During the early 17th century, England's relative naval power deteriorated; in the course of the rest of the 17th century, the office of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs steered the Navy's transition from a semi-amateur Navy Royal fighting in conjunction with private vessels into a fully professional institution, a Royal Navy. Its financial provisions were gradually regularised, it came to rely on dedicated warships only, and it developed a professional officer corps with a defined career structure, superseding an earlier mix of sailors and socially prominent former soldiers.Rodger, Safeguard, pp. 395–8; Rodger, Command, pp. 33–55, 95–122Ollard, 1984, ch.16;
Historical overview
After 1603 the English and Scottish fleets were organized together under James I but the efficiency of the Navy declined gradually, while corruption grew until brought under control in an inquiry of 1618. James concluded a peace with Spain and privateering was outlawed. Between 1618 and 1628, a Navy Commission temporarily replaced the Navy Board, due to misappropriation of public funds by board commissioners. After the inquiry was over the office of the Lord High Admiral (held by the Duke of Buckingham) was restored. However, he was murdered and King Charles I put the office into commission. This led to the creation of a new Board of Admiralty which in its early formation was just the Privy Council in another reincarnation. This in turn also led to the removal of the Admiralty Court from direct control of the Lord High Admiral's. His office was temporarily restored again in 1638, but then put in commission once more after 1679 the Lords Commissioners of Admiralty became the permanent officers responsible for administration of the Navy.
Organization in the seventeenth century
Admiralty of England
Commanders-in-chief Queen Elizabeth I King James I & VI King Charles I Lord Protectors, Oliver Cromwell, Richard Cromwell King Charles II King James II & VII King William III and Queen Mary II Queen Anne
Naval Lords of England Office of the Lord High Admiral of England Vice-Admiral of England and Deputy Lord High Admiral Rear-Admiral of England
Civil administration of the Navy Notes: the Secretary of State England for the period 1628 to 1679 was responsible for all policy decisions and direction on behalf of the government due to a continued state of war.
Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty and the Lord's Commissioners executing the office of the Lord High Admiral
The Board of Admiralty
First Commissioner and First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, and member of the English government Clerk of the Admiralty Messenger of the Admiralty, appointed, 1687 Housekeeper of the Admiralty appointed (1687 – 1799) Doorkeeper of the Admiralty, 1687 Gardner of the Admiralty appointed (1687 – 1799)
Civil Commissioner Chief Secretary to the Admiralty (1628 – 1652) First Secretary to the Admiralty (1652 – 1871)
Naval Commissioner Naval Lord from (1682 – 1689) Senior Naval Lord from (1689–1771)
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty
91 commissioners served during the 17th century.
Notes: Between 1693 and 1830 the commission always included either 1 or 2 additional naval lords except from 1757 until 1782 when it was just the Senior Naval Lord. After 1830 the Naval Lords are titled, First, Second, Third, Fourth until 1904 when they are re-styled Sea Lord. A junior naval lord is introduced in 1868 until 1903 then is re-styled Fifth Sea Lord from 1917.
Naval operations
Senior leadership Naval High Command Office of the Lord High Admiral of England (1600 – 1628) Office of the Vice-Admiral of England Office of the Rear-Admiral of England Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty (1628 – 1964) Office of the Naval Lord of the Admiralty* Admiralty Secretariat, (1690-1932) Greenwich Hospital Nautical Almanac Office Register office Royal Observatory Sixpenny Office
Fleet commands Flag officers of the fleet
Admiral of the Fleet Red Vice-Admiral of the Red Rear-Admiral of the Red Admiral of the White Vice-Admiral of the White Rear-Admiral of the White Admiral of the Blue Vice-Admiral of the Blue Rear-Admiral of the Blue
Flag officers commanding fleets and stations Flag officer commanding individual fleets and stations
Home commands Admiral Commanding, the Narrow Seas, (1412-1688) Admiral/Vice-Admiral Commanding, in the Channel. (1512-1746) Commander-in-Chief, the Downs, (1628-1834) Commander-in-Chief, Medway, (1698-1699) Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth (1667-1969) Commander, Royal Squadron, (1660-1995) Commander-in-Chief, Thames, (1695-1696) Commander-in-Chief, Western Squadron, (1650-1854)
Shore commands Vice-Admiralties of the Coast of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, (1536-1830)
Overseas commands Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station (1655-1830) Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet (1690-1967)
Fleet units Composition of the Navy between 1649-1690 TypeNumber of units Ships of the Line 1st rate7Ships of the Line 2nd rate11Ships of the Line 3rd rate40Ships of the Line 4th rate19Ships of the Line 5th-6th rate26Captured ships of the line10Sloops22Armed merchants29Flyboats28Galliots & hoys22Fireships111Bomb vessels17Hospital ships4Yachts25In commission361
Squadrons Red Squadron White Squadron Blue Squadron
Administrative and logistical support
Board of ordnance
Principal officers Board of Ordnance (1597 – 1855) Office of the Board of Ordnance Master-General of the Ordnance (1597 – 1855) Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance (1597 – 1855) Treasurer of the Ordinance (1597 – 1855) Surveyor-General of the Ordnance (1597 – 1888) Clerk of the Ordnance (1554 – 1853) Storekeeper of the Ordnance (1558 – 1845) Clerk of Deliveries of the Ordnance (1570 – 1812)
Ordnance yards and stores Home ordinance yards The Gun Wharf, Chatham Dockyard Gunwharf Portsmouth Dockyard
Gunpowder magazines stores Tower of London, London (1461 – 1855) Square Tower, Portsmouth (1584 – 1855)
Navy board Construction, design, maintenance, supplies
Principal officers Office of the Navy Board Comptroller of the Navy (1597 – 1832) Surveyor of the Navy (1597 – 1832) Treasurer of the Navy (1597 – 1832) Clerk of the Navy Surveyor-General Victuals, (1550-1679) Controller of Treasurer Accounts, (1667-1796) Controller of Victualling Accounts, (1667-1796) Controller of Storekeepers Accounts, (1671-1796) Commissioners for Old Accounts, (1686-8) Commissioners for Current Business, (1686-8) Commissioners for Examining Accounts (Incurred), (1688-9)
Subsidiary boards of navy board Office of the Navy Board Sick and Hurt Board (established temporarily in times of war from 1653, placed on a permanent footing from 1715) Victualling Board (1683 – 1832) Transport Board (1690 – 1724, re-established 1794)
Shore facilities Note: Dockyards during this period were managed by the commissioners of the Navy Board.
Home naval base and dockyards Portsmouth Dockyard (1496 – present) Woolwich Dockyard (1512 – 1869) Deptford Dockyard (1513 – 1869) Erith Dockyard (1514 – 1521), failed yard: due to persistent flooding Chatham Dockyard (1567 – 1983) Sheerness Dockyard (1665 – 1957) Plymouth Dockyard, Plymouth (1690 – 1824)
Oversea bases and dockyards Jamaica Dockyard, Port Royal, Jamaica (1675 – 1905)
Judicial administration Note:Admiralty Courts date to at least the 1360s, during the reign of Edward III. At that time there were three such Courts, appointed by Admirals responsible for waters to the north, south and west of England. In 1483 these local courts were amalgamated into a single High Court of Admiralty, administered by the Lord High Admiral of England. The Deputy Lord High Admiral presided over the High Court.
Admiralty courts Lord High Admiral of England Vice Admiral of England and Deputy Lord High Admiral Advocate General to the office of the Lord High Admiral
Legal advisors to the admiralty courts Office of the Lord High Admiral Counsel to the Admiralty,(1673 – 1824), attached originally to the Navy Board Solicitor for the Affairs of the Admiralty and Navy, appointed (1692 – 1799)
High court of the admiralty Office of the High Court of the Admiralty Court (1450 – 1875) Judge of the High Court of Admiralty Judge Advocate of the Fleet Deputy Judge Advocate of the Fleet Proctor of the High Court of Admiralty Marshall of the High Court of Admiralty Droits of the High Court of Admiralty
Vice admiralty courts The Vice-Admiral of the Coast was responsible for the defence of one of the twenty maritime counties of England, the North and South of Wales. As a Vice-Admiral, the post holder was the chief of naval administration for his district. His responsibilities included deciding the outcome of the Prize court (captured by pirate ships), dealing with salvage claims for wrecks, and acting as a judge in relation to maritime issues. Vice-Admiral Cheshire (1559 – 1835) Vice-Admiral Cornwall (1559 – 1917) Vice-Admiral Cumberland (1559 – 1835) Vice-Admiral Devon (1559 – 1835) Vice-Admiral Dorset (1559 – 1835) Vice-Admiral Durham (1559 – 1835) Vice-Admiral Essex (1559 – 1835) Vice-Admiral Gloucestershire (1559 – 1835) Vice-Admiral Hampshire (1558 – 1846) Vice-Admiral Kent (1558 – 1846) Vice-Admiral Lancashire (1569 – 1861) Vice-Admiral Lincolnshire (1565 – 1862) Vice-Admiral Norfolk (1554 – 1846) Vice-Admiral Northumberland (1559 – 1847) Vice-Admiral Somerset (1561 – 1865) Vice-Admiral Suffolk (1554 – 1947) Vice-Admiral Sussex (1559 – 1860) Vice-Admiral Westmorland (1559 – 1802) Vice-Admiral Yorkshire (1559 – 1860)
Vice Admiralty jurisdictions and prizes abroad
By appointing Vice-Admirals in the colonies, and by constituting courts as Vice-Admiralty Courts, the terminology recognized the existence and superiority of the "mother" court in the United Kingdom. Thus, the "vice" tag denoted that whilst it was a separate court, it was not equal to the "mother" court. In the case of the courts abroad, a right of appeal lay back to the British Admiralty Court, which further reinforced this superiority. In all respects, the court was an Imperial court rather than a local Colonial court.
North America Vice-Admiral Carolina Vice-Admiral Maryland Vice-Admiral Massachusetts Vice-Admiral New Hampshire Vice-Admiral New York, including Connecticut Vice-Admiral Pennsylvania, including Delaware Vice-Admiral Virginia
West Indies Vice-Admiral Barbados Vice-Admiral Jamaica
See also Admiralty in the 16th century Admiralty in the 18th century
References
Sources The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 3 George IV. 1822. London: By His Majesty's Statute and Law Printer. 1822. Hamilton, Admiral Sir. R. Vesey, G.C.B. (1896). Naval Administration: The Constitution, Character, and Functions of the Board of Admiralty, and of the Civil Departments it Directs. London: George Bell and Sons. Logan, Karen Dale (1976). The Admiralty: Reforms and Re-organization, 1868-1892. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. University of Oxford. Miller, Francis H. (1884). The Origin and Constitution of the Admiralty and Navy Boards, to which is added an Account of the various Buildings in which the Business of the Navy has been transacted from time to time. London: For Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Copy in Greene Papers. National Maritime Museum. GEE/19. Rodger. N.A.M. (1979), The Admiralty (offices of state), T. Dalton, Lavenham, .
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