MARITIME HISTORY 



miralty Committee of Parliament ordered their admiral, the earl of Warwick, 

 to Lyme with his squadron, ' You well know what consequence the town is to 

 shipping in the west. '^^' Supplies by sea began to come in by 26 April, which 

 was ' a great encouragement ' ; and on 29 April and i i May reinforcements 

 of seamen were put ashore. The admiral was off Lyme on 23 May, and 

 found four vessels already in the anchorage from which powder and provisions 

 had been landed. When Warwick arrived the garrison was in sore need, but 

 corn and powder were sent ashore and the sailors of the squadron added fish 

 and bread saved out of their rations, with shoes and clothes from their kits for 

 the ragged and bare-footed men at the front."" The squadron took part in 

 the operations by sending the ships' boats along the coast towards Bridport, 

 landing in the enemy's rear and thus diverting his attention. "^^ In the town 

 men and women — the latter filled the soldiers' bandoliers while they fought — • 

 were equally undaunted ; but when Prince Maurice drew off on i 5 June it 

 was because the fleet had enabled them to hold out for the coming of the 

 army of relief under the earl of Essex. 



Nothing exciting happened at Poole. Parliamentary ships appeared 

 there off and on, and an occasional Parliamentary privateer set sail from the 

 harbour. In 1644 the House ordered four guns to be sent to the town and 

 four to Brownsea."" Weymouth changed hands more than once, although 

 Melcombe remained in the possession of the Parliament. But here again the 

 retention of Melcombe and the recapture of Weymouth were largely due 

 to aid brought by sea. When Warwick was there, in 1644, he dwelt on its 

 importance, 'and the relation that its safety has to H.M. navy,' whereupon 

 the Parliamentary committee authorized the governor to put in hand the 

 defences recommended by the earl, and this probably accounts for the appear- 

 ance of a fort at the Nothe, where hitherto only guns behind a breastwork 

 had been in position ; "^ another, the New or Jetty Fort, ordered to be pulled 

 down in 1663, may date from this period."* Several other forts were erected 

 in the two towns during the war, but on the landward side. An order of 

 29 August, 1653,"^ ^'^^ ^^^ disarmament of Weymouth and Melcombe must 

 have caused the abolition of these. The Council of State directed an engineer 

 to go to Weymouth in 1649 '° build a 'citadel' there, but no record of his 

 proceedings, if any followed, has come down to us."° Sandsfoot Castle, of 

 little importance, mainly followed the fortunes of Weymouth, and Portland 

 surrendered to the Parliament 6 April, 1646. When it yielded there were 

 twenty-one guns in it and plenty of ammunition ; the terms of surrender 

 were designed to ' save the face' of the garrison who were to march out with 

 drums beating and colours flying but who possessed neither drums nor 

 colours."'" Many of them enlisted with the besieging force. Under the 

 Commonwealth one company of foot was divided between Portland and 

 Sandsfoot as garrison. 



The first Dutch war of 1652-4 was very pleasing to the seamen, and at 

 first volunteers flocked in to man the State's ships. But after the volunteers 



"*' S.P. Dom. Chas. I, di, 27 April, 1644. Warwick was also to have regard to the safety of Poole. 



"' Jn Exacl and True Relation in Relieving Lyme, 1644; A Letter from the Rt. Hon. Robert, Earl of 

 Warwirk, . . . 1644. "' Hist. MSS. Com. Ref>. x, App. vi, 152. "' Commons' Journ 28 Sept. 1644. 



'"S.P. Dom. Chas. I, div, No. 58, July, 1644; Brief Relation of the Surprise of the Forts at ll'ey- 

 mouth, . . . 1644. "• S.P. Dom. Chas. II, xc, No. 6. '" Ibid. Interreg. xxxix. 



"« Ibid, iii, 20 Oct. 1649. "''^ Add. MSS. 9299, fol. 220. 



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