Lyon's Whelp

In 1628, the very wealthy Duke of Buckingham built a private fleet of 10 three-masted, armed full rigged pinnaces, each of which carried the name Lion's Whelp. At least one Lion's Whelp participated in the English attempt to relieve the Huguenot citadel of La Rochelle during the Anglo-French War. Little information has survived about the careers of the other Lion's Whelps and they disappear from the historical record in 1654. Important documents about their finance and construction have survived and made a lasting contribution to our understanding of the Navy Royal during the early 17th century.

Lion's Whelp, 1628
History
England
Name: Lion's Whelp
Ordered: February 28, 1628
Laid down: March 1628
Launched: late July, 1628
Acquired: Duke of Buckingham, July, 1628; Royal Navy, 1632
Commissioned: 1632
In service: 1628 to 1632 to 1654
Out of service: 1628 to 1632 to 1654
Fate: Various
Notes: John Graves built eighth and ninth Whelps. Phineas Pett's certificates of works done have survived for all Whelps except the ninth.[1]
General characteristics
Type: 3-masted pinnace, auxiliary oared warship
Displacement: 186 tons 180 long tons (183 t)
Beam: 25 ft (7.6 m)
Depth of hold: 9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion: Sweeps (two oars between each cannon port).[Note 1]
Armament: 9 broadside cannons, 2 sternchase gunports [Note 2][2][Note 3]
Notes: The Whelps were classed as ships "of the sixth rank"

Introduction

The 10 Lion's Whelps built by the 1st Duke of Buckingham in 1628 are exemplars of the 'war' pinnace, a war ship that was built for several European navies for more than two centuries (c.1550-c.1750). The Whelps had sweeps (propelling oars) as well as sails (G R Balleine, All for the King, The Life Story of Sir George Carteret, Societe Jersiase, 1976, p10). England, the Netherlands, Sweden and Poland deployed the war pinnace on a regular basis. The largest war pinnaces, also known as frigates, approximated England's fifth rate and sixth rate small warships. A few war pinnaces were built to fourth-rate hull dimensions. However, these war pinnaces carried fewer cannon and had smaller crews than English fourth, fifth, and sixth rates. Fast and maneuverable when compared to a typical ship of the line, when they were under the command of an experienced captain with a crew that retained discipline during battle, many war pinnaces compiled impressive fighting and espionage records.

English War Pinnace, de Verwer, c.1625.

.

Ten ships of the name Lyon's Whelp were built in 1628 by George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and each was constructed to the same design. Although masted and armed from the stores of the Royal Navy, the fleet was paid for by the Duke. The entire fleet of ten Lion's Whelps cost Buckingham about £7,000 and for several years, they were his private fleet. With the exception of the Earl of Pembroke, the Duke of Buckingham was the wealthiest nobleman in England at this time. This ship building program indicates that the Duke of Buckingham could access very significant funds. The Duke spent £7000 in 1628 to build his fleet which in the first quarter of 2011 would be worth £624,120.00.[3][4]

Lion of Judah on Jerusalem Coat of Arms

Under the Duke's command, the Lion's Whelps were privateers dedicated to increasing his considerable personal fortune. The fleet of ten Lions Whelps was not taken over by the Navy until 1632, after Buckingham's assassination in 1628, and compensation of at least £4000 was paid to his estate.[Note 4]

The Earl of Nottingham

Lyon's Whelp was the name given to several British naval ships dating back to the 16th century, including at least two that were not financed or built by the Duke of Buckingham. The immediate predecessor to Buckingham's fleet of 10 Lion's Whelps was a war ship named Lion's Whelp that was owned by Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, who was the Lord High Admiral of England (1585–1619) and who was succeeded by the Duke of Buckingham.

Royal Arms of England was painted on the stern of Lion's Whelps.

This Lion's Whelp was loaned to Sir Walter Raleigh and joined the English fleet for the combined Anglo-Dutch attack and expected capture of Cadiz in 1596.[Note 5] Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex and Sir Walter Raleigh were among the commanders of landing forces while Sir Charles Howard as admiral led the fleet. Victory was swift because the Spanish fleet had been set afire in order not be captured and their land army was badly organized. The Dutch and English sacked and pillaged Cadiz all the while respecting its citizens much to the astonishment of the Spanish. This Lion's Whelp was sold to the state in 1602, and then repaired at Chatham by the ambitious young shipwright Phineas Pett (see below). The Duke of Buckingham received this Lion's Whelp as a gift from King James VI in 1625, shortly before the King died. Ratification of the transfer of ownership occurred under King Charles.

Ensign flown from the Lion's Whelps stern.

Warrants, contracts, and shipbuilders

Several years ago, John Wassell worked with the Public Record Office in London and England's Calendars of State Papers to research the ten Lion's Whelps built by the Duke of Buckingham in 1628. His web page presents the most important information obtained - original period documents from the archive “State Papers, Domestic”.[5] Each Whelp had one gun deck, two masts with a rig that included square sails and lateen. There are only a few contemporary drawings and paintings of English war pinnaces or frigates of the Jacobean era. Details of hull design, armament and rigging are usually inferred using prints and hull designs of warships in the Dutch Navy.[Note 6]

The Duke of Buckingham's project to build 10 Lion's Whelps began with his warrant to two well-placed friends. Captain Sir John Penington and Phineas Pett ensured that the ablest shipwrights of the region would be available for the building of this fleet. Their basic design was a warship of 125 tons with both sails and oars ('sweeps'). Ship construction would be done on the banks of the River Thames, particularly at Ipswich and Shorum.[6] The Lord Admiral was to oversee the “preparation and setting out” for 10 pinnaces of 120 tons each. (Each Lion's Whelp was built to 186 tons.. see below.) Each ship was to have a tender, and adequate supplies of oars, cable, anchors, sails, canvas and 'all other tackling and rigging to be furnished from his 'Majesties Stores', likewise for ordnance and ammunition. “Their Lordships well approving of the said motion did think fit and order the same accordingly.” The motive for building these ten ships was the 'enterprise of La Rochelle'. These ten ships would be added to the English fleet that would undertake to relieve the siege of the French Hugenot (Protestant) center of power at La Rochelle as imposed by King Louis XIII. Considerable resources must have been available because Phinaeus Pett left this employment at the end of July, which indicates that the ten ships had been completed and launched by that time (~6 months) or shortly thereafter. Thereupon the Duke's fleet set sail for Portsmouth and assignments with the Royal Navy.[7]>ref group=Note>The group that met at Whitehall on February 27, 1627 was impressive. The heart of England's political and military power was present: Lord Keeper (of the privy seal)- Lord Treasurer - Lord President (of the council) - Lord Admiral - Lord Steward - Earl of Suffolk - Earl of Dorset - Earl of Exeter - Earl of Morton - Earl of Kelley - Viscount Wimbledon - Viscount Grandison - Mr. Treasurer – Master of the Ward(robe) - Mr. Chanc(ellor) of the Exchequer - Mr Chanc. of the Duchy (of Lancaster).

English War Pinnace, de Verwer, ?c.1625

[8]

Although there are no surviving remains of any of the ten Lion's Whelps built by the Duke of Buckingham, it is possible to obtain a portrait of these ships. Dutch marine painters of the period often included detailed examples of Dutch, English and Spanish ships in their paintings. A small oil-on-copper painting by Abraham de Verwer c.1625, that is now in the England's National Maritime Museum, shows Dutch and English war pinnaces saluting each other outside a harbour. The English ship is a good fit to the reconstructed profile for a Buckingham Lion's Whelp as a three-masted war pinnace with a single gun deck that had eight broadside cannon ports. There is a grating or 'flying deck' over the waist, and Royal Arms decorated the stern. There is another and similar painting of an English single deck war pinnace in the National Maritime Museum.

The Anglo-French War

England invades the Isle de Re in 1627. A few pinnaces may be glimpsed among the 800-ship English fleet.
Buckingham's fleet lands at the beach of Sablanceau.

[9]

At least one of Buckingham's ten Lion's Whelps saw service with the British Fleet in England's attempt to relieve the Huguenot citadel of La Rochelle. English action in the Anglo-French War began with a siege of the fortress of Saint-Martin-de-Re in 1627. The English fleet was not able to lay siege to La Rochelle until several months later.

Historians are indebted to Jacques Callot who published a series of prints illustrating the English landing on the Isle de Re at the beach of Sablanceau, the Siege of Saint Martin-de-Re and the Siege of La Rochelle.[Note 7] Callot's technical innovations enhanced the detail in his prints. In his portrayal of the English fleet, it is possible to differentiate galleons, carracks, pinnaces and perhaps shallops becauise each ship type had the same minute iconic image. Peraps one of the pinnaces in these prints is Buckingham's sixth Lion's Whelp.

English Siege of the St. Martin Citadel, Callot Pl.1
Siege of Saint Martin by the Duke of Buckingham.

The besotted King James I assigned a central role to his favorite courtier with the expedition to relieve the stronghold of La Rochelle (Hugenot). England hoped that a success would bring the French Protestants into an alliance against Catholic Spain and provide a demonstration of English naval power that would leave King Louis XIII hesitant and fearful. English King James I had made George Villiers, Lord Admiral of the Royal Navy in 1619. As an important commander during the Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (1627) and the attempt to relieve La Rochelle, the Duke of Buckingham revealed a serious lack of understanding and expertise when faced with both army and naval strategic challenges.

The siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré was the first action in this attempt to take La Rochelle and it began when Buckingham's fleet landed troops on the beach at Sablanceau. Apparently Buckingham insisted on an orderly, slow and methodical organization of his army on the exposed beach, even as French troops and cavalry made repeated lightning attacks, emerging from the protection of the sand dunes. About 100 English casualties on the beach were unnecessary. Later, it was revealed that Buckingham's preparations for the siege of Saint Martin included ladders that proved too short to reach the top of Saint-Martin-de-Re's walls.

At least two English war pinnaces can be seen in the Callot print of Buckingham's fleet at Loix.
After three months, Buckingham called off the Siege of Saint-Martin. He retreated to Loix, then sailed home to England, defeated and humiliated.

English strategy correctly viewed the fortress of Saint-Martin-de-Re as a serious impediment to an assault on La Rochelle. With 80 ships and 7,000 men, Buckingham failed to take the fortress city. After three months and a final failed assault on October 27, 1627, he ended the siege and left for England from Loix with a demoralized, disease ridden force of 2,000 men, the survivors of his original army of 7,000 men.[Note 8]

A Lion's Whelp to Massachusetts

In 1629 a Lion's Whelp sailed with four other ships from Gravesend on April 25, 1629 for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Arrived and greeted by Governor John Endecott on June 30, 1629. All ships were armed merchantmen. Eight cannon were listed for this Lion's Whelp which is the number carried by the Duke of Buckingham's Lion's Whelps and most armed pinnaces as well. Is this ship Buckingham's second Lion's Whelp, diverted for a cross Atlantic run with settlers and provisions to the Massachusetts Bay Colony? A careful scrutiny of the record is not supportive of this conclusion. This Lion's Whelp is tentatively identified as the 120-ton ship that brought William Dodge, along with the Sprague family and others to Salem, Massachusetts in 1629. The Lyon's Whelp left Gravesend 24/25 April 1629 and arrived in Salem mid-July 1629, under Master John Gibbs (or Gibbon). It was one of six ships in a small fleet; the others including Talbot, George Bonaventure, Lyon, and a ship called Mayflower (though not the Mayflower of the Pilgrims). This Lion's Whelp and her sister ships the Talbot and the George carried goods and new settlers to Naumkaeg, the Indian name for the territory settled by England's Massachusetts Bay Company at Salem.[10][11]

Appendix: 10 Lion's Whelps

Final costings for each Lion's Whelp are believed to have been in excess of the contracted rate, thereby raising the possibility that shipwrights deliberately built ships larger than agreed upon in order to inflate the final invoice. The worse example of this was Peter Pett and the sixth Whelp. The Duke wanted each Whelp to weigh 120 tonnes, and cost £139.5.

After the Duke was assassinated in 1632, his fleet of ten Lion Whelps was taken into the Royal Navy and the estate reimbursed £4,500 according to Captain Penington who had supervised their construction. Had the fleet been sold to England, as the Earl of Nottingham had done with his Lion's Whelp in 1602, very likely much more money would have accrued to the Buckingham estate.

Under the quay at Harwich

With sale of the tenth, this fleet of Lion's Whelps passes from recorded history. Their fragmentary historical record has provided additional information about the building of small war ships in the 17th century, and activities of the Royal Navy in the Anglo-French War.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ There were discrete, small ports for "sweeps" (32' oars, each worked by 3 men). This galley-like feature can be traced back at least to Henry VIII's time. Frigates had oar ports well into the 18th century.
  2. ↑ The number and configuration of the gunports in the Lion's Whelp design was a bit complicated. The Lion's Whelps – Introduction, History, Construction, What Did They Look Like? by James Wassell, Feb.23, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2011. In what follows, 'port' refers to gun-port. “To make a Quarter-deck with two ports right astern and two quarter ports with a convenient Bulkhead (partition) and sight for Steerage. To make eight ports on each side from the bulkhead of the steerage forward and to fit places to row with two oars betwixt each port". "Port" here means a gunport. It is unclear whether the "quarter-deck" ports are at Gun deck level (ie. under the quarter-deck) or are for guns mounted on the quarter-deck.” (Wassell favored the quarter-deck.) “Only two guns were fitted right aft due to lack of space, to be fired either astern or as part of the broadside. This gives a total of 20 gunports, but the practical maximum armament was 16 guns as a similar lack of space in the bows meant that only one gun on each side, the "bowchaser", could be fired either out of the foremost port or from the next port aft. The forward end of the gundeck had to accommodate the foremast, bowsprit, riding bitts and a galley chimney. This description means that there was to be one gun deck fitted with 9 gunports each side, plus two sternchase gunports . . .”
  3. ↑ The above dimensions show the Whelps to have been relatively broad in the beam. This was to allow them carry the proposed armament of 10 guns each. Each ship was to have 2 brass Sakers (6 lb shot) 4 demi-culverins (9 lb shot) and 4 culverins (18 lb shot). This was a remarkably heavy armament for ships of this size- the culverin being the standard lower gun deck armament of the biggest two-deckers of the time. This was achieved by using iron "drake" versions of demi-culverin and culverin. These were lighter than the standard cannon and used a smaller powder charge (an early equivalent of the carronade). They also weighed less than the brass sakers, despite the heavier ball. In addition, 26 iron demi-cannon drakes were added just before the departure of the fleet for La Rochelle! These guns fired a 32 lb shot and three of the Whelps received four such cannon. However, apparently they were left in the holds of most Whelps as the captains considered the decks too weak to support them.”
  4. ↑ In 1619, King James I appointed George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham to the Admiralty and he became the Lord Admiral of England. Jovial and good natured to all who supported him, as a typical courtier Villiers was most interested in satisfying his vanity and arranging marriages for friends and those who were politically connected. The Duke had few qualities that would make him an effective admiral of the Royal Fleet. Nearly all of his political and military stratagems proved to be disasters.
  5. ↑ Wassell's 1595 reference is likely to Raleigh's participation in this combined English and Dutch attack and capture of Cadiz in 1596. There was no expedition of any significance undertaken by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595.
  6. ↑ Lofting a ship the size of a Dutch or English war pinnace by eye was likely well within the capabilities of their shipwrights. A similar challenge was successfully met in 18th and 19th century American shipyards that built schooners, barques and brigantines, small and large.
  7. ↑ Master of advanced etching techniques, Jacques Callot is credited with technical innovations such as the echoppe (needle) that allowed etchers to create a 'swelling' line; a lute maker's varnish based, etching ground that allowed for highly detailed work equal to that of engravers, and multiple “stoppings-out” which provided etchers with heretofore unknown possibilities to achieve subtle effects of distance and light.
  8. ↑ King Charles would send two more fleets to relieve the Siege of La Rochelle. William Fielding, Earl of Dengbigh, sailed for La Rochelle in April 1628 but returned without a fight claiming that had no commission that authorized him to participate in fighting. The Duke of Buckingham organized the next fleet which sailed under the Earl of Lindsey who was now the Admiral of the Fleet. The Earl of Lindsey sailed in August, 1628 with 29 warships and 31 merchantmen and in September 1628, they attempted to relieve La Rochelle. The English bombarded the French positions and tried to force the sea wall, all in vain. The Earl of Lindsey was forced to withdraw and return to England. La Rochelle surrendered to King Louis XIII on October 28, 1628 and Catholicism in France solidified. England then ended its participation in the Thirty Years War by signing a peace treaty with France in 1629, and with Spain in 1639.
  9. ↑ Wassell reproduces the report of Captain Edwin Popham regarding the loss of the fifth Lion's Whelp in a terrible storm. She sank four hours after springing her fist leak, the pumps were quickly overpowered. 17 men died with the fifth Lion's Whelp as she sank, the captain with 40 men survived in a small boat. Four hours rowing brought them to an English ship and rescue.
  10. ↑ He was either: a) half brother of Phineas Pett (d.1631 – not likely); or b) son (d.1649) of the second marriage of Master Shipwright Peter Pett of Deptford (d.1589)

References

  1. ↑ The Lion's Whelps – Introduction, History, Construction, What Did They Look Like? by James Wassell, Feb.23, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  2. ↑ The Lion's Whelps – Introduction, History, Construction, What Did They Look Like? by James Wassell, Feb.23, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2011
  3. ↑ The Lion's Whelps – Introduction, History, Construction, What Did They Look Like? by James Wassell, Feb.23, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2011 “Miscellaneous: costing to Mr. Browne (by Pennington) for a model of a pinnace - £3, 6/- costing to Mr. Maylim for model of 900 tonne ship with 'deck under water and store rooms upon it' - £6, 10/-”
  4. ↑ National Archives, Currency Converter. Retrieved March 3, 2011. £7,000 1630 pounds are equivalent to £624,120.00 (2011 pounds).
  5. ↑ Of Wassells, Whelps and Kennedys, by John Wassels, nd. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  6. ↑ The Lion's Whelps – Introduction, History, Construction, What Did They Look Like? by James Wassell, Feb.23, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2011. “The State Papers, Domestic contain the indentures (contracts) between Pennington & Phineas Pett and two of the builders- John Graves and Matthew Graves- for the construction of these ships. (SP16 94 .430 .431). They are both dated the last day of February, 1628. (The year ran from 25 March to 24 March in those days, so a document dated 28 February 1627 refers to 28 February 1628 on our calendar.”
  7. ↑ The Lion's Whelps – Introduction, History, Construction, What Did They Look Like? by James Wassell, Feb.23, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2011
  8. ↑ English pinnace warship as depicted on a small, oil on panel painting that in the 1970s was still hanging in the Queen's house. It appears to be the same ship, shown in mirror image, as the English pinnace in the paintings by de Verwer in the National Maritime Museum.
  9. ↑ The English Siege of the fortress city of Saint Martin began with Buckingham's landing on the beach at Sablanceau, Isle de Re, July 12, 1627.
  10. ↑ The History of Ten Lion's Whelps, by John Wassell. 2003. Retrieved 11 Feb 2010.
  11. ↑ A Brief History of William Dodge of Beverly - 1629 – 1692, by Donald R. Dodge, 1997-2011, retrieved February 11, 2011.
  12. ↑ The Lion's Whelps – Introduction, History, Construction, What Did They Look Like? by James Wassell, Feb.23, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2011.1631 (SP 16. 198) lists 14 guns on ... the Third ... Whelp .. .
  13. ↑ The Lion's Whelps – Introduction, History, Construction, What Did They Look Like? by James Wassell, Feb.23, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2011. Transcriptions of letter/work order for removal of the experimental constructions, and the usefulness of 3” and 4” planks for work on ships elsewhere.
  14. ↑ The Lion's Whelps – Introduction, History, Construction, What Did They Look Like? by James Wassell, Feb.23, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2011
  15. ↑ The Lion's Whelps – Introduction, History, Construction, What Did They Look Like? by James Wassell, Feb.23, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2011. 1631 (SP 16. 198) lists 14 guns on ... the Fifth ... Whelp .. .
  16. ↑ The Lion's Whelps – Introduction, History, Construction, What Did They Look Like? by James Wassell, Feb.23, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2011. Wassell reproduces a letter from the captain of the Mary Rose to the Admiralty concerning these events.
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