# 1677 Construction Programme

The 1677 Construction Programme was a group of Royal Navy ships of the line approved on 5 March 1677. This program authorised the construction of thirty new warships for the Royal Navy and was a compromise between the 40 ship programme proposed by Samuel Pepys in 1675 and the Parliamentary counter proposal of twenty ships in 1676. This programme included the construction of one first rate, nine second rates, and twenty third rate naval vessels.

## Design and specifications

The design was to initiate standardisation in the ships to include the mast structures, rigging to stabilise the masts, and the sail plans. Included in this standardisation were the ordnance carried and crew size. The dimensions of the ships were to a standardised formula, though individual shipbuilders were still allowed to tweak the designs of individual ships. The standardised dimensions were for a gundeck of 150 feet 0 inches (45.72 metres) with a keel (length for tonnage calculation) of 121 feet 0 inches (36.88 metres) with a breadth of 39 feet 8 inches (12.09 metres) and a depth of hold on 17 feet 0 inches (5.18 metres) to obtain a builder’s measure tonnage of 1,012 65⁄94 tons.
The vessels were to have twenty-six gunports on both the lower and upper decks split evenly at thirteen per deck per side. Three vessels (Lenox, Hampton Court, and Captain) were initially to be completed with only twelve-gunports on the upper deck per side. The initial gun establishment would be for 70 guns in wartime and 62 guns for peacetime consisting of twenty-six demi-cannons (54 cwt, 9.5 ft) on the lower deck, twenty-six 12-pounder guns (32 cwt, 9 ft) on the upper deck, ten sakers (16 cwt, 7 ft) on the quarterdeck and four sakers (16 cwt, 7 ft) on the foc's'le with four 3-pounder guns (5 cwt, 5 ft) on the poop deck or roundhouse.
As time progressed the established armament of the ships changed. In 1685 the gun armament changed to twenty-two demi-cannons and four culverins on the lower deck with the remaining guns being unchanged, In 1703 the guns were changed again. The Establishment for a 70/62-gun Third Rate was now twenty-four/twenty-two 24-pounder guns on the lower deck, twenty-six/twenty-four 9-pounder guns on the upper deck, Twelve/ten 6-pounder guns on the quarterdeck, four/two 6-pounder guns on the foc’s’le, and four 4-pounder guns on the poop deck or roundhouse. The actual composition of the gun armaments varied and will be specified on the individual ship articles.
The established crew complement for a Third Rate for sailors (personnel for the working of sails and rigging) would initially be 160 personnel, though it was later reduced to 150 personnel. Each gun would be assigned a specific gun manning: i.e. six men for a demi-cannon (or 32-pounder), culverins (or 18-pounder) would have five men, a 12-pounder would have four, sakers would have three men per gun and 5-pounders would have two men per gun. The establishment for a Third Rate was for a crew of 460/380/300 personnel based on the armament carried and whether it was wartime or peacetime conditions and the number of guns carried.
Within this programme many new names would be instituted. Four vessels would be named for the illegitimate sons of the King, Charles II. HMS Lenox would be named for Charles Lennox, created the Duke of Lennox in 1675. HMS Burford would be named for Charles Beauclerk, created the Duke of Burford in 1676. HMS Grafton was named for Henry Fitzroy, created the Duke of Grafton in 1675. HMS Northumberland was named for George Fitzroy, created the Duke of Northumberland in 1678.

## Third Rates of the 1677 Programme

First Batch (1677 Orders) :
| Ship's Name | Builder | Launch Date | Remarks |
| Lenox | Deptford Dockyard | 18 April 1678 | Rebuilt Deptford 1701 Rebuilt Chatham 1721–26 sunk as breakwater Sheerness April 1756 |
| Hampton Court | Deptford Dockyard | 10 July 1678 | Rebuilt Blackwall 1701 taken by French 2 May 1707 |
| Anne | Chatham Dockyard | November 1678 | Ran ashore and burnt to avoid capture 6 July 1690 |
| Restoration | Harwich Dockyard | 28 May 1678 | Rebuilt Portsmouth 1702 Wrecked in Great Storm 26/27 November 1703 |
| Berwick | Chatham Dockyard | May 1679 | Rebuilt Deptford 1700 Hulked at Portsmouth October 1715 Broken at Portsmouth 1742 |
| Burford | Woolwich Dockyard | November 1679 | Rebuilt Deptford 1699 Wrecked 14 February 1719 |
| Eagle | Portsmouth Dockyard | 31 January 1679 | Rebuilt Chatham 1699 Wrecked 22 October 1707 |
| Expedition | Portsmouth Dockyard | 10 September 1679 | Rebuilt at Chatham 1699 Rebuilt Portsmouth 1709–14 Renamed Prince Frederick 2 January 1715 Rebuilt Deptford 1736–40 Converted to Lazerette 1764 Sold 1784 |
| Grafton | Woolwich Dockyard | 17 May 1679 | Rebuilt at Rotherhithe 1697 Captured off Brighton by French 2 May 1707 |
| Pendennis | Chatham Dockyard | 1679 | Wrecked on Kentish Knock 26 October 1689 |
| Northumberland | Francis Bayley, Bristol | June 1679 | Rebuilt Chatham 1699–1702 Wrecked in Great Storm 26/27 November 1703 |
| Captain | Woolwich Dockyard | 1678 | Laid up 1699 and rebuilt at Portsmouth 1706–08 Rebuilt Portsmouth Dockyard 1706/08 Rebuilt Portsmouth Dockyard 1720/22 Hulked Portsmouth 1739/40 Breaking completed Portsmouth May 1762 |
Second Batch (1678 Orders) :
| Ship's Name | Builder | Launch Date | Remarks |
| Essex | Sir Henry Johnson, Blackwall | 1679 | Rebuilt at Rotherhithe 1699–1700 Rebuilt Woolwich Dockyard 1736–40 Wrecked Quiberon Bat 22 October 1759 |
| Kent | Sir Henry Johnson, Blackwall | 1679 | Rebuilt at Rotherhithe 1697–99 Rebuilt at Woolwich 1722 Breaking completed in December 1744 |
| Exeter | Sir Henry Johnson, Blackwall | March 1680 | Burnt by Accident Portsmouth 12 December 1691, hulked at Portsmouth and broken 1717 |
| Suffolk | Sir Henry Johnson, Blackwall | May 1680 | Rebuilt Blackwall 1699 Rebuilt Chatham 1716/18 Rebuilt Woolwich 1736–39 Broken 12 June 1765 |
| Hope | Robert Castle, Deptford | 1678 | Captured by French 16 April 1695, in French service, destroyed at Battle of Vigo 12 October 1702 |
| Elizabeth | Robert Castle, Deptford | 3 March 1679 | Rebuilt Portsmouth 1699–1704 Captured by French 23 November 1704 |
| Stirling Castle | Deptford Dockyard | 29 July 1679 | Rebuilt Chatham 1699 Wrecked in Great Storm 26/27 November 1703 |
| Bredah | Harwich Dockyard | 26 September 1679 | Destroyed by explosion in Cork Harbour 12 October 1690 |

## Citations

* 1 2 3 4 5 Winfield (2009), p. 268.
* ↑ Clowes 1898, Chapter XXII, page 248
* ↑ Clowes 1898, Chapter XXII, page 248
* ↑ Winfield (2009), p. 269.
* ↑ Winfield (2009), pp. 269–276.
* ↑ Winfield (2009), pp. 276–279.