Earl St Vincent (1798 Gatcombe ship)

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History
Great Kingdom
NameEarl St. Vincent
NamesakeJohn Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent
Owner
  • 1798: Wade & Co.
  • 1803:R.H. Major[1]
BuilderGatcombe, Gloucestershire, on the River Severn[a]
Launched1798
FateCaptured 1806
General characteristics
Tons burthen200,[5] or 270,[2] or 281,[3][1] or 341[6] (bm)
PropulsionSail
Armament
  • 1799:10 × 9-pounder + 2 × 6-pounder guns + 4 × 18-pounder carronades
  • 1802:12 × 9-pounder guns + 4 × 18-pounder carronades[2]

Earl St Vincent (or Earl of St Vincent) was launched in 1798 at Gatcombe, on the Severn. She initially traded between Bristol and Jamaica. She then made one voyage as an "extra ship", i.e., under voyage charter, for the British East India Company (EIC). On her return she again traded with the West Indies until she was captured in 1806.

Career[edit]

Earl St Vincent entered Lloyd's Register in 1798 with P. Wade, master and owner, and trade Bristol—Jamaica.[3] She was designed as a fast sailing packet vessel.[1]

Peter Wade acquired a letter of marque. In September 1799 Wade advertised her as sailing from Bristol to Jamaica with himself as master, but then in December advertised her for sale.[5] In January 1800 he advertised her as sailing to Madeira and Jamaica with Robert Williams, master. She then apparently sailed to the West Indies and back to London.[7]

In 1800 the EIC chartered Earl St Vincent for a voyage to India and back. Messrs Princip & Saunders had tendered her to the EIC to bring back rice from Bengal. She was one of 28 vessels that sailed on that mission between December 1800 and February 1801.[6]

Captain Richard Williams sailed from Spithead on 30 December 1800, bound for Bengal. He arrived at Calcutta on 24 May 1801. Homeward bound, she was at Saugor on 8 August, and arrived at the Downs on 26 January 1802.[8]

In 1802 she again sailed to the West Indies and back. In January 1803 Richard Acraman advertised her for sale. Her new owner, R.H. Major, then changed her registry to London as she leaves the Bristol records.[7] Major then sailed between London and the West Indies. He may have sold Earl St Vincent to Hopper and Co., before E. Major & Co. purchased her.

The two sources for the table below (Lloyd's Register and the Register of Shipping) agree in broad outline, but there are discrepancies. The registers published at different times, and are only as accurate as the information owners cared to provide.

Year Master Owner Trade Source Master Owner Trade Source
1799 Williams P. Wade Bristol—Jamaica Lloyd's Register Register of Shipping
Not published yet
1800 Williams Wade & Co. Bristol—Jamaica Lloyd's Register Williams Wade & Co. Bristol—Jamaica Register of Shipping
1801 P. Wade
R. Williams
Wade & Co. Bristol—Jamaica
London—India
Lloyd's Register Williams Wade & Co. Bristol—Jamaica Register of Shipping
1802 R. Williams Wade & Co. London—India
London—Honduras
Lloyd's Register Williams
J. Gardner
Wade & Co. London—India
London—Honduras
Register of Shipping[2]
1803 Williams
R.H. Major
Wade & Co.
Capt. & Co.
Honduras—Cork
London—Honduras
Lloyd's Register Register of Shipping
Not available
1804 B.B. Major Hopper & Co. Cork—London
London—St Vincent
Lloyd's Register E. Major Capt. & Co. London—Yucatán
London—St Vincent
Register of Shipping
1805 B.B. Major
Robley
Hopper & Co. London—St Vincent Lloyd's Register E. Major Capt. & Co. London—St Vincent Register of Shipping
1806 J. Robley Major & Co. London—St Vincent Lloyd's Register E. Major Capt. & Co. London—Jamaica Register of Shipping[9]
1807 J. Robley Major & Co. London—St Vincent Lloyd's Register[4] Register of Shipping
Not available

Fate[edit]

The Morning Chronicle reported that "The Earl St. Vincent, Robley, from Shields to Jamaica, is taken and carried into Rochelle."[10] Both the Register of Shipping (1806) and Lloyd's Register (1807) have the notation "captured" by her name.[9][4]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ This is an unusual location for shipbuilding. As a result, the Register of Shipping originally referred to it as "Gtnbg", correcting it to "Gtcmb",[2] and Lloyd's Register started with "Gtcmb",[3] later changed to "Severn".[4]

Citations[edit]

References[edit]

  • Farr, Grahame E., ed. (1950). Records of Bristol Ships, 1800-1838 (vessels over 150 tons). Vol. 15. Bristol Record Society.
  • Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.
  • Hardy, Charles (1800). A Register of Ships, Employed in the Service of the Hon. the United East India Company, from the Union of the Two Companies, in 1707, to the Year 1760: Specifying the Number of Voyages, Tonnage, Commanders, and Stations. To which is Added, from the Latter Period to the Present Time, the Managing Owners, Principal Officers, Surgeons, and Pursers; with the Dates of Their Sailing and Arrival: Also, an Appendix, Containing Many Particulars, Interesting to Those Concerned in the East India Commerce. Charles Hardy.
  • Powell, J. W. Damer (1930). Bristol privateers and ships of war. J.W. Arrowsmith: Bristol.