HMS Worcester (1698)

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

History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Worcester
Ordered	24 December 1695
Builder	Robert Winter, Southampton
Launched	31 May 1698
Fate	Broken up, 1733
General characteristics as built
Class and type	50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	689 57⁄94 bm
Length	131 ft 8.75 in (40.2 m) (gundeck) 109 ft 7 in (33.4 m) (keel)
Beam	34 ft 4.75 in (10.5 m)
Depth of hold	13 ft 6.25 in (4.1 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	50 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1714 rebuild
Class and type	1706 Establishment 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	719 34⁄94 bm
Length	130 ft 5 in (39.8 m) (gundeck) 108 ft 7 in (33.1 m) (
Beam	35 ft 3.5 in (10.8 m)
Depth of hold	14 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	50 guns: Gundeck: 22 × 18 pdrs Upper gundeck: 22 × 9 pdrs Quarterdeck: 4 × 6 pdrs Forecastle: 2 × 6 pdrs

HMS Worcester was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, one of eight such ships authorised by the Navy Board on 24 December 1695 to be newly built (six by commercial contract and two in the Royal Dockyards); the others were the Hampshire, Dartmouth, Salisbury, Winchester, Jersey, Carlisle and Tilbury. The contract for the Worcester was signed with shipbuilder Robert Winter on 26 February 1696, for the ship to be built in his yard at Northam in Southampton, and she was launched there on 31 May 1698.

The vessel was rebuilt by Joseph Allin the elder at Deptford according to the 1706 Establishment at Deptford Dockyard and relaunched on 31 August 1714. She served in the North Sea, including participation in the May 1719 capture of Eilean Donan Castle during the Jacobite rising of 1719. Worcester was broken up at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1733, with a new 60-gun replacement of the same name being built there.

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.
• Winfield, Rif (1997), The 50-Gun Ship: A Complete History. Chatham Publishing (1st edition); Mercury Books (2nd edition 2005). ISBN 1-845600-09-6.
• Winfield, Rif (2009) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.