British Third Rate ship of the line 'Wellesley' (1815)

Three Decks' Forum

Come and ask, answer or inform.

Recent updates

Update
Pedro de Linze y BerasteguiSpanish
Ship Owner
Service 1754-1769
Update
Galga (36) 1744-1784
Spanish 36 Gun
Privateer Frigate
Added
Lorenzo BeyenisSpanish
Ship Owner
Service 1769
Update
Juan Agustin de IradySpanish
Naval Sailor
Update
Guipuzcoano (64) 1778-1780
Spanish 64 Gun
Merchant Ship of the Line
Update
San Rafael (30) 1774-1780
Spanish 30 Gun
Merchant Frigate
Update
Luis ArburuSpanish
Naval Sailor
Update
Fermín UrtizbereaSpanish
Naval Sailor
Service 1780
Update
San Carlos (32) 1772-1780
Spanish 32 Gun
Merchant Frigate
Added
San Ignacio de Loyola (50) 1766-1779
Spanish 50 Gun
Merchant Ship
See more...

Wellesley ➡ 1868 Cornwall	7397
Nominal Guns	74	BWAS-1793
Nationality	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Operator	Royal Navy
Ordered	6.1.1812	BWAS-1793
Keel Laid Down	5.1813	BWAS-1793
Launched	24.2.1815	BWAS-1793
How acquired	Built by Contract	BWAS-1793
Shipyard	Bombay - Maharashtra	BWAS-1793
Ship Class	Black Prince Class (1813)	BWAS-1793
Constructor	East India CompanyBritish Ship Builder	BWAS-1793
Category	Third Rate	BWAS-1793
Ship Type	Ship of the Line	BWAS-1793
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged	BWAS-1793
Sunk in Action	24.9.1940	BWAS-1793

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1793
Length of Gundeck175' 10 ¾"Imperial Feet53.3591
Length of Keel144' 11 ½"Imperial Feet43.9039
Breadth47' 7"Imperial Feet14.351
Depth in Hold21' 0"Imperial Feet6.4008
Draught Aft15' 6"Imperial Feet4.6025
Burthen1,745 ⁷⁵⁄₉₄Tons BM

Armament

24.2.1815Broadside Weight = 982 Imperial Pound ( 445.337 kg)BWAS-1793
Lower Gun Deck28 British 32-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck28 British 18-Pounder
Quarterdeck10 British 32-Pound Carronade
Quarterdeck4 British 12-Pounder
Forecastle2 British 32-Pound Carronade
Forecastle2 British 12-Pounder
Roundhouse6 British 18-Pound Carronade

Crew Complement

Date# of MenNotesSource
8.9.1813590Design Complement

3 Ship Commanders

DatesRankNameSource
6.1815 - 5.1816CaptainBWAS-179319.6.1837 - 1.1843CaptainW0251841 - 7.10.1841CommodoreNBD1849

2 Flag Officers

DatesRankNameSource
12.1826 - 1827Rear-AdmiralODNB7.1837 - 30.11.1839Rear-Admiral of the Red†E-WIKI

6 Commissioned Officers

DatesRankNameSource
2.1815 - 20.9.1815Acting LieutenantNBD184920.9.1815 - 1.1816LieutenantNBD184921.9.1830 - 21.10.1832UnknownNBD184918.6.1837 - 28.6.1838CommanderW02511.3.1838 - 1839LieutenantW0253.1.1840 - 19.1.1841LieutenantNBD1849

1 Petty Officer

DatesRatingNameSource
1841Master's MateNBD1849

Service History

DateEventSource
5.1813Began building at Bombay Dockyard - Bombay BWAS-1793
24.2.1815Completed building at Bombay Dockyard - Bombay at a cost of £55147.0.0dBWAS-1793
3.5.1816Arrived at Portmsouth and laid upBWAS-1793
1824Began fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth BWAS-1793
3.1824RecommissionedBWAS-1793
2.1825Completed fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth at a cost of £26597.0.0dBWAS-1793
2.1835Began small repair at Plymouth Dockyard - Plymouth BWAS-1793
9.1837Completed small repair at Plymouth Dockyard - Plymouth at a cost of £25119.0.0dBWAS-1793
9.1837Began fitting as a Flagship at Plymouth Dockyard - Plymouth BWAS-1793
10.1837Completed fitting as a Flagship at Plymouth Dockyard - Plymouth BWAS-1793
1839Refitted as a 72 gun Third Rate Ship of the Line
7.1842Laid up at PlymouthBWAS-1793
12.1847Began fitting as a Flagship at Plymouth Dockyard - Plymouth BWAS-1793
3.1848Completed fitting as a Flagship at Plymouth Dockyard - Plymouth at a cost of £11157.0.0dBWAS-1793
6.1851Laid up at ChathamBWAS-1793
7.1854fitting as a Guardship at Chatham Dockyard - Chatham at a cost of £11157.0.0dBWAS-1793
6.4.1868Lent to the London School Ship Society as a ReformatoryBWAS-1793
18.6.1868Renamed CornwallBWAS-1793
24.9.1940Sunk by the Luftwaffe in the ThamesBWAS-1793

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

BWAS-1793Rif Winfield, Book

E-WIKIVarious, Web Site

NBD1849O'Brien, Digital Book

ODNBOxford University Press, Web Site

W025P. Davis, Web Site

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Jon Miller on Thursday 2nd of July 2026 20:02

Portsmouth, 15 June 1816: The Wellesley, 74, is paid off; the Drake will be paid off on Monday. [Hampshire Telegraph, 17 June 1816]

Posted by Jon Miller on Thursday 2nd of July 2026 03:20

Portsmouth, 27 April 1816: This morning the Wellesley, 74, which was launched last year at Bombay, arrived from Madras, Trincomalee, Pointe de Galle, the Cape of Good Hope, and St Helena. Capt Bayley, who was Flag-Captain to the late Sir George Burlton, came home in the command of her. She left Commodore Robert O’Brien at Trincomalee, having his broad-pendant in the Cornwallis, 74; Capt Sayer not having returned from China in the Leda. The Alpheus, Revolutionaire, Elk, and Volage, also continued in the China Seas. The Owen Glendour, Capt Hodgson, is on her passage home from China. The Wellesley left St Helena on the 3d ult; the Northumberland (Sir G Cockburn), and Havannah were lying there. [Hampshire Telegraph, 29 April 1816]

Make a comment about this page

Recent comments to other pages

Date posted	By	Page
Thursday 23rd of July 2026 13:29	keith wilkie	British Third Rate ship of the line 'Yarmouth' (1745) (64) 1745-1811 British 64 Gun 3rd Rate Ship of the Line
Thursday 23rd of July 2026 13:13	keith wilkie	British Third Rate ship of the line 'Somerset' (1748) (68) 1748-1778 British 68 Gun 3rd Rate Ship of the Line
Wednesday 22nd of July 2026 04:24	F.F.	British First Rate ship of the line 'Santisima Trinidad' (1805) (136) 1805-1805 British 136 Gun 1st Rate Ship of the Line
Wednesday 22nd of July 2026 01:36	F.F.	Spanish First Rate ship of the line 'Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad' (1769) (116) 1769-1805 Spanish 116 Gun 1st Rate Ship of the Line
Tuesday 21st of July 2026 16:47	Jon Miller	British sloop 'Drake' (1798) (14) 1798-1804 British 14 Gun Unrated Sloop

GDPR Statement