Richard Stayner
Sir Richard Stayner | |
---|---|
Born | 1625 Dorset, England |
Died | 2 July 1662 Lisbon, Spain | (aged 36–37)
Resting place | Spithead Hampshire England |
Occupation | Vice Admiral |
Years active | 1653–1661 |
Spouse | Elizabeth Stayner |
Children | 2 |
Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Stayner (1625–1662) was an English naval officer who supported the
Biography
Richard Stayner was one of several children of Roger Stayner of Tarrant Gunville, Dorset.[2]
In his youth served in the
In August he captured the
In the battle off the Gabbard on 2–3 June 1653, Stayner commanded the Foresight in the
Stayner rejoined the fleet in time to take part in the decisive battle of Scheveningen (29–31 July), and continued with it until the end of the season. In December he was strongly recommended by
In July he was appointed by Blake to the
In September, when the sea-generals with the greater part of the fleet went to Aveiro, Stayner, then in the Speaker, was left off Cadiz in command of a small squadron of some six or seven ships.[4]
On 8 September he fell in with the Spanish treasure fleet which, having information from a prize that the English had left the coast, was pushing on for Cadiz in such perfect confidence that, it is said, the Spaniards supposed Stayner's ships to be fishing-vessels; yet three of Stayner's ships at least, the Speaker, Bridgwater, and
Shortly after this Stayner returned to England with Edward Montagu (later Earl of Sandwich); but rejoined Blake early the next year, and took a brilliant part in the destruction of the Spanish ships at Santa Cruz on 20 April.
Having arranged the ships with the utmost care and judgement, and those ships being supported by a considerable number of forts and batteries on shore, the Spaniards thought themselves so perfectly secure, in case of an attack, that their admiral sent Blake an open defiance. On reconnoitring the force and position of the enemy, the English admiral found it impossible to bring off the enemy's ships, though gallantry and prudence might render it possible to destroy them. Stayner was immediately detached to begin the attack, and being supported by Blake with the remainder of the fleet, the Spaniards were, in a very few hours, driven out of their ships and breast-works The former were instantly taken possession of by the English: and it being impossible to bring them off they were all set on fire and burnt to the water's edge.[10]
The Royalist politician and historian Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon eulogised this action, writing:
The whole action, was so miraculous, that all men, who knew the place, wondered that any sober men, with what courage soever endowed, would ever have undertaken it; and they could hardly persuade themselves to believe what they had done! whilst the Spaniards comforted themselves with the belief, that they were devils, and not men, who had destroyed them in such manner.[11]
For his conduct on this occasion he was knighted by the
In the early summer of 1661 Stayner was again commander-in-chief in the Downs, and in June sailed for Lisbon and the Mediterranean as rear-admiral of the fleet under Montagu now the Earl of Sandwich. When Sandwich took de facto possession of
Family
Richard Stayner married Elizabeth (1635?–1662), daughter of Thomas Hebbe of Loughborough. They had two children, Richard and Elizabeth.[2]
On 30 May 1663 Richard petitioned for repayment of £300 which his father had advanced for the king's service. The claim was approved by Sandwich, but there is no mention of the money having been paid.[12]
Notes
- ^ Laughton 1898, pp. 122–123.
- ^ a b c d Baumber 2008.
- ^ Laughton 1898, p. 122 cites Cal. State Papers, Dom. 21 December 1653.
- ^ a b c d e f Laughton 1898, p. 122.
- ^ Laughton 1898, p. 122 cites Cal. State Papers, Dom. 13 April 1650.
- ^ Laughton 1898, p. 122 cites cf. Gardiner, Hist. of the Commonwealth and Protectorate, ii. 218
- ^ Laughton 1898, p. 122 cites Cal. State Papers, Dom. 9 June 1653.
- ^ Campbell & Yorke 1813, p. 356.
- ^ Laughton 1898, pp. 122–123 cites A true Narrative of the late Success … against the King of Spain's West India Fleet in its Return to Cadiz.
- ^ Campbell & Yorke 1813, p. 357.
- ^ Campbell & Yorke 1813, pp. 357–358.
- ^ a b c Laughton 1898, p. 123.
- ^ Routh, Enid M G (1912). Tangier England's Lost Atlantic Outpost. London: John Murray.
References
- Baumber, Michael (January 2008) [2004]. "Stayner, Sir Richard (1624/5–1662)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/26334. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
Attribution
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Campbell, John; Yorke, Henry Redhead (1813). Naval history of Great Britain, including the history and lives of the British admirals. Vol. 2. London: J. Stockdale. p. 356–358.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Laughton, Richard (1898). "Stayner, Richard". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 54. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 122–123.