HMS Colossus

Wreck of the Colossus

Colossus by Austin Johnson

When Colossus was built by way of plans taken from a captured French prize of a then well known fast and effective French 74 gun battleship called the Courageux. This was a deliberate act by the Admiralty as the Courageux was a ship with an impressive and formidable reputation. British shipbuilders, however, improved on the French design. They also replaced the 24lb upper deck guns she carried with smaller lighter 18lb weapons on the Colossus; a similar act occurred with the quarter deck guns; this all went to make the Colossus the much faster and more impressive sailor described in the references presented below. Her keel was laid in 1781 by a Quaker shipbuilder named William Cleverly and Launched in 1787, the design of the Colossus set a new precedent for the British shipbuilder of 3^rd rate ships of the line from then on.

The inshore squadron off Cadiz

HMS Colossus soon earned a fine reputation as one of the best and fleetest warships in the British Navy. During her short life of just 11 years service, apart from taking part in major naval engagements, Colossus covered other duties. Occasionally she served as a convoy escort; as indeed she did during two huge but ill fated West Indies expedition fleets of 1795. However, her main job was on station with what was known at the time as:- “the Blockading inshore squadron”; a duty Colossus performed well off Toulon, Malta and Cadiz. The Naval chronicle states that- “Only the fastest ships in the fleet are chosen for such duty.”

In 1793, due to her reputation for being swift, Colossus was rushed by Admiral Lord Hood to Cagliari for reinforcements to aid in the then ensuing siege of Toulon. Hood wrote of her quick return: “His Majesty’s ship Colossus returned to me today bringing with her 350 good troops”  After numerous successes like these, the Times newspaper later wrote: “Colossus was one of the finest 74’s in the service, and a prime sailor” 

Colossus alongside by Austin Johnson

During her time Colossus had no less than seven Captains, three of which entertained Admirals on board- Admiral Pole; Admiral Christian; and if only briefly-the now famous Admiral Cornwallis. It is interesting to note that Admirals chose the ships in which they served; often opting for the biggest, grandest, or more often as not, the fastest ships in the service.

Even in battle Colossus was often chosen to take the lead. After the Battle off the French Island of Groix, in 1795, Admiral Lord Bridport stated: “I made the signal for four of the best sailing ships to chase down  the French; Sans Parell; Orion; Russell; and Colossus”. When they caught up with the fleeing enemy fleet the ensuing battle, which lasted for over three hours, took place within easy range of many enemy shore batteries. During the lengthy engagement, high up on Colossus’ mainmast, a Scottish piper played heartily on his bagpipes until the French struck their colours in defeat.

Two years later in 1797, while back on blockade duty off Cadiz, the then Captain of Colossus, George Murray, was singled out for praise by a Spanish Admiral who stated that:“ Colossus had kept up so unremitting a watch” that under a flag of truce he invited Murray to a bull fight. Even though the Spaniard offered up his own nephew as insurance, Murray “thought it proper to decline the invitation.”  In the squadron at this time Murray in Colossus was serving directly alongside Nelson in Theseus who wrote in candour: “We are looking at the ladies walking the walls and Mall of Cadiz and know of the ridicule they make of their sea officers”

A little later Colossus and three other warships were sent by the Admiralty to bolster the main fleet at sea; which was about to see action in a major Battle off Cape St Vincent. The Mediterranean Fleets overall Commander, Sir John Jervis, wrote to his superiors of his gratitude:- “Thank you for sending so good a batch, they are a valuable addition to my already excellent stock”  Again, when battle commenced, Colossus was one of the first ships sent into the fray; and bearing the brunt of the first broadsides in front of the Spanish guns; some of her rigging was immediately shot away and severely damaged. Consequently she took no further part in the engagement.

After repairing her rigging at Lisbon Colossus was sent back on station off Cadiz; until in 1798 Nelson requested all assistance to defeat the French fleet which was believed to have entered the Mediterranean. The Battle of the Nile was about to commence. Overall Commander, Sir John Jervis, replied to Nelsons request: “The Colossus is now most powerfully manned and Murray is to good a fellow to be left when so much is needed to be done.” Although the ship did not actually take part in the action at Aboukir Bay, as the British conquering battle damaged fleet limped back to the Great Bay of Naples to repair, Colossus chased down and successfully captured one of 3 French warships that had escaped from the engagement.

Whilst the rest of the fleet was repairing at Naples, Colossus went straight back to the Inshore Squadron; this time off Malta until reinforcements came to retake the Island into British control. Colossus did not return to the repairing fleet at Naples until months later.

By the end of September 1798, with the other ships almost ready again for sea Colossus, via Gibralta, rejoined the fleet at Naples. “Every assistance has been given to the Vanguard, the Culloden; and Alexander so that these ships will be fit again to sea in a few days. Yesterday His Majesty’s ship Colossus, Captain Murray, with four victuallers from Gibraltar, came to anchor in this port”-( Naples) It was at this moment Captain Murray gave up his spare Bower anchor (and three of his ships guns) to Nelson in the Vanguard; this simple gift of an anchor between friends helped to seal the fate of Colossus later at Scilly.

Within weeks the city of Naples needed to be evacuated and Colossus was chosen, by Nelson himself, to take a precious and extremely valuable collection of Greek antiquities back to England. This was a personal favour to British ambassador, and friend of Nelson, Sir William Hamilton. His choice of ship, probably due to her swift reputation, was deliberate. The choice was also not taken lightly, as any ship given this task was about to brave the storms of a fast approaching winter; not an ideal time to be out in the Atlantic Ocean.

On her way home to England Colossus stopped of at Algiers where the Dey, in light of recent British victories at sea, and in showing simple admiration towards one of His Majesty’s ships of War, presented Captain Murray with a golden Sabre. Colossus then set sail for Lisbon where she was to take on board the body of Lord Shuldham. Also in the River Tagus at this time, a convoy of transports were waiting to sail home under the protection of Colossus and other ships of war. The convoy, most of which was:- “bound for Ireland and other northern ports” then set off for England. Colossus along with eight other smaller vessels then parted company with the main convoy somewhere out in the entrance of the English Channel as planned.

Southard Wells

On the 7^th December 1798 Colossus entered the Isles of Scilly to seek refuge from a north westerly gale. She came to anchor in St Mary’s Roads with a view to ride out the storm before setting off on the last leg of her journey. Unfortunately, three days later on the 10^th of December, the wind veered around to the south east. As it grew ever stronger one of the ships main Bower anchors broke and, in the teeth of the gale, Colossus dragged on the one remaining anchor. Without a spare Bower anchor to throw in, having given it to Nelson at Naples, nothing Murray did would arrest the ships progress towards the rocks. Eventually Colossus was wrecked on the Southard Wells reef off the foot of Samson Island.

A Colossus vase washed ashore at Scilly and now in the British Museum

The Loss of a Precious Cargo

Sir William Hamilton, British Ambassador to the court of the two Sicily’s 1764-1800, was a noted amateur scholar and collector of antiquities. In 1772 Hamilton completed his first collection of classical and archaic Greek vases and these were acquired by the then recently formed British Museum in London. This collection formed the nucleus of what is still the most significant collection of its kind in the world.

"Emma's attitudes"

In 1791 Sir William married his second wife Emma and by 1796 he had assembled his second collection of vases: “finer than the first” in his own opinion. His wife, Lady Emma Hamilton, using many of this second collection of vases as props, regularly danced around them in what became known as Emma’s attitudes; this is where the game of charades we know and love today originated.

Emma Hamilton

In 1798, with Naples under threat from the advancing armies of Napoleon, Sir William and Lady Hamilton fled the city. Each individual vase in the collection was wrapped in putty and carefully packed into large wooden crates. Eight of these crates, containing in the region of 1200 vases in total, were loaded aboard the warship Colossus for transportation to England; the rest travelled in a convoy in a smaller transport vessel. Unfortunately, Colossus was wrecked at Scilly taking half of the vase collection to the bottom of the sea.

Guns poking from their respective gun ports down on the wreck site.

Diving and salvage

In 1975 a team of divers located part of the wreck and excavated countless artefacts from site. 30,000 thousand shards of the Greek pottery dating from the 4^th and 7^th century BC were also raised. These fragments went to the British Museum for study and reconstruction- with the ultimate aim of re-assembling entire vases; all other artefacts raised were, however, sold off to private collectors. Successive salvage teams worked the wreck into the late 1980’s until very little was left to find on the seabed; again this all went into the hands of private collectors.

My display in the isles of Scilly Museum

In May 1999 local diver Todd Stevens, while diving half a mile away from the original excavation and known wreck site, located the largest part of this wreck yet found on the seabed. This site proved to be half the wreck from main mast to stern post; it even had its original guns still sticking through their original wooden gun ports. Although buried in deep sand the site, a mere 14 meters below the surface, was also found to be rich in artefacts. The collection now on display in the Isles of Scilly Museum, which provides many insights into the workings of an 18^th century warship, was raised by, and is the property of, the aforementioned diver. This, however, was not the end of the story.

Image showing where the Colossus carving (mentioned below) was positioned on the ship.

In May 2001 Scillonian diver Carmen Stevens (Todd’s wife) made an astonishing discovery on this new site; and uncovering it from beneath the sandy seabed, together the pair revealed an ornate wooden carving of a neo classical warrior. As a result the wreck site received an emergency Government protection order by July that year. Eventually archaeologists and a local salvage company fully excavated out the find. In 2002 the full size of the statue, at over 4 meters high, was realised. Although incomplete this carving, which once adorned the stern port quarter gallery of the ship and surrounded a curving window of Captain Murray’s great cabin, was found to be in an excellent state of preservation. Even traces of its original colouring of dark blue and gold gilt were also still present. Prior to public display, an artefact of this nature must receive extensive conservation treatment and this is performed by the Mary Rose Trust in the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth. The carving is now on display on Tresco Island.   The Isles of Scilly museum ended Todd's Colossus display in 2015 and much of it has been sold off. However a good selection of artifacts still remain with the salvor in his home. Todd also wrote a book about this wreck. If you would like a copy then contact Todd at- scillydiver@gmail.com

The Colossus carving emerges after 200 years on the sea floor.

After nearly 10 years conservation at the Mary Rose Trust.

The Colossus

a poem By

Todd Stevens

Colossus was a warship;

-alacrity her boast,

-and she sailed with Admirals colours raised

- t’ blockade the Spanish coast.

The inshore squadron was her duty,

-the swift and sure with this were graced,

-beside Orion, Theseus and Bellerophon,

-Colossus took her pride of place.

In action at the Ile de Groix,

- her guns roared the short divide,

-and playing heartily aloft,

her piper’s rally filled the sky.

Amidst the fray where yard arms clashed,

-and men fought eye to eye,

-with guns run out and flames unleashed,

-they let the iron fly.

When Aboukir was over

- and escort duty was the task,

-she was loaded beneath Vesuvius,

-with Greek antiquities from the past.

A course set for dear old England,

-and men climbed among the shrouds,

where billowing the sails aloft,

-they strive to emulate the clouds.

She beat her way across Biscay,

and the stormy channel home,

-better days the grand ol’ ship had seen,

- Oaken walls a- creakin in the foam.

If she’d not met with disastrous end,

-by Southard Well upon rollin’ maine,

-repaired at dear old blighty,

-they would’ve set her sails again.

Her demise was more romantic,

-her name in history was etched,

- she and her cargo to the bottom went

-and became a total wreck.

Tho’ think of her as she once was,

- stretched afore a rushing blast,

-with pennon flapping high aloft,

and many men before the mast.

Percieve Roman God Apollo,

-with outstretched arm upon her bow;

victorious the crown held in his hand,

-tho’ he’s gone, forever, now.

http://www.shipwreckbooks.co.uk/