HMS Royal William (1833)

HMS Royal William was a 120-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 2 April 1833 at Pembroke Dock having taken eight years to build.[1] She was one of the largest ships ever built by the Royal Navy at that time, with a crew of 900 men. However, she was built during the long period of peace in Great Britain and never saw any meaningful service.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Royal William and HMS Clarence.

History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Royal William
Ordered30 December 1823
BuilderPembroke Dockyard
Laid downOctober 1825
Launched2 April 1833
FateBurnt, 1899
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeBroadened Caledonia-class ship of the line
Tons burthen2694 bm
Length205 ft 5.5 in (62.624 m) (gundeck)
Beam54 ft 6 in (16.61 m)
Depth of hold23 ft 2 in (7.06 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 120 guns:
  • Gundeck: 30 × 32 pdrs, 2 × 68-pdr carronades
  • Middle gundeck: 34 × 32 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 34 × 32 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 2 × 18 pdrs, 14 × 32 pdr carronades
  • Forecastle: 2 × 18 pdrs, 2 × 32 pdr carronades
Painting of the first Mersey boat race between cadets of HMS Conway (on the right) and London's HMS Worcester on 11 June 1891. Clarence (ex-Royal William) is in the centre, furthest away.
Replica figurehead of the Royal William at HMNB Devonport

Service

Royal William was fitted with screw propulsion in 1860 but never put into seagoing state for operation.[1] In 1885 she was lent to the Liverpool Roman Catholic Reformatory Society, who renamed her HMS Clarence[2] to replace their first reformatory school ship of that name destroyed by arson in 1884. As the new Clarence, she was ultimately also destroyed by arson, on 26 July 1899 on the River Mersey near New Ferry on the Wirral Peninsula in England.[2][3]

Commanders of Note

Trivia

The figurehead of Royal William (in its original state) was for many years placed beside the historic 1775 Mutton Cove "covered slip number 1" in Plymouth harbour. In the 1990s it was replaced by a fibreglass copy, the wooden original is now preserved in The Box, Plymouth.

The "Royal William" public house in Liverpool was named after the ship. The pub was demolished in 1998.

Notes
  1. Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p190.
  2. "A Reformatory Ship Destroyed By Fire". The Times (35892): Col A, p. 6. 27 July 1899.
  3. Anonymous, Reports from Commissioners, Inspectors, and Others: Reformatories and Industrial Schools; Public Record; Public Records (Ireland), Volume XLIII, 1900, p. 46.

References
  • Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
  • Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif (2004) The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815-1889. Chatham Publishing, London. ISBN 1-86176-032-9.


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