HMS Duchess (1679)

HMS Duchess was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by John Shish at Deptford Dockyard, and launched in May 1679.[3]

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Blenheim.
For other ships with the same name, see HMS Duchess and HMS Windsor Castle.

History
Great Britain
Name: HMS Duchess
Builder: John Shish, Deptford Dockyard
Launched: May 1679
Renamed:
  • HMS Princess Anne, 1701
  • HMS Windsor Castle, 1702
  • HMS Blenheim, 1706
Fate: Broken up, 1763
General characteristics as built[1]
Class and type: 90-gun second rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1,546 long tons (1,570.8 t)
Length: 162 ft 8 in (49.6 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 45 ft 8 in (13.9 m)
Depth of hold: 18 ft 4 in (5.6 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Armament: 90 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1709 rebuild[2]
Class and type: 90-gun second rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1,557 long tons (1,582.0 t)
Length: 162 ft 2.75 in (49.4 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 47 ft 2.25 in (14.4 m)
Depth of hold: 18 ft 10.25 in (5.7 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Armament: 90 guns of various weights of shot

In 1696, the Duchess was lying in the Thames when passed by famed privateer Capt. William Kidd in the Adventure Galley. Kidd failed to offer the customary salute to the Duchess, and the irate Captain Stewart of the Duchess fired a shot off Kidd's bow, forcing Kidd (surrounded by a "forest of Royal Navy warships") to heave to and be boarded. Stewart then impressed 30 of Kidd's best hand-picked seamen. One of Kidd's influential backers came to his aid, getting Stewart to replace the impressed sailors, but rather than returning Kidd's original crew, he substituted his worst troublemakers.[4]

The Duchess was renamed HMS Princess Anne in 1701, HMS Windsor Castle in 1702, and HMS Blenheim in 1706.[1]

In 1709 Blenheim was rebuilt at Woolwich Dockyard, remaining a 90-gun second rate. She continued to serve until 1763, when she was broken up.[2]

Notes
  1. Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 162.
  2. Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 166.
  3. "British Second Rate ship of the line 'Duchess' (1679)". Threedecks. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  4. Zacks, Richard (18 June 2003). The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd. Hachette Books.

References
  • Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.


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