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CANTERBURY
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(60) |
4th rate
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Built in 1745, Plymouth DY.
Broken up in 1770. |
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- 1746 Capt. Charles KNOWLES, serving as commodore with the fleet then stationed in the Downs under Vice Ad. MARTIN. He wrote to the Admiralty:-
"Since my last I have been over to Boulogne and Calais, and had distinct views of what is in those places unless I had been on shore in person. At Boulogne I stood within half a mile of the pier head, so that even a privateer sloop's shot went over me. The battery from the pier head. which mounted five guns, fired many shot, but none did execution. It was not possible to count the vessels as they lay, not knowing how to distinguish those of two masts, or those of one; but upon the whole, I am of the opinion that there are not sixty vessels of all kinds in the harbour, and my brother captains do not think there are so many; the largest of these was a galliot hoy, whose very gaff was much higher than any any of the other vessels mast heads; for there was not a single one which had a top sail yard rigged aloft.
This morning, about eight o'clock, I was within two or three miles of Calais town and saw three or four small top-sail vessels in the pier, the rest were galliots and fishing boats, and do not exceed thirty in number.
By captain Gregory's account of the same date, who was sent to take a view of the preparations at Dunkirk, it appears there are but five or six vessels in the road, and very few in the harbour." - On 21 February 1746 he reported:- This morning, in a very hard gale of wind, I met with two French ships, the BOURBON and la CHARITE, and took them both; they came from Ostend last night, and have on board count Fitz-James, and M. la Route, major general, with about five or six hundred of Fitz-James's regiment, having all their saddles, arms and horse-furniture, and some ammunition. I understand there are some other officers of distinction.
- 1748 Capt. David BRODIE, appointed by order of Rear Ad. KNOWLES and took part in the expedition in which Port Louis in Hispaniola was captured. Capt. RENTONE of STAFFORD was killed in the action and Mr BRODIE was regularly commissioned to command her,
- 1748 Capt. Edward CLARKE was appointed to CANTERBURY out of SRAFFORD by Mr KNOWLES after he arrived in Jamaica on 28 January.
On the morning of 1 October 1748 KNOWLES sighted a Spanish squadron down wind between Tortuga and Havana and slowly bore down on them. Because of the bad sailing of CANTERBURY and WARWICK, they were so far astern that the Rear Ad. had only four ships to six of the enemy at the start of the action and his flagship, CORNWALL, was quickly disabled by the Spanish flagship AFRICA. The situation of LENNOX, the next in line, was then critical until CANTERBURY and WARWICK arrived to support her.
In the evening the Spaniards started to retreat and a repaired CORNWALL forced the CONQUESTADORE (74) to strike. A dismasted AFRICA was set on fire by her crew a few miles from Havana and blew up.
On 11 October following during the attack on St Jago, he and Capt. BRODIE received praise from the Admiral for the way they had attacked Ad. REGGIO in AFRICA, with such effect that the Spaniards had to burn her rather than let her be captured.
KNOWLES later faced a court martial. (see CORNWALL). Among the furious disputes that grew out of the courts martial that followed the engagement, that between Capt. CLARKE and Capt. INNES of WARWICK, resulted in a duel when INNES declared CLARKE had sought his death by given false evidence against him. They met on 12 March 1750 at seven o'clock in the morning, Capt. INNES died at 12 o'clock that evening. - 1749 CANTERBURY arrived at Plymouth on 29 April and remained out of commission until April 1757 she remained In ordinary at Plymouth, when the Admiralty ordered her converted to a hospital ship.
- In May 1770 she was surveyed and it was found that she needed expensive repairs so she was broken up in the Dockyard, the work being completed on 15 July 1770.
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