More information : Wreck Site and Archaeological Remains:
Horizontal Datum: OGB
Vertical Datum: LAT
Ex. KATHERINE (1664); ROYAL KATHERINE (1702)
Driven ashore south of Bolt Tail.
13-MAY-1969: Stern of the wreck of the JEBBA in position 50 14 18N 003.52 03W straddles the wreck of the RAMILLIES.
17-SEP-1975: Dived on, located many cannonballs and one large cannon. A complete survey was undertaken 1972 by N.A.C.S.A.C.
05-APR-1982: Little remains other than 3 cannon and many cannonballs. Also part of rudder post. Lies in cove about 700m SE of Bolt Tail, just SE of Ramillies Headland. Wreck sold.
Lies in 5 to 15m general depth.
23-JUN-1996: A very large anchor, possibly that of the RAMILLIES, was spotted on a drift dive approximately 100m off the caves at Bolt Tail. (1)(15)
16-AUG-2011: Not accessible; too close inshore. (15)
Seen to be located below the cliffs among the rocks in what is now the eponymous Ramillies Cove. (16)
Heavy salvage over the years has left few cannon and few remains. (3)(4)(7)
18-MAY-1906: Diver Stephen Chapman, a resident of Hope Cove, agreed to visit the site and on his very first dive, found several iron cannon, a large brass wheel marked with a broad arrow and weighing 60lb, a brass belt buckle bearing the name Turner; solid shot, brass trigger guards of several muskets, a sword handle and brass weights. He continued to dive on the site for the rest of that season. (4)
Four pieces of small lead shot 1cm in diameter recovered off Bolt Tail. (Droit A/272) (12)
A 3" iron cannonball has been reported from this site at Whitechurch Cove, Bolt Tail. (Droit A/504) (12)
A 6" cannonball and 8 grapeshot recovered from this site. (Droit A/628) (12)
A cannonball recovered. (Droit A/791) (12)
A cannonball recovered. (Droit A/944) (12)
A cannonball, 28lb (12.7kg) in weight, recovered from this site at Whitechurch Cove, near Bolt Tail. (Droit A/2008) (12)
2 bottle tops, 13 buckle parts, 2 trigger guards, a barrel tap, 19 pieces of sheet metal, 5 cutlery handles, 8 buttons, 3 wig pins, and a piece of plate glass among the items recovered from this wreck, Red Rot Cove, Bolt Tail. (Droit A/3333) (12)
A coin, 3 fire bricks, a section of planking (now in Charleston Shipwreck Museum), various small items of leather and glass found in concretion, and a knife handle among the items recovered from this wreck, near to Whitechurch Road. (Droit A/3748) (12)
A large collection of artefacts, most in the Charlestown Museum, recovered from this wreck, near Hope Cove. (Droit A/3872) (12)
5 copper coins, part of a buckle, a barrel tap, a lead weight, 3 bricks, a ship's timber, musket shot and a silver shilling recovered from this wreck, Bolt Head. (Droit A/4478) (12)
Wreck Event and Documentary Evidence:
Primary Sources:
'The RAMILIES Man of War was lost within three leagues of Plymouth, with most of her crew.' (2)
'London, Feb. 19. Late last night an express arrived with a dismal account from the fleet under the command of Admiral Boscawen; that they were returned from the coast of France in a very shattered condition, occasioned by the storm on Friday night last, and that the RAMILLIES, of 90 guns, Capt. Taylor, was lost off the Start, and only 17 men were saved out of 734.
'Last Friday night it blew a perfect hurricane . . . ' (13)
Secondary Sources:
Part of a squadron under Admiral Boscawen, which had been cruising in the Western Channel. Caught in a severe south-westerly gale, recorded in the Admiral's log, "we could seldom carry even topsail". By late afternoon of the 15th the wind had reached hurricane force, the RAMILLIES, now detached from the rest of the fleet, hove to and was leaking badly. The blurred outline of an island ahead was mistakenly believed to have been Looe Island, whereas it was Burgh Island deep within Bigbury Bay. The sailing master steered further east towards what he thought was Rame Head, then realised they were close in to Bolt Tail and unable to weather the land. In attempting to stay the ship, first the mainsail split from top to bottom, then the mainmast came down, followed by the mizzen. She held her position at anchor to 6pm, then drove ashore and went to pieces. (3)(4)(7)
Some scenes on deck before the ship went to pieces were pitiful. The captain of the marines, marched up and down the poop deck, the ship's bosun threw his son towards the shore in an attempt to save him, only to see him dashed against the rocks. Midshipman Harrold was the only commissioned officer to survive the wreck; he escaped over the stern taking a party of eight seamen with him. The last man to reach safety was William Wise, who threw himself off the ship as she was literally going to pieces beneath his feet. The stern of the RAMILLIES was jammed in an inlet to the east of Bolt Tail, while the rest of her hull lay offshore, completely submerged. "I can't see any part of her hull, masts, sails or yards," wrote the Master Attendant of Plymouth Dockyard to the Admiralty the next day. So scattered was the wreckage that the Revenue men were hard pressed to stop the locals plundering. Some initial salvage work was carried out and some of her guns recovered. (4)
The RAMILLIES was throughout an unlucky ship. She bore Byng's flag in the miscarriage off Minorca in 1756; and in 1757, though Hawke in his turn had his flag in her, the luck was no better, for the expedition to Rochefort in that year was Hawke's one failure. And, to crown all, in 1760 she was wrecked on Bolt Head with the loss of all her crew save one midshipman and twenty-five men. (7)
KATHERINE, 2nd Rate, 82 guns; rebuilt 1702; renamed the RAMILLIES 18-DEC-1706, rebuilt again 1749 as 1,689bm. Wrecked off Bolt Head 15-FEB-1760. Also known as the ROYAL KATHERINE. (8)
Second Rate three-decker of 90 guns, of the 1741 Establishment. Ships. Ships of this class were 168 feet x 137 feet keel length x 48 feet x 20 feet 2 inches, 1679 tons, and a normal crew complement of 750 men.
The RAMILLIES was ordered 1739, and launched 1749, wrecked 1760 "off the Start", i.e. Bolt Head. The wreck was found in the 1950s and has been "plundered" at intervals since. The lines and profile of the RAMILLIES are extant [National Maritime Museum]. (14)
Built as ROYAL KATHERINE, 1664; commanded in 1672 by the 3rd Earl Mulgrave but captured in 1672 before being recaptured at the Battle of Sole Bay, 1672; enlarged to three-decker of 100 guns 1673, before being reduced to 84-86 guns; rebuilt 1700-2, and renamed RAMILLIES. Wrecked 1760. (17)
A portrait of this vessel in stern and starboard broadside view as the ROYAL KATHERINE of the 1673 rebuilt is extant, and now in the collections of the National Maritime Museum. (17)
Service history and battle honours given, and broken up in 1699 for rebuild. (18)
Built 1703, renamed RAMILLIES 1706; further service history and battle honours; broken up for rebuild 1741. (19)
Rebuilt 1749. Further service history and battle honours, wrecked 1760. (20)
Built: 1664 (5)(7)(8)(17); 1749 (14)
Where Built: Woolwich Dockyard (5)(7)(8); Portsmouth Dockyard (14)
Surveyor: Lock (14)
Rebuilt: 1702 (5)(7)(8)(15)
Rebuilt: 1749 (5)(7)(8)
Where Rebuilt: Portsmouth (5)(7)(8)
Armament: 82 cannon (as KATHERINE); 90 (as RAMILLIES) (5)(7)(8)(13)(14)
Construction: 3 decks (14)
Commanding Officer: Witteronge Taylor (8); Captain Taylor RN (12)
Crew: 726 (7); 734 (12); 750 [normal complement] (14)
Crew Lost: 700 (7)(20); 717 (12); "most" (2)
Master: first mate (3)
Owner: Royal Navy [all sources]
Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
Loss of the Ramillies by G J Marous in the Journal of the Royal United Services Institute, Vol.55, Feb/Nov 1960, p511;
Salvage Report, The Naval and Military Record, 24-MAY-1906
The Wreck Detectives, K McDonald |