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HMS London (1654)
Encyclopedia
HMS London was a 64-gun second-rate
ship of the line
of the English
Royal Navy
, originally built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England
at Chatham by Captain John Taylor, and launched in June 1656. She gained fame as one of the ships that escorted Charles II
from Holland back to England during the English Restoration
, carrying Charles' younger brother James Duke of York
, and commanded by Captain John Lawson
.
London was accidentally blown up in 1665 and sank in the Thames Estuary
. According to Samuel Pepys
300 of her crew were killed, 24 were blown clear and survived, including one woman. Lawson was not aboard at the time of the explosion though many of his relatives were killed. The wreck was rediscovered in 2008, resulting in the port authorities changing the route of the shipping channel to prevent further damage and to allow archaeologists from Wessex Archaeology
led by Frank Pope
to investigate, leading to what was the largest ever post-war salvage operation on the Thames.
London featured in "Thames Shipwrecks: A Race Against Time," a BBC series on shipwrecks in the Thames.
The two sites where the remains lie were designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973
on 24 October 2008. The wreck is considered important partly for its historical references and partly for its insight into an important period in British naval history. Although the Port of London authority had voluntarily taken action to reduce the risk of damage to shipping, the removal of bronze
cannon from the site without any archaeological investigations being carried out showed that the site was at risk of destruction through looting and hence required immediate protection.
wrote about hearing of the loss of HMS London, on 8 March 1665, writing:
Second-rate
In the British Royal Navy, a second rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th century second rates had fewer guns and were originally two-deckers or had only partially armed third gun decks. The term in no way implied...
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...
of the English
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
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...
, originally built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
at Chatham by Captain John Taylor, and launched in June 1656. She gained fame as one of the ships that escorted Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
from Holland back to England during the English Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, carrying Charles' younger brother James Duke of York
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, and commanded by Captain John Lawson
John Lawson (Naval officer)
Sir John Lawson was an English Naval Officer and Republican.Lawson was in command of ships in the parliament's service during and after the English Civil War, 1642-6, 1651-3, 1654-6. He was dismissed from the public service, apparently on political grounds in 1656...
.
London was accidentally blown up in 1665 and sank in the Thames Estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
. According to Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
300 of her crew were killed, 24 were blown clear and survived, including one woman. Lawson was not aboard at the time of the explosion though many of his relatives were killed. The wreck was rediscovered in 2008, resulting in the port authorities changing the route of the shipping channel to prevent further damage and to allow archaeologists from Wessex Archaeology
Wessex Archaeology
Wessex Archaeology is one of the largest private archaeological organisations operating in the United Kingdom, based near Salisbury in Wiltshire.-Background:...
led by Frank Pope
Frank Pope
Frank Pope is the Ocean Correspondent for The Times newspaper, author and television presenter. He is the world's only Ocean Correspondent working for a national newspaper.-Biography:...
to investigate, leading to what was the largest ever post-war salvage operation on the Thames.
London featured in "Thames Shipwrecks: A Race Against Time," a BBC series on shipwrecks in the Thames.
The two sites where the remains lie were designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973
Protection of Wrecks Act 1973
The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides protection for designated shipwrecks. Section 1 of the act provides for wrecks to be designated because of historical, archaeological or artistic value. Section 2 provides for designation of...
on 24 October 2008. The wreck is considered important partly for its historical references and partly for its insight into an important period in British naval history. Although the Port of London authority had voluntarily taken action to reduce the risk of damage to shipping, the removal of bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
cannon from the site without any archaeological investigations being carried out showed that the site was at risk of destruction through looting and hence required immediate protection.
Pepys Diary Entry
Samuel PepysSamuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
wrote about hearing of the loss of HMS London, on 8 March 1665, writing:
- "This morning is brought me to the office the sad newes of “The London,” in which Sir J(ohn) Lawson’s men were all bringing her from Chatham to the Hope, and thence he was to go to sea in her; but a little a’this side the buoy of the Nower, she suddenly blew up. About 24 [men] and a woman that were in the round-house and coach saved; the rest, being above 300, drowned: the ship breaking all in pieces, with 80 pieces of brass ordnance. She lies sunk, with her round- house above water. Sir J(ohn) Lawson hath a great loss in this of so many good chosen men, and many relations among them. I went to the ‘Change, where the news taken very much to heart."