Charles Philip Yorke, Fourth Earl of Hardwicke, Vice-Admiral R.N., A Memoir | Page 9

father of the subject of this memoir. I have already alluded to the public
career of their half-brother, the third Lord Hardwicke; and it is
interesting to see how the tradition of political and public work was
maintained by the two younger brothers, who both, and especially the
younger of the two, added fresh laurels to the distinguished record held
by so many of the descendants of the great Chancellor. The Right
Honourable Charles Yorke represented the county of Cambridge in
Parliament from 1790 to 1810, and joined Addington's Government at
the same time as Lord Hardwicke, first as Secretary at War in 1801,
and then as Secretary of State for the Home Department, till the return
to office of William Pitt (to whom he was politically opposed) in 1804.
In 1810 he became first Lord of the Admiralty under Spencer Perceval,
with his younger brother Joseph as one of the Sea Lords, and retained
office till Perceval's assassination broke up the ministry; and when in
1812 Lord Liverpool became Prime Minister he left the Admiralty and
never afterwards returned to office, retiring from public life in 1818.
The splendid breakwater at Plymouth was decided on and commenced
while he was at the Admiralty, and a slab of its marble marks his tomb
in Wimpole Church.

With Joseph Sydney Yorke, afterwards Admiral and a K.C.B., opens a
chapter of family history with which this volume will be mainly
concerned; and the navy rather than the law or politics henceforth
becomes the chief interest of the story in its public aspect. Sir Joseph,
indeed, may be looked upon as a sort of second founder of the family.
Although Wimpole in Cambridgeshire, which the Chancellor purchased
from the Harleys, Earls of Oxford, was for many generations the
principal seat of the family, Sydney Lodge, on Southampton Water,
[Footnote: Attached to Sydney Lodge on the shore of Southampton
Water is a white battery containing guns taken from a French frigate
and bearing an inscription, written by my father, commemorating his
last parting with my grandfather, Sir Joseph. The battery encloses a
well, known as 'Agneta's Well,' which has refreshed many a thirsty
fisherman. The inscription is as follows:--
IN MEMORIAM
THESE GUNS WERE THE FORECASTLE ARMAMENT OF THE
DUTCH FRIGATE 'ALLIANCE'
OF 36 GUNS
CAPTURED ON THE COAST OF NORWAY IN 1795
AFTER A CLOSE ACTION WITH H.M.S. 'STAG' OF 32 GUNS
COMMANDED BY CAPTAIN YORKE
OF SYDNEY LODGE
THE FATHER OF THE FOURTH EARL OF HARDWICKE WHO
ON THIS SPOT IN 1829
PARTED FROM HIS BELOVED PARENT FOR THE LAST TIME
AND SAILED IN COMMAND OF H.M.S. 'ALLIGATOR'
FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN.

HE PLACES THIS STONE TO HIS FATHER'S MEMORY
September 4th, 1871] the charming house which Sir Joseph built out of
prize-money earned during the French wars, has all the associations of
a home for our branch of the family, and the love of the sea is an
inheritance which we all derive from him. His professional ability is
shown by the position he won in the service. Entering the navy in 1780
when he was fourteen, he had plenty of opportunity of active service in
those stirring times. After serving on board one or two other vessels,
Joseph Yorke joined the Duke commanded by Sir Charles Douglas,
whom he followed to the Formidable. That vessel was one of Rodney's
fleet in the West Indies, and the boy fought in her at the famous action
of April 12, 1782 in which that admiral completely defeated the French
under De Grasse. He remained in the Formidable until she paid off in
1783, and spent the years 1784- 1789 on the Halifax station. In the
latter year he was promoted Lieutenant in the Thisbe under Captain Sir
Samuel Hood and returned in her to England. Promotion followed
rapidly. Yorke became a Commander in 1790 and Captain in 1793, in
which capacity he served continuously on the home station, taking part
in the blockade of Brest, until the Peace of Amiens.
During this time he had the good fortune to capture several large
privateers from the enemy; he also took the _Espiégle_, a French
corvette, close to Brest harbour and in sight of a very superior French
squadron. In 1794 Captain Yorke was given command of the Stag, 32,
and cruised in the Channel later off the coast of Ireland, and later still,
with the North Sea Fleet under Lord Duncan.
'On the 22nd of August 1795, Captain Yorke being in company with a
light squadron under the orders of Captain James Alms, gave chase to
two large ships and a cutter. At 4.15 P.M. the Stag brought the
sternmost ship to close action, which continued with much spirit for
about half an hour, when the enemy struck, and proved to be the
Alliance, Batavian frigate of