Lyon's Whelp
Encyclopedia
In 1628, the very wealthy Duke of Buckingham built a private fleet of 10 three masted, armed pinnaces each of which carried the name Lion's Whelp. At least one Lion's Whelp participated in the English attempt to relieve the Huguenot citadel of La Rochelle during the Anglo-French War. Little information has survived about the careers of the other Lion's Whelps and they disappear from the historical record in 1654. Important documents about their finance and construction have survived and made a lasting contribution to our understanding of the Navy Royal during the early 17th century.
in 1628 are good examples of the 'war' pinnace, a war ship that was built for several European Navies for more than two centuries (c.1550- c.1750). England
, the Netherlands
, Sweden
and Poland
deployed the war pinnace on a regular basis. The largest war pinnaces, also known as Frigate
s, approximated England's Fifth-rate
and Sixth-rate
small battleships. A few war pinnaces were built to Fourth-rate
hull dimensions. However, these war pinnaces carried less Cannon
and had smaller crews than English 4th, 5th, and 6th rates. Fast and maneuverable when compared to a typical Ship of the line
, when they were under the command of an experienced captain with a crew that retained discipline during battle, many war pinnaces compiled impressive fighting and espionage records.
.
Ten ships of the name Lyon's Whelp were built in 1628 by George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and each was constructed to the same design. Although masted and armed from the stores of the Royal Navy
, the fleet was paid for by the Duke. The entire fleet of ten Lion's Whelps cost Buckingham about £7,000 and for several years, they were his private fleet. With the exception of the Earl of Pembroke
, the Duke of Buckingham was the wealthiest nobleman in England at this time. This ship building program indicates that the Duke of Buckingham could access very significant funds. The Duke spent £7000 in 1628 to build his fleet which in the first quarter of 2011 would be worth £624,120.00.
Under the Duke's command, the Lion's Whelps were Privateer
s dedicated to increasing his considerable personal fortune. The fleet of ten Lions Whelps was not taken over by the Navy until after Buckingham's assassination in 1632, and compensation of at least £4000 was paid to his estate.
, who was the Lord High Admiral of England (1585–1619) - cf England's Admiralty
whom the Duke of Buckingham succeeded.
This Lion's Whelp was loaned to Sir Walter Raleigh and joined the English fleet for the combined Dutch/English attack and expected Capture of Cadiz
in 1596. Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex#Court and military career and Sir Walter Raleigh were among the commanders of landing forces while Sir Charles Howard as Admiral led the fleet. Victory was swift because the Spanish fleet had been set afire in order not be captured and their land army was terribly organized. The Dutch and English sacked and pillaged Cadiz all the while respecting it citizens much to the astonishment of the Spanish. This Lion's Whelp was sold to the state in 1602, and then repaired at Chatham by the ambitious young shipwright Phineas Pett
(see below). The Duke of Buckingham received this Lion's Whelp as a gift from King James VI in 1625, shortly before the King died. Ratification of the transfer of ownership occurred under King Charles.
. Details of hull design, armament and rigging are usually inferred using prints and hull designs of warships in the Dutch Navy.
The Duke of Buckingham's project to build Ten (10) Lion's Whelps began with his warrant to two, well placed friends (Wallingford House, 25 February 1627. (1628). Captain Sir John Pennington and Captain Phineas Pett ensured that the ablest shipwright's of the region would be available for the building of this fleet. Their basic design was a warship of 125 tons with both sails and oars ('sweeps'). Ship construction would be done on the banks of the River Thames, particularly at Ipswich and Shorum. The Lord Admiral was to oversee the “preparation and setting out” for 10 pinnaces of 120 tons each. (Each Lion's Whelp was built to 186 tons.. see below.) Each ship was to have a tender, and adequate supplies of oars, cable, anchors, sails, canvas and 'all other tackling and rigging to be furnished from his 'Majesties Stores', likewise for ordnance and ammunition. “Their Lordships well approving of the said motion did think fit and order the same accordingly.” The motive for building these ten ships was the 'enterprise of La Rochelle'. These ten ships would be added to the English fleet that would undertake to relieve the siege of the French Hugenot (Protestant) center of power at La Rochelle as imposed by King Louis XIII. Considerable resources must have been available because Phinaeus Pett left this employment at the end of July, which indicates that the ten ships had been completed and launched by that time (~6 months) or shortly thereafter. Thereupon the Duke's fleet set sail for Portsmouth and assignments with the Royal Navy.
Although there are no surviving remains of any of the ten Lion's Whelps built by the Duke of Buckingham, it is possible to obtain a portrait of these ships. Dutch marine painters of the period often included detailed examples of Dutch, English and Spanish ships in their paintings. A small, oil on copper painting by Abraham de Verwer c.1625, that is now in the England's National Maritime Museum, shows a Dutch and English war pinnace offshore a harbor saluting each other. The English ship is a good fit to the reconstructed profile for a Buckingham Lion's Whelp as a three masted war pinnace with a single gun deck that had eight broadside cannon ports. There is a grating or 'flying deck' over the waist, and Royal Arms decorated the stern. There is another and similar painting of an English single deck war pinnace in the National Maritime Museum.
At least one of Buckingham's ten Lion's Whelps saw service with the British Fleet in England's attempt to relieve the Huguenot citadel of La Rochelle. English action in the Anglo-French War began with a siege of the fortress of Saint-Martin-de-Re in 1627. The English fleet was not able to lay siege to La Rochelle until several months later.
Historians are indebted to Jacques Callot
who published a series of prints illustrating the English landing on the Isle de Re at the beach of Sablanceau, the Siege of Saint Martin-de-Re and the Siege of La Rochelle. Callot's technical innovations enhanced the detail in his prints. In his portrayal of the English fleet, it is possible to differentiate galleons, carracks, pinnaces and perhaps shallops becauise each ship type had the same minute iconic image. Peraps one of the pinnaces in these prints is Buckingham's Sixth Lions Whelp.
The besotted King James I
assigned a central role to his favorite courtier with the expedition to relieve the stronghold of La Rochelle
(Hugenot). England hoped that a success would bring the French Protestants into an alliance against Catholic Spain and provide a demonstration of English naval power that would leave King Louis XIII hesitant and fearful. English King James I had made George Villiers, Lord Admiral of the Royal Navy
in 1619. As an important commander during the Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (1627)
and the attempt to relieve La Rochelle, the Duke of Buckingham revealed a serious lack of understanding and expertise when faced with both army and naval strategic challenges.
The Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré was the first action in this attempt to take La Rochelle and it began when Buckingham's fleet landed troops on the beach at Sablanceau. Apparently Buckingham insisted on an orderly, slow and methodical organization of his army on the exposed beach, even as French troops and cavalry made repeated lightening attacks, emerging from the protection of the sand dunes. ~ 100 English casualties on the beach were unnecessary. Later, it was revealed that Buckingham's preparations for the Siege of Saint Martin included ladders that proved too short to reach the top of Saint-Martin-de-Re's walls.
English strategy correctly viewed the fortress of Saint-Martin-de-Re as a serious impediment to an assault on La Rochelle. With 80 ships and 7,000 men, Buckingham failed to take the fortress city. After three months and a final failed assault on October 27, 1627, he ended the siege and left for England from Loix with a demoralized, disease ridden force of 2,000 men, the survivors of his original army of 7,000 men.
on April 25, 1629 for the Massachusetts Bay Colony
. Arrived and greeted by Governor John Endecott
on June 30, 1629. All ships were armed merchantmen. Eight cannon were listed for this Lion's Whelp which is the number carried by the Duke of Buckingham's Lion's Whelps and most armed pinnaces as well. Is this ship Buckingham's Second Lion's Whelp, diverted for a cross Atlantic run with settlers and provisions to the Massachusetts Bay Colony? A careful scrutiny of the record is not supportive of this conclusion. This Lion's Whelp is tentatively identified as the 120 ton ship that brought William Dodge, along with the Sprague family and others to Salem, Massachusetts in 1629. The Lyon's Whelp left Gravesend 24/25 April 1629 and arrived in Salem mid-July 1629, under Master John and Gibbs/Gibbon. It was one of six ships in a small fleet; the others including the Talbot, George Bonaventure, Lyon, and a ship called the Mayflower (though not the Mayflower of the Pilgrims). This Lion's Whelp and her sister ships the Talbot and the George carried goods and new settlers to Naumkaeg, the Indian name for the territory settled by England's Massachusetts Bay Company at Salem.
After the Duke was assassinated in 1632, his fleet of ten Lion Whelps was take into the Royal Navy and the estate reimbursed £4,500 according to Captain Pennington who had supervised their construction. Had the fleet been sold to England, as the Early of Nottingham had done with his Lion's Whelp in 1602, very likely much more money would have accrued to the Buckingham estate.
- John Wassell's research provided basic data for each Lion's Whelp in the Duke of Buckingham's fleet. -
- With sale of the Tenth, this fleet of Lion's Whelps passes from recorded history. Their fragmentary historical record has provided additional information about the building of small war ships in the 17th century, and activities of the Royal Navy in the Anglo-French War.
Introduction
The Ten (10) Lion's Whelps built by the 1st Duke of BuckinghamGeorge Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
in 1628 are good examples of the 'war' pinnace, a war ship that was built for several European Navies for more than two centuries (c.1550- c.1750). England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
deployed the war pinnace on a regular basis. The largest war pinnaces, also known as Frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s, approximated England's Fifth-rate
Fifth-rate
In Britain's Royal Navy during the classic age of fighting sail, a fifth rate was the penultimate class of warships in a hierarchal system of six "ratings" based on size and firepower.-Rating:...
and Sixth-rate
Sixth-rate
Sixth rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for small warships mounting between 20 and 24 nine-pounder guns on a single deck, sometimes with guns on the upper works and sometimes without.-Rating:...
small battleships. A few war pinnaces were built to Fourth-rate
Fourth-rate
In the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...
hull dimensions. However, these war pinnaces carried less Cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
and had smaller crews than English 4th, 5th, and 6th rates. Fast and maneuverable when compared to a typical Ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
, when they were under the command of an experienced captain with a crew that retained discipline during battle, many war pinnaces compiled impressive fighting and espionage records.
.
Ten ships of the name Lyon's Whelp were built in 1628 by George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and each was constructed to the same design. Although masted and armed from the stores of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, the fleet was paid for by the Duke. The entire fleet of ten Lion's Whelps cost Buckingham about £7,000 and for several years, they were his private fleet. With the exception of the Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title created ten times, all in the Peerage of England. It was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, which is the site of Earldom's original seat Pembroke Castle...
, the Duke of Buckingham was the wealthiest nobleman in England at this time. This ship building program indicates that the Duke of Buckingham could access very significant funds. The Duke spent £7000 in 1628 to build his fleet which in the first quarter of 2011 would be worth £624,120.00.
Under the Duke's command, the Lion's Whelps were Privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s dedicated to increasing his considerable personal fortune. The fleet of ten Lions Whelps was not taken over by the Navy until after Buckingham's assassination in 1632, and compensation of at least £4000 was paid to his estate.
The Earl of Nottingham
Lyon's Whelp was the name given to several British naval ships dating back to the 16th century, including at least two that were not financed or built by the Duke of Buckingham. The immediate predecessor to Buckingham's fleet of 10 Lion's Whelps was a war ship named Lion's Whelp that was owned by Charles Howard, 1st Earl of NottinghamCharles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham , known as Howard of Effingham, was an English statesman and Lord High Admiral under Elizabeth I and James I...
, who was the Lord High Admiral of England (1585–1619) - cf England's Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
whom the Duke of Buckingham succeeded.
This Lion's Whelp was loaned to Sir Walter Raleigh and joined the English fleet for the combined Dutch/English attack and expected Capture of Cadiz
Capture of Cadiz
The Capture of Cádiz in 1596 was an event during the Anglo-Spanish War, when English and Dutch troops under Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex and a large Anglo-Dutch fleet under Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, with support from the Dutch United Provinces, raided the Spanish city of...
in 1596. Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex#Court and military career and Sir Walter Raleigh were among the commanders of landing forces while Sir Charles Howard as Admiral led the fleet. Victory was swift because the Spanish fleet had been set afire in order not be captured and their land army was terribly organized. The Dutch and English sacked and pillaged Cadiz all the while respecting it citizens much to the astonishment of the Spanish. This Lion's Whelp was sold to the state in 1602, and then repaired at Chatham by the ambitious young shipwright Phineas Pett
Phineas Pett
Phineas Pett was a shipwright and a member of the Pett dynasty.-Family background:Born at "Deptford Strond", he was the second son of Peter Pett of Deptford, his elder brother being named Joseph....
(see below). The Duke of Buckingham received this Lion's Whelp as a gift from King James VI in 1625, shortly before the King died. Ratification of the transfer of ownership occurred under King Charles.
Warrants, Contracts, and Shipbuilders
Several years ago, John Wassell worked with the Public Records Office in London and England's Calendars of State Papers to research the Ten Lion's Whelps built by the Duke of Buckingham in 1628. His web page presents the most important information obtained - original period documents from the archive “State Papers, Domestic”. Each Whelp had one gun deck, two masts with a rig that included square sails and lateen. There are only a few contemporary drawings and paintings of English war pinnaces/frigates of the Jacobean eraJacobean era
The Jacobean era refers to the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of King James VI of Scotland, who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I...
. Details of hull design, armament and rigging are usually inferred using prints and hull designs of warships in the Dutch Navy.
Although there are no surviving remains of any of the ten Lion's Whelps built by the Duke of Buckingham, it is possible to obtain a portrait of these ships. Dutch marine painters of the period often included detailed examples of Dutch, English and Spanish ships in their paintings. A small, oil on copper painting by Abraham de Verwer c.1625, that is now in the England's National Maritime Museum, shows a Dutch and English war pinnace offshore a harbor saluting each other. The English ship is a good fit to the reconstructed profile for a Buckingham Lion's Whelp as a three masted war pinnace with a single gun deck that had eight broadside cannon ports. There is a grating or 'flying deck' over the waist, and Royal Arms decorated the stern. There is another and similar painting of an English single deck war pinnace in the National Maritime Museum.
The Anglo-French War
At least one of Buckingham's ten Lion's Whelps saw service with the British Fleet in England's attempt to relieve the Huguenot citadel of La Rochelle. English action in the Anglo-French War began with a siege of the fortress of Saint-Martin-de-Re in 1627. The English fleet was not able to lay siege to La Rochelle until several months later.
Historians are indebted to Jacques Callot
Jacques Callot
Jacques Callot was a baroque printmaker and draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine . He is an important figure in the development of the old master print...
who published a series of prints illustrating the English landing on the Isle de Re at the beach of Sablanceau, the Siege of Saint Martin-de-Re and the Siege of La Rochelle. Callot's technical innovations enhanced the detail in his prints. In his portrayal of the English fleet, it is possible to differentiate galleons, carracks, pinnaces and perhaps shallops becauise each ship type had the same minute iconic image. Peraps one of the pinnaces in these prints is Buckingham's Sixth Lions Whelp.
The besotted King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
assigned a central role to his favorite courtier with the expedition to relieve the stronghold of La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
(Hugenot). England hoped that a success would bring the French Protestants into an alliance against Catholic Spain and provide a demonstration of English naval power that would leave King Louis XIII hesitant and fearful. English King James I had made George Villiers, Lord Admiral of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in 1619. As an important commander during the Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (1627)
Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (1627)
The Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, also Siege of St. Martin's , occurred in the French isle of Ile de Ré around the fortress of the city of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, when Duke of Buckingham tried to occupy the island in 1627...
and the attempt to relieve La Rochelle, the Duke of Buckingham revealed a serious lack of understanding and expertise when faced with both army and naval strategic challenges.
The Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré was the first action in this attempt to take La Rochelle and it began when Buckingham's fleet landed troops on the beach at Sablanceau. Apparently Buckingham insisted on an orderly, slow and methodical organization of his army on the exposed beach, even as French troops and cavalry made repeated lightening attacks, emerging from the protection of the sand dunes. ~ 100 English casualties on the beach were unnecessary. Later, it was revealed that Buckingham's preparations for the Siege of Saint Martin included ladders that proved too short to reach the top of Saint-Martin-de-Re's walls.
A Lion's Whelp to Massachusetts
In 1629 a Lion's Whelp sailed with four other ships from GravesendGravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
on April 25, 1629 for the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
. Arrived and greeted by Governor John Endecott
John Endecott
John Endecott was an English colonial magistrate, soldier and the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During all of his years in the colony but one, he held some form of civil, judicial, or military high office...
on June 30, 1629. All ships were armed merchantmen. Eight cannon were listed for this Lion's Whelp which is the number carried by the Duke of Buckingham's Lion's Whelps and most armed pinnaces as well. Is this ship Buckingham's Second Lion's Whelp, diverted for a cross Atlantic run with settlers and provisions to the Massachusetts Bay Colony? A careful scrutiny of the record is not supportive of this conclusion. This Lion's Whelp is tentatively identified as the 120 ton ship that brought William Dodge, along with the Sprague family and others to Salem, Massachusetts in 1629. The Lyon's Whelp left Gravesend 24/25 April 1629 and arrived in Salem mid-July 1629, under Master John and Gibbs/Gibbon. It was one of six ships in a small fleet; the others including the Talbot, George Bonaventure, Lyon, and a ship called the Mayflower (though not the Mayflower of the Pilgrims). This Lion's Whelp and her sister ships the Talbot and the George carried goods and new settlers to Naumkaeg, the Indian name for the territory settled by England's Massachusetts Bay Company at Salem.
Appendix: Ten Lion's Whelps
Final costings for each Lion's Whelps are believed to have been in excess of the contracted rate, thereby raising the possibility that shipwrights deliberately built ships larger than agreed upon in order to inflate the final invoice. The worse example of this was Peter Pett and the Sixth Whelp. The Duke wanted each Whelp to weigh 120 tonnes, and cost £139.5; see discussion and infobox above for hull design and costing.After the Duke was assassinated in 1632, his fleet of ten Lion Whelps was take into the Royal Navy and the estate reimbursed £4,500 according to Captain Pennington who had supervised their construction. Had the fleet been sold to England, as the Early of Nottingham had done with his Lion's Whelp in 1602, very likely much more money would have accrued to the Buckingham estate.
- John Wassell's research provided basic data for each Lion's Whelp in the Duke of Buckingham's fleet. -
- Buckingham's First Lion's Whelp was built by William Castell of Southwark St SaviourSouthwark St SaviourSouthwark St Saviour was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England, and part of the ancient Borough of Southwark.-Administration:...
in 1628. After the Duke was assassinated in 1632, she was taken into the Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and then converted into a chain ship for the Chatham “Barricado” c. 1641. She was sent to Harwich as a careening hulk in August of 1650, and then drops out of the historical record. Lion's Whelp 1 may be the hulk at Harwich that was ordered to be sold in October of 1651.
- The Second Lion's Whelp was also built by Wm Castell of St. Savior's in Southwark. She was converted into a chain ship for the Chatham ' Barricado' c.1641, then was ordered to be sold in August, 1650 together with the Defiance and Merhonour as having become too decayed, even to be a careening hulk at Harwich.
- The Third Lion's Whelp was built by John Dearsley of Ipswich at Wapping. She was listed as unfit for service in Batten's survey of 1647 and 'cast' before February, 1643.
- The Fourth Lion's Whelp was built by Christopher Malim of Redriff. She was used for experimental constructions in the Project Dutchman, c.1633. These works in the hold were ordered for removal in March, 1643 because they were of no use in a man-o-war. Details of the experimental constructions are lacking, although Warrell's research points to Cornelius Drebbel as having executed the removal order. The Fourth Lion's Whelp struck a rock in St. Aubrey's Bay, Jersey on August 4, 1636 and sank without any loss of life.
- Fifth Lion's Whelp was built by Peter Marsh of Wapping and spent most of her life in service in Ireland. She foundered in the North Sea on June 28, 1637 and sank with the loss of 17 men. Cause of this tragedy was placed with the shipyard who built her of 'mean, sappy timbers”.
- The Sixth Lion's Whelp was built by Peter PettPeter PettPeter Pett, was an English Master Shipwright, and Second Resident Commissioner of Chatham Dockyard. He is noted for the incident concerning the protection of his scale models and drawings of the King's Fleet during the Dutch Raid on the Medway, in Kent in June 1667, during the Second Anglo-Dutch...
of Ratcliffe. Peter Pett (1610-?1672) was an English Master Shipwright, the Second Resident Commissioner of the Chatham Dockyard. He was either: a) half brother of Phineas Pett (d.1631 – not likely); or b) son (d.1649) of the second marriage of Master Shipwright Peter Pett of Deptford (d.1589). Phinaes Pett was viewed as the greatest shipbuilder of his time, indeed perhaps the finest to have ever lived and worked in England. The reputation of the Pett dynastyPett dynastyThe so-called Pett Dynasty was a family of shipwrights who prospered in England between the 15th and 17th centuries. It was once said of the family that they were "so knit together that the Devil himself could not discover them"...
ensured that the Sixth Lion's Whelp was designed and constructed to the highest standard. Her captain was John Pett (1601/2 - 1628), the eldest son of Phineas PettPhineas PettPhineas Pett was a shipwright and a member of the Pett dynasty.-Family background:Born at "Deptford Strond", he was the second son of Peter Pett of Deptford, his elder brother being named Joseph....
who died when the Sixth went down off the coast of Brittany when returning from the La Rochelle expedition in 1628.
- The Seventh Lion's Whelp was built by Matthew Graves of Limehouse, She and the famous 'ship of the line' Mary Rose got into a dispute with a Dutch warship from Enkhuisen over a Dutch privateer captured off the Suffolk coast. Negligence in the powder store led to a fierce explosion that destroyed the Seventh Lion's Whelp amidst action involving several ships from both countries. There is speculation that Captain Cooper became severely disoriented immediately after the loss of the Seventh, and thereafter was mentally incompetent.
- The Eighth Lion's Whelp was built in the yard of John Graves of Limehouse, and she was used to transport gold to the Scottish parliament in 1644. The Eighth is another pinnace in the Duke's fleet that went 'rotten'. In July 1645, she was judged too decayed to repair and ordered to be laid up on the Woolwich shore.
- The Ninth Lion's Whelp was also built by John Graves of Limehouse and spent her active years in the Irish service. Her captain was Dawtrey Cooper in 1632/33, who had been the captain of the Seventh Lion's Whelp when a seaman's negligence caused a fearful explosion and loss of life. During the Ninth's service at Ireland, there were continual disputes and near mutinies. She came to an end as a wreck in the River Clyde with the pinnace Confidence while taking supplies from Ireland to Dumbarton Castle (which is on the Clyde near Glasgow) in April, 1640. There is an incorrect record that the Eighth and Ninth were lost in a storm in 1628 that had wrecked the Sixth. After a brief period of out of contact, the Eighth and Ninth returned to Portsmouth.
- The Tenth Lion's Whelp was built by Robert Tranckmore of Shoreham, went over to the Royalists after the fall of Bristol in 1643, then was recaptured by Parliament's forces in 1645. She was at Helvoetsluys with the Earl of Warwick's fleet in 1648, then was fitted out as a fireship for Blake's pursuit of Prince Rupert to Lisbon in 1650. Later the Tenth was used for convoy work and communications during the First Anglo-Dutch War. The last historical mention of the Tenth is on October 19, 1654 when she was sold to Jacob Blackpath for £410.
- With sale of the Tenth, this fleet of Lion's Whelps passes from recorded history. Their fragmentary historical record has provided additional information about the building of small war ships in the 17th century, and activities of the Royal Navy in the Anglo-French War.
External links
- Lion's WHELP, 1628 three-masted pinnace, Virginia Historical Society, retrieved December 12, 2010.
- 16th century large English pinnace - early print. Lacking identity and provenance as depicted on Dr. J.P. Sommerville's page about Elizabeth I: Exploration and Foreign Policy (University of Wisconsin), n.d. Retrieved September 18, 2008.