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The Loss of the ‘Ramillies’

[ Roud 523 , 1266 ; Master title: The Loss of the ’Ramillies’ ; Laws K1 ; G/D 1:28 ; Ballad Index LK01 , WT144 ; DT RAMILLIE ; Mudcat 127132 , 173610 ; trad.]

Alan Helsdon: Vaughan Williams in Norfolk William Henry Long: A Dictionary of the Isle of Wight Dialect (Roud 1266) John Morrish: The Folk Handbook Roy Palmer: Folk Songs Collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams Roy Palmer: The Valiant Sailor Frank Purslow: The Constant Lovers

The Royal Katherine was built in 1664 as a 84-gun full-rigged second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy of 1037 tons burthen. She was ‘rebuilt’ in 1702 as a 90-gun second rate of 1395 tons bm (a subterfuge used by the Royal Navy at the time: They built a new ship with some of the old timber to maintain the size of the fleet without alarming Parliament with requests for new ships). She was renamed Ramillies in 1706 after the battle of Ramillies in the War of the Spanish Succession. She was rebuilt again in 1749 as a 90-gun ship of 1689 tons bm. On 15 February 1760, Ramillies was shipwrecked after a navigational error on her way to Plymouth at Bolt Tail near Hope Cove. Of her crew of more than 700 (Wikipedia says 850, referring to a note in the Annual Register, London, 1775), only 26 seamen and one midshipman survived.

Elijah Bell sang The Wreck of the ‘Ramillies’ at the Windmill, Sutton, Norfolk, in 1947. This recording made by E.J. Moeran was broadcast on the BBC Third Programme in late 1947, and it was included in 2012 on the Snatch’d From Oblivion CD East Anglia Sings.

Sam Larner of Winterton, Norfolk, sang a fragment of The Loss of the ‘Ramillies’ to Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger in between 1958 and 1960. This recording was included in 2014 on his Musical Traditions anthology Cruising Round Yarmouth. Rod Stradling noted.

The battle of Ramillies was one of Marlborough’s great victories (1706), and several ships were named after it, from this ship to an early twentieth century dreadnought. This Ramillies had a peculiar history; it actually predates the battle bearing its name! In 1664, the Royal Katherine was built, an 84-gun ship. It was ‘rebuilt’ in 1702 and was renamed after the battle of Ramillies. (She would be rebuilt again in 1749.) Half a century after the rebuilding and renaming, having been part of the fleet which failed to save [Menorca], the Ramillies was wrecked off Bolt Head on her way to Plymouth. There are thought to have been 725 men aboard at the time, of whom only 26 survived.

In the hands of Jumbo Brightwell this is a wonderful song, with a splendid tune. Sam has the tune—but, sadly, not too many of the words.

Brian Pearson sang The Loss of the Ramillies in 1970 on The Critics Group’s Argo album As We Were A-Sailing. The uncredited sleeve noted commented:

HMS Ramillies was wrecked off the south coast of Devon on the 15 February 1760. Only 26 men were saved, out of a crew numbering several hundred. The tragedy is commemorated in various songs, the most common being that given here.

Roy Harris sang The Old ‘Ramillies’ in 1973 on the Topic anthology of songs and ballads of Nelson’s Navy, The Valiant Sailor. It was released to accompany Roy Palmer’s book of the same name, The Valiant Sailor. Roy Palmer noted in the book:

In February 1760, a violent storm swept over most of England. Among the many ships wrecked was the man-of-war, Ramillies. As she was travelling up the Channel along the coast of South Devon the wind was forcing her towards the shore, but Captain Taylor thought that he could steer into the safety of Plymouth Sound if he could weather the headland coming into sight on his port bow, which he took to be Rame Head. Unfortunately, his ship was a good twenty miles further along the coast, in Bigbury Bay. The headland coming up was in fact Bolt Tail, which had no welcoming inlet after it, but miles of precipitous cliffs. Taylor realised his error too late. He ordered the masts to be cut away and the anchors to be let go. The expedient worked for several hours, till five in the afternoon, but then the hempen anchor cables parted, and the Ramillies drove onto the rocks and sank. Of the complement of 734, only 26, who managed to scramble up the cliffs, survived. The hulk of the ship is still there, six fathoms down, in the cove which has been called after her ever since 1760. The only memorial to her men is the song.

  and on the Topic album:

‘Ramillies’ was also a favourite name for naval vessels. In 1760, a ship of that name was wrecked off the South Devon coast, and over 700 men were lost. In memory of the tragedy, the scene of the wreck was named Ramillies Cove, which can still be found on the map, between Bolt Head and Prawle Point. Our version of the song was collected by Alan Bruford in 1971 from Peter Pratt (born 1879) of Toab, Orkney.

Walter Pardon sang The Loss of the ‘Ramillies’ in a recording made by Bill Leader, Peter Bellamy and Reg Hall in his home on 12 December 1974. This was included in 2000 on his posthumous CD A World Without Horses.

Jumbo Brightwell sang The Loss of the ‘Ramillies’ at his home in Leiston, Suffolk in spring 1975 to Tony Engle. This recording was released in the same year on Jumbo Brightwell’s LP Songs From the Eel’s Foot and was included in 1998 on the Topic anthology We’ve Received Orders to Sail (The Voice of the People Volume 12).

Cyril Tawney sang The Loss of the ‘Ramillies’ in 1992 on his Neptune Tapes cassette of songs of voyages, battles and shipwrecks, Seamen Bold.

John Kirkpatrick sang The Loss of the ‘Ramillies’ in 2009 on Brass Monkey’s sixth album, Head of Steam. He noted:

This song tells the true story of the wreck of HMS Ramillies in February 1760, with the loss of over 700 men. A ferocious hurricane along the South coast caused a huge amount of damage on land and sea, and in the appalling conditions the crew lost their bearings while trying to make for the shelter of Plymouth Sound, and the vessel broke up on the rocks at the inlet which is still named after the incident today—Ramillies Cove.

Three completely different songs about this event have been identified, and although this particular one seems never to have had the benefit of being printed as a broadside to boost its circulation, the fabulously catchy tune has made sure that this is the one that turns up most frequently amongst traditional singers. John first spotted it in Roy Palmer’s 1973 book The Valiant Sailor, which includes a version just recently collected by Alan Bruford in the Orkneys, in 1971, from Peter Pratt, aged 92.

Marilyn Tucker and Paul Wilson sang The Ramble-ay on their 2009 Wren Trust album of songs of sea and shore, On the Tide. They noted:

From Joseph Elliot of Todber, Dorset, who in the early 20^th century spent six months of the year fishing off Newfoundland, and six months back home in Dorset, so no surprise that this song turns up on both sides of the Atlantic. The story tells of a real shipwreck, The Ramillies, which sank off Plymouth in a great storm in 1760.

The Dollymopps sang The Loss of the Ramillies (Roud 1266) on their 2011 album of traditional songs from the Isle of Wight collected by W.H. Long, Long Songs. They noted:

In February 1760, HMS Ramillies went down in a gale off Bolt Head in Devon. According to Long, of the 770 crew only 25 sailors and a midshipman were saved in what remains one of the Royal Navy’s most disastrous shipwrecks. The tune is from the singing of Elijah Bell recorded in East Anglia in 1947. We’ve combined Bell’s words with Long’s.

Tim Radford and John Roberts sang The Loss of the Ramillies in 2012 on Radford’s Forest Tracks album of maritime songs collected by George B. Gardiner in Hampshire, England, 1905-1909, From Spithead Roads. He noted:

Collected from Frederick White aged 68 on 21 June 1906 in Southampton Workhouse, local manuscript no. H384 and Roud no. 523.

White was an Australian ex-seaman, who in the census of 1901 was in the workhouse infirmary with “an ulcer to the leg”.

It seems this song was pretty widespread and long lived, as it has been found in England, Scotland, Ireland and North America, and was even collected as late as the 1970’s from Walter Pardon and Jumbo Brightwell.

I should add here that this example of a shipwreck off the English coast is a fact, not a work of fiction.

The HMS Ramillies was built in 1664 and was originally called the HMS Royal Katherine, but renamed and refitted in 1702 as the 90 gun second rate ship of the line—HMS Ramillies. Following many engagements, including being Admiral Byng’s flagship during the Seven Years War, she finally foundered and was wrecked off Bolt Head in Devon, with the loss of at least 700 men. In some versions of the story the losses were as high as 734; others give the number as 720.

Lisa Knapp sang The Loss of the Ramillies on her EP supporting the 2017/18 Save fRoots crowdfunding campaign, The Loss of the Ramillies. She noted:

From the singing of Walter Pardon of East Anglia, whom I’ve long admired; he recorded this version on the [posthumous] CD A World Without Horses. He sings this song in such a plain, unadorned way yet conveys this grave and tragic event with such dignity. A true story of the shipwreck of HMS Ramillies which lost its bearings during a violent storm in 1760 just off the Cornish / Devon coast culminating in the loss of 700 men.

Lyrics

Sam Larner sings The Loss of the ‘Ramillies’

It was all on a certain day,
When the Ramillie, for her anchor weighed.
‘Twas on the middle of the night that the gale came on,
And she broke from her moorings, away she run.

Spoken: She broke from her moorings, you see, they had to set the sails …

Sung:… sailed away
With her close-reefed topsails so neatly spread,
Thinking we should weather the Old Ram Head.

Overboard, overboard, some they were tossed,
Some were drowned and some got lost.
There were some in one place, some in another
And the watch down below, were all smothered.

Spoken: That’s where she tried to come round that Head. Beaten round. She broke the anchors. She were brought up, you see, in the Sound, she were brought up in there and she had to come out on it, you see. Because she broke the anchors. No that was offshore, you see, and they couldn’t …

Sung: With her close-reefed topsails so neatly spread,
Thinking we could weather the Old Ram.

Spoken: They went ashore on Ram Head, y’see

Roy Harris sings The Old ‘Ramillies’

It happened to be on a certain day
The old Ramillee at her anchor she lay:
That very same night as the storm
It came on the Ramillee from her anchor was blown.

Our topgallant masts and yards being struck
And everything on board being neat and snug.
With close-reefed topsails neatly spread
We were thinking to weather the old Ram’s Head.

But the rain it came down in a dreadful shock;
The sea spread over our foretop;
Our ship she would neither stay nor wear,
Nor yet gather enough way to steer.

Our captain piped all hands ahoy:
Come listen unto me while I pipe and cry;
Come launch out your boats your lives for to save.
Or else the seas will prove your grave.

Then overboard our boats were tossed;
Some went in them but they were lost.
Some went to one place and some to another,
But the watch down below they were all smothered.

When this sad news to Plymouth came,
That the Ramillee was lost and the most of her men,
There was only one that was left for to tell
How the ship she behaved in that dreadful gale.

Come all you pretty maidens, whoever you may be,
That has got your true lovers on the wide and open sea,
Pray for them whom you do adore
And pray for their safe return on shore.

Walter Pardon sings The Loss of the ‘Ramillies’

It was on one day, one certain day
The Ramillies at her anchor lay,
That very night a gale came on
And our ship from its anchorage away did run.

The rain poured down in terrible drops,
The seas broke over our foretop,
With our yards and canvas neatly spread
We were thinking to weather at Rames Head.

Our bosun cried, “My hearties all,
Listen unto me while I blow the call,
So launch your boats, your lives to save,
Or the seas this night will be your grave.”

Then overboard our boats we tossed,
So may got in that lives were lost,
Some were in one boat, some were in another
And the watch below, they were all smothered.

And when the sad, sad news to Plymouth came
That the Ramillies was lost with most of her men,
Only two are left that can tell the tale
Who were lost that night in that terrible gale.

Come all you pretty fair maids and weep with me,
Who have lost your sweethearts on the Ramillies,
All Plymouth town was swum with tears
At the hearing of such sad affairs.

Jumbo Brightwell sings The Loss of the ‘Ramillies’

(The first two lines of each verse were sung twice)

Now/Oh, it happened to be on a certain day,
When the Ramillies she at her anchor lay.
Why, the very night a gale came on,
Our ship she from her anchors run.

Oh, the rain came down in a dreadful shock,
(And) The seas came over our fore top.
And she never stay more revere
Nor make way enough for us to steer.

For/Oh, the mast and the mainsails were all struck,
And everything complete and snug.
Our canvas being so neatly spread,
Thinking we should weather the old Ram’s Head.

When/Oh, our bo’sun cried, “Young fellows all,
Listen you unto me while I pipe my call.
Launch you out your boats our lives for to save,
Or the sea this night must be our grave.”

So/Oh, it’s overboard our boats were tossed,
Some they got in, but others they were lost.
For they were some in one place and some in the other
While the watch down below they were all smothered.

When the news it came to Plymouth Sound
That the Ramillies was lost and most of her men,
All Plymouth Town was flooded with tears
At the hearing of this sad affair.

So come all you pretty girls wherever you may be,
Who lost your true love in the Ramillies,
For there was only three left to tell the tale
How the ship she behaved in the dreadful gale.

Brass Monkey sing The Loss of the Ramillies

It happened to be on a certain day,
The ship Ramillies at her anchor she lay;
That very same night came such a storm,
The old Ramillies from her anchor was torn.

Chorus (repeated after each verse):
Weep, pretty maidens, weep with me,
Weep for the sailors of the Ramillies

With close-reefed tops’ls quickly spread
We thought we could weather the old Ram Head;
But the rain came down such a dreadful shock
With the sea running high over our foretop.

Our captain piped, “All hands ahoy,
Listen to me while I pipe and cry:
Come launch your boats your lives to save
Or else the sea it will prove your grave.”

So overboard our boats we tossed,
Some jumped in but soon were lost.
There were some in one place, some in another,
And the watch down below by the waves were smothered.

When this sad news reached Plymouth town,
The Ramillies lost and her men all drowned,
Just three were saved to tell the tale
How the ship behaved in that dreadful gale.

And Plymouth town it flowed with tears
For those on the shore ’t was the worst of fears.
So pray for the sailors you adore,
Pray for the safe return to shore.

Tim Radford sings The Loss of the Ramillies

It was on one day, one certain day,
When the Ramillies at her anchor lay,
That very night a gale came on,
And our ship from her anchorage away did run.

The rain poured down in terrible drops,
The sea broke open our foretop,
Our yards and our canvas neatly spread,
We were thinking to weather the Old Ram’s Head.

Our bo’sun cries, “My good fellows all,
Listen unto me while I blow my call,
Launch out your boats your lives to save,
For the seas this night will be our grave.”

Then overboard our boats we tossed,
Oh, some got in but some were lost,
There was some in one place, or, some in another,
The watch down below, they all were smothered.

When this sad news to Plymouth came,
That the Ramillies was lost and all of her men,
Excepting two that told the tale,
How the ship behaved in that dreadful gale.

Come all you pretty maids and weep along with me,
For the loss of your true lovers in the Ramillies,
All Plymouth Town it flowed with tears,
When they heard the news of that sad affair.