HMS Duchess (1679)

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

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Duchess and HMS Windsor Castle.

HMS Duchess was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by John Shish at Deptford Dockyard, and launched in May 1679.^[3]

History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Duchess
Builder	John Shish, Deptford Dockyard
Launched	May 1679
Renamed	HMS Princess Anne, 1701 HMS Windsor Castle, 1702 HMS Blenheim, 1706
Fate	Broken up, 1763
General characteristics as built[1]
Class and type	90-gun second rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	1546 bm
Length	162 ft 8 in (49.6 m) (gundeck)
Beam	45 ft 8 in (13.9 m)
Depth of hold	18 ft 4 in (5.6 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	90 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1709 rebuild[2]
Class and type	90-gun second rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	1557 bm
Length	162 ft 2.75 in (49.4 m) (gundeck)
Beam	47 ft 2.25 in (14.4 m)
Depth of hold	18 ft 10.25 in (5.7 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	90 guns of various weights of shot

In 1696, the Duchess was lying in the Thames when passed by famed privateer Capt. William Kidd in the Adventure Galley. Kidd failed to offer the customary salute to the Duchess, and the irate Captain Stewart of the Duchess fired a shot off Kidd's bow, forcing Kidd (surrounded by a "forest of Royal Navy warships") to heave to and be boarded. Stewart then impressed 30 of Kidd's best hand-picked seamen. One of Kidd's influential backers came to his aid, getting Stewart to replace the impressed sailors, but rather than returning Kidd's original crew, he substituted his worst troublemakers.^[4]

The Duchess was renamed HMS Princess Anne in 1701, HMS Windsor Castle in 1702, and HMS Blenheim in 1706.^[1]

In 1709 Blenheim was rebuilt at Woolwich Dockyard, remaining a 90-gun second rate. She continued to serve until 1763, when she was broken up.^[2]

Notes

1. Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 162.
2. Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 166.
3. "British Second Rate ship of the line 'Duchess' (1679)". Threedecks. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
4. Zacks, Richard (18 June 2003). The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd. Hachette Books.

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.