Admiral Sir Roger Curtis

1st Baronet, GCB

The Great Siege of Gibraltar

Roger Curtis was born in 1746 in Downton, Wiltshire, and entered the Royal Navy as a young man. He rose to prominence during the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779-1783), the longest siege in British military history. As captain of the garrison's naval forces, Curtis played a central role in the defence of the Rock against the combined forces of France and Spain.

On 13 September 1782, the Spanish launched a grand assault using ten specially constructed floating batteries. Curtis led the fireships and gunboats that destroyed the Spanish batteries, then personally directed the rescue of hundreds of Spanish sailors from the burning wreckage. For this action he was knighted by King George III. The King of Spain also acknowledged his gallantry in saving Spanish lives.

Naval Career

Curtis served as flag captain to Admiral Lord Howe at the Battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794, the first major fleet action of the French Revolutionary Wars. He was created a baronet in 1794.

He rose through the ranks to become a full admiral. From 1809 to 1812, he served as Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth, the senior naval command on the south coast of England. The appointment placed him at the centre of Britain's naval operations during the final years of the Napoleonic Wars.

Little Gatcombe

Curtis held the manor of Little Gatcombe, Parish of Wymering, Hampshire, from around 1778 until his death in 1816. His baronetcy was created specifically as "of Gatcombe in the parish of Wymering", formally binding the title to this Hampshire manor. He died at Gatcombe House and was buried at Wymering.

Gatcombe House

Gatcombe House was rebuilt around 1780, during the period of Curtis's ownership. The building survives today as a Grade II listed building on the Historic England register. It is now in separate ownership and is used as commercial offices. The lordship of Little Gatcombe is a title, not a property. It is an incorporeal hereditament under English law, entirely distinct from any building or parcel of land.

The Curtis Baronets

The manor lands had been sold to the Crown in 1794 for the construction of Hilsea Barracks, though Curtis continued to reside at Gatcombe House until his death. The baronetcy passed to his son Sir Lucius Curtis, 2nd Baronet, who rose to Admiral of the Fleet, the highest rank in the Royal Navy. Sir Lucius was recorded in residence at Gatcombe in 1849 and died in 1869.

His grandson Sir Arthur Colin Curtis, 3rd Baronet, disappeared on a Klondike expedition in northern Canada in 1898 and was presumed dead by court order. His son, Sir Roger Colin Molyneux Curtis, succeeded as 4th Baronet at the age of eleven. The 4th Baronet died in 1954.

The lordship of Little Gatcombe is held by Morgan Sheldon.

Primary source: Victoria County History of Hampshire, Vol. 3, pp. 165-170.