In 1796 he was captain of the frigate HMS Heroine,[1] in 1802 he was captain of Resolution,[2] and in 1805 of the 74-gun HMS Hero[3] – in the latter he was present at the action off Ferrol in 1805,[3] and led the vanguard at the Battle of Cape Finisterre later that year.

[4] In 1815 it was announced that he was to be created a viscount, but he died before the patent had passed the Great Seal.

He passed on the title of Baron Gardner to his son, Alan.

[9] The proceedings heard evidence from domestic servants and also medical practitioners, testifying to the possible lengths of human gestation; the medical evidence also received an eccentric contemporary commentary by Robert Lyall.

[10] This commentary includes a science-fictional experiment to calculate the exact length of human gestation, which Lyall calls the Experimental Conception Hospital.