HMS Hermes 5

During the eighteenth century there had been confusion of responsibility between the Admiralty Board and the Navy Board, but within the Admiralty Board, responsibility for the Board’s acts rested entirely with the First Lord. Despite instructions to ensure ‘individual responsibility’ with the abolition of the Navy Board, the 1832 reform of the Admiralty Board by Sir James Graham achieved the opposite. The Admiralty fell into disrepute because ‘no one was responsible’. 

It was in 1831 when Admiralty changed the name of HMS Courier to HMS Hermes.  The wooden paddle packet was originally the "George IV" launched in 1824 in civilian service to Corfu, Greece until she was purchased and named HMS Courier in 1830.  She had been built by Benjamin Wallis at Blackwall. Purchase cost was  £24,977 9s. 4d 

The packet ship was the workhorse of the passenger service. It was said that the packet was borne out of necessity because she had to withstand the violence of the brutal seas and the stress imposed by the hard masters keeping schedule under all conditions. Packet ships were sturdy, full bodied and tubby in appearance.  She was 155ft 6in long, 32ft 6in wide and of 733 tons 

1835 saw her renamed as HMS Charger living out her days as a coal hulk until she was broken up in 1854.  This name change was to allow the name HMS Hermes to be passed on to the next ship launched in 1835.

 23 Aug 1830 arrived Falmouth from the Mediterranean, Corfu (30 Jul), Malta (3 Aug), Gibraltar (13th), and Cadiz (15th).

l Dec 1830 arrived Falmouth, from Malta, Lieutenant Kennedy, in command.

3 Dec 1830 departed Falmouth, for Lisbon.

4 Dec 1830 arrived Plymouth.

8 Dec 1830 departed Plymouth.

11 Dec 1830 arrived Spithead and towed the Royalist into harbour.

12 Feb 1831 lengthened and re-engined in 1831, at Portsmouth.

10 Sep 1831 departed Falmouth the Mediterranean.

15 Sep 1831 arrived at Gibraltar from Falmouth and Cadiz, and departed for Malta on the 17th.

22 Oct 1831 arrived Falmouth from Corfu (2d), Malta (6th), Gibraltar (15th), Cadiz (16th).

13 Nov 1831 arrived at Gibraltar from Plymouth and departed thence for Corfu and Malta on the 15th.

3 Jan 1832 departed Plymouth for Falmouth, to take the next Mediterranean mail.

26 May 1832 arrived Spithead, from the River.

29 May 1832 departed Portsmouth for Plymouth and Falmouth, and is expected to take the next mail for the Mediterranean.

31 May 1832 arrived Falmouth from Portsmouth.

19 Jun 1832 arrived Gibraltar from Falmouth.

17 Jul 1832 arrived Falmouth from Malta (1st), Gibraltar (9th), Cadiz (10th), off Lisbon (12th, where she spoke with the Revenge 15 miles off the Bar of the Tagus).

3 Nov 1832 the packet Hope was paid off into ordinary at Plymouth, and is supposedly being replaced by the Hermes steam packet.

5 Dec 1832 departed Portsmouth, for Plymouth, Falmouth and Malta.

24 Dec 1832 at Malta. Following his arrival Lieutenant Kennedy investigated the appearance of a small volcanic island in Lat. 37° 11' N., Long. 12° 44' E., bearing from the S.E. Point of Pantellaria, about E.N.E. 40 miles ; Cape St. Marco, S. W ½ w., 23 miles ; Cape Granitola S ¼ W., 24 miles ; Cape Bianco W ½ S., 28 miles. The island seems to have disappeared in Jan 1833, although it was still a hazard to shipping.

15 Apr 1833 refitting at Gibraltar.

27 Apr 1833 at Malta.

6 Jun 1833 arrived at Plymouth.

11 Jun 1833 departed for Woolwich.

28 Jul 1833 arrived Plymouth from Woolwich and departed for Falmouth the 30th.

14 Aug 1833 departed Falmouth for Lisbon, with despatches.

4 Sep 1833 departed Falmouth for the Mediterranean, with mails.

10 Sep 1833 arrived Cadiz from Falmouth.

3 Nov 1833 arrived Portsmouth from Plymouth.

8 Nov 1833 departed Portsmouth for Woolwich.

9 Jan 1833 at Woolwich, under repair in the basin.