1715-1718

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A request for a list of stores from John Miller, commander of HM Yacht Hyacia includes 2 quarts of ‘sweet oil’, this was usually olive oil likely used for lubricating navigational instruments, clocks, watches, small arms, etc. The ship’s surgeon would also have uses for sweet oil.

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From the proportion of Ordnance of 9^th February 1715 for HMS Exeter (1697), a 60 gun fourth rate, we can see that she had 24 pounders on her lower gun deck, Demi-Culverings (8lb) on her middle deck and Sakers (6lb) on the upper deck. These documents are a mine of information on the stores carried by a warship.

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There follows, on 15th February 1715, a similar document for supplying HMS Rose, (1712) a 20 gun, sixth rate which carried 20 Sakers (3.65″ calibre), but was also issued 200 shot for Falconets (2″). I assume that these would have been used to make canister shot for the sakers. We can also she that she carried only 40 full size shot for each gun.

Incidentally: A replica of a later HMS Rose (1757), also a 20 gun sixth rate, was built in the US, it was renamed Surprise and appeared as such in the motion picture ‘Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World’.

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And yet another proportion for HMS Norfolk (1693), an 80 gun third rate. Again we can see that it was policy to supply a ship with 40 rounds of round shot per gun and, in this case, 6 rounds of double headed shot.

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On 16th March 1715, an instruction to supply powder to the Third regiment of Foot Guards (Scots Guards).

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Chris Lister’s letter of April 8^th, 1715 demonstrates how many words can be used to say so little. It says that the mortars carried by Moor, Swallow and Tyger, belonging to Furnace and Basilisk, should be put aboard the hoys Marlborough and Tenwick and transported to Woolwich, and that Mr. Hooper accounts for any delay or extra charge.

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On 15^th April 1715 the ships Ruby (1708) 54 guns and Southsea Castle (1708) are ordered to be ‘laid up’. This means that they will have all guns and stores removed, their crews disbanded, and the ships put into ‘Ordinary’: stored in reserve.

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A letter on the 16^th of April 1715, referring to the issue of the transfer of mortars, infers that the transports Marlborough and Tenwick were unable to carry the mortars and that they should instead be sent in the Pomroy. This gives us an idea of just how busy the hoys were.

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From an order for white rope on 27^th April 1715 we learn, by comparing the wording in the precis and the letter content, that the measure for rope, a Cable (10 fathoms – 600 feet), was also known as a Coil (Coyle). White Rope was any rope that was not tarred.

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Henry Stanyford’s carpentry bill for the June quarter lists several ships one of them being the Boyne (1692) famed for her part in taking Gibraltar in 1704. The bill is for the usual repairs to ships’ gun carriages.

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On 3^rd July 1715, John Brown’s, waggoner’s bill of laden for white rope to supply the cranes at Portsmouth.

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Then on the 4^th, a request from Chris King of HMS Namur (1697) for powder. Endorsed by Isaac Townsend.

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On 9^th July 1715 a note from Richard Perry, assumed Master Gunner of Portland Castle requests a supply of powder.

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Corn powder and musket shot for the 3rd Regiment of Foot.

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There were numerous vessels designated ‘HM Yacht’. I can find no record of the yacht Bolton, but the proportion for supplying her dated 27^th July 1715 gives us an idea of her size. She carried six 3 pounder guns, so was a relatively small vessel. We can also see that her allowance of shot enabled each gun to fire 20 shots, and she carried 2 barrels of corn powder and 1cwt of match powder.

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A demand for powder and shot for His Majesty’s Third Regiment of Foot Guards, these became The Scots Guards who had been moved from Scotland to London in 1712 and were not to return for 100 years.

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Six receipts for powder and shot for the company of invalids, all written in the same hand, but signed by different people are followed by a letter from The Tower ordering the supply of small arms to the regiment of invalids.

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The Indenture dated 1^st September 1715 for supplying George Stone, master gunner of HMS Kent (1679) with ten pounds of fine powder, otherwise known as match, looks very grand.

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This is followed on the 17^th by another Indenture for supplying Captain Henry Stanyford, master carpenter and captain of the Portsmouth town militia with muskets and cartouche boxes. The indenture is signed by Capt. Stanyford and John Hooper.

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20^th September 1715 a demand for corn powder for HMS Neptune (1683), endorsed by Isaac Townsend.

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There was obviously a lot of work going on building fortifications, presumably under the command of Captain Talbot Edwards of the Royal Engineers. Six notes follow from Thomas Bowerbank and Talbot Edwards. From 6^th October to 13^th 1715, one from Talbot Edwards then from Thomas Bowerbank request stores and equipment for the building of fortifications. One for hatchets and one for Muscovy lights. These were lamps that used mica as a transparent medium in place of the traditional cow horn which tended to distort with the heat.

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Another terse demand from Captain Edwards.

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A stark difference from talbot Edwards’ note and this one from Thomas Bowerbank.

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A much more polite request from Talbot Edwards for a muscovy light. These were lanterns that used mica for the transparent medium.

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On the 15^th October 1715 a badly damaged request for guns to be delivered to Moses Baxter, master gunner detailing the 32 guns requested by Captain Edwards. The signature is unreadable but is highly likely to be that of Isaac Townsend.

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Also on 15^th October 1715 we see another note from Captain Talbot Edwards demanding thirty-two guns of varying sizes. This note is typically abrupt with no niceties.

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The letter of the 18^th of October 1715 shows us that The Board were well acquainted with the value of stores, even old ones. The letter instructs Mr. Hooper to haggle and remind the prospective buyers of the value of the old rope.

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The fortifications mentioned earlier must have been substantial. The note from Thomas Bowerbank on 22^nd October 1715 asks for 100 shovels. Finally, on the 24^th of October we find that the works were being carried out at the saluting platform. This still exists, jutting out into the sea, just to the southwest of the Royal Garrison Church on Portsmouth seafront. Captain Edwards is requesting lead cramps for pinning the foundations.

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On 25^th October 1715 Bell Jones writes on behalf of The Board to instruct Mr. Hooper to take 667 muskets from the 5^th rate ships exchanging them for a like number and to report on their condition.

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On December 16^th of 1715, a letter from The Tower an instruction to issue 400 muskets and cartouche boxes to the inhabitants of Portsmouth: presumably the militia captained by Henry Stanyford.

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Also on December 16^th of 1715, Thomas Clayton, master gunner of HMS Canterbury (1693), asks for powder and flints. The note would appear to have been written on board the ship as it is headed ‘Portsmouth Harbour’, yet it has been endorsed by Sir Isaac Townsend.

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A letter from Bell Jones of The Tower dated 19^th December 1715 shows that The Board covered all bases. HMS Squirrel, anchored off the Kent coast (The Downs), is to be refit for Channel service but has been given the option of refitting at Portsmouth or Sheerness.

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It is unusual to see brass ordnance mentioned in favour of iron, but the letter from The Tower dated 19^th January 1716 specifies brass guns to be sent to Woolwich. We also see the term ‘drakes’ used for close fighting, these were narrower than normal for their calibre and length would normally require and so used a lesser charge.

The dates on this letter are somewhat confusing. It was written on 19^th January 1716, but date stamped in Portsmouth on the 9^th February and the precis was written on the 11^th. It is unusual to see these dates differ as, generally, letters were posted and arrived the same day.

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In September of 1715 Patrick Watkins of the Neptune submitted a demand for powder, now on the 20^th February 1716 we have another demand for powder and oil for HMS Neptune (1683), endorsed by Isaac Townsend.

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In May 1716, a flag of Beauport for Calshot Castle, and in July a bill of laden for the Marlborough hoy for unserviceable arms and ammunition.

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Dated 10^th August 1716 is a receipt for paper, rope, sheepskins etc. delivered to Mr. Francis Tyler of Warnford, a small village to the north of the Meon Valley in Hampshire.

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Captain Thomas Pattison, who worked at the gun wharf, requested “Eight barrills of triumph powder for sealing the guns on the gun wharf” this is the only mention of triumph powder in all of the documents. He also asks for twelve pounds of fine powder. One wonders: was triumph powder the same as corn powder? And what does he mean by ‘sealing the guns’?

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In January 1717 it would appear that times are hard and that a rethink on the quantity of stores issued to vessels. The letter dated 9^th January refers to “the proportions I now send you”, unfortunately we are not privy to that document.

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On the Gosport side of Portsmouth Harbour is a small island now known as Rat Island. In the past it was known as Burrough, Burrow or Barrogh Island and in the 17^th century. The name ‘Burrough’ is an old spelling of ‘Borough’, and the island was named as such because it was in the Borough of Portsmouth (now the City of Portsmouth), at a time when Gosport was not a borough.*

Burrough Island on which in 1678 building commenced of a small fort known as Fort James or Burrough Fort with access via a spit of land from Hardway (Priddy’s hard). It had a square tower 46ft across and 19ft high. 14 guns were mounted on the tops and sentry boxes were constructed on the corners. The blockhouse sat on a defensive platform 110ft square, surrounded by a parapet. The north and south sides were defended by a dry ditch. There is an unlikely legend that the fort was on the site of a Norman Castle.*

It is known that the fort fell into disrepair by 1847, but the exact date of its abandonment was unknown. A note to Messrs Hooper and Baxter of 9^th January 1717 gives us a strong clue as it lists gunners’ stores being returned to the Dockyard.

*My thanks to David Moore and Philip Eley for their assistance on this subject and in transcribing the document.

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Anthony swift, master of the hoy Unity was in receipt of a four oared boat with mast, sails and sprits. It says that it was ‘deale built’. This may refer to the wood it was made of, or, more likely, that it was built at the naval yard in Deal, Kent.

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Mr. Hooper is issued an imprest of £100/13/6 in March of 1717 to pay Captain Pattison’s labourers at the gun wharf.

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On 12^th April 1717 a demand for powder and small stores from Henry Darbyshour, master gunner of the Humber, endorsed by Isaac Townsend.

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Although somewhat faded and difficult to read, from Edward Fitchett’s bill of laden, 26^th April 1717, we learn that Peter coward is Barack Master who endorses the bill on behalf of John Hooper.

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13^th June 1717 Mr. Hooper is asked to supply unusable tents to Captain Pattison to make splatter dashes for newly raised men. Splatter dashes were like gaiters or spats to protect the shoes and lower legs from mud, splashes etc.

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The hoy Unity, on 19^th June 1717 was at Greenwich, only partly laden, so Bell Jones wrote to Mr. Hooper asking for a list of required stores. The letter was written and received the same day, and there is every possibility that Bell would get his answer the same day.

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On 28^th June 1717 another letter from Bell Jones advising Mr. Hooper to provide Capt. Pattison with funds to bring guns back from Weymouth and HMS Loe, but that receipts should be obtained for any expense.

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Bell Jones writes on 5^th July 1717 to Mr. Hooper to advise that he is supplied with £220/13/6 to pay: labourers, gunners and matrosses under captain Pattison. Matrosses were gunners’ assistants.

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On 17^th July 1717 powder and shot is to be delivered to Brigadier Stairn’s Regiment of Foot, then on 27^th we see a detailed receipt for the guns from Weymouth being returned by Capt. Pattison.

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Talbot Edwards, in his abrupt manner, orders an iron ladle or pot and acknowledges receipt. He actually gets both a pot and a ladle together with tallow, barras (for caulking) and nails.

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Both Yarmouth and Carisbrooke castles on the Isle of Wight return considerable amounts of stores on 24^th October and 3rd December 1717, much of which appears to have been unusable. No reason for the returns is given, but by the 18^th century it is said that the harbour at Yarmouth was silting up reducing the risk of invasion.

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George Ayres, master of the Marlborough hoy requests rope and candles for use on board on 22^nd November 1717.

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Here we see the return from Yarmouth Castle.

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Brigadier Munden returns defective small arms, 24 muskets and 24 pistols, to the stores on December 3^rd 1717, given into the care of Peter Coward.

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In January 1718 the Lords of the Admiralty issue a directive to reduce the quantity of powder to be expended in saluting. Not only do they instruct that only guns on the upper deck, quarter deck and forecastle be used for saluting, (smaller guns, therefore less powder), but they reduce the amount of powder used in the guns by about a third. With such a large fleet, this must have saved a considerable amount of powder. The letter of 9th January 1717 may have been a forerunner of the savings being made here.

I assume that this letter, precluding the order, was to be distributed to all flag officers and that this copy was for the information of the Ordnance Office at Portsmouth Dockyard.

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Our first document of 1818 is a run of the mill receipt for round shot delivered by the Pomeroy Hoy.

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A note from Thomas Bowerbank on 22^nd February 1718 asks for 10 fathom, 600 feet of ½ inch rope to “…pull up stones out of the well…”. This makes one wonder how the stones got there and why the bucket was not used to remove them.

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A document dated 28^th May 1718 is a curiosity as it has no address nor seal or signatories yet is written as would be a letter from The Board. It mentions 45 ships, but with no names and then lists a proportion of small arms to be distributed among them.

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On 31^st August 1718 an account of stores for the ‘Fireworkers’ is unusual in that there has, to now, been no mention of this trade. Looking at the list, it would seem that Fireworkers were those who made the gunpowder, fuses, cartridges and mortar bombs.

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Should there be any doubt about the carrying capacity of a hoy, the bill of laden (16th August 1718) from Edward Fitchett master of the Isaac & Elizabeth gives us an idea of just how much she could carry. There is shot for 12 ships in 147 boxes, a huge quantity for the stores at Portsmouth, and more for Hurst Castle.

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A faded note from Admiral Holburn, dated 27^th September 1718, asks for a convoy to escort four merchant vessels ‘up Channel’. The note is not addressed, and it makes one wonder why it was in the Office of the Ordnance at Portsmouth when it would surely be the admiralty who control what vessels join a convoy. The term ‘up Channel’ infers that the destination is not Portsmouth but Woolwich or Greenwich.

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5th October 1718 a list of small arms being sent to The Tower. Most of them seem to be old and/or unserviceable.

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Documents 1719 to 1797