#15096, Cloudesley SHOVELL

As a junior officer Shovell saw action at the Battle of Solebay (1672) and then at the Battle of Texel (1673) during the third Anglo-Dutch War.  As a captain he fought at the Battle of Bantry Bay(11/05/1689) during the Williamite War in Ireland.

As a flag officer Shovell commanded a division at the Battle of Barfleur (19/05/1692) during the Nine Years' War and distinguished himself by being the first to break through the enemy's line.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Shovell commanded a squadron which served under Admiral George Rooke at the capture of Gibraltar and the Battle of Malaga.  Working in conjunction with a landing force under the Earl of Peterborough, his forces undertook the siege and capture of Barcelona.  He was appointed commander-in-chief of the Navy while at Lisbon the following year.  He also commanded the naval element of a combined attack on Toulon, base of the main French fleet, in coordination with the Austrian army under Prince Eugene of Savoy in the summer of 1707.  Later that year, on the return voyage to England in HMS Association, Shovell and more than 1,400 others perished in a disastrous shipwreck off the Isles of Scilly.

In marrying Lady Narborough, the widow of his former commander, Rear Admiral Sir John Narborough, he acquired two stepsons (Sir John Narborough, 1st Bt. and James Narborough) both of whom had embarked on naval careers and died with him on Association when disaster struck.  Shovell and his wife had two daughters: Elizabeth who married Lord Romney and Anne who married John Blackwood.

Although Shovell's naval career is widely documented it is the story of his disasterous death that attracts most attention.  HMS Association struck rocks near the Scilly Isles at 8 pm on 2nd November 1707.  She sank in three or four minutes with none of the 800 men on board being saved. Another three ships HMS Eagle, HMS Romney and HMS Firebrand all suffered the same fate.  This was one of the greatest maritime disasters in British History. The explanation seemed to be the difficulty in accurately calculating a ship's longitude, an issue which led to a series of longitude acts over a period in excess of 100 years.

Shovell's body and those of his two stepsons were all found in Porthellick Cove on St. Mary's.  Shovell's body was identified by the purser of HMS Arundel who knew him well.  He was buried on the beach but by order of Queen Anne his body was exhumed and brought back to Plymouth for embalming.  It was later carried in state to London where large crowds turned out to pay their respects before being interred in Westminster Abbey on 22nd December 1707.  The spot is marked by a large Grinling Gibbons monument.  The two stepsons were buried in Old Town Church on St. Mary's.  But that is not the end of the story.

Local legend has it that Shovell was alive, at least barely, when he reached the shore but was murdered by a woman for the sake of his priceless emerald ring which had been given to him by his close friend, Captain James Lord Dursley.  At that time, the Scillies had a wild and lawless reputation.  It is claimed that the murder came to light only some thirty years later when the woman, on her deathbed, confessed to a clergyman to having killed the admiral and produced the stolen ring, which was sent back to Dursley.  Historians doubt the story.

Another legend alleges that a common sailor, being local and knowing the waters tried to warn Shovell that the fleet was off course but Shovell had him hanged at the yardarm for inciting mutiny.  While it is possible that sailors may have debated the vessel's location (such debates were common upon entering the English Channel, as noted by Samuel Pepys in 1684) the story has been discredited by naval scholars, who noted the lack of any contemporary evidence.

Shovell lived at May Place in Crayford and was elected Member of Parliament for Rochester in 1695 and again in 1705.  He was responsible for the restoration of St. Paulinus' Church in Crayford and was a great benefactor to Rochester, providing at his own expense the fine decorated plaster ceilings in the Guildhall and the market bell, clock and decorated brick facade for the Butchers' Market (now the Corn Exchange).  He was also Commissioner of the Sewers, responsible for the upkeep of the embankment of the Thames between Deptford and Gravesend.

He was knighted in 1691 and appointed Admiral of the Fleet on 13th January 1705.  After his death Shovell became a popular British hero.