HMS Arethusa (1849)
HMS Arethusa (1849)


Royal NavyVessels

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NameArethusa (1849)Explanation
TypeFourth rate TypeFrigate
Launched (Sail)20 June 1849 Converted to screw9 August 1861
HullWooden Length252 feet
PropulsionSail Men550
Builders measure2132 tons Builders measure (as screw)2132 tons
Displacement3832 tons Displacement (as screw)3142 tons
Guns50 Guns (as screw)51
Fate1934 Last in commission1869
ClassConstance Class (as screw) 
Ships bookADM 135/21   
Snippets concerning career prior to conversion
DateEvent
20 June 1849Launched as 4th rate sailing ship at Pembroke Dockyard.
19 January 1850
- 26 December 1853
Commanded by Captain Thomas Matthew Charles Symonds, particular service, then Mediterranean
1 January 1854Commanded by Captain William Robert Mends, Black sea during the Russian War
2 July 1854
- 15 January 1855
Commanded (until paying off at Plymouth) by Captain Thomas Matthew Charles Symonds, Black sea during the Russian War
Career as unarmoured wooden screw vessel
DateEvent
10 June 1865
- 17 June 1867
Commanded (from commissioning at Sheerness) by Captain Reginald John James George Macdonald, Mediterranean
1 June 1867
- 7 January 1869
Commanded (until paying off at Sheerness) by Captain Robert Coote, Mediterranean
1874Training Ship (engines removed and added to the Chichester training ship as accommodation). The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury had founded the National Refuge for Homeless and Destitute Children known as Shaftesbury Homes, and in 1866 persuaded the Admiralty to lend him Chichester, so that destitute children might be trained for employment at sea.
(1879)Lent to Baroness Burdett Coutts as a Training Ship for Destitute Boys, Greenhithe.
(1890)Lent to Baroness Burdett Coutts as a Training Ship for Destitute Boys, Greenhithe.
(1914)Lent for Training Ship for Destitute Boys, Greenhithe.
1931Replaced at Greenhithe by a new vessel, Peking (launched in Hamburg, 1911) , renamed Arethusa, which subsequently moved to near Rochester, on the River Medway (in 1975 this vessel was acquired by the South Street Seaport Museum in New York, and renamed Peking; she is still there).
2 August 1933Sold to Castle for breaking up at Charlton.
Extracts from the Times newspaper
DateExtract
Sa 12 November 1864The following is the list of the vessels of the Royal navy which will be armed, and are now being armed, with the new description of 300-pounder and other guns in course of issue. The figures after each vessel specify the number of guns of the description mentioned she will carry. To mount the 12-ton 300-pounders:- Bellerophon, 10; Royal Sovereign, 5; Minotaur, 4; Scorpion, 4; Wiveren, 4; Prince Albert, 4; Agincourt, 4; and Northumberland, 4. To be armed with the 6½-ton guns:- The Achilles, 20; Black Prince, 20; Warrior, 20; Lord Warden, 20; Lord Clyde, 20; Royal Oak, 20; Prince Consort, 20; Royal Alfred, 20; Caledonia, 20; Ocean, 20; Minotaur, 18 ; Agincourt, 18; Valiant, 16; Zealous, 16; Hector, 16; Defence, 10; Resistance, 10; Endymion, 6; Mersey, 4; Orlando, 4, Pallas, 4; Favourite, 4; Research, 4; Enterprise, 4; Amazon, 2; Viper, 2; and Vixen, 2. To mount the 64-pounder muzzle-loader:- The Bristol, 12; Melpomene, 12; Liverpool, 12; Severn, 12; Arethusa, 12; Phoebe, 12;. Shannon, 12; Octavia, 12; Constance, 12; Sutlej, 12; Undaunted, 12; Impérieuse, 12; Aurora, 12; Leander, 12; Bacchante, 12; Emerald, 12; Phaeton, 12: Narcissus, 12; Forte, 12; Euryalus, 12; Topaz, 12; Newcastle, 12; Liffey, 12; Immortalité, 12; Glasgow, 12; Clio, 8, North Star, 8 [laid down 1860, cancelled 1865]; Racoon, 8; Challenge[r], 8; and Menai, 8 [laid down 1860, cancelled 1864]. The following will be supplied with the 64-pounder breech-loaders:- The Scout, 8; Rattlesnake, 8; Cadmus, 8; Scylla, 8; Barossa, 8; Jason, 8; Charybdis, 8; Wolverine, 8; Pylades, 8; Orestes, 8; Pearl, 8; Pelorus, 8; Satellite, 8; Acheron, 4 [laid down 1861, cancelled 1863]; Shearwater, 4; Valorous, 4; Furious, 4; Bittern, 4 [laid down 1861, cancelled 1863]; Magicienne, 4; and Columbine, 4. A supply of the 6½-ton smooth-bore 100-pounder wrought iron guns has already been received at Chatham, and it is understood that the first supply of the 300-pounder rifled 12-ton Armstrong gun may shortly be expected at the Ordnance wharf.


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