HMS Crown Prize 1691
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HMS Crown Prize was a 223 ton 6th rate frigate won from the French in 1691. She was built of wood and carried a crew of twenty two and an armament of 26 cannon. The image above is of a similar French frigate of the time.
On 9th February 1692 she was lost on her way to the river Dart in Devon. Twenty one men and Captain William Tichborn were all lost when the ship eventually was driven ashore. It is believed she hit the mewstone and drifted south. We have found and researched the cannon on both sides of the entrance to the Dart but neither match the dates around the sinking. Four cannon have been recovered off beesands and one, belonging to Terry Scott, was on display in the “Cellars”. These may well be from the Crown prize as one had the broad arrow navy mark. The following are sketches by Stephen George of the recovered cannon.
Other ships capured from the French between 1689 & 1708 and put into service in the navy were:
70 gun (1686) – ex-French captured 29 January 1695, hulk 1703, sold 1715.
Ruby Prize
48 gun (1695) – ex-French captured 1695, sold 1698.
Trident
58 gun (1695) – ex-French, captured 29 January 1695, scuttled as breakwater 1701.
Medway Prize
50 gun (1697) – ex-French privateer, captured 30 April 1697 and then purchased for the
Navy 20 August 1697, hulk 1699, scuttled as a foundation 1712.
Prompt Prize
80 gun (third rate) (1692, ex-French Prompt 76, captured 12 October 1702), sunk as a wharf 1703
Assurance
70 gun (third rate) (1697, ex-French Assuré 66, captured 12 October 1702), broken up 1712
Ferme
70 gun (third rate) (1700, ex-French Ferme, captured 12 October 1702), sold 1713
Moderate
64 gun (fourth rate) (1685, ex-French Modéré, captured 12 October 1702), sold 1713
Triton
42 gun (fifth rate, i.e. not a ship of the line) (1697, ex-French Triton, captured 12 October 1702) – sold 1709
Hazardous
52 gun (fourth rate) (1701, ex-French Hasardeux, captured 6 November 1703) – wrecked 1706
Falkland Prize
54 gun (fourth rate) (1698, ex-French flûte Seine, captured 15 July 1704) – wrecked 1705 and sold 1706
Arrogant
60 gun (fourth rate) (1685, ex-French Arrogant, captured 20 March 1705), foundered 1709
August
60 gun (fourth rate) (1704, ex-French Auguste, captured 8 August 1705), wrecked 1716
Superb
64 gun (fourth rate) (1708, ex-French Superbe, captured 29 July 1710), broken up 1732
Moor
54 gun (fourth rate) (1688, ex-French Maure, captured 13 December 1710, scuttled as a breakwater 1716