1665-1703

Resolution

Resolution was built in Harwich between 1665 and 1667 and was one of only three third-rate vessels built by noted maritime architect Sir Anthony Deane. In 1669, the Resolution was the flagship in an expedition against the Barbary Corsairs and took part in the unsuccessful attack on the Dutch Smyrna convoy, which resulted in the Third Dutch War.

Resolution foundered during the Great Storm on 27 November 1703, after being blown across the Solent, striking the Owers Banks six or seven times before the crew were able to raise a scrap of sail and round Beachy Head. The damaged and sinking ship was taking on water and despite the efforts of the exhausted crew on the pumps, she was soon full up to the level of the Orlop deck beams. With the ship in this hopeless state, the decision was made to beach her in Pevensey Bay, thus saving all the crew.

Some salvage and theft followed and in January 1704 the first lieutenant reported that French Privateers had burnt the remains of the vessel.

The 'Great Storm' is well documented in contemporary newspapers and by Daniel Defoe in his work The Storm (Penguin Classics) An Essay, written in 1704. Other protected warships lost in the same storm comprise the Stirling Castle, Restoration and Northumberland, located on the Goodwin Sands, off Kent.

Below are excerpts from an article entitled The Search for HMS Resolution (1667 -1703) written by Bryan Smith (Oxford University MARE) and published in the Mensun Bound book Excavating Ships of War

Biography 

The Resolution (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) was a 70 gun, third-rate man­-of-war of about 900 tons. She was built at Harwich by the famous naval architect, Anthony Deane, between 1665 and 1667. Some believe her to be Deane's most successful ship. Her service under the Crown was varied and interesting. In 1669-70 she was with Sir Thomas Allin as part of a futile campaign against the Barbary corsairs in the Mediterranean. Then, in 1672, she took part in the unsuccessful attack on the Dutch Smyrne convoy which opened the Third Dutch War. In June of that year she captured at least 23 Dutch merchant ships while cruising off Yarmouth. Later in the war she was active in the Battle of Solebay, the First and Second Battles of Schooneveld and the Battle of Texel. In 1691 she was present at the Battle of Barfleur and La Hogue. In 1693 she was in the West Indies where she was Rear Admiral Wheeler's flagship in the attack on Martinique. In May 1694, in company with the Monmouth, she drove ashore and burnt a French frigate and 35 merchant ships. In 1697-98 she had an extensive refit and rebuild at Chatham. The poor quality of these repairs created a scandal which resulted in changes to the system of rebuilding. In 1702 she was again in the West Indies and on her return was lost in the Great Storm of 1703.

The Great Storm of 1703

The Great Storm of 1703 was one of the worst on record in British Waters. Twelve vessels were lost, including the Stirling Castle that also features in this volume. A brief description of its ferocity and consequences is given by John Campbell in his Lives of British Admirals (1779, 392-393): 

The Storm began on the 26th of November, 1703, at about eleven in the evening; the wind being west-south-west, and continued with dreadful flashes of lightning, till about seven the next morning. The water flowed to a great height in Westminster Hall; and London Bridge was in a manner stopt up with wrecks. The mischief done in London was computed at not less than a million; and the city of Bristol suffered upwards of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds. But the greatest loss fell upon our navy, of which there perished no less than thirteen ships, and upwards of fifteen hundred seamen were drowned; among whom was Basil Beaumont, Esq. rear-admiral of the blue; who had been employed all that year in observing the Dunkirk squadron, and had by his great care and conduct preserved our merchant-ships from falling into the hands of the French privateers... These losses, how much soever they might affect us at home, served in some measure to raise our reputation abroad, for orders were immediately issued for building more ships than were destroyed.

The loss of Resolution 

As a result of the failure of her anchor cables, the Resolution was driven on the shoals several times, causing such stress to her seams that the ingress of water became unmanageable. In a badly damaged and sinking state her Captain, Thomas Liell, deliberately beached her in Pevensey (or Pemsey) Bay thus saving the lives of all on board. The unfolding drama is clearly described by the captain in the ship's log which survives in the Public Records Office, London (PRO ADM 106/ 581 159535): 

25/11/03

This day have had hard gales with thick weather and driving rain this morning set our course and in taking in our topsails they both split we unbent at 8 this morning made the Bill of Portland at 3 after noon made Dunoze being very thick and hazy we bore up for St Helens at the anchor in 7 fathoms the Port Bower cable parting we let go the small lower which brought up the Ship then lowered yards and topmast and spliced the second cable of the port bower to the small bower veard away wind from WSW to S by E. 

26/11/03

This morning got up the topmast and bent the topsails, but it blowing so hard we could not purches our anchor, so we lowed the topmast again and veard away, Bembridge point bearing wsw 3 miles, at 12 at night the small bower cable parted, Immediately we let go the sheet and stream anchors which no sooner had brought up the ship but they parted (2), then we losed our sprit sail which blew out of the boltropes and likewise the foresail and Main sail blow out of the boltropes. 

27/11/03

About two this morning the ship struck and then drove into 5 and 6 fathom of water and struck again and then drove into deeper water which she did four times before we was clear of the shoals, the ship proved so very leaky that all our men could hardly keep her above water with both pumps and bailing at fore main and after hatchways at six this morning brought to a spritsail to the foreyard and hoisted it as high as the topmast would admit, the winds being at W by S. Shorham bearing N by E about 3 Leagues at 12 this day the water increasing on us in the hold and all our men tired with pumping and bailing the water being up to the orlop beams we were obliged to put the ship a Shore near Pemsey to save our lives.

Tho: Liell

A broadly similar account was given by the first lieutenant in a document dated 18/1/04 which obviously referred to the events of the 26 and 27 of November of the preceding year (National Maritime Museum ADM/L/E/9I): 

Strong gales thick Weather. Something past 12 last night our small bower parted and Wee emmediately lett goe our Sheet anchor and Stream anchor, which hardly brought the Shipp up though We reanded all the Sheet Cable out to 1 ½ fath att ¾ past 12 they both parted and our ship rolling with her head to the Swd and it being the Ebb tide Wee loosed the Spritsaile which with the strength of the wind blowed from the yard as did afterwards the foresaile and Mainsaile at 2 this morning our Ship struck upon the Owers att least 6 or 7 times We had then Depth of Water between 3 ½ and 5 fath And after 4 our water deepened to 12 and 14 fath Wee then keeping our pumps going and baling in the Hatchways. att 7 this morning itt being day and proveing less wind we saw the land then bent a Spritsaile with both reefes in the Capps the Water then being up to the Orlopp and It still Increasing We thought it Convenient for the Safety of our lives to Run her ashore Which Wee did about Noon between Beachy and Hastings off of Pemsey Town In Sussex Where the Water Ebbing from the Ship Itt pleased God We Saved our Lives.

Notes:

2. The equipment list shows that the ship would have been carrying six anchors. We know, however, that the cables were in poor condition (probably because she had not received new stores since returning from the West Indies), so it is possible that she lost one, or more of her anchors before anchoring in St Helen's Roads.

References:

Campbell, J, 1779, Lives of the British Admirals, Vol.III, London.

Dean, J, 1670, Doctrine of Naval Architecture, London.

Much of what we currently know about Resolution is from the archive research carried out by the 1989 Team, further excerpts from Bryan Smiths article can be found on the 1703-2005 page by kind permission of Mensun Bound.