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Lot Essay
A significant part of Oliver Cromwell’s legacy to Charles II upon his restoration in 1660 was the strong navy which had roundly defeated the forces of the United Provinces of Holland in the First Anglo-Dutch War of 1652-54. Fortunately, the new King also recognised the value of Cromwell’s bequest and, from the outset, gave the navy every support to the extent of appointing his younger brother James, the Duke of York and future King James II, to its overall command. James proved an equally enthusiastic supporter and indeed, a very able fleet commander, but his successor William III was less keen. William was primarily a soldier and saw the navy merely as an adjunct to the army which he commanded. To an extent at least therefore, William’s reign (1689-1702) saw the navy rather neglected and when Anne became Queen in March 1702, one of her very first acts – that May – was to create her husband, Prince George of Denmark, the Lord High Admiral of England, a position more usually held by the sovereign. Despite his lack of experience, Prince George took his new role very seriously and decided to visit the fleet at the earliest opportunity. Arranged for 4th June, the Prince and his entourage made their way to Sheerness from where the royal party was rowed out to the flagship lying with other ships in the Nore, the principal fleet anchorage at that time.
This is the scene, with the Prince’s barge shown off Royal Sovereign’s port quarter, depicted in this attractive work derived from Van de Velde’s painting of the same event and which is held in the National Collection at Greenwich (BHC 3614). Van de Velde produced a number of portraits of this great ship which inspired various artists, not least Peter Monamy. (For other comparable compositions, see Frank Cockett’s Peter Monamy, 1681–1749, and His Circle, 2000, front dust jacket and page 72, pl. 40.)
The first rate Royal Sovereign
Designed by Surveyor Harding and built under his direction, the second Royal Sovereign to serve in the fleet was a majestic three-decker measured at 1,883 tons and 174½ feet in length with a 50 foot beam. With a principal armament of 28-32pdrs. on her gundeck, she further mounted 28-18pdrs. on her maindeck and 28- 9pdrs. on her upper deck, with additional 6pdrs. on the quarterdeck, forecastle and roundhouse (or poop) to give a total of 102 guns. In terms of sheer firepower, she was a worthy successor to her earlier namesake although the grandeur and lavishness of her external carvings and decoration were also just as spectacular. Indeed, it is intriguing to speculate just how much of her cost was attributable to all this splendid though needless finery, an issue which assumes even greater importance once her career is examined. Launched on 25th May 1701 and commissioned for sea under Captain John Fletcher, her first operational role was as flagship to Sir George Rooke when the War of the Spanish Succession began in 1702. Rooke’s initial objective was the capture or destruction of Cadiz and, to this end, the fleet he had assembled left Spithead on 19th June (1702). Arriving at their intended anchorage near Cadiz on 12th August, Rooke then displayed “an ominous lack of energy” which resulted in the failure of the several operations to take the city and a complete withdrawal a month later. From there, Rooke took the fleet to Vigo Bay where, on 12th October (1702), he partially restored his reputation not only by destroying the French fleet at anchor there, but also by seizing the Spanish treasure galleons it was guarding. Millions in specie were captured yet one of the most curious aspects of the affair was that Rooke transferred his flag to the 80-gun Somerset beforehand and Royal Sovereign took no part in the action whatsoever.
One possible explanation could be that Rooke was under orders not to damage, let alone hazard, his flagship by exposing her to enemy fire such was her status as the symbolic flagship of the entire Navy and, in effect, a national icon. There is no documentary evidence to support such a theory yet it remains a mystifying fact that she never participated in any of the great sea-fights of her era despite several periods as flagship to successive commanding admirals. For unspecified reasons, she was effectively rebuilt by Master Shipwright J. Rosewell at Chatham between 1723 and 1729, even though details of her later career are equally sparse. Reclassed as a 90-gun 2nd Rate in 1756, three years later she was made Guardship in the Downs, a position of some significance, especially in time of war, as was the case from 1756-63. Further reduced to an 80-gun ship in 1763, perhaps as a result of the restoration of peace, she was broken up at Chatham a few years later, probably in 1766, although some sources state 1768. This lack of clarity concerning the precise year of her demise somehow reflects the whole of her sixty-year career which started with such promise yet achieved so little.
We are grateful to Michael Naxton for compiling this entry and for his assistance in the cataloguing of this lot.
This is the scene, with the Prince’s barge shown off Royal Sovereign’s port quarter, depicted in this attractive work derived from Van de Velde’s painting of the same event and which is held in the National Collection at Greenwich (BHC 3614). Van de Velde produced a number of portraits of this great ship which inspired various artists, not least Peter Monamy. (For other comparable compositions, see Frank Cockett’s Peter Monamy, 1681–1749, and His Circle, 2000, front dust jacket and page 72, pl. 40.)
The first rate Royal Sovereign
Designed by Surveyor Harding and built under his direction, the second Royal Sovereign to serve in the fleet was a majestic three-decker measured at 1,883 tons and 174½ feet in length with a 50 foot beam. With a principal armament of 28-32pdrs. on her gundeck, she further mounted 28-18pdrs. on her maindeck and 28- 9pdrs. on her upper deck, with additional 6pdrs. on the quarterdeck, forecastle and roundhouse (or poop) to give a total of 102 guns. In terms of sheer firepower, she was a worthy successor to her earlier namesake although the grandeur and lavishness of her external carvings and decoration were also just as spectacular. Indeed, it is intriguing to speculate just how much of her cost was attributable to all this splendid though needless finery, an issue which assumes even greater importance once her career is examined. Launched on 25th May 1701 and commissioned for sea under Captain John Fletcher, her first operational role was as flagship to Sir George Rooke when the War of the Spanish Succession began in 1702. Rooke’s initial objective was the capture or destruction of Cadiz and, to this end, the fleet he had assembled left Spithead on 19th June (1702). Arriving at their intended anchorage near Cadiz on 12th August, Rooke then displayed “an ominous lack of energy” which resulted in the failure of the several operations to take the city and a complete withdrawal a month later. From there, Rooke took the fleet to Vigo Bay where, on 12th October (1702), he partially restored his reputation not only by destroying the French fleet at anchor there, but also by seizing the Spanish treasure galleons it was guarding. Millions in specie were captured yet one of the most curious aspects of the affair was that Rooke transferred his flag to the 80-gun Somerset beforehand and Royal Sovereign took no part in the action whatsoever.
One possible explanation could be that Rooke was under orders not to damage, let alone hazard, his flagship by exposing her to enemy fire such was her status as the symbolic flagship of the entire Navy and, in effect, a national icon. There is no documentary evidence to support such a theory yet it remains a mystifying fact that she never participated in any of the great sea-fights of her era despite several periods as flagship to successive commanding admirals. For unspecified reasons, she was effectively rebuilt by Master Shipwright J. Rosewell at Chatham between 1723 and 1729, even though details of her later career are equally sparse. Reclassed as a 90-gun 2nd Rate in 1756, three years later she was made Guardship in the Downs, a position of some significance, especially in time of war, as was the case from 1756-63. Further reduced to an 80-gun ship in 1763, perhaps as a result of the restoration of peace, she was broken up at Chatham a few years later, probably in 1766, although some sources state 1768. This lack of clarity concerning the precise year of her demise somehow reflects the whole of her sixty-year career which started with such promise yet achieved so little.
We are grateful to Michael Naxton for compiling this entry and for his assistance in the cataloguing of this lot.