HMS Lenox (1678)

HMS Lenox was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford Dockyard on 18 April 1678.[1]

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Lenox.

Battle between the Spanish 70-gun Princess (right foreground), and HMS Lenox, Orford and Kent, 8 April 1740
History
Great Britain
Name: HMS Lenox
Builder: John Shish, Deptford Dockyard
Launched: 1678
Fate: Sunk as a breakwater, 1756
General characteristics as built[1]
Class and type: 70-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1096 bm
Length: 151 ft 6 in (46.2 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 39 ft 8 in (12.1 m)
Depth of hold: 17 ft (5.2 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Armament: 70 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1701 rebuild[2]
Class and type: 70-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1089 bm
Length: 152 ft 7.5 in (46.5 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 40 ft 3.5 in (12.3 m)
Depth of hold: 17 ft 1 in (5.2 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Armament: 70 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1723 rebuild[3]
Class and type: 1719 Establishment 70-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1128 bm
Length: 151 ft (46.0 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 41 ft 6 in (12.6 m)
Depth of hold: 17 ft 4 in (5.3 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Armament:
  • 70 guns:
  • Gundeck: 26 × 24 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 26 × 12 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 14 × 6 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 4 × 6 pdrs

On 10 July 1690, as part of the Nine Years' War, Lenox took part in the Battle of Beachy Head when an Anglo-Dutch fleet was defeated by a larger French force in the English Channel. Lenox formed part of the Centre squadron during the battle.[4]

She was rebuilt at Deptford in 1701, remaining as a 70-gun third rate.[2]

In 1702 William Jumper took this ship as his most notable command.[5] Lenox was part of Sir George Rooke's command during his unsuccessful attack on Cadiz in 1702, where she provided supporting fire for the initial landings on 26 August,[6] and was present at the capture of Gibraltar in 1704.[7] Lenox's captain was honoured by having Jumper's Bastion in Gibraltar named after him.[8] On 24 August 1704, Lenox took part in the Battle of Málaga. 23 of her crew were killed with a further 78 wounded.[9]

The Lenox (second left) during Knowles Action at Havana, 1748

In 1707 Lenox was part of the fleet commanded by Sir Cloudesley Shovel, a substantial part of which was wrecked off the Scilly Isles. Lenox herself was undamaged and was able to return to Portmsouth after the disaster.[10] On 2 May 1721 she was ordered to be taken to pieces and rebuilt at Chatham as a 70-gun third rate to the 1719 Establishment. She was relaunched on 19 September 1723.[3]

Lenox took part in the squadron sent to the West Indies under Vice-Admiral Francis Hosier in 1726.[11] She served until 1756, when she was sunk as a breakwater.[3]

Proposed sailing replica

In 2013 the Lenox Project (based in Deptford, London, UK) put forward a formal proposal to build a full-size sailing replica of the Lenox, to be constructed at a purpose-built museum on part of the site of the old Deptford Dockyard where the original Lenox was built.[12]

By late 2015 the project had gained momentum, with more detailed plans fitting the building of the Lenox into the overall development of Convoys Wharf, as the old Dockyard site is now known.[13][14]

If and when completed, the Lenox dock and museum would be within walking distance of the Cutty Sark museum in Greenwich.

Notes
  1. Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p162.
  2. Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p167.
  3. Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p169.
  4. Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History, Vol. II, pp. 335–340.
  5. HMS Lennox, threedecks.org, accessed 3 May 2013
  6. Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History, Vol. II, pp. 377–379.
  7. Hills, George (1974). Rock of contention : a history of Gibraltar. London: Hale. p. 172. ISBN 0709143524.
  8. Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History, Vol. II, p. 395.
  9. Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History, Vol. II, p. 399.
  10. Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Fourth Estate Ltd., London 1998, p. 6, ISBN 1-85702-571-7
  11. Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History, Vol. III, p. 43.
  12. "Build the Lenox". councilmeetings.lewisham.gov.uk. Lewisham Borough Council. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  13. "The Lenox Project: a lasting legacy for Deptford". www.buildthelenox.org. The Lenox Project. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  14. "Feasibility study report published by GLA". www.buildthelenox.org. The Lenox Project. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.

References
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