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Ann Wyatt (1658-1757) Her Life and Her Ships
Ann Wyatt (1658-1757) Her Life and Her Ships
Tobias Philbin (Text and Illustrations) Richard Endsor (Plans)
Warships for the King
Ann Wyatt (1658-1757) Her Life and Her Ships
Tobias Philbin – Text and Illustrations Richard Endsor – Plans
SeaWatch Books, LLC
Copyright © 2012 by Tobias Philbin Plans Copyright © 2012 by Richard Endsor All rights reserved. No part of this book or its accompanying plans may be reprinted or reproduced in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from the publisher. Published and distributed by SeaWatchBooks LLC
2040 Milburn Ave., Suite 102 #109, Maplewood, NJ 07040 Telephone: (201) 292-4262 E-mail: info@seawatchbooks.com Web: www.seawatchbooks.com ISBN 978-0-9837532-1-6 Manufactured in the United States of America Cover and book design: Randy Lackey, The Covington Group
Table of Contents Preface: The Lady and Her Ships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Part I: Ann Wyatt: Her World Chapter I: Ann Wyatt and Bursledon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Chapter II: Ann and the Wyatts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Chapter III: The Wyatts and Their World: Ships, Trade and Empire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Chapter IV: Ann and William Wyatt and the Fortunes of War. . . . . . . . 25 Chapter V: Ann Wyatt Shipbuilder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Chapter VI: Ann Wyatt, Daniel Defoe, Celia Fiennes, and the Cullums. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Part II: Seven Ships for the King Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Chapter VII: Overview: Wyatt Ship Production in Context: the Ships; The 80 Gun 3rd Rate Issues; A Ship’s Tour of HMS Lancaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Chapter VIII: HMS Devonshire, 80 guns, 3rd Rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Chapter IX: HMS Winchester, 60 guns, 4th Rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Chapter X: Two at Once: HMS Lancaster, 80 Guns, 3rd Rate and HMS Winchelsey, 32 Guns, 5th Rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Chapter XI: HMS Winchelsey, 32 Guns, 5th Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Chapter XII: HMS Cumberland, 80 Guns, 3rd Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Chapter XIII: HMS Seaford, 24 Guns, 6th Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Chapter XIV: HMS Salisbury, 50 Guns, 4th Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167 Appendix: HMS Cumberland Contract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Warships for the King
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List of Illustrations Preface: List of Illustrations
14. Adrian van Deist, The Battle of Bantry Bay, courtesy of the NMM. Much of Ann’s fortune was driven by the needs for ships and shipbuilders illuminated by the results of this battle.
1. An English Fleet in the Downs, Peter Monamy, private collection, London. 2. HMS Sussex, 80 Guns, 3rd rate, Charles Sergison Collection, U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) Museum. Photo by the author.
15. Southwest exposure St. Leonard’s Church, Bursledon where Ann was christened in 1658. Photo by the author, 2008.
3. Portrait of a Young Woman, probably Ann Wyatt, associated with Sir Godfrey Kneller or a follower, early 18th century. Photo courtesy of the Courtauld Institute.
16. St. Leonard’s church yard where William Wyatt was buried in 1693. Photo by the author, 2008. 17. Edmund Dummer Map of Burseldon and Hamble River in Ann Wyatt’s time, 1698. Courtesy of the Hampshire Country Council.
4. Anne Wyatt Cullum, daughter of Ann and William Wyatt by Sir Godfrey Kneller or follower. Photo by the author, painting courtesy of the Moyses Hall, Bury St. Edmunds.
18. Exterior of Ann and William Wyatt’s House (Walnut Tree Cottage) in Bursledon. Photo courtesy of the current owners, 2008.
5. William Wyatt letter to the Admiralty courtesy of the UK National Archives, PRO/Admiralty 106. Photo by the author.
19. Hearth, Ann Wyatt’s House. Photo courtesy of the present owners, 2008.
6. Ann Wyatt letter to the Admiralty, courtesy of the UK National Archives, PRO/Admiralty 106. Photo by the author.
20. Churchyard, All Saints Hawstead, Ann Wyatt’s final resting place. Courtesy of the Warden and Vestry, All Saints. Photo by the author 2008.
7. Sergison Diary, sample page, courtesy of the National Maritime Museum (NMM). Photo by the author.
21. A contemporary sketch of a 4th rate by Edmund Dummer, showing a method for mooring a vessel in stream in ordinary. Photo by the author, courtesy UK National Archives, Admiralty 106.
Part I: List of Illustrations
22. Launch of HMS Winchester, 60, 4th rate, 16 April 1693, by William and Ann Wyatt. Painting by the author, photo by Janet Reel, 2010
8. Contemporary Bursledon. Many of the houses have Georgian facades on much older structures. Photo by the author.
23. Charles Sergison, Clerk of the Acts and Secretary of the Navy Board. Ann Wyatt’s senior interlocutor with the Royal Navy. Photo courtesy of the Navy Records Society.
9. Jolly Sailor Public House. This is the oldest and lowest portion of the pub which has 17th, 18th and 19th century parts. Photo by the author. 10. A Southwest view of the Hamble River flowing toward Southampton Water from above Wyatt’s probable original Merchant slipways. The land to the right was inherited by William Wyatt from his father. Photo by the author.
24. Launch of the Cumberland, 80, in November 1695. Painting by the author after Richard Endsor draught. 25. Hawstead Place, Ann Wyatt’s longtime final residence 1722-1758, courtesy of the Suffolk Country Library. Photo by the author, 2008.
11. Hard alongside the Jolly Sailor, probable location of Merchant shipways for Wyatts. Photo by the author.
26. Daniel Defoe, portrait by Tavernier from Daniel Defoe, His Life by Paula Backsheider, courtesy of the e-books @Adelaide. au.
12. 1950s Aerial View of the Hamble flowing toward Southampton Water. William and Ann’s naval yard is located at Bursledon Point which is the spit of land in the center of the picture. Photo courtesy John and Judith Madin.
27. Starboard broadside of a model of HMS Nassau, 70 guns, 3rd rate, showing likely appearance in service of Wyatt 80s when fully rigged. Photo and model courtesy of the Thompson Collection, Museum of Ontario.
13. A Southern view from above the village, with renewed heavy forestation in evidence, three centuries on from the Wyatt’s time. Photo by the author, 2008
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Warships for the King
28. A contemporary model of a 3rd rate 70 gun ship, possibly HMS Northumberland of 1702, photo courtesy of the Kreigstein Collection.
40. Admiralty draught of the 27 Ship Programme 80s as represented Admiralty by Boyne, Russell and Humber. Image courtesy of the National Maritime Museum, J2415.
Part II: List of Illustrations
41. John Charnock’s plan of the 1710 replacement for Ann Wyatt’s Cumberland. Image courtesy of the National Maritime Museum, Charnock collection, 0177.
29. Photograph of a 60-gun 4th Rate. She fits the critical dimension of length on the gun deck (LGD) for the Wyatt 4th rate, HMS Winchester. External decorations aside, she could be HMS Winchester. Model number SLR 0389, NMM. Photo by the author.
42. Launch plan for HMS Norfolk, 3rd rate of 80 guns, about 1714, based on the Royal flag and her full three deck modifications. Cumberland probably did not look like this when she was lost, rather like the enclosed plan. She still existed at the time in French hands. This may be a later ship as her chain plates are located above the 2nd gun deck, as compared to the arrangement on the Sussex and Boyne models illustrated elsewhere. Plan and photo courtesy of the Kriegstein Collection.
30. Port bow of a model of the model of HMS Nassau70 guns, 3rd rate, of 1694, showing likely appearance of Wyatt 80s when fully rigged. Photo and model courtesy of the Thompson Collection, Museum of Ontario. 31. NMM Draught 1162, HMS Montague, 4th Rate, 60 guns. This ship closely resembles model SLR 0389 above and is only five years later than the Winchester.
43. Builder’s draught of HMS Cumberland of 1695 by Richard Endsor.
32. Another view of the Nassau, giving an inkling of the power and purpose of a 3rd rate, as seen from the port bows waterline. Model and photo courtesy of the Thompson Collection, Museum of Ontario.
44. HMS Boyne as built in 1694. She was a sister ship of the Cumberland; NMM Model Number SLR 0006. Photo by the author. 45. This is a model of the Chichester about 1705. She shows a full deck in her waist, but no third deck gun ports and an open forecastle. NMM Model 0391. Photo by the author.
33. HMS St. George, 90 Guns, 2nd Rate, which represents the outsize ship Ann Wyatt was regarded as capable of building by the Admiralty. Sergison Collection, USNA Museum Photo by the museum. 34. Another perspective, a builder’s plan for HMS Triumph, 2nd rate, built in William III’s reign. Image courtesy of the NMM. NMM, ZA 20 500/338.
46. HMS Sussex as in 1694, port broadside model number 8, Sergison Collection, U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) Museum, port broadside, USNA. Photo by the museum.
35. Carr Laughton’s illustrations of ship nomenclature, the Head or Bows, as seen in Old Ship Figureheads and Sterns. Reproduction courtesy of Dover Publications.
47. HMS Sussex hold interior looking forward, USNA. Photo by the museum. 48. HMS Sussex, main gun deck, looking forward. USNA. Photo by the museum.
36. Carr Laughton’s illustrations of ship nomenclature, the Broadside, as seen in Old Ship Figureheads and Sterns. Reproduction courtesy of Dover Publications.
49. HMS Sussex, upper gun deck looking forward to midship stairs. USNA, photo by the museum.
37. A large Dutch two decker of the 17th Century, by Willem van de Velde the Elder. Photo courtesy of the Kreigstein Collection.
50. HMS Sussex, stern, USNA Museum. Model Number 8. Photo by the author.
38. French ship LeSuperbe by Willem van de Velde the Elder, as seen in Brian Lavery’s Deane’s Doctrine of Naval Architecture, credited to the National Maritime Museum.
51. HMS Sussex, port quarter galleries, USNA Museum, Model Number 8. Photo by the author.
39. The 3rd rate HMS Royal Oak, by van de Velde the Elder. From the collection of Mrs. R. C. Anderson, on loan to the National Maritime Museum. Image courtesy of Frank Fox.
52. HMS Boyne, port quarter galleries, NMM Model SLR 006. Photo by the author.
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List of Illustrations
53. Upper finishing HMS Boyne, showing quarter galleries of another of William and Mary’s 80s. NMM Model SLR 006. Photo by the author.
69. A view of the stern of HMS Chichester, showing stern walk, model courtesy of the NMM. Photo by the author.
54. Old Ship’s Figureheads and Sterns, “Stern Nomenclature,” by permission of Dover Publications.
70. Photo mosaic of the wreck of HMS Sussex. Image courtesy of Odyssey Marine Exploration.
55. HMS Sussex, main deck at the ships waist, facing the capstan with its magnificent black and gold carved backdrop which includes the ships bell and belfry. USNA Museum. Photo by the author.
71. Area of critical weakness of the 27 Ship Programme 80s designs. Note the lack of a full deck fore and aft of the capstan. USNA Museum. Photo by the author.
56. HMS Sussex, A view aft to the great high poop with a series of gilt rails and decks looking fine in the sun. USNA Museum. Photo by the author.
72. HMS Restoration, ancestor of the Wyatt 80s. From van de Velde the Elder, Boymans 408, in Frank Fox Great Ships 161, No. 202. Image courtesy of Frank Fox.
57. HMS Sussex, bow lacking seats of ease. Photo by the author.
73. Duguay Trouin taking Cumberland from The Memoirs of Duguay Troin. Image courtesy of the USNA Museum.
58. HMS Sussex, fore-peak and figurehead. Photo by the author. 59. HMS Sussex, abaft the quarterdeck. Photo by the author.
74. Cumberland and Devonshire lost in action 1707, Bataille du Caplizard, by Jean Antoine Theodore Gudin. Public domain.
60. HMS Sussex, starboard bows and forecastle. Photo by the author. 61. HMS Sussex, starboard forecastle showing fore-chains and gun port wreath carvings. Photo by the author.
75. Possible HMS Winchester model. The scale of the main gun deck is analogous to that of Winchester of 1693. NMM Model Number 0389. Photo by the author.
62. HMS Sussex, amidships showing entry port, main chains and gun port wreath carvings. Photo by the author. 63. HMS Sussex, view of port quarter, stern galleries and lanthorns from above. Photo by the author.
76. 4th rate, model number 12 Rogers collection, USNA Museum, before restoration; note similarity with Figure 78 with quarter galleries. Model and photo courtesy of the USNA museum.
64. The Admiralty Board Offices at Crutched Friars, near the Tower of London where Ann Wyatt did much business. Courtesy of the Navy Records Society.
77. NMM, Model 0389, port quarter detail from above. Photo by the author. 78. Edmund Dummer draught of a 4th rate showing the ship moored in a river in ordinary, NA/Admiralty 106/516. Photo by the author.
65. Title page contract cover, HMS Cumberland of 1695, Admiralty 106/3071, courtesy of the UK National Archives. Photo by the author. For full transcription by Richard Endsor, see Appendix.
79. This is what the Victory; (ex-Royal James) looked like, as represented by the newly restored model in the Kriegstein collection. Winchester served for a time as replacement for the then very leaky Victory according to her log in NA/ Admiralty 51.
66. A view inside of Walnut Tree Cottage, the house from which William Wyatt ran his business interests, and the room in which he may have produced the draughts promised for Edmund Dummer, Surveyor of the Navy. Photo courtesy current owners, 2009.
80. Starboard bow, 4th rate, 1705. Note lack of wreaths around gun ports. USNA Museum. Photo by the museum.
67. HMS Sussex, stern walk as discussed with Admiralty in Wyatt Document. USNA Museum. Photo by the author.
81. 4th rate, USNA Museum model number 33 Rogers collection, believed to be HMS Portland in 1693. Photo by the museum.
68. A port quarter view of the Boyne without the stern walk. Model courtesy of the NMM. Photo by the author.
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Warships for the King
82. Starboard broadside 1693 4th rate of 1693, Model Number 33. USNA Museum photo.
99. 24 gun 6th rate, USNA Museum, Rogers collection, Model Number 14, starboard aerial view. Photo by the museum.
83. Sinking of Winchester, September 1695, off North Key Largo, Florida, called at the time Cape Florida. Painting by the author, photo by Janet Reel.
100. Port broadside view of a 24 gun 6th rate galley frigate about 1695, very likely similar to the Burseldon built Seaford. Model and photo courtesy of the USNA Museum.
84. Starboard quarter looking forward from the waterline, 4th rate, 1693, Model Number 5, USNA Museum. Photo by the author.
101. 5th rate, 32 gun galley frigate, photo courtesy of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, number 1886.1.1667. The Winchelsea/Winchelsey, 32 probably looked like this.
85. Port waiste forward, Model Number 5, USNA Museum. Photo by the author. 86. 1693 4th rate, forecastle detail, USNA Museum. Photo by the author.
102. 5th rate, 32 guns, starboard quarter, photo courtesy of the Pitt Rivers Museum, number 1886.1.1667. This can be considered another view of Winchelsea.
87. 1693 4th rate, mizzenmast from port quarter, USNA Museum. Photo by the author. 98. 1693 4th rate, port quarter, aerial view, USNA Museum. Photo by the author.
103. 5th rate, 32 guns, broadside view, photo and model Pitt Rivers Museum.
89. Progress Report on Lancaster and Winchelsey, courtesy of the UK National Archives. Photo by the author. NA/PRO/Admiralty 106/417.
104. 5th rate, stern detail, USNA Museum Rogers collection Model # 13, 32 guns. Photo by the museum.
90. Robert Woodcock, The Launch of a 50 Gun Ship. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s, from F.B.Cockett, Early Sea Painters, p. 131.
105. HMS Cumberland of 1695, starboard broadside appearance by Dustin Minnick, after Richard Endsor Draught. (1/48 scale in end- pocket).
91. Reconstruction of 17th Century Hull Framing, Peter Goodwin, English Man of War. USNI Press, by permission.
106. HMS Cumberland of 1695, section by Richard Endsor. (1/48 scale in endpocket).
92. Midship Section 17th century 3rd rates under construction, Goodwin, USNI Press by permission.
107. Typical example of a floor rider, John Franklin, Navy Board Ship Models, Figure 19, by permission, USNI Press.
93. A 5th rate galley frigate of 32 guns about 1695. Courtesy of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
108. Inset of Ann Wyatt and her shipwrights aboard Cumberland, November 1695, by Richard Endsor. Endsor says she is berating them.
94. HMS Adventure 5th rate. Photo courtesy of the Kriegstein collection.
109. Cumberland boarded by the Glorie and Chester. Duguay Trouin Memoirs, image courtesy of the USNA Museum.
95. Unknown 5th rate, Rogers Collection, Model number 14, USNA Museum, likely to resemble Winchelsey. Photo by the by museum.
110. HMS Cumberland stern by Dustin Minnick. Photo by the author. (1/48 scale drawing in end-pocket.).
96. 4th rate of about 1705, broadside. Photo courtesy of the Pitt Rivers Museum Oxford, 1886.1.1665.
111. H. Vale, Battle of Cape Passaro. This painting contains Cumberland as Principe de Asturias; the Spanish ship in the center is Real San Felipe, but the Spanish two decker showing the Wyatt Stern and three lanterns is to the right is probably Cumberland. Image courtesy of Lane Fine Art Galleries.
97. 4th rate of about 1705, starboard quarter. Photo courtesy of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, 1886.1.1665. 98. 4th rate of about 1705, port bow. Photo courtesy of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, 1886.1.1665.
112. HMS Lizard, 24 guns, 6th rate, port bow. Photo courtesy of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
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List of Illustrations
113. HMS Lizard, 24 guns, 6th Rate, stern. Photo courtesy of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
120. 1693 4th rate, NMM Model number SLR 0381, starboard broadside. Photo by the author.
114. Unidentified contemporary 6th rate from the USNA Museum Rogers Collection, Model Number 13, deck overhead view. Photo by the author. Seaford could have looked like this less the lack of quarter galleries and pink stern.
121. 1693 4th rate, NMM SLR 0381, starboard forecastle. Photo by the author. 122. 1693 4th rate, NMM SLR 0381, broadside detail. Photo by the author. 123. 1693 4th rate, NMM SLR 0381, midships falls and main chains. Photo by the author.
115. 6th rate, pink stern, USNA Museum Rogers collection. Photo by the museum.
124. 1693 4th rate, NMM SLR 0381, stern quarter galleries. Photo by the author. 125. 1693 4th rate, NMM SLR 0381, stern. Photo by the author.
116. 6th rate, starboard bows detail, USNA Museum Rogers collection. Photo by the museum.
126. 1693 4th rate, USNA Museum showing rebuilt quarter galleries cf. Figure 112. Photo by the author.
117. 6th rate amidships detail, USNA Museum, Rogers collection. Photo by the author.
127. 1705 4th rate, USNA Museum, Rogers collection, Model number 12, starboard bow. Photo by the museum.
118. 6th rate, USNA Museum, Rogers’s collection, detail abaft port stern. Photo by the author.
128. 1705 4th rate, USNA Museum, Rogers collection, Model number 12, midships starboard. Photo by the museum.
119. Unidentified 48 gun 4th rate, 1693, courtesy of Arnold and Henry Kriegstein. This ship is equipped with a rare topside scaffold, probably for supporting an awning in tropical service. Winchester saw tropical service and may well have carried such a scaffold. Model and photo courtesy of the Kriegstein collection.
129. 1705 4th rate, USNA Museum, Rogers collection. Model number 12, aft starboard including rebuilt galleries. Photo by the museum. 130. 1693 4th rate, USNA Museum, Sergison collection, model number 9, stern and starboard side from aft, a waterline view. She is a very good bet for Winchester’s appearance in service, though slightly shorter. Photo by the author.
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Warships for the King
Figure 1. An English Fleet in the Downs, Peter Monamy, Private collection, Longdon. This painting by Peter Monamy depicts several ships of Ann Wyatt’s era. From left to right there are a small yacht or dispatch vessel; a 1st rate surrounded by small craft, including flag officers’ barges; a 4th rate firing cannon, another 4th rate, possibly a 60 gun ship like Winchester, seen starboard-side to. The 1st rate can be recognized by her three full decks and her double- decked stern galleries with Wilhelminian era scrollwork. There are bow and stern views of two other ships of the line, probably 3rd rates like the Cumberland, the Devonshire, and the Lancaster. In all, the ships built by or associated with Ann and William Wyatt included three 3rd rates (80 guns), a 4th rate, (60 guns), a 5th (48-50 guns); a smaller 5th, of 32 guns, and a 6th rate, probably 24 guns. Unfortunately, there are no contemporary ships’ portraits of any of Ann and William Wyatt’s ships, other than representations in fleet actions, making them very difficult to identify from contemporary art. The fleet actions painted included those by Ludolph Bakhuizen, who left us Vigo Bay, 1702, listed as National Maritime Museum (NMM) BHC 2217; Isaac Sailmaker who has left us Malaga, 1704, listed as NMM BHC 0348. There is Peter Monamy’s Relief of Barcelona, 1706, in a Private collection; Samuel Scott, who painted Cartaghena, 1708, is listed as NMM BHC 0348. Lastly there is Richard Paton, who gave us Cape Passaro, which was Cumberland’s final battle, as a purchased Spanish ship, Principe de Asturias, listed as NMM BHC 0351. The closest approximation to a contemporary portrait of one of Ann and William Wyatt’s ships is Peter Monamy, The Albemarle, 80 Guns, Flagship of Sir John Leake in 1708 off Barcelona. This work is in a private collection, and can be seen in F.B. Crockett, Peter Monamy and His Circle 1681-1749, (Suffolk: Antique Collectors Club, 2000), p. 30. Albemarle was a rebuilt 80, and her appearance was close to Chichester, 80, as seen below.
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Preface
The Lady and Her Ships
A
nn Wyatt of Bursledon Hampshire was a
hundred bought, according to the account
woman entrepreneur. She was a wife and
formerly presented to your Majesty and that the
widow twice, who did things of interest, merit,
Docks and buildings of your Yards have been
and impact over a very long and productive life.
more than doubled in the same time.”1
Ann Wyatt made a difference in her nation’s
This new fleet and infrastructure became the
efforts and in her nation’s future through what
post-Stuart element of what the historian Paul
she and her husband built: ships of war. These
Kennedy has called “the really great changes in
ships were part of the King William III’s “Twenty-
the Royal Navy from being an assembly of vessels
Seven Ship Programme,” which arose from an
provided for by the monarchy became a national
existential threat to William’s rule of England. It
force, paid for by regular votes of parliament
was framed by William’s fight for dynastic and
it became a standing and homogeneous fleet
religious survival against Louis XIV of France.
directly responsible to the government as an
Ann’s efforts and those of the other English
instrument of national policy.”2 The archival
commercial shipbuilders allowed expansion of
evidence dealing with the 27 Ship Programme is
the battle fleet by almost a third. No matter its
extensive. The Programme, which spanned the
technical drawbacks, or operational failures, this
years 1690-1697, was well organized, financed
effort met the King’s ends.
and supported. The previous Thirty Ship program
Charles Sergison, the Clerk of the Acts of the
took place over a lengthier period from 1677-
Board of Admiralty, reminded King William,
1688, and was the object of technical challenges,
“We have not only maintained the Navy at sea
organizational problems and subsequent
for nine years together, but we have added to it
politically charged investigations. The Twenty
three hundred sail, great and small, two hundred
Seven Ship Programme benefitted from the
of which were built off the stocks, and the other
learning curve of the earlier program and there was fiscal oversight which would make current treasuries jealous—it was literally down to the
1
Commander R.D. Merriman, The Sergison Papers (London: Navy Records Society, 1950), p. 6.
2
Paul M. Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of British Naval Mastery (London and Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1983), p. 66.
3
UK National Archives, [hereinafter NA], PRO/Admiralty 20/57. This is a bound volume of accounting in copperplate script, which itself merits publication. Ann and William Wyatt figure prominently in the returns to the King of overpayments and of the monies paid for the works done by all the shipyards, private and public, in England, but also in penalties and interest paid for late payments by the King.
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last farthing (one 4th of a Penny)!3 The role of the Wyatts and particularly of Ann is clear
Warships for the King
Figure 2. HMS Sussex, 80 Guns 3rd rate, Charles Sergison collection, U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Photo by the author. As contrasted with contemporary art, there are some very accurate models of the 80 gun ships in the Twenty Seven Ship Programme which allows unprecedented appreciation of Ann Wyatt’s ships and their appearance. This is a starboard bow view of the Sussex from the collection of Charles Sergison, now housed in the United States Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Maryland. The model represents the ship as built and is consistent with contracts for Wyatt’s’ three 80s, less the full 3rd deck added to suit Ann Wyatt’s demands for safety, quality and consistency in the Cumberland There are two other models of 80s in the National Maritime Museum in England, the Boyne and the Chichester, seen and discussed below. Sussex as built represents as close as we will get to the original appearance of the Wyatt 80s.
and extensive, also accounted down to the last
and the 80 gun Lancaster at Bursledon, and she
farthing.
stepped immediately into his shoes. Although
Ann Wyatt lived for almost a century. Her
she did have the help of her foremen, Richard
life from 1658 to 1756 spanned as many as five
Herring and John Button, she always maintained
generations. She was a partner, a wife twice, a
the role of owner and principal partner. With
widow twice, a mother once, grandmother and
Button she subsequently contracted and built
great grandmother. She was a contemporary
the 80 gun ship of war, HMS Cumberland. Prior
and very probably an acquaintance of Daniel
to that William and Ann had produced the
Defoe and his son Benjamin. She also may have
Devonshire, 80, and the Winchester, 60. Ann
known the diarist Celia Fiennes.4 Ann Wyatt
and Herring had finished and launched the
may have been related by marriage to the latter
80 gun Lancaster. Neither Herring nor Button
and known the former through their business
is mentioned in William’s contracts, or in
dealings. Wyatt, through her marriage with
subsequent correspondence with the Admiralty.
William Wyatt had become an experienced
A close examination of those letters with the
timber merchant and shipbuilding executive.
Admiralty shows she had the lead role in all
This included managing shipyards with her
issues surrounding Cumberland. Her legacy
husband shipwright before his death and then
of stubbornness probably contributed to the
as the equivalent of CEO in her own right after
remedying of a bad design in this ship and her
it.
ideas may have been adopted class-wide as the In order to qualify to build Royal ships of
ships came in for great repairs.
the line, Ann and William Wyatt had to have
Ann Wyatt lived in an age of great unrest,
run a successful shipbuilding enterprise. Ann
through two revolutions, plague, and pestilence.
had to have been an active partner, because
War was a constant and peace was regarded
when William died, she had two big ships on
as merely a breathing space. She lived in
the stocks: the Winchelsey, 32, at Redbridge,
Hampshire, England, at the end of the 17th and
4
Ann lived from 1658 to 1756. Defoe was born in 1660 and died in 1731. Celia Fiennes was born in 1662 and died in 1741. Ann’s second husband, Michael Brixey, a London merchant who she married in the early 1700s and who predeceased her in 1729. He is buried at All Saints, Hawstead Suffolk. See Hawstead All Saints Church Records in Bury St. Edmunds Library, p. 77.
xiv
The Lady and Her Ships
Figure 3. Portrait of a Young Woman, associated with Sir Godfrey Kneller or a follower, early 18th century. This painting is believed to be associated with Ann Wyatt. It might be Ann as a young or even middle-aged, if idealized, woman. Kneller was an eminent portraitist to Kings James II and William III of England. His services and those of his studio were available to such a family as that of Sir Jasper Cullum, and the surmise is that Ann senior was painted as well as her daughter, Lady Anne, who married Sir Jasper Cullum in 1697. This is believed to have been done by Kneller or a follower. The original dress is red, and the portrait’s background is a green according to experts at Courtauld’s. The authoritative work Kneller, his Life and His Art, by J.D.Stewart, does not contain any record of either the Cullum patronage or a painting done by Kneller of either Ann Wyatt or Anne Cullum, but the paintings came from the Cullum family homes at Hawstead and the photo is courtesy of Courtauld Institute of Art London.
beginning of the 18th century. It was a place
Museum (NMM) at Greenwich as well as in the
and time when and where shipbuilders and
British Library (BL/Additional Manuscripts)
servants of the Parliament and King in London
in London. On Ann’s personal life there are
rubbed shoulders with smugglers allied with big
ecclesiastical and legal documents as well as
moneyed interests and sometimes supporters
some estate records. There are some surprising
of the exiled Catholic King, James II. These all
documents, including a capital court case in
included a mix of nativists and landed gentry
which she was a witness. The house she shared
whose views of national authority were more
with William Wyatt in Bursledon survives
medieval than modern. The landowners owned
as do some local records. Her later years are
the forests not held by the King, and so timber
illuminated by the surviving contents of the
merchants had to deal with them as well as the
library at Hawstead Place. There is also other
Royal forests which had been depleted by a
primary and secondary material about her first
century of heavy shipbuilding.
husband, William, and some about her second
Until now Ann Wyatt has been a footnote
husband, Michael Brixey, and a great deal about
in naval history, despite her accomplishments.
the family of Sir Jasper Cullum, of whom she
Regarding her life as a shipbuilder, there are rich
became an in-law.
primary sources including scores of Admiralty
The Royal Navy of Ann’s era was not a King’s
Progress Reports on Wyatt ships. There is
toy nor was it run by part-time amateurs. Ann
Admiralty correspondence with both Wyatts
and William’s shipbuilding competence and
and there are internal Admiralty naval minutes
technical acumen were therefore absolute
over a number of years from the journals of
prerequisites to them getting Admiralty
the Admiralty Board Clerk of the Acts, Charles
contracts to build large warships. Together
Sergison. There are also Admiralty papers
they had already turned an inheritance of £100
from Edmund Dummer, a Hampshire native,
into a legacy of over £5000 when she and her
entrepreneur, engineering genius and Surveyor
daughter inherited. Beyond this, because Ann
of the Navy, who was a principal interlocutor
Wyatt had become a shipbuilder in her own
with the Wyatts. These are preserved in an
right, she has call on the heritage of Richard
extensive collection in the National Maritime
Herring’s attempt to build Salisbury, 50, at
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Warships for the King
Figure 4. Lady Anne Wyatt Cullum, daughter of Ann and William Wyatt by Sir Godfrey Kneller or follower. (Photo by the author. Painting courtesy of Moyses Hall, Bury St. Edmunds). Ann Wyatt Cullum was the mother of Sir Jasper’s only son and heir Sir John Cullum of whom Ann Wyatt was grandmother. The painting is held by Moyses Hall in Bury St Edmunds. It is ornately framed and of a beautiful woman in Kneller’s style. Her name and date of her death are on the painting. We also have the documents left by Sir Thomas Cullum, and ancestor of Sir Jasper who bought Hawstead House who made his fortune as a draper. Thomas ordained portraits were to be done of everybody in the family.
Beaulieu Hard, and in the Bursledon built
employees and several ships. The shipwrights
Seaford, 24, though these ships were speculative
worked for her or her foremen. This was usual
ventures on the part of her foremen. The
for any shipbuilder of the time who was not
Salisbury connection to Ann herself is tenuous,
a shipwright himself. Ann Wyatt was both
but the ship’s connection to Wyatt’s senior
technically and strategically involved in the
foreman is undoubted, so she is included here.
entire business process. She had at least 120
This book is about Ann Wyatt and her ships, but
people working for her when building Lancaster,
to some reasonable extent it must also be about
80, and Winchelsey, 32, in 1694. This labor
her husband William Wyatt. The foundation
force comprised men of significant experience,
of a shipwright’s and merchant’s reputation
knowledge and craft. A good contemporary
with the Admiralty must go to William Wyatt
book on shipbuilding distills the experience, to
who secured the contracts for the Devonshire,
include art, craft higher mathematics, geometry,
Winchester, Winchelsea, and Lancaster. Then there
physics, statics, mechanics, economy and
were the times: Ann and William were part of an
aesthetics, and it shows them all woven together
early modern naval arms race and its attendant
in a surprisingly modern scientific manner.
action drama and paperwork.
In Ann Wyatt’s time, ships were recognized
Constructing a ship of the line designed
as complex machines of great beauty and
to carry scores of heavy cannon and fight its
power; the men who built them had to possess
opposite number at sea was the most complex
significant intellectual competence. Finding,
and difficult effort outside of capital buildings
fashioning, and ferreting timbers on average a
on land that human beings could endeavor
foot across and weighing hundreds of pounds,
until the Industrial Revolution. Constructing
fashioned by hand and safely fixing them into
several ships of war required a combination
a complex machine weighing hundreds of tons
of management, leadership (both human and
required considerable management leadership
technical) equal to any challenge in the modern
and organizational skills.
era. 8 Ann Wyatt was not a merely a shipwright’s
Ann and William Wyatt had to find and
widow, but also a shipbuilder—someone
keep hundreds of skilled and unskilled labor
responsible for more than one yard, hundreds of
in a time of war. In addition, there was the
xvi
The Lady and Her Ships Figure 5. William Wyatt letter to the Admiralty, 12 June 169, courtesy of the UK National Archives, PRO/ Admiralty 106. Photo by the author.
continual challenge of finding and keeping the supply of timber. Fortunately, we can ride with Ann through the forests of Hampshire to Portsmouth and back, albeit through Daniel Defoe’s eyes. We can look over her shoulder as she wrote some letters to the Admiralty in her own hand—simple and to the point, although at times wheedling. She sometimes played the poor widow’s role if she thought it would help. Normally she would keep it in the background. She did her own correspondence. Ann had a good hand for the day, as did her husband. Reading the script itself always proves a challenge for 21st- century historians—there is little punctuation, major words are capitalized, there are frequent abbreviations, and sentences are not by any means complete. The 17th century differs from our time in that they thought to cover subjects as quickly as possible, often without transitions. Spelling is phonetic. Comparing Ann’s prose to her husband’s, one finds her approach less direct but equally effective; comparing either to the diary of the Admiralty Clerk of the Acts Charles Sergison, one finds precisely the same level of literacy, and significantly greater readability in Ann’s script. Ann had no formal education that we know of and was self-taught as the daughter of a husbandman. We know little of her parents;
xvii
Warships for the King
As mentioned above, in documenting the construction and lives of the Wyatt’s
photographs; Mike Bevan, of the Manuscripts
ships and their relationship with the
Division. Thanks are due for assistance from
Admiralty, the author has been very
the London Science Museum, especially Daniel
fortunate to have had a large collection of
Albert, Curator of Transport. Thanks are also due
original Admiralty documents available.
to Matthew Percival at the Courtauld Institute in
These included ship’s contracts, building
London.
(progress) reports, ship-repair records, the
In addition I need to acknowledge Grant
official diaries of Charles Sergison, ship’s
Walker, the curator of the Sergison and Rogers
logs and journals, Admiralty records of
Collections of Admiralty ship models at the
actions, and other individual items. These
United States Naval Academy Museum at
are recorded in as much detail as possible
Annapolis, without whom this work would
in the bibliography to allow other scholars
not have been possible. His tireless efforts on
to follow as many trails as possible.
behalf of naval historical scholarship, as well
But in addition to the documents and
Figure 6. Ann Wyatt to the Admiralty, 25 June 1695, courtesy of the UK National Archives Admiralty 106/464. Photo by the author.
other than they were established Church of England members, and her grandfather may have been a pewterer in London, but there is no record at all concerning her mother. The salient fact is that Ann and her parent’s survived civil war and plague and smallpox, although her father died when she was thirteen.
Jeremy Mitchell, curator of ships plans and
as those of his museum merit special thanks.
contemporary sources, there has been
There is also Dr. Keith Cunliffe at Moyses Hall,
critical help from several institutions and
Bury St. Edmunds, for the latter half of Ann
persons. To begin with, Professor Luckett
Wyatt’s life, as well as Sara Steggles, Sheila
and Ms. Aude Fitzsimmons of the Pepys
Reed, Liz Wigmore KatieVaughn, all staff at
Library of Magdalene College, Cambridge,
Suffolk County Library and Archive in Bury St.
were most helpful for Dummer materials. The
Edmunds. I am also grateful to Simon Miller,
staff of the National Maritime Museum needs to
Warden of All Saints Church in Hawstead,
be thanked, particularly curator of ship models,
Suffolk, who so kindly helped search the
Simon Stephens. Simon’s role in this work and
churchyard for Ann Wyatt’s grave and spent
in the advancement of British maritime history
an unscheduled evening carefully walking a
in general has been pivotal. In addition, thanks
colonial through his lovely church. Thanks
are due the following: Ms. Kate Jarvis and the
are also due to the Warden and Rector of St.
staff of the Caird Library for the Sergison Papers;
Leonard’s Church in Bursledon; to the staff of
xviii
The Lady and Her Ships
the Hampshire Country Library in Lymington.
Additional assistance has come from Henry
Particularly helpful with Ann Wyatt Brixey’s later
and Arnold Kriegstein, curators of the largest
life was the staff of Walthamstow Archives and
collection of 17th century Admiralty ship models
Library.
in private hands.
I would like to specially acknowledge the
There is of course Richard Endsor,
assistance of John and Judith Madin who so
independent scholar and the ship’s carpenter of
generously searched local archives and provided
the Royal Catherine, 90 guns, for his hospitality,
maps and photo graphs of Bursledon to find
editing of an early and difficult version of this
Ann Wyatt’s yards, as well as their additional
manuscript, as well as deep and wise knowledge
efforts to locate Ann Wyatt’s house and historical
of the British archives and technical expertise
records.
and his superb renderings of Cumberland, as
In addition special thanks go to Martin
well as the provision of a fully vetted version of
and Judy Hughes, current owners of Ann and
her contract which appears as Appendix in this
William Wyatt’s house in Bursledon; to Jeffrey
work. His efforts and counsel have enabled the
Martin, a local scholar, who helped locate a
reconstruction of a 1300 ton 3rd rate, at least on
detailed history of the Wyatt’s at Bursledon.
paper.
For the French, Spanish, and Austrian
Thanks are due to Frank Fox, independent
connections needed to track HMS Cumberland
scholar and author of the pioneering work
as she served in four navies I am indebted to
on the battle fleet of Charles II, as well as
Michael Wenzel of Vienna, Austria, who also
an encyclopedic study of the 100 gun line
shared unstintingly his original research on Ann
of battleship (forthcoming) for his technical
Wyatt. For their assistance on Cumberland’s short
assistance and expertise.
Spanish service to the independent scholar John
In the entirely new area (for the author) of
D. Hebron, and Professor Francisco Fernandez-
women’s studies, I owe much to the assistance
Gonzalez, of the University of Madrid; and
of Sara Mendelson and Patricia Crawford; for
of 17th century maritime Spain the historian
background on Ann’s contemporary Daniel
Professor Carla Rahn Phillips of the University
Defoe, Professor Paula Backscheider of Auburn
of Minnesota.
University was a great help. For additional
xix
Figure 7. Sergison Diary, sample page Charles Sergison Admiralty Minute, NMM. Photo by the author.
Warships for the King
assistance on another of Ann’s acquaintances,
Oxford, who braved the wilds of archives and
prefers seventeenth, written out!) history. She
Celia Fiennes, I thank Lady Seye and Sele,
found the logs of Ann’s ships that had avoided
believes secondary sources should be seen and
Celia’s descendent. For consultation of the
my previous efforts. The final manuscript
not heard, whereas the author is kinder and is
idea of this book, I thank Professor Andrew
has benefitted greatly from the unstinting
willing to risk opprobrium for their shameless
Lambert of King’s College London and Professor
efforts of Cathy Dupont of Seawatch Books;
exploitation.
Kenneth J. Hagan of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate
and most especially from the patience and
School in Monterrey. To my new colleagues at
meticulous attention to detail in re-editing text
late trustee of Mount Holyoke College, to
the University of Maryland, University College,
and photography of Janet Reel of Lexington,
whom this work is dedicated. I never met a man
for their encouragement in getting this effort
Virginia.
whose company I enjoyed more. His vision
finished, never mind they made me a professor in the school of management, not history!
Lastly, there is the late Roger Lyman Baker;
Professor Margaret Hunt of Amherst College
and generosity has enabled progress across a
kindly read the manuscript and helped steer
spectrum of academic activity which has yet to
There are also the efforts of Kathryn Casey;
me though some new waters: both in the 17
be measured.
research associate, whose classical training and
century context, and women’s studies. Her
stalwart assistance has assisted the work greatly.
detailed and painstaking editing has made this
In addition, there are Drs. David Wilson and
a much more accurate, and hopefully useful
Georgina Allen, as well as Rachael Morgan of
artifact of 17th century (she unambiguously
th
xx
Whatever faults or errors there are in this work are entirely those of the author. Tobias R. Philbin Lexington, Virginia 2011.
Part 1
Ann Wyatt: Her World