English naval officer (1650?1707)
Admiral of the Fleet
Sir Cloudesley Shovell
(c. November 1650 ? 22 or 23 October 1707) was an
English
naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the
Battle of Solebay
and then at the
Battle of Texel
during the
Third Anglo-Dutch War
. As a captain he fought at the
Battle of Bantry Bay
during the
Williamite War in Ireland
.
As a flag officer Shovell commanded a division at the
Battle of Barfleur
during the
Nine Years' War
, and during the battle distinguished himself by being the first to break through the enemy's line. Along with Admiral
Henry Killigrew
and Admiral
Ralph Delaval
, Shovell was put in joint command of the fleet shortly afterwards.
During the
War of the Spanish Succession
, Shovell commanded a squadron which served under Admiral
George Rooke
at the
capture of Gibraltar
and the
Battle of Malaga
. Working in conjunction with a landing force under the
Earl of Peterborough
, his forces undertook the siege and
capture of Barcelona
. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the Navy while at Lisbon the following year. He also commanded the naval element of a combined
attack on Toulon
, base of the main French fleet, in coordination with the
Austrian
army under
Prince Eugene of Savoy
in the summer of 1707. Later that year, on the return voyage to England, Shovell and more than 1,400 others perished in a
disastrous shipwreck
off the
Isles of Scilly
.
Along with his naval service, Shovell served as
MP
for
Rochester
from 1695 to 1701 and from 1705 until his death in 1707.
Early career
[
edit
]
Battle of Sole Bay
, 28 May 1672
Born in
Cockthorpe
,
[1]
the son of John Shovell, a
Norfolk
gentleman, and Anne Shovell (nee Jenkinson), Shovell was born into a family "of property and distinction"
[2]
which, although not poor, was by no means wealthy.
[3]
He was baptised on 25 November 1650.
[4]
The unusual first name of Cloudesley derives from the surname of his maternal grandmother Lucy Cloudisley, who was the daughter of Thomas Cloudisley
[5]
(d. 1618) of
Cley next the Sea
, Norfolk.
[6]
He went to sea as a
cabin boy
in the care of a paternal relative, Admiral
Sir Christopher Myngs
, in 1663. After Myngs' death in 1666 he remained at sea in the care of Admiral
Sir John Narborough
.
[5]
He set himself to study
navigation
, and, owing to his able seamanship and brave disposition, became a general favourite and obtained quick promotion.
[4]
Promoted to
midshipman
on 22 January 1672, he was assigned to the
first-rate
HMS
Royal Prince
, flagship of the
Duke of York
, and saw action when a combined British and French fleet was surprised and attacked by the Dutch, led by Admiral
Michiel de Ruyter
, at the
Battle of Solebay
off the Suffolk coast in May 1672, during the
Third Anglo-Dutch War
.
[5]
Promoted to
master's mate
on 17 September 1672, Shovell transferred to the
third-rate
HMS
Fairfax
later that month and then moved to the third-rate
HMS
Henrietta
in November 1672. He saw action again when a combined British and French fleet attempting to land troops in the Netherlands was repelled by a smaller Dutch force, again led by Admiral de Ruyter, at the
Battle of Texel
in August 1673.
[3]
Promoted to
lieutenant
on 25 September 1673, he transferred to the third-rate
HMS
Harwich
in 1675 and took part in an action against the pirate stronghold at
Tripoli
. Shovell led a surprise attack on the pirates, sinking a number of their ships in January 1676. For this action he received the sum of £80 from Narborough. Two months later he undertook a second raid against the pirates, for which he was awarded a gold medal from
King Charles II
. In a letter from the Admiralty,
Samuel Pepys
recorded the King's satisfaction with Shovell's actions; he transferred to the third-rate
HMS
Plymouth
in May 1677 and was sent to the Mediterranean.
[3]
Battle of Bantry Bay
, 11 May 1689
Promoted to
captain
17 September 1677, Shovell was given command of the
fifth-rate
HMS
Sapphire
. He transferred to the fourth-rate
HMS
Phoenix
in April 1679 and returned to HMS
Sapphire
in May 1679 before transferring to the fifth-rate
HMS
Nonsuch
in July 1680. He returned to HMS
Sapphire
again in September 1680 and then transferred to the sixth-rate
HMS
James Galley
in April 1681, to the third-rate
HMS
Anne
in April 1687 and to the fourth-rate
HMS
Dover
in April 1688. Throughout this period Shovell was engaged in the defence of
Tangier
from
Sale
raiders.
[3]
Shovell transferred to the command of the third-rate
HMS
Edgar
in April 1689 and saw action at the
Battle of Bantry Bay
in May 1689, when a French fleet tried to land troops in Southern Ireland to fight
Prince William of Orange
during the
Williamite War in Ireland
. After the battle, Commodore
John Ashby
and Shovell were
knighted
. He transferred to the third-rate
HMS
Monck
in October 1689 and ordered to patrol the area between Ireland and the
Isles of Scilly
. In June 1690 he was commodore of a small squadron, which convoyed King William across
St George's Channel
to
Carrickfergus
.
[3]
Senior command
[
edit
]
The
Battle of Barfleur
, 19 May 1692
Promoted to
rear-admiral
on 3 June 1690, Shovell hoisted his flag in the first-rate
HMS
Royal William
. He provided naval support for
Percy Kirke
's
Capture of Waterford
in July 1690 commanding the
Irish Squadron
. He commanded a division of the Red squadron at the
Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue
in May 1692, in which
Russell's
Anglo-Dutch fleet intercepted and defeated the French fleet under
Tourville
, on its way along the Channel to provide an escort for an invasion of England. At
Barfleur
Shovell's flagship was the first ship to break through the enemy's line, and in the latter stages of the battle he organised a fireship attack. He received a wound in the thigh during the action, which later incapacitated him during preparations for the attack which destroyed the French ships that had taken refuge at
La Hogue
. Along with Admirals
Henry Killigrew
and
Ralph Delaval
, Shovell was put in joint command of the fleet in January 1693. After the
disastrous attack
on the
Smyrna
convoy off
Lagos, Portugal
, in June 1693, all three admirals were dismissed from their joint command. Promoted to
vice admiral
on 16 April 1694, Shovell commanded a squadron on expeditions to
Dieppe
and
Dunkirk
, later in the year.
[3]
Shovell set up residence with his wife at May Place in
Crayford
in 1694 and was elected
Member of Parliament
for
Rochester
in 1695.
[7]
He was responsible for the restoration of St. Paulinus' Church in Crayford and was a great benefactor to
Rochester
, providing at his own expense the fine decorated plaster ceilings in the Guildhall and the market bell, clock and decorated brick facade for the Butchers' Market (now the Corn Exchange).
[8]
[9]
He was also Commissioner of the Sewers, responsible for the upkeep of the embankments of the
Thames
between
Deptford
and
Gravesend
.
[8]
He did not stand for re-election to Parliament in December 1701.
[7]
War of the Spanish Succession
[
edit
]
May Place,
Crayford
where Shovell lived
Promoted to full
admiral
on 6 May 1702, Shovell brought home the spoils of the French and Spanish fleets, which had been captured by Admiral
George Rooke
at the
Battle of Vigo
at an early stage of the
War of the Spanish Succession
,
[4]
arriving in England in late 1702. After commanding a fleet dispatched to take troops to
Lisbon
in Spring 1703, he commanded a squadron which served under Rooke at the
capture of Gibraltar
in August 1704 and also repulsed the French fleet at the
Battle of Malaga
later that month. He was appointed a member of the council of the Lord High Admiral (an office vested at that time in
Prince George of Denmark
) in December 1704, appointed
Rear-Admiral of England
on 26 December 1704 and promoted to
Admiral of the Fleet
on 13 January 1705.
[3]
[7]
He was elected Member of Parliament for Rochester again in 1705.
[7]
In May 1705 he was given command of the
Mediterranean Fleet
in partnership with
Earl of Peterborough
. Peterborough's forces undertook the siege and
capture of Barcelona
in September 1705. Shovell was given complete control of the Mediterranean Fleet while at Lisbon in November 1706.
[3]
He commanded the naval element of a combined
attack on Toulon
, base of the main French fleet, in coordination with the
Austrian
army under
Prince Eugene of Savoy
in the summer of 1707. The allies failed to capture the city, but bombardment by Shovell's forces panicked the French into scuttling their own fleet. Shovell was subsequently ordered to bring his fleet home in late October 1707.
[3]
Death in the Scilly naval disaster
[
edit
]
An 18th-century engraving of the disaster, with
HMS
Association
in the centre
Memorial at
Porthellick Cove
where Shovell's body was washed ashore
Shovell's monument in
Westminster Abbey
by
Grinling Gibbons
While returning with the fleet to England after the campaign at Toulon, Shovell's flagship, the second-rate
HMS
Association
, struck the rocks near the Isles of Scilly at 8 pm on 22 October (2 November, by the
modern calendar
) 1707. HMS
Association
went down in three or four minutes, with none of the 800 men that were on board saved,
[4]
according to sailors watching on the first-rate
HMS
St George
. Four large ships, HMS
Association
, the third-rate
HMS
Eagle
, the fourth-rate
HMS
Romney
and the
fire ship
HMS
Firebrand
all sank.
[10]
With nearly 2,000 sailors lost that night, the
Scilly naval disaster
was recorded as one of the greatest
maritime
disasters in British history
.
[10]
The cause of the disaster has often been represented as the
navigators
' inability to accurately calculate their
longitude
, although no public discussion of the events specifically raising the question of longitude is known, prior to a pamphlet published on the eve of Parliament's vote on the
Longitude Act
, seven years later.
[11]
[12]
Shovell's body and those of both his stepsons were all found in
Porthellick Cove
on
St Mary's
, almost 7 miles (11 km) from where his ship was wrecked. It was possible that Shovell left his flagship in one of its boats along with his two stepsons and the captain of HMS
Association
, Edmund Loades, and that they were drowned while trying to get to shore.
[3]
Shovell's body was identified by the
purser
of the third-rate
HMS
Arundel
, who knew the admiral well. It was identified by "a black mole under his left ear, also by the first joint of one of his forefingers being broken inwards. He had likewise a shot in his right arm, another in his left thigh".
[13]
Shovell was temporarily buried on the beach at Porthellick Cove.
[14]
By order of
Queen Anne
the body was later exhumed and brought back in the fourth-rate
HMS
Salisbury
to
Plymouth
, where it was embalmed by
Dr James Yonge
. It was later carried in state to London. During the journey from the
West Country
, large crowds turned out to pay their respects. He was interred in
Westminster Abbey
on 22 December 1707: his large marble monument in the
south choir aisle
was sculpted by
Grinling Gibbons
.
[15]
Meanwhile, his two stepsons were buried in
Old Town
Church on St Mary's.
[3]
Local legend has it that Shovell was alive, at least barely, when he reached the shore of Scilly at Porthellick Cove but was murdered by a woman for the sake of his priceless
emerald
ring, which had been given to him by a close friend, Captain
James Lord Dursley
. At that time, the Scillies had a wild and lawless reputation. It is claimed that the murder came to light only some thirty years later when the woman, on her deathbed, confessed to a clergyman to having killed the admiral and produced the stolen ring, which was sent back to Dursley.
[3]
[11]
Several historians doubt the murder story as there is no indication that the ring was recovered and the legend stems from a romantic and unverifiable deathbed confession.
[16]
[17]
Another legend alleges that a common sailor on the flagship tried to warn Shovell that the fleet was off course but Shovell had him hanged at the yardarm for inciting
mutiny
. The story first appeared in the Scilly Isles in 1780, with the common sailor being a Scilly native, who recognized the waters as being close to home but was punished for warning the admiral.
[13]
While it is possible that a sailor may have debated the vessel's location and feared for its fate (such debates were common upon entering the English Channel, as noted by
Samuel Pepys
in 1684), the story has been repeatedly discredited by naval scholars, who noted the lack of any evidence in contemporary documents and its fanciful stock conventions and dubious origins.
[13]
After his death Shovell became a popular British hero.
[18]
Family
[
edit
]
In 1691 Shovell married Elizabeth Hill, Lady Narborough (1661?1732), the widow of his former commander, Rear Admiral Sir
John Narborough
. Through her, he had two stepsons (Sir John Narborough, 1st Baronet, and James Narborough), who both entered naval careers and died, aged 23 and 22, at the sinking of HMS
Association
in October 1707.
[13]
Shovell and his wife also had two daughters: Elizabeth and Anne. Elizabeth married
Lord Romney
, whilst Anne married
John Blackwood
.
[8]
In popular media
[
edit
]
Actor
Jonathan Coy
was cast as Shovell in the
Channel 4
TV series,
Longitude
in 2000.
[19]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Sir Cloudesley Shovell - Lord of the Manor of Crayford"
. Archived from
the original
on 4 November 2016
. Retrieved
1 November
2016
.
- ^
Le Fevre and Harding, p. 44
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
"Biography: Cloudesley Shovell"
. Royal Naval Museum. Archived from
the original
on 9 July 2012
. Retrieved
24 May
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911).
"Shovel, Sir Cloudesley"
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 1014.
- ^
a
b
c
"Cloudesley Shovell"
.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/25470
. Retrieved
24 May
2015
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- ^
Cley next the Sea, St Margaret's parish register, 1538-1662, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Shovell, Sir Clowdesley (1650-1707), of Soho Square, London and May Place, Crayford, Kent"
. History of Parliament
. Retrieved
24 May
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
Thomas, E.O.,
Slade Green and the Crayford Marshes
, Bexley Education and Leisure Services Directorate, 2001,
ISBN
0-902541-55-2
- ^
"Guilfhall Museum"
. Medway Council. Archived from
the original
on 2 April 2015
. Retrieved
24 May
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Sobel, p. 6
- ^
a
b
Sobel, p. 11?16
- ^
Dunn, Richard (27 October 2014).
"The 1707 Isles of Scilly Disaster ? Part 2"
. Board of Longitude Project,
Royal Museums Greenwich
. Retrieved
24 May
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Cooke, James (1883).
"Shipwreck of Sir Cloudesley Shovel"
. Society of Antiquaries
. Retrieved
24 May
2015
.
- ^
"Sir Clowdisley Shovell and The Association"
. Submerged
. Retrieved
24 May
2015
.
- ^
"Sir Clowdisley Shovell's tomb and memorial in Westminster Abbey"
. Westminster Abbey. Archived from
the original
on 16 October 2009
. Retrieved
24 May
2015
.
- ^
Powell, p. 333?336
- ^
Pickwell, p. 221?223
- ^
Nicholls, p. 25-30
- ^
"Longitude (1999)"
. movie-dude.com
. Retrieved
22 June
2021
.
Sources
[
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]
Further reading
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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