She was the fourth vessel to bear the name Lyme since it was used for a 52-gun ship built at Portsmouth in 1654, renamed Montagu in May 1660 rebuilt Chatham 1675, rebuilt Woolwich 1698, rebuilt Portsmouth 1716 and broken in September 1749.[1]
She was ordered on 16 February 1694 to be built under contract by Mr. Flint of Plymouth. She was launched on 20 April 1695. Her dimensions were a gundeck of 109feet with a keel of 88feet for tonnage calculation with a breadth of 28feet and a depth of hold of 10feet. Her builder's measure tonnage was calculated as 384 tons (burthen).[2]
The gun armament initially was four demi-culverins[3] [4] on the lower deck (LD) with two pair of guns per side. The upper deck (UD) battery would consist of between twenty and twenty-two 6-pounder guns[5] [6] with ten or eleven guns per side. The gun battery would be completed by four 4-pounder guns[7] [8] on the quarterdeck (QD) with two to three guns per side.[9]
HMS Lyme was commissioned in April 1695 under the command of Captain William Caldwell, he had been appointed by Admiralty Order (AO) 15 March 1695. On 27 May 1695, Captain John Ward assumed command for service in Lord Berkeley's Squadron attacking the coastal ports of France. The main attacks were attempted at St Malo in July and Dunkerque in August, The Fleet returned to the Downs on 20 August.[10] In 1695/96 She was under Captain Valentine Bowles for service in the English Channel. 1697 saw Captain Thomas Cleasby in command for a voyage to Newfoundland. 1698, Captain Sir Nicholas Trevanion was in command in North America. In 1700 she went to Sale, Morocco. Some time around January 1701 she was under the command of Captain William Power followed by Captain Edmund Letchmere in 1702. She took the privateers La Marie de Caillot on 9 July 1702 and La Marie on 22 August 1703. Captain Letchmere was mortally wounded on 15 January 1704 while in action against a 46-gun privateer off Deadman Head. She suffered 36 killed and wounded and so damaged she could not pursue the French ship when they broke off.[11] On 19 January 1704 she was under Captain George Doleman until he was killed on 23 March 1705 then Commander Robert Coleman (promoted Captain in September 1705) for service in the Mediterranean and Sir Cloudesley Shovell's Fleet in 1706.
In December 1708 She was under Captain James Gunman for service in the Baltic. She sailed escorting a convoy to Newfoundland in 1710. She followed this with a stint in the Mediterranean in 1711. She was in action off Vado Bay on 23 March 1711, suffering six wounded.[12] She went to Barbados in 1713. On her return to Home Waters she underwent a middling repair costing £1,624.4.1.25d (accounting for inflation £) at Deptford from July to November 1714. She was reduced to a 24-gun sixth rate by AO 23 February 1717. Her alteration was completed at Deptford for £925.5.1.25d (accounting for inflation £) in March 1717. She was recommissioned under Captain Ellis Brand for service at Virginia until 1719 when she returned to Home Waters. She was dismantled at Deptford in February 1720 with the intent of rebuilding.
She was ordered on 4 November 1718 to be rebuilt at Deptford Dockyard under the guidance of Master Shipwright Richard Stacey. Her keel was laid (old ship dismantled) in February 1720 and launched on 8 November 1720. Her dimensions were a gundeck of 106feet with a keel of 87feet for tonnage calculation with a breadth of 28feet and a depth of hold of 9feet. Her builder's measure tonnage was calculated as 375 tons (burthen).[13] Her gun armament was in accordance with the 1719 Establishment for a 20-gun sixth rate consisting of twenty 6-pounder guns on the upper Deck (UD).[14] She was completed for sea on 7 July 1721 at a cost of £4,725.12.7.75d (accounting for inflation of approximately £