HMS Colchester (1694)

History
England
NameHMS Colchester
Ordered16 November 1693
BuilderSir Henry Johnson, Blackwall Yard
Launched23 October 1694
Commissioned10 December 1694
FateWrecked in Whitesand Bay, Cornwall, 16 January 1704
General characteristics
Class & type50-gun fourth rate ship of the line
Tons burthen696 7294 bm
Length131 ft 4 in (40.0 m) (gundeck) 111 ft 8 in (34.0 m) (keel)
Beam34 ft 3 in (10.4 m)
Depth of hold13 ft 7 in (4.1 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament
  • 50 guns:
  • Lower gundeck 22 x 12 pdr guns
  • Upper dundeck 20 x 8 pdr demi-culverin3
  • Quarterdeck 6 x 6 pdr sakers
  • Forecastle 2 x 6 pdr sakers

HMS Colchester was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, ordered to be built by commercial contract by Sir Henry Johnson on 16 November 1693 (along with her sistership, the Romney - the contract for both ships was signed on 23 February 1694), and both ships were launched at the contractor's Blackwall Yard on 23 October 1694. The Colchester was commissioned on 10 December 1694 under Captain Frederick Weighman, for service in the West Indies.

She was wrecked in a storm - while on passage from Ireland to Plymouth - at Whitesand Bay, Sennen Cove, Cornwall on 16 January 1704 with the loss of approximately 170 lives including the captain (David Wavell).