Phipps Hornby
Encyclopedia
Admiral Sir Phipps Hornby, GCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 (27 April 1785 – 19 March 1867) was a prominent and experienced British 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...

 officer of the nineteenth century. Hornby served on frigates throughout most of his wartime experience, which included witnessing the Nore Mutiny first hand aged 12 in 1797. Later, commanding his own 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:...

  in 1811, Hornby played a vital role in the British victory at the Battle of Lissa
Battle of Lissa (1811)
The Battle of Lissa was a naval action fought between a British frigate squadron and a substantially larger squadron of French and Venetian frigates and smaller ships on 13 March 1811 during the Adriatic campaign of the Napoleonic Wars...

. At Lissa a British squadron under William Hoste
William Hoste
Captain Sir William Hoste, 1st Baronet KCB RN , Royal Navy captain, was the son of Dixon Hoste, rector of Godwick and Tittleshall in Norfolk...

 overwhelmed a French force more than twice their own strength, Volage combating a much larger ship alone for several minutes and taking numerous casualties, including Hornby, who was wounded.

Later in life, Hornby accepted a succession of home and sea-going positions to ensure the promotion prospects for his son in the Navy as well as to support his close allies in Parliament under the Earl of Derby
Earl of Derby
Earl of Derby is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279...

, to whom he was related. These positions included a period in command of the Pacific Fleet and later a role as one of the Lords of the Admiralty. During his career, Hornby accrued numerous awards and accolades, being made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath and a full admiral before his death in 1867.

Early career

Hornby was born in 1785, the son of Geoffrey Hornby, rector of Winwick
Winwick, Cheshire
Winwick is a village and civil parish in the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. Historically within Lancashire, until 1 April 1974, Winwick was administered as part of Lancashire with the rest of north Warrington. It is situated about three miles north of Warrington town centre, near...

, and his wife Lucy Stanley. Hornby's mother was a daughter of James Smith-Stanley, Lord Strange and sister to Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby
Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby
Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby PC , styled Lord Strange between 1771 and 1776, was a British peer and politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries...

. Hornby's sister Charlotte Margaret later married her cousin Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby
Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby
Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby KG , styled Lord Stanley from 1776 to 1832 and known as The Lord Stanley from 1832 to 1834, was an English politician, landowner, builder, farmer, art collector and naturalist...

, and the close association between the Earls of Derby and the Hornby family would play a significant role in Phipps Hornby's career and politics. Hornby received education at Sunbury-on-Thames
Sunbury-on-Thames
Sunbury-on-Thames, also known as Sunbury, is a town in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne, England, and part of the London commuter belt. It is located 16 miles southwest of central London and bordered by Feltham and Hampton, flanked on the south by the River Thames.-History:The earliest evidence of...

 and joined the Navy as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...

 in 1797 aged 12.

In 1797, Britain was embroiled in the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...

, and Hornby's ship became caught up in the Nore Mutiny just weeks after he joined her. Latona's captain, John Bligh, took Hornby with him when he moved ships, and Hornby saw service on , and , mainly serving in the Americas.

Napoleonic Wars

In 1804 following the Peace of Amiens, Hornby joined Horatio Nelson's flagship in the Mediterranean briefly before being posted to with the admiral's recommendation. Excellent was detached from Nelson's fleet soon afterwards and in 1805 and 1806 participated in numerous operations on the Italian coast, particularly at Gaeta
Gaeta
Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 km from Rome and 80 km from Naples....

. Excellent was also present at the capture of Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...

. Hornby was granted his first independent command in 1806, the small armed vessel HMS Duchess of Bedfordshire and in her fought off two large Spanish 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. In 1807 he was promoted to commander and took over the sloop in which he fought numerous engagements with Spanish gunboats off Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....

.

In 1809, Minorca operated briefly with the squadron in the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

 and the following year Hornby was promoted to post captain, becoming temporary commander of before moving to the small sixth rate  to serve in the Adriatic squadron under William Hoste
William Hoste
Captain Sir William Hoste, 1st Baronet KCB RN , Royal Navy captain, was the son of Dixon Hoste, rector of Godwick and Tittleshall in Norfolk...

. Hornby was wounded in March 1811 during the Battle of Lissa
Battle of Lissa (1811)
The Battle of Lissa was a naval action fought between a British frigate squadron and a substantially larger squadron of French and Venetian frigates and smaller ships on 13 March 1811 during the Adriatic campaign of the Napoleonic Wars...

, at which his ship fought a much larger French vessel and despite losing all but one gun, remained in combat throughout. Recovering from his injuries, Hornby took command of off the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...

 the next year and later moved to in the Mediterranean. While commander of Spartan, Hornby participated in the capture of Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...

 from the French, for which he was invested with the Austrian order of St Joseph of Würzburg.

Later service

In 1814, Hornby married Sophia Maria Burgoyne, daughter of General John Burgoyne
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....

. The couple had five daughters and three sons. The eldest son, John
Phipps Hornby (cricketer)
Captain Phipps John Hornby was an English cricketer.Phipps represented pre-county club Hampshire in a single first-class match in 1842 against the Marylebone Cricket Club....

, died in service with the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

 in 1848 aged 27, while his younger sons Geoffrey Hornby and James John Hornby
James John Hornby
John James Hornby C.V.O. was an English rower, and headmaster of Eton College from 1868 to 1884.-Early life:...

 had lengthy and successful careers in the Royal Navy and education respectively. In 1815, Hornby was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and the following year paid off Spartan and entered semi-retirement. During his retirement, Hornby dabbled in politics, a supporter of the Earls of Derby.

In 1832, Hornby returned to service to promote his son's career through preferment, initially becoming superintendent of Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

 Naval Hospital and in 1838 moving to become superintendent of the Woolwich Dockyard
Woolwich Dockyard
Woolwich Dockyard was an English naval dockyard founded by King Henry VIII in 1512 to build his flagship Henri Grâce à Dieu , the largest ship of its day....

. In 1841 he became comptroller-general of the Coast Guard until 1846 when he was promoted to rear-admiral. In order to further his son's career, Hornby then accepted the position of commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, raising his flag in in 1847. In 1852 Hornby returned to Europe to serve as a Second Naval Lord
Second Sea Lord
The Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command , commonly just known as the Second Sea Lord , is one of the most senior admirals of the British Royal Navy , and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establishments.-History:In 1805, for the first time, specific functions were...

 under the Duke of Northumberland
Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland
Admiral Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland KG, PC, FRS , styled Lord Algernon Percy until 1816 and known as The Lord Prudhoe between 1816 and 1847, was a British naval commander, explorer and Conservative politician.-Background:Northumberland was the younger son of General Hugh Percy, 2nd...

 and remained in post until his final retirement in 1853, shortly after the fall of Lord Derby's
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, KG, PC was an English statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and to date the longest serving leader of the Conservative Party. He was known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley...

 government.

In retirement Hornby continued to receive honours, eventually being promoted full admiral in 1858 and becoming a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1861. He died a widower at his estate in the village of Little Green near Petersfield
Petersfield, Hampshire
Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth, on the A3 road. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct Line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth and London. The town is situated on the...

 in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

in March 1867.
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