English ship Essex (1653)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Essex.

History
England[1]
Name	Essex
Namesake	Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Ordered	1 April 1652
Builder	Phineas Pett II, Deptford Dockyard
Launched	18 April 1653
Captured	4 June 1666 (O.S.), by the Dutch
Notes	Participated in: Battle of the Gabbard (1653) Battle of Lowestoft (1665) Four Days Battle (1666)
United Dutch Provinces[1]
Acquired	14 June 1666 (N.S.)
Commissioned	1666
Fate	Wrecked October 1667
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Third rate frigate
Tons burthen	65271⁄94 (bm)
Length	118 ft (36.0 m) (keel)
Beam	32 ft 3 in (9.8 m)
Depth of hold	14 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	48 guns (at launch); 60 guns (1666)

Essex was a 48-gun third rate frigate built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England by Phineas Pett II at Deptford Dockyard under the Early 1652 Shipbuilding Programme, and launched on 18 April 1653. She had 13 pairs of gunports on the lower deck, 12 pairs on the upper deck, and 3 pairs on the quarterdeck. During the First Anglo-Dutch War, she took part in the Battle of the Gabbard on 3 June 1653 as the flagship of General-at-Sea Sir Robert Blake.[1]

Following the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660, she was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Essex.[2] She took part in the Battle of Lowestoft on 3 June 1665. Between 1 June and 4 June (by the Julian Calendar) 1666 Essex fought at the Four Days Battle. By the time of the battle, Essex's armament had been increased to 56 guns, comprising 12 demi-cannon and 12 culverins on the lower deck, 28 demi-culverins and 4 sakers.[1] On the final day of the engagement, she was captured by the Dutch.[2] She was taken into the Texel, repaired and added to the Amsterdam Admiralty's navy as a ship of 50 guns, but was wrecked off Vlieland in October 1667 with great loss of life.[3][4]

Notes

1. Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714, p.46.
2. Brian Lavery, The Ship of the Line - Volume 1, p.159.
3. Frank L. Fox, The Four Days' Battle of 1666 (Seaforth Publishing, 2018) ISBN 978-1-5267-3727-4.
4. James Bender, Dutch Warships in the Age of Sail, 1600-1714 (Seaforth Publishing, 2014) ISBN 978-1-84832-157-1.

References

• Lavery, Brian (1983) The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
• Winfield, Rif (2009) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers anbd Fates Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.