7. Frances; 8. Anna-Maria; 9. Isabella; 10. Catherine; 11. Rachel, who died in 1805; and 12. Caroline. His Grace's will was proved in Doctors' Commons by his son, the Speaker of the House of Commons, who is the executor. The personal property is taken at 180,000l. His Grace leaves the interest of 50,000l. three per cent. consolidated annuities to his wife, and at her death the principal to his son, the Right Hon. Charles Manners Sutton. He gives 30007. to the Hon. Hugh Percy, Bishop of Carlisle, who married one of his daughters; and 3000l. to the Rev. James Croft, Archdeacon of Canterbury, who married another daughter. After leaving various other legacies, he orders all his estates and effects to be sold, and the residue to be divided among his children. At the Archbishop's death he left behind him seven daughters unmarried, who are amply provided for. By a codicil his Grace leaves all his options, which common report has said are worth 5 or 6000l. a year, to his successor the present Archbishop. The will is written on twelve sheets of paper, and a long codicil on one other sheet; the whole in the handwriting of the Archbishop. The value of the nomination to the Registry of the Prerogative Court, secured to his Grace by an Act of Parliament passed only a few days before his death, is supposed to be worth upwards of 100,000l. to the family, in addition to the great wealth the Archbishop left behind him. The materials for this Memoir have been derived from various periodical and other works, from the Parliamentary Debates, &c. 159 No. XI. WILLIAM NOWELL, ESQ. VICE-ADMIRAL OF THE BLUE. THIS HIS gallant Officer, the second son of the late Cradock Nowell, of Tee-Maur, Nottage, Glamorganshire, Esq., and nephew of the late Rev. Dr. Nowell, thirty-seven years Principal of St. Mary's Hall, Oxford, entered the naval service in 1769, on board the St. Antonio, of 60 guns, commanded by Captain Clark Gayton; and continued to serve in different ships until 1776, when he was promoted by his patron (at that time Commander-in-Chief at Jamaica *) to the rank of Lieutenant, and appointed to the Badger sloop, the boats of which vessel he commanded at the capture of fifteen sail of French merchantmen, laden with warlike stores, near Hispaniola, and two American brigs from under the guns of the fort at the entrance of Cape François. The Badger returned to England in April, 1777, and Lieutenant Nowell soon after exchanged into the Resolution, of 74 guns, commanded by Sir Chaloner Ogle, and at that time stationed on the coasts of Spain and Portugal, for thè purpose of intercepting vessels belonging to the revolted colonies. She was subsequently attached to the Channel fleet, * Captain Gayton became a Rear-Admiral October 18. 1770; was made a Vice-Admiral February 3. 1776; and immediately afterwards appointed to the chief command at Jamaica. Returning from thence in the Antelope, he fell in with a large ship, which was at first mistaken for an enemy, and preparations made to receive her accordingly, though of force infinitely superior to the Antelope. The Vice-Admiral, though so extremely infirm as to be almost unable to walk, came upon the quarter-deck, and after concisely exhorting his crew to behave like Englishmen, told them, that for his part, "he could not stand by them, but he would sit and see them fight as long as they pleased." This gallant officer died at Fareham, in 1787. under the Admirals Keppel, Hardy, Darby, Digby, and Kempenfelt, until the latter end of 1779, when she accompanied Sir George B. Rodney to the relief of Gibraltar; and was consequently present at the capture of the Caracca convoy, and the discomfiture of Don Juan de Langara, Jan. 8. and 16. 1780. On the former occasion, the St. Firmin, of 16 guns, and six sail of transports, were taken possession of by Lieutenant Nowell. In the action with the Spanish squadron, the Resolution got alongside of the Princessa, a 70-gun ship, and in 40 minutes compelled her to surrender. The sea at this time ran so high, that Lieutenant Nowell, who had been ordered by Sir Chaloner Ogle to take charge of the prize, was knocked down several times by the cut rigging, before he could get on board; and the weather continued so tempestuous as to prevent the possibility of removing the prisoners for three days. The situation he found the Princessa in was perilous in the extreme, owing to the injudicious disposal of the powder. Opposite the guns on the upper decks were open racks, capable of containing from twelve to fourteen cartridges each; these he immediately directed to be cleared, and their contents thrown into the sea. On descending to the lower deck, he observed a train of loose powder, and followed it to the gunroom, where a large hatch, that communicated with the magazine, was off; and, on entering the latter, the impression of the men employed in filling cartridges during the action appeared on the surface, the whole being stowed in bulk. The circumstance of the Princessa having escaped the fate of the St. Domingo can only be attributed to the after-guns not being fired as it was, repeated explosions on board her were observed from the Resolution; and of near 200 men whom Lieutenant Nowell found killed, wounded, and blown up, the greater part appeared to be of the latter description. It was three weeks after the action, before Lieutenant Nowell was enabled to anchor at Gibraltar, where, in the pre The Princessa had previously received the fire of the Bedford and Cumberland 74s, as they passed her. sence of Sir Chaloner Ogle and Lord Robert Manners, he received the thanks of Commodore Don Manuel de Leon, his Captain, St. Felix, and the officers of the Princessa, for the particular care he had taken to prevent their property being pillaged; and an invitation from the Commodore, a Grandee of Spain, to visit him on the restoration of peace, for the purpose of being introduced to his Monarch. The Resolution, to which ship Lord Robert Manners had been appointed on Sir Chaloner Ogle hoisting a broad pendant, formed part of the squadron sent to England with the prizes, under the orders of Rear-Admiral Digby; and on the passage home captured the Prothée, of 64 guns and 700 men, after a close action of 27 minutes, in which the enemy had 97 men killed and wounded. Soon after this occurrence, Lieutenant Nowell distinguished himself by his spirited conduct in quelling a mutiny which had taken place in the Resolution, the particulars of which are as follows: On ordering the capstern to be manned for the purpose of unmooring, the crew came up one hatchway and went down another, at the same time lowering the ports. This was the first hint the officers received of its existence. On enquiry, Lieutenant Nowell learnt that the ringleader was one of the carpenter's crew, and he inmediately volunteered to go below and secure him. Accompanied by another officer, Lieutenant Shordich, he went down the after-hatchway, and made the men haul up the lower deck ports as he advanced forward to the birth abreast of the main-mast, where this rascal was haranguing and cheering the men collected about him. Lieutenant Nowell placed a blow under his throat, that knocked him backwards over a chest, then seized him, and declared he would run any man or men through who should attempt his rescue. A compromise now took place, on the ship's company promising obedience if their leader was released; but the next day they acted in a similar manner; and it was not until the officers and marines were drawn up under arms, and about to attack them, that they proceeded to get the ship under weigh, even then declaring they would surrender to the first French man-of-war they were laid alongside of. To this threat Lord Robert Manners replied, I will take care you shall be placed close enough.' Their only plea for these acts of insubordination appears to have been, that a draught of men lately received on board, one of which was the carpenter already alluded to, had not received their advance. No doubt, they had been tutored to this before they joined the Resolution, as they declared they had no complaint to make against any officer in the ship. This batch of villains was sent into the Port-Admiral's ship at Plymouth, and nothing mutinous took place afterwards. The Resolution afterwards accompanied Rear-Admiral Graves to the North American station, and from thence proceeded with Sir George B. Rodney to the West Indies. * Early in 1781, Sir George received intelligence of hostilities having taken place between Great Britain and Holland, and immediately proceeded to attack the Dutch settlements in that quarter. On his arrival off the Bay of St. Eustatia, he made the Resolution's signal to anchor within musket-shot of a large frigate lying there, and oblige her to surrender. Lord Robert Manners, supposing that Count Byland, who commanded her, knew nothing of the war, sent Lieutenant Nowell on board to inform him. The Count appeared greatly surprised at the information, and at first considered it as a jest; but being undeceived, he said that it was the second time he had been placed in a like situation, and that he was determined to fight his ship as long as she would swim. Lieutenant Nowell, however, assured him that resistance would not avail, and remarked that the Count would be blamed for the useless sacrifice of lives that must ensue. Being at length convinced of his error, he intimated that he would not strike until he had discharged his guns; whereupon our officer desired permission to see that they were pointed clear of the British ships, and their coins and beds taken out, saying that in such case he would communicate the Count's wishes to Lord Robert * The Mars, of 38 guns, and 300 men. |