English wine cask units the mediæval French and Italian "botte") or pipe was half a tun, or 1008 pints. Tradition has it that George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV of England, was drowned in a butt of malmsey on 18 February 1478. (However, Josephine Tey in "The Daughter of Time" suggests that "drowned in a butt of malmsey" means rather that George, Duke of Clarence, drank himself to death rather than literally drowning in a container of wine.) In Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado", the narrator claims he has received "a pipe of what passes for Amontillado".
Hired armed cutter Duke of Clarence Brent Clements. Clements received the mission to take "Duke of Clarence" to patrol between the Minquiers and Chausey to meet a boat bringing intelligence from France. On 24 November 1804, "Duke of Clarence" sighted a large French lugger and set off in chase, with the hired armed cutter "Albion" joining in. The lugger's crew ran their boat on shore near Granville, Manche. "Duke of Clarence" sent a boat in to examine the lugger, which turned out to have a cargo of oysters and cider. As "Duke of Clarence" awaited her boat's return she hit a submerged rock with the result