Providence (1790 ship)

Providence was launched in 1790 at South Shields. She initially traded with Saint Petersburg but then in 1804 the British Royal Navy hired her. She remained in Royal Navy service until towards the end of 1812. She disappears from the registers between 1812 and 1820, and between 1835 and 1850. She was wrecked in 1869 and broken up in 1870.

For other ships with the same name, see Providence (ship).

History
Great Britain
Name:	Providence
Builder:	John Wallis, South Shields1790[1]
Launched:	1790[1]
Fate:	Wrecked February 1869
General characteristics [1]
Tons burthen:	292, or 293, or 302[2] (bm)
Armament:	1793: 2 × 4 + 2 × 3-pounder guns 1805: 14 × 18-pounder carronades

Merchantman

Providence appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1892 with Hutchinson, master and owner, and trade Petersburg–London.[3]

Year	Master	Owner	Trade	Source
1795	A.Cairnes	Hutchinson	Petersburgh–Plymouth	LR
1800	Hutchinson	Hutchinson	London–Petersburgh	LR
1805	Hutchinson	Hutchinson	London–Hamburg	LR
1806	Hutchinson	Hutchinson	Newcastle transport	Register of Shipping; thorough repair 1803 & 1804

Hired armed ship

The Royal Navy hired Providence on 16 May 1804.[4] Her captain was Commander Peter Rye.[5]

On 14 September Providence captured the Prussian vessel Louisa Ulrica.[6]

On 28 May 1805 Lloyd's List (LL) it reported that the armed ships Providence, Magdalen, Ranger, and Rosina had arrived at Elsinore on 14 May with their convoy.[7]

Then on 11 April 1805, HMS Scorpion, in company with he hired armed vessels Providence and sloop Thames, captured the Dutch 12-gun privateer Eer (also known as De Eer, D'Eer or Honneur).[8][Note 1] She was carrying 1000 stands of arms, two 12-pounder field pieces, two mortars, uniforms for 1000 men, tents, and the like.[8] She was also carrying M. Jean Saint-Faust who was traveling to Curaçao to assume command of the naval forces of the Batavian Republic.[9]

On 1 July 1808 Providence detained and sent into Grimsby Vrow Maria Catharina, Visser, master.[10]

Later, Rye was cited for successfully fighting off five Danish gunboats while becalmed off Jutland. He again served under Saumarez in the Baltic,

Commander Peter Rye attained post rank in 1812. He then commanded Porpoise from April 1813 until October 1814.[11] Providence's contract with the Navy ended on 23 September 1812.

Merchantman

Providence apparently was not listed between the end of her contract with the Royal Navy and reappearance in 1820.

Year	Master	Owner	Trade	Source & notes
1820	Hutchinson	Hutchinson	Hull–Petrsburg	LR; large repairs 1815, repairs 1818
1825	Hutchinson	Hutchinson	Hull–Shields	LR; large repairs 1815, repairs 1818 & 1822, small repairs 1824
1830	Pyle	Hutchinson	Hull–Petersburg	LR; large repairs 1815, small repairs 1824, keel & damages repaired 1828
1835	"Richn'berg"			LR; homeport Newcastle
1840				LR – not listed
1845				LR – not listed
1850	Hutchinson	Hutchinson		LR
1855	B.Robson	Hutchinson	Shields–Mediterranean	LR; large repair 1847, small repairs 1854,
1860	H.Gaze	A.Strong	Shields–France	LR; large repair 1847, keel and keelson 1855,
1865	J.Hunter H.Fox	T.Tillock	Shields–Mediterranean	LR; large repair 1847, keel and keelson 1855, small repairs 1861, small repairs 1865 & 1866
1869	H.Fox	T.Tillock	Shields–Mediterranean	LR; large repair 1847, keel and keelson 1855, small repairs 1861, small repairs 1865 & 1866

Fate

Providence was wrecked on 13 February 1869 on Corton Sands, near Great Yarmouth. Her entry was closed on the Register on 31 March 1870 with the notation "condemned & broken up at North Shields". This suggests that Providence had been refloated and brought back to Shields for Break up.[1] Her listing in Lloyd's Register for 1869 carries the annotation "broken up".[2]

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

1. Prize money for the capture was paid shortly after 11 November 1805.

Citations

1. Tyne Built ships – Providence.
2. LR (1869), Seq.№P578.
3. LR (1793), Seq.P33.
4. Winfield (2008), p. 393.
5. Ships Employed on Convoy Duty – May 1805. Accessed 11 January 2020.
6. "No. 15999". The London Gazette. 10 February 1807. p. 180.
7. LL 28 May 1805, №4202, SAD data.
8. "No. 15797". The London Gazette. 13 April 1805. p. 511.
9. The Gentleman's magazine, Volume 144, pp. 274–5.
10. LL 1 July 1807, №4265.
11. The Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. 189–190, p.553.

References

• Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.