HMS Liffey (1856)
HMS Liffey (1856)


Royal NavyVessels

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NameLiffey (1856)Explanation
TypeFrigate   
Launched6 May 1856   
HullWooden Length235 feet
PropulsionScrew Men560
Builders measure2126 tons   
Displacement3915 tons   
Guns51   
Fate1903 Last in commission1870
Class  Class (as screw)Liffey
Ships bookADM 135/279   
Career
DateEvent
6 May 1856Launched at Devonport Dockyard.
1 November 1858
- 15 July 1862
Commanded (from commissioning at Portsmouth until paying off at Portsmouth) by Captain George William Preedy, Channel squadron, then (July 1859) the Mediterranean, then (March 1862) the West Indies
17 July 1862
- 31 October 1865
Commanded (from commissioning at Portsmouth until paying off at Plymouth) by Captain George Parker, Mediterranean, then (March 1865) North America and West Indies
25 July 1867
- 29 November 1870
Commanded by Captain John Ormsby Johnson, south coast of Ireland, then (May 1868) escorting the Prince and Princess of Wales to Denmark, then (September 1868) West Indies, then (June 1869) the 1869 Flying Squadron
8 October 1869
- 29 November 1870
Commanded by Captain Robert Gibson, 1869 Flying Squadron
1 April 1878Commissioned at Devonport for storeship in Coquimbo, Chile (replacing Nereus).
17 November 1878Recommissioned at Coquimbo.
17 March 1903Paid off
April 1903Sold at Coquimbo.
Extracts from the Times newspaper
DateExtract
Fr 29 April 1859THE CHANNEL FLEET.- BEREHAVEN, April 23.-The ships of the Channel fleet that had been staying here for some months left to-day. They comprised the Royal Albert, the Renown, the Brunswick, the St. Jean d'Acre, and the Racoon. The Victor Emanuel and the Orion came in here with them, but early in March they were ordered to Tangier. It is said that these two vessels are to join the Channel fleet again, as also the Algiers and the James Watt, line-of-battle ships, and the Liffey, the Mersey, and the Doris, frigates. The Caesar and the Diadem are also returning from the West Indies to join, and the Euryalus from the Mediterranean. During their stay here the Marines and Naval Brigades were exercised on shore every week, as also in the boats. The Admiral, Sir Charles Freemantle, is most deservedly popular with all classes.- Cork Reporter.
Ma 18 July 1859A short reference was made in The Times of Saturday to a disturbance which took place last week in Keyham steam-yard, Plymouth, consequent upon the flogging of a seaman on board the screw steamship Caesar, 91, then in the Queen's (or No. 1) Dock, under repair. From subsequent inquiry it appears that some of the circumstances were very unseemly, and not likely to raise the position of either the civil or naval branches of Her Majesty's service. It is almost impossible to obtain a correct statement of every particular, but it is evident that William Stephenson, a seaman attached to the tender of the Hogue, has made two unsuccessful attempts to incite the crew of the Caesar to acts of insubordination, if not of mutiny. On the second occasion be entreated them "to follow the example of the crew of the Liffey and roll the shot about the decks." He then assaulted the boatswain, Mr. Grigg. When tried he was sentenced to receive 50 lashes and be imprisoned two years. Formerly be might have been hung at the yard arm for the same offence. The Court left the selection of the ship for punishment to the discretion of the Port Admiral, and Sir Barrington Reynolds decided that where the crime was committed atonement should be made. Accordingly, soon after 6 o'clock on Thursday morning, the prisoner, guarded by a corporal and two Marines, and in charge of the master-at-arms of the Impregnable, was conveyed from the ship to the Caesar, and the sentence having been formally read to him in the presence of all the crew, he was divested of his blue serge frock and flannel, and lashed to a grating, across which two capstan bars had been fixed for the purpose of securing his hands and feet. The lower part of the grating rested on the deck, the upper was fastened to the starboard main rigging, and the culprit was thus brought in fall view of all the men engaged on the works. It happened most inopportunely that the hour of punishment, 7 o'clock, was that at which the artisans are "rung in," and they are not usually expected to commence work until five minutes after the bell ceases. Several on board the Caesar were sent ashore, no civilian being permitted to remain in a ship during punishment. There were about 400 in the vicinity, the greater number surrounded the ship, others went on board the Shadia (lying near in No. 2 dock), crowded her portholes, and, with the Turks, clustered on the fore and the main rigging of the half-dismantled ship. The yardsmen state that their feelings were excited in the first place by finding that naval punishment of such a severe character was about to be inflicted in their presence, within the precincts of a civil department; and secondly, by observing that the prosecutor at the court-martial, Mr. Grigg, the boatswain of the Caesar, was appointed to commence the execution of the sentence which he himself had invoked. It was with intense excitement that they saw him throw down his hat, pull off his jacket, moisten his hands, and clear the tails of the cat with his fingers.
At the first blow a most disgusting term was applied by several of them to the boatswain who, after 12 lashes, was succeeded by three of his mates, the first of whom gave 12, the second 12, and the third 14 lashes, making the complement of 50.
Stephenson's cries of pain were accompanied by hisses, groans, and exclamations from the artisans and the Turks, which were repeated, notwithstanding Captain Mason's appeal to the former as Queen's men. Towards the close of the punishment an undignified conflict took place between the officers of the ship and the artisans. Captain Mason, who has just succeeded Captain Frederick in the command of the Caesar, ordered First-Lieutenant John Reid and Third-Lieutenant John C. Patterson, with Lieutenant Dixon, of the Royal Marines, to go on shore, clear the place, and secure the ringleaders. The officers were assisted by a guard of Marines: one of these, the sentry, who had his musket, grounded it, and is said to have brought the point of the bayonet towards the breast of one of the joiners. It is also stated that when Lieutenant Dickson was endeavouring to secure an artisan who had made himself conspicuous he was mobbed and knocked down by a painter. Several other conflicts occurred and some threats were muttered about the use of adzes and other formidable tools, and the removal of the shores for the purpose of capsizing the ship. Ultimately Bulay, a shipwright apprentice, captured by Lieutenant Reid, and Rissiter, a painter, were forced on board, but released immediately on declaring their names. On the arrival of the police of the establishment the artisans engaged on the Caesar were allowed to join her. The principal shipwright present was Mr. Burney, acting leading man engaged on the Turkish line-of-battle ship. He was in the afternoon suspended from duty by the Master-Attendant, Mr. Brown, who controls the yard in the absence of the Superintendent, Sir Thomas Pasley. Mr. Burney, who has been 36 years in the service, is represented by the artisans as having entreated his men .(several of whom are new hands) to go on board to their work. Bulay is also suspended. Rissetter, the contract painter, has been dismissed from the yard.
It is said to be 53 years since such a punishment was given on board a ship in Devonport Dockyard.
We 28 September 1859The following is the distribution of the Mediterranean fleet at Malta:- Screw steamships of the Line.- The Marlborough, 131 (flagship of Vice-Admiral Fanshawe), on her way to Gibraltar, left Malta on the 15th of September; the Hannibal, 91 (flagship of Rear-Admiral Mundy), coast of Sicily; the Conqueror, 101, Gibraltar; the St. Jean d'Acre, 101, coast of Sicily; the Orion, 91, Gibraltar; the Princess Royal, 91, Gibraltar; the Renown, 91, Malta; the Victor Emmanuel, 91, Gibraltar; the Exmouth, 90, Naples; the London, 90, coast of Sicily; the Brunswick, 80, coast of Sicily; the Centurion, 80, Gibraltar; and the Cressy, 80, left Malta on the 5th of September. Steam Frigates.- The Euryalus, 51, Piraeus of Athens; the Liffey, 51, Piraeus of Athens; the Doris, 32, left Malta on the 13th of September; and the Terrible, 21, Naples. Steam Corvettes.- The Racoon, 22, Corfu; the Cadmus, 21, Malta; and the Vulture, 6, Morocco coast. Steam Sloops.- The Gannet, 11, Piraeus of Athens; the Argus, 6, Malta; the Intrepid, 6, Constantinople; the Recruit, 6, Malta; the Scourge, 6, Malta; the Assurance, 4, left Malta on the 31st of August; the Coquette, 4, Marseilles; the Lapwing, 4, Gibraltar; the Osprey, 4, Corfu; the Vigilant, 4, Venice; and the Wanderer, 4, Candia. Steam Gunboats.- The Growler, Gibraltar; and the Quail, Gibraltar. Steam Despatch-vessels.- The Banshee, 2, Malta; and the Caradoc, 2, Malta. Steam-tender.- The Boxer, 2, Malta. Steam Surveying-vessels.- The Medina, 4, Candia ; and the Tartarus, 4, Candia. Receiving-ship.- The Hibernia (flag of Rear-Admiral Codrington), Malta. Depot-ship.- The Africa, Gibraltar. Tugs.- The Hearty, Malta; and the Redpole, 2, Gibraltar. Sailing Gunboats.- The Azof, 2, Malta; and the Kertch, 2, Malta.
Sa 29 March 1862The screw steam frigate Diadem, 32, Capt. Scott, which left Bermuda March 11, arrived in Plymouth Sound on Friday morning. On the 12th of March, in lat. 33 2 N., long. 61 51 W., she took on board the crew of the American brig C.W. Conner, Capt. Joseph Urann, which was bound with a cargo of sundries from Boston for St. Jago. The brig was dismasted on tho 6th of March, and the crew for the previous five days had been living on biscuit only. Moderate weather was experienced during all the passage, excepting on the 21st, when, in lat. 42 45 N., long. 32 29 W., they had a gale of wind from the westward. The Diadem brings home 250 officers and men, the remaining portion of the crew of the Conqueror, lost on Rum Bay Island, in the West Indies, and about 130 invalids, supernumeraries, and passengers, including lieutenant Taylor, 39th Regiment, and Mr. Tucker, late Colonial Aide-de-Camp to the Governor of Bermuda, who is the bearer of the contributions from the island to the Great Exhibition. Mr. Vivian, carpenter of the Terror, died on the 23d, and Peter Kenney, private of Royal Marines, a lunatic, jumped overboard oa the 21st during the gale, and was drowned. The Diadem left at Bermuda the screw steamship Nile, 90, Capt. Edward K. Barnard, flag of Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Milne, K.C.B.; the screw steamships Aboukir, 86, Capt. Charles F. Shadwell, C.B.; Hero, 89, Capt. Alfred P. Ryder; and Agamemnon, 89; the screw steam frigates Immortalité, 51, Orlando, 50, and Liffey, 51; the screw steam sloop Greyhound, 17; paddlewheel steam sloops Spiteful, 6, and Medea, 6 ; the screw steam sloop Racer, 11; the screw steam gun-vessels Nimble, 5, and Landrail, 5 ; and the floating battery Terror, 16. The screw steamship Adelaide, with troops, arrived at Bermuda March 10. Her fuel was nearly expended.
Fr 16 October 1863We have received the following letter from our Malta correspondent, dated Valetta, October 10:-
"Letters from the fleet in Greek waters give the following news:- The latest date is the 3d inst. The country continues in a tranquil state, the arrival of the new King being looked forward to with feelings of pleasing expectation and deep interest. Her Majesty's ship Revenge, 73 (bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Yelverton, C.B.), which is to escort the young King from a port in France to his new dominions, does not leave Malta for Toulon until Monday next, the 12th inst. Her orders are to be at Toulon by the 15th, and the King is not expected there till the 22d or 23d. It is reported that the Orlando, 46, Capt. G.G. Randolph, which left the Piraeus on the 25th ult. for Corfu, and the West Coast of Greece, will form part of the escort squadron. The following ships of war are at present at the Piraeus:- English.- Marlborough, 121, Capt. C. Fellowes (bearing the flag of Vice-Admiral Smart, K.H.); Trafalgar, 70, Capt. T. Mason; the Queen, 74, Capt. F. Hillyar; the St. George, 84, Capt. the Hon. F. Egerton (in Salamis Bay); and the Boxer, 2, gunboat, Lieut.-Commander F.S.D. Broughton, tender to the Marlborough. French.- The Magicienne, 23, screw frigate, bearing the flag of the Rear-Admiral commanding; the Tangier, 4, and the Mouette, 4, paddlewheel steamers. Austrian.- The Dandolo, 22, screw corvette; and the Wall, 4, screw gunboat. Italian.- The Tancrede, 4, paddlewheel steamer. Turkish.- The Broussa, 22, screw corvette. Greek.- The Athens, 6, paddlewheel steamer, and a screw gunboat. The English paddlewheel frigate Magicienne, 16, Capt. W. Armytage, sailed from the Piraeus on the 1st inst. for Nauplia and Patras. The Pelican, 17, screw corvette, Acting-Commander Bogle, was expected at Athens about the 10th inst. from Beyrout. She was to return and winter on the coast of Syria. The Liffey, 35, screw frigate, Capt. G. Parker, was also to winter on some part of that station. The Cossack, 22, Capt. W.R. Rolland, and the Icarus, 11, Commander N. Salmon, V. C.. are at present there. Report says that the Marlborough will shortly return to Malta. The Admiral intends, however, to remain at the Piraeus, and hoist his flag on board the Queen. The three men who perpetrated the cowardly murder of a marine belonging to Her Majesty's gunboat Foxhound some months since are about to be brought to trial before the Criminal Court of Athens, the decision of which will be final. The Trident, 3, iron paddlewheel sloop, Commander C.J. Balfour, arrived at the Piraeus on the 25th ult. from Malta with a mail and despatches, and returned on the 6th inst., bringing despatches and letters from the squadron; also three naval cadets and an assistant-clerk for the Meeanee, and two naval cadets for the Phoebe. She steamed from the Piraeus to Kalamata, where she communicated with the Wanderer, 4, gunboat, Commander M.C. Seymour, and performed the remaining portion of the voyage to Malta, with the exception of the last 12 hours, under sail, acquitting herself better than was expected. The Liffey was expected at Kalamata on the 11th inst. The Foxhound, 4, gunboat, Commander W.H. Anderson, left Malta on the 1st inst. for the Piraeus, and the Meeanee, 60, Capt. G. Wodehouse, quitted port on the 8th for the same destination, both taking mails and despatches for the squadron. The following mail will probably be conveyed by the Trident. The Caradoc, despatch-vessel, Lieut.-Commander E. Wilkinson, is at Constantinople; the Weser, 6, Commander A.H.J. Johnstone, and the Cockatrice, 2, Lieut.- Commander Gillson, are on the Danube station; and the Procris, gunboat. Lieut.-Commander the Hon. J.B. Vivian, is at Gibraltar. There are at present in Malta harbour the receiving ship Hibernia (bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral H.T. Austen, C.B.), Commander R.B. Harvey; the Revenge, 73 (bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral H. R. Yelverton, C.B). Capt. the Hon. F.A. Foley; the Chanticleer, 17, Commander C. Sterling (lately arrived from Syria); the Medina, surveying vessel, Capt. T.A.B. Spratt, C.B. (awaiting her relief the Hydra, 6, paddle-sloop, from England); the Trident, 3, Commander C.J. Balfour; the Psyche, despatch-vessel, Lieut.-Commander Sterne, and the Growler, tender to the Medina (arrived on the 2d inst. from Sicily). The Revenge, having got ashore on the mud at Navarino, was on arrival here admitted into dock for examination. No damage was discovered but what a few sheets of copper will make good. The Phoebe has also been into dock to have her bottom cleaned and examined. Her broken engine is being repaired here, and it will he necessary to cast a new cylinder. It is not expected she will be ready for sea again in much less than three months. Her Majesty's iron screw transport Orontes, 2, Capt. W.H. Hire, which brought here on Wednesday evening, the 30th ult., the 2d Battalion 8th Regiment, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Woods, from Gibraltar, left on return to Gibraltar on Monday, the 5th inst., with the 2d battalion 15th Regiment, under the command of Major Fulton, from this garrison, to replace the former regiment at Gibraltar. She will return with the 100th (Royal Canadian) Regiment, and take away from this the 23d (Royal Welsh) Fusiliers. which have been for some time under order to proceed to Gibraltar in exchange for the 100th. The 8th Regiment is now quartered in Verdala Barracks, on the other aide of the harbour. ... A Prussian steam corvette, the Preussischer Adler, Commodore G. Klatt, and two gunboats, the Basilisk, Lieut. H. Schan, and the Blitz, Lieut. M'Lean, have lately arrived in the Mediterranean from the Baltic, and touched here on their way to the Levant. They left on Sunday and Monday last for Athens, where the Blitz is to remain until further orders. The Preussischer Adler and the Basilisk will go on, the former to be stationed at Constantinople, and the latter on the Danube. They are likely to remain in these waters for two or three years. The Malacca, 17, screw corvette, Capt. G J. Napier, came in this morning in five days from Missolonghi. She is on her way home, having been ordered to England in consequence of legal proceedings having been taken by one of her former officers (Lieut. Armitage) who was dismissed the service by court-martial, and who has brought a charge of conspiracy against certain persons belonging to this ship, who gave evidence in the case. Deputy-Commissary-General Horne arrived to-night by the Euxine from China on his way home. He remains a week at Malta."
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.
Fr 22 May 1868Her Majesty's screw frigate Liffey, 31, 2,654 tons, 600-horse power, Capt. John O. Johnson, which put into Sheerness harbour a week ago for repairs, having been completed by the shipwrights' department of Sheerness dockyard, left Sheerness yesterday, en route to the Baltic.
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