The Loss of H.M.S. Norwich off Port Royal in June 1682

Abstract

HMS Norwich, a 28 gun frigate under Captain Heywood arrived in Jamaica in 1680 to catch pirates and interlopers. In 1682, on returning from Cartagena, she ran aground on a reef. A bower anchor was laid astern, merchants’ stores and guns unloaded but a leak started, occasioning continuous labour at the pumps. After a day on the reef, she was re-floated, beached at Port Royal and condemned. Captain Heywood was cleared at the subsequent court martial but the Privy Council ordered Captain Heywood to be sent home in custody. Captain Heywood preferred to settle in Jamaica and eventually became Governor.

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Filed under: Other (Early Modern) | Caribbean | Shipwrecks
Subjects include: Navies | Ship Handling & Seamanship