Part of a fleet of men o'war under Admiral Sir George Rooke, anchored in the Downs waiting the tide to proceed up river to Sheerness. On board the CARLISLE, of her complement, thirty-two were ashore on ship's business, including the captain; Christopher Short, senior gunner; James Oswald, carpenter; William Hampton, surgeon; and the Rt. Hon. Burton, purser, leaving the ship's master, Symond Flew, as officer of the watch. At 8.30 am, without warning, the entire ship exploded with a tremendous roar and Richard Hitchcock, gunner servant, who was at the mizzen topmast head, attending to the ship's pendant, was blown clear of the ship and some distance from the wreck. The entire ship vanished in an instant, and of the 128 men aboard, 124 were killed outright. The cause of the disaster was never established, but assumed brought about by someone stealing gunpowder from the magazine. Trinity House carried out a survey of the wreck, reporting to the Admiralty on 11.10.1700. Year Built: 1698 Builder: Plymouth Dockyard Armament: 48 x cannon Owner: Royal Navy Master: Capt. Francis Dove Crew: 164 Crew Lost: 124 Passengers: 0 Date of Loss Qualifier: A Additional sources cited in United Kingdom Shipwreck Index. SRN.Vol.1 p107; SNR.(occasional publication) No.5 p47; GSS. Larn. R. 1977 p47-53; The Worlds Lighthouses Before 1820, D Stevenson 1959, p49.

<1> United Kingdom shipwreck index, Page Nos. N/a (Bibliographic reference). SKE6340.