined a small naval campaign for Argyll's ships, Ne Obliviscaris! Stephen Carter also includes information on the naval aspects of these rebellions in his books "Fighting for Liberty" and "One King!". It was in one of these books that I came across the statement that only a dozen Royal Navy ships were in commission to stop the Whig naval forces, and I wanted to verify this statement.

So I asked ChatGPT "How many ships of the Royal Navy were in commission in 1685?" And to my surprise, it gave me information on 173 ships it said were in commission. There were several duplicates and numerous inaccuracies, and a great many ships it did not include in its list, but it was a great place to start. Ultimately however, I had to create my list of RN ships from threedecks.org, which seems to be more reliable than the AI.

So here is the list of Royal Navy ships in 1685. The 46 ships that seem to have been in commission in 1685 are emboldened. I assume from the information on threedecks.org that most of these ships must have been in home waters, but obviously even in the late 17th Century the RN had global commitments. I have not included prizes, cargo ships, and any ship that was due to be sold or broken up in the years immediately following 1685. I would welcome any additions or corrections to this list.

First Rates

  1. HMS Britannia - 100 guns - In ordinary
  2. HMS London - 96 guns - In ordinary
  3. HMS Royal Charles - 100 guns - In ordinary
  4. HMS Royal James - 100 guns - Serving at Portsmouth
  5. HMS Royal Prince - 100 guns - In ordinary
  6. HMS Royal Sovereign - 100 guns - In ordinary
  7. HMS Saint Andrew - 96 guns - In ordinary

Second Rates

  1. HMS Albemarle - 90 guns - In ordinary
  2. HMS Duchess - 90 guns - In ordinary
  3. HMS Duke - 90 guns - In ordinary
  4. HMS Neptune - 90 guns - In ordinary
  5. HMS Ossory - 90 guns - In ordinary
  6. HMS Royal Katherine - 84 guns - In ordinary
  7. HMS Saint Michael - 90 guns - In ordinary
  8. HMS Sandwich - 90 guns - In ordinary
  9. HMS Vanguard - 90 guns - In ordinary
  10. HMS Victory - 80 guns - In ordinary
  11. HMS Windsor Castle - 90 guns - In ordinary

Third Rates

  1. HMS Anne - 70 guns - In ordinary
  2. HMS Berwick - 70 guns - In ordinary
  3. HMS Bredah - 70 guns - In ordinary
  4. HMS Burford - 70 guns - In ordinary
  5. HMS Cambridge - 70 guns - In ordinary
  6. HMS Captain - 70 guns - In ordinary
  7. HMS Defiance - 70 guns - In ordinary
  8. HMS Dreadnought - 62 guns - In ordinary
  9. HMS Eagle - 70 guns - In ordinary
  10. HMS Edgar - 74 guns - In ordinary
  11. HMS Elizabeth - 70 guns - In ordinary
  12. HMS Essex - 70 guns - In ordinary
  13. HMS Exeter - 70 guns - In ordinary
  14. HMS Expedition - 70 guns - In ordinary
  15. HMS Grafton - 70 guns - In ordinary
  16. HMS Greenwich - 60 guns - In ordinary
  17. HMS Hampton Court - 70 guns - In ordinary
  18. HMS Harwich - 64 guns - In ordinary
  19. HMS Henrietta - 60 guns - Guardship at Chatham
  20. HMS Hope - 70 guns - In ordinary
  21. HMS Lennox - 70 guns - In ordinary
  22. HMS Lion - 60 guns - In ordinary
  23. HMS Kent - 70 guns - In ordinary
  24. HMS Monmouth - 70 guns - In ordinary
  25. HMS Montagu - 62 guns - In ordinary
  26. HMS Northumberland - 70 guns - In ordinary
  27. HMS Pendennis - 70 guns - In ordinary
  28. HMS Resolution - 68 guns - In ordinary
  29. HMS Restoration - 70 guns - In ordinary
  30. HMS Royal Oak - 74 guns - In ordinary
  31. HMS Rupert - 64 guns - Sailing in home waters
  32. HMS Saint George - 66 guns - In ordinary
  33. HMS Stirling Castle - 70 guns - In ordinary
  34. HMS Suffolk - 70 guns - In ordinary
  35. HMS Swiftsure - 66 guns - In ordinary
  36. HMS Triumph - 70 guns - In ordinary
  37. HMS Worcester - 60 guns - In ordinary
  38. HMS York - 60 guns - In ordinary

Fourth Rates

1.      HMS Adventure - 40 guns - In ordinary

2.      HMS Antelope - 48 guns - In ordinary

3.      HMS Assistance - 50 guns - In ordinary

4.      HMS Bonaventure - 44 guns - Sailing off Morocco

5.      HMS Bristol - 48 guns - Sailing in the Mediterranean

6.      HMS Centurion - 48 guns - Sailing in home waters

7.      HMS Constant Warwick - 46 guns - In ordinary

8.      HMS Crown - 48 guns - Sailing in home waters from July 1st

9.      HMS Diamond - 48 guns - Sailing in the Caribbean

10.  HMS Dover - 48/42 guns - In ordinary

11.  HMS Dragon - 48 guns - In ordinary? Possibly sailing in the Mediterranean

12.  HMS Falcon - 40 guns - Sailing in home waters, later intended for Jamaica

13.  HMS Foresight - 48 guns - In ordinary

14.  HMS Golden Horse - 46 guns - Sailing in home waters

15.  HMS Half Moon - 44 guns - In ordinary

16.  HMS Hampshire - 46 guns - In ordinary

17.  HMS Happy Return - 48 guns - Sailing in home waters, then sailing in Med

18.  HMS Jersey - 40 guns - In ordinary

19.  HMS Kingfisher - 46 guns - Sailing in home waters

20.  HMS Mary Rose - 48 guns - Sailing in home waters from June 19th

21.  HMS Monck - 58 guns - In ordinary

22.  HMS Mordaunt - 48 guns - Sailing in home waters

23.  HMS Newcastle - 52 guns - In ordinary

24.  HMS Nonsuch - 40 guns - In ordinary

25.  HMS Oxford - 54 guns - Sailing off New York

26.  HMS Phoenix - 40 guns - In ordinary

27.  HMS Plymouth - 48 guns - In ordinary

28.  HMS Portland - 50 guns - In ordinary

29.  HMS Portsmouth - 48 guns - In ordinary

30.  HMS Reserve - 48 guns - Guardship at Portsmouth

31.  HMS Ruby - 48 guns - Sailing in home waters

32.  HMS Swallow - 40 guns - In ordinary

33.  HMS Sweepstakes - 40 guns - In ordinary

34.  HMS Tiger - 46 guns - Sailing off Scotland

35.  HMS Tiger Prize - 46 guns ­­- In ordinary

36.  HMS Unicorn - 44 guns - In ordinary

Fifth Rates

  1. HMS Advice - 34 guns - In ordinary
  2. HMS Assurance - 36 guns - In ordinary
  3. HMS Charles Galley - 32 guns - Sailing in home waters
  4. HMS Dartmouth - 36 guns - In ordinary
  5. HMS Garland - 34 guns - Sailing in home waters
  6. HMS Guernsey - 34 guns - Sailing in home waters
  7. HMS James Galley - 30 guns - Sailing in the Mediterranean
  8. HMS Mermaid - 30 guns - Sailing in home waters
  9. HMS Pearl - 28 guns - Sailing in home waters
  10. HMS Richmond - 24 guns - In ordinary
  11. HMS Rose - 28 guns - Sailing in home waters
  12. HMS Sapphire - 28 guns - Sailing in home waters
  13. HMS Swan - 32 guns - Sailing in home waters

Sixth Rates

  1. HMS Deptford - 10 guns - Sailing in home waters
  2. HMS Drake - 16 guns - Sailing in home waters
  3. HMS Eagle - 12 guns - Sheerness guardship
  4. HMS Greyhound - 16 guns - Serving off Morocco
  5. HMS Lark - 18 guns - Serving off Morocco
  6. HMS Saudadoes - 16 guns - Sailing in home waters

Sloops and Yachts

1.      HMY Arran - 8 guns - Sailing in home waters

2.      HMS Bonetta - 4 guns - Sailing in home waters

3.      HMY Charlotte - 8 guns - Sailing in home waters

4.      HMY Cleveland - 8 guns - Sailing in home waters

5.      HMS Experiment - ? - In ordinary

6.      HMS Fanfan - 4 guns - Sailing in home waters

7.      HMY Fubbs - 12 guns - Sailing in home waters

8.      HMY Henrietta - 8 guns - Sailing in home waters

9.      HMY Isabella - 8 guns - Sailing in home waters

10.  HMY Isle of Wight - 4 guns - In ordinary

11.  HMY Katherine - 8 guns - Sailing in home waters

12.  HMY Mary - 8 guns - Sailing in home waters

13.  HMY Merlin - 8 guns - In ordinary

14.  HMY Monmouth - 8 guns - Sailing in home waters

15.  HMY Navy - 8 guns - Sailing in home waters

16.  HMY Portsmouth - 8 guns - Sailing in home waters

17.  HMY Richmond - 8 guns - Sailing in home waters

Fireships

1.      Ann and Christopher

2.      Golden Rose

3.      John and Alexander

4.      Peace

5.      Providence

6.      Rose

7.      Sampson

8.      Sarah

9.      Spanish Merchant

10.  Thomas and Katherine

11.  Young Spragg 

 

Soli Deo Gloria!

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