Sir William Symonds
says that she was afterwards cut down, and was a safe and fast ship.[32]

The Sovereign continued for nearly sixty years to be the finest ship in
the English service. Though frequently engaged in the most injurious
occupations, she continued fit for any services which the exigencies of
the State might require. She fought all through the wars of the
Commonwealth; she was the leading ship of Admiral Blake, and was in all
the great naval engagements with France and Holland. The Dutch gave
her the name of The Golden Devil. In the last fight between the
English and French, she encountered the Wonder of the World, and so
warmly plied the French Admiral, that she forced him out of his
three-decked wooden castle, and chasing the Royal Sun, before her,
forced her to fly for shelter among the rocks, where she became a prey
to lesser vessels, and was reduced to ashes. At last, in the reign of
William III., the Sovereign became leaky and defective with age; she
was laid up at Chatham, and being set on fire by negligence or
accident, she burnt to the water's edge.

To return to the history of Phineas Pett. As years approached, he
retired from office, and "his loving son," as he always affectionately
designates Peter, succeeded him as principal shipwright, Charles I.
conferring upon him the honour of knighthood. Phineas lived for ten
years after the Sovereign of the Seas was launched. In the burial
register of the parish of Chatham it is recorded, "Phineas Pett, Esqe.
and Capt., was buried 21st August, 1647."[33]

Sir Peter Pett was almost as distinguished as his father. He was the
builder of the first frigate, The Constant Warwick. Sir William
Symonds says of this vessel:--"She was an incomparable sailer,
remarkable for her sharpness and the fineness of her lines; and many
were built like her." Pett "introduced convex lines on the immersed
part of the hull, with the studding and sprit sails; and, in short, he
appears to have fully deserved his character of being the best ship
architect of his time."[34] Sir Peter Pett's monument in Deptford Old
Church fully records his services to England's naval power.

The Petts are said to have been connected with shipbuilding in the
Thames for not less than 200 years. Fuller, in his 'Worthies of
England,' says of them--"I am credibly informed that that mystery of
shipwrights for some descents hath been preserved faithfully in
families, of whom the Petts about