British Third Rate ship of the line 'Shrewsbury' (1758)

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Shrewsbury	289
Nominal Guns	74	BWAS-1714
Nationality	Great Britain
Operator	Royal Navy
Ordered	28.10.1755	BWAS-1714
Keel Laid Down	14.1.1756	BWAS-1714
Launched	23.2.1758	BWAS-1714
How acquired	Purpose built	BWAS-1714
Shipyard	Deptford - London	BWAS-1714
Ship Class	Dublin Class (1755)	BWAS-1714
Constructor	John WellsBritish Ship Builder Service 1748-1794	BWAS-1714
Category	Third Rate	BWAS-1714
Ship Type	Ship of the Line	BWAS-1714
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged	BWAS-1714
Scuttled	12.6.1783	BWAS-1714

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1714
Length of Gundeck166' 1"Imperial Feet50.5972
Length of Keel135' 2 ½"Imperial Feet41.1607
Breadth47' 1"Imperial Feet14.3292
Depth in Hold19' 9"Imperial Feet5.8166
Burthen1,594 ³¹⁄₉₄Tons BM

Armament

23.2.1758Broadside Weight = 781 Imperial Pound ( 354.1835 kg)BWAS-1714
Lower Gun Deck28 British 32-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck28 British 18-Pounder
Quarterdeck14 British 9-Pounder
Forecastle4 British 9-Pounder

Crew Complement

Date# of MenNotesSource
26.8.1755550Design Complement

7 Ship Commanders

DatesRankNameSource
7.3.1758 - 2.3.1763Captain ADM 6/18/493BWAS-171419.9.1777 - 29.1.1779Captain ADM 6/21/314BWAS-171411.1.1779 - 21.9.1781Captain ADM 6/21/498BWAS-171429.1.1779 - 16.4.1779Captain TransferedBWAS-171421.9.1781 - 5.2.1782Captain Transfered ADM 6/22/487
Issued by , North America
Confirmed 1.7.1782BWAS-171413.6.1782 - 1.12.1782Captain Transfered ADM 6/22/553
Issued by , Barbados - Windward Islands - Barbados & the Leeward Islands
Confirmed 12.12.1782BWAS-17141.12.1782 - 12.6.1783Captain ADM 6/23/100
Confirmed 25.7.1783BWAS-1714

5 Commissioned Officers

DatesRankNameSource
17.4.1758 - 19.2.1760Second Lieutenant Transfered ADM 6/18/502ADM 6/1819.2.1760 - 9.12.1760Second Lieutenant Transfered ADM 6/19/137ADM 6/1915.6.1779 - 29.6.1779First Lieutenant Transfered ADM 6/21/570ADM 6/2110.2.1783 - 12.6.1783Fifth Lieutenant ADM 6/23/153
Issued by , Jamaica - Greater Antilles
Confirmed 18.10.1783ADM 6/2315.3.1783 - 12.6.1783Second Lieutenant ADM 6/23/104
Issued by , Jamaica - Greater Antilles
Confirmed 1.8.1783ADM 6/23

Service History

DateEventSource
4.1758Began fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford BWAS-1714
2.5.1758Completed at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford at a cost of £26285.19.3dBWAS-1714
2.5.1758Completed fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford at a cost of £9466.12.8dBWAS-1714
5.6.1758Raid on Saint-Malo
16.2.1759Sailed for North AmericaBWAS-1714
6.1759Seige of Quebec
9.1759At QuebecBWAS-1714
5.6.1760Sailed for the MediterraneanBWAS-1714
7.1762fitting at UnknownBWAS-1714
2.3.1763

Paid off

BWAS-1714
28.3.1763SurveyedBWAS-1714
2.1765Began small repair at Plymouth Dockyard - Plymouth BWAS-1714
6.1765Completed small repair at Plymouth Dockyard - Plymouth at a cost of £3127.9.8dBWAS-1714
6.1773Began small repair at Plymouth Dockyard - Plymouth BWAS-1714
7.1773Completed small repair at Plymouth Dockyard - Plymouth at a cost of £1794.9.4dBWAS-1714
4.1777Began middling repair at Plymouth Dockyard - Plymouth BWAS-1714
9.1777RecommissionedBWAS-1714
3.1778Completed middling repair at Plymouth Dockyard - Plymouth at a cost of £21068.1.11dBWAS-1714
27.7.17781st Battle of Ushant
4.1779Began coppering at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth BWAS-1714
5.1779Completed coppering at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth at a cost of £7031.13.9dBWAS-1714
8.1.1780Attack on the Caracas Convoy
19.1.1780Sailed for the relief of GibraltarBWAS-1714
20.5.1780Sailed for the Leeward IslandsBWAS-1714
12.7.1780Arrived in the Leeward IslandsBWAS-1714
11.1780Sailed to New YorkBWAS-1714
12.12.1780Arrived back in the West IndiesBWAS-1714
3.2.1781At St EustatiusBWAS-1714
29.4.1781At MartiniqueBWAS-1714
29.4.1781Battle of Fort Royal
5.9.1781Battle of the Chesapeake
5.12.1781Arrived back in the West IndiesBWAS-1714
25.1.1782At St KittsBWAS-1714
25.1.1782Battle of Saint Kitts
12.6.1783Condemned and scuttled at JamaicaBWAS-1714

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

ADM 6/18 Archive

ADM 6/19 Archive

ADM 6/21 Archive

ADM 6/23 Archive

BWAS-1714Rif Winfield, Book

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Robert Boon on Friday 9th of February 2018 14:56

EIC has a Shrewsbury listed amongst its vessels in 1780

Posted by Cy on Friday 9th of February 2018 14:27

Thanks, but almost certainly not this vessel. I can find no record of a George Ponsonby as a naval officer, together with the fact that his will refers to the "Ship" and not HMS (or variant thereof) probably means it's a merchant vessel. A look at Lloyd's list or register, in the sources list, might confirm that if you are lucky.

Posted by [email protected] on Friday 9th of February 2018 12:30

The National Archives, Kew Reference: PROB 11/1122/251
Will of George Ponsonby, Captain and Commander of the Ship Shrewsbury

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