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Admiralty of Great Britain
Flag of the Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom.svg
Agency overview
Formed 1410–1964
Jurisdiction England Kingdom of England,
 Kingdom of Great Britain
Headquarters Admiralty, Whitehall, Westminster, London
Agency executive
  • First Lord of the Admiralty President of the Board
Parent agency English government
British government

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 rearranged the political map of Europe, and led to a series of wars with France that lasted well over a century. This was the classic age of sail; while the ships themselves evolved in only minor ways, technique and tactics were honed to a high degree, and the battles of the Napoleonic Wars entailed feats that would have been impossible for the fleets of the 17th century. Because of parliamentary opposition, James II fled the country. The landing of William III and the Glorious Revolution itself was a gigantic effort involving 100 warships and 400 transports carrying 11,000 infantry and 4,000 horses. It was not opposed by the English or Scottish fleets.

Historical overview

Naval operations in the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–13) were with the Dutch against the Spanish and French. They were at first focused on the acquisition of a Mediterranean base, culminating in an alliance with Portugal and the capture of Gibraltar (1704) and Port Mahon in Menorca (1708). In addition Newfoundland and Nova Scotia were obtained. Even so, freedom of action in the Mediterranean did not decide the war, although it gave the new Kingdom of Great Britain (created by the Union of England and Scotland in 1707) an advantage when negotiating the Peace of Utrecht, and made Britain a recognized great power. The British fleet ended Spanish occupation of Sicily in 1718 and in 1727 blockaded Panama.

The subsequent quarter-century of peace saw a few naval actions. The navy was used against Russia and Sweden in the Baltic from 1715 to 1727 to protect supplies of naval stores. It was used at the Cape Passaro in 1718, during the Great Northern War, and in the West Indies (1726). There was a war against Spain in 1739 over the slave trade. In 1745 the navy transported troops and stores to Scotland to defeat the Jacobite rising.

The War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–48) saw various naval operations in the Caribbean under different admirals against Spanish trade and possessions, before the war subsequently merged into the wider War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). This, in turn, brought a new round of naval operations against France. In 1745 the navy twice defeated the French off Finisterre but their convoys escaped. The Navy also defended against invasion by Charles Edward Stuart the "Young Pretender". By the end of the war, the Navy was fully engaged in the worldwide protection of British trade.

The Seven Years' War (1756–63) began somewhat inauspiciously for the Navy, with a French siege of Menorca and the failure to relieve it. Menorca was lost but subsequent operations went more successfully (due more to government support and better strategic thinking, rather than admirals "encouraged" by Byng's example), and the British fleet won several victories. The French tried to invade Britain in 1759 but their force was defeated at Quiberon Bay. Spain entered the war against Britain in 1762 but lost Havana and Manila, though the latter was given back in exchange for Florida. The Treaty of Paris that ended the war left Britain with colonial gains, but isolated strategically.

At the beginning of the American Revolutionary War (1775–83), the Royal Navy dealt with the fledgling Continental Navy handily, destroying or capturing many of its vessels. France soon took the American side, and in 1778 a French fleet sailed for America, where it attempted to land at Rhode Island and nearly engaged with the British fleet before a storm intervened Spain and the Dutch Republic entered the war in 1780. Action shifted to the Caribbean, where there were a number of battles with varying results. The most important operation came in 1781 when, in the Battle of the Chesapeake, the British failed to lift the French blockade of Lord Cornwallis, resulting in a British surrender in the Battle of Yorktown. Although combat was over in North America, it continued in the Caribbean and India, where the British experienced both successes and failures. Though Menorca had been recaptured, it was returned to the Spanish.

Organization eighteenth century

Admiralty of Great Britain

  • English White Ensign 1620

    English Navy White Ensign 1700–1707

  • Naval Ensign of Great Britain (1707-1800)

    British Navy White Ensign 1707–1801

  • White Squadron Ensign 1702-1707

    White Squadron Ensign 1702–1707

Commander in chiefs

Naval Lords of England and Great Britain

Civil administration of the Navy

Board of Admiralty

The Board of Admiralty and the Lord's Commissioners executing the office of the Lord High Admiral

  • the Board of Admiralty
    • Private Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, and member of the English government to 1706, member of the British government (1707–1801).
      • Office of Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty
      • Office of the Clerk of the Admiralty
      • Office of the Admiralty Clerk of the Journals appointed,(1638 – 1741).
        • 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)
        • Office of the Translator to the Admiralty, (1755 – 1869)

Civil Commissioner

  • First Secretary to the Admiralty (1652 – present)
    • Office of the Chief Clerk of the Admiralty, appointed, (1694 – 1870).
  • Deputy Secretary to the Admiralty (1728 – 41), (1744 – 6), (1756 – 9), (1764 – 83).
  • Joint Secretary to the Admiralty (1741 – 1742).
  • Office of the Second Secretary to the Admiralty (1702 – 1766), (1759 – 1763),

Naval Lords

  • Naval Lord Commissioners (1700 – 1762)
  • Senior Naval Lord from (1689 – 1860)

Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty
609 commissioners served during 18th 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.

Judicial administration

  • Office of the 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
    • Office of the Counsel to the Admiralty, ( attached originally to the Navy Board) appointed 1673–1824
    • Office of 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).
    • Office of the President and Judge of the High Court in England and Wales only.
    • Office of the Judge Advocate of the Fleet
      • Office of the Deputy Judge Advocate of the Fleet
    • Office of the Proctor of the High Court
    • Office of the Marshall of the High Court
    • Office of the Droits of the High Court
      • Vice Admiralty Courts (Home)
      • Vice Admiralty Jurisdictions and prizes (Abroad)

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.

Vice admiralty courts

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, Scotland and Ireland 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, acting as a judge in relation to maritime issues.

England

  • Vice-Admiral Cheshire
  • Vice-Admiral Cornwall
  • Vice-Admiral Cumberland
  • Vice-Admiral Devon
  • Vice-Admiral Dorset
  • Vice-Admiral Durham
  • Vice-Admiral Essex
  • Vice-Admiral Gloucestershire
  • Vice-Admiral Hampshire
  • Vice-Admiral Kent
  • Vice-Admiral Lancashire
  • Vice-Admiral Lincolnshire
  • Vice-Admiral Norfolk
  • Vice-Admiral Northumberland
  • Vice-Admiral Somerset
  • Vice-Admiral Suffolk
  • Vice-Admiral Sussex
  • Vice-Admiral Westmorland
  • Vice-Admiral Yorkshire

Ireland

  • Vice-Admiral Ireland
  • Vice-Admiral Connaught
  • Vice-Admiral Leinster
  • Vice-Admiral Munster
  • Vice-Admiral Ulster

Scotland

Wales

  • Vice-Admiral North Wales
  • Vice-Admiral South Wales

Vice Admiralty Jurisdictions and prizes abroad By appointing Vice-Admirals in the colonies, and by constituting courts as Vice-Admiralty Courts, the terminology recognized that 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

West Indies

Naval operations

Senior leadership

Naval High Command included:

  • Office of the Lord High Admiral (1600–1628)
    • Office of the Vice-Admiral of England (1600–1707)
    • Office of the Vice-Admiral of Great Britain (1707–1801)
      • Office of the Rear-Admiral of England (1600–1707)
      • Office of the Rear-Admiral of Great Britain (1707–1801)
  • Office of the First lord of the Admiralty (1628–1964)
    • Office of the Naval Lord of the Admiralty.
      • Admiralty Secretariat
      • Board of longitude
      • Greenwich Hospital
      • Nautical Almanac Office
      • Office of the Chaplain General
      • Office of the Charity for Sea Officers’ Widows
      • Office of the Compassionate Fund
      • Office of the Hydrographer of the Navy
      • Office of the Poor Knights of Windsor
      • Register office
      • Royal Naval Academy
      • 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

Fleets

  • Commander-in-Chief, Channel Fleet (1690 – 1909).
  • Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet (1690 – 1967).

Home Commands

Overseas Commands

  • Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station (1655 – 1830).
  • Commander-in-Chief, Newfoundland Station (1729 – 1825).
  • Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station (1744 – 1941).
  • Commander-in-Chief, North America Station (1745 – 1818).
  • Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands Station (1775 – 1853).
  • Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station (1795 – 1939).

Fleet units

Composition of the Navy by 1760
Type Number of units
Ships of the Line 1st rate 7
Ships of the Line 2nd rate 13
Ships of the Line 3rd rate 71
Ships of the Line 4th rate 73
Ships of the Line 5th rate 54
Ships of the Line 6th rate 61
Captured ships of the line 15
Frigates 82
Sloops 21
Armed Merchants 39
Fireships 27
Bomb Vessels 15
Hospital Ships 4
Yachts 5
In commission 487
Composition of the Navy by 1799
Type Number of units
Ships of the Line 230
Captured ships of the line 25
Frigates 234
Sloops 331
Brigs 54
Fireships 34
Bomb Vessels 31
Hospital Ships 2
Yachts 5
In commission 946

Squadrons

  • Red Squadron
  • White Squadron
  • Blue Squadron

Administrative and logistical support

Board of Ordnance

Ordnance yards and stores

Home Ordnance Yards

Gunpowder Magazines Stores

  • Tower of London, London, (1461–1855)
  • Square Tower, Portsmouth, (1584–1855)

Navy board

Construction, design, maintenance, material, supplies

  • Office of the Navy Board also known as the Navy Office
    • Office of the Comptroller of the Navy (1597–1832)
      • Office of the Surveyor of the Navy (1597–1832)
        • Office of the Inspector of Naval Repairs (1731–1796).
        • Naval Works Department (1796 – 1813)
          • Office of the Inspector General of Naval Works (1796 – 1808)
            • Office of the Architect of Naval Works (1796 – 1808)
            • Office of the Mechanist of Naval Works (1796 – 1808)
            • Office of the Mechanist of Naval Works (1796 – 1808)
            • Office of the Chemist of Naval Works (1796 – 1808)
            • Office of the Secretary of Naval Works (1731–1799).
            • Offices the Master Shipwrights of Naval Dockyards
      • Office of the Treasurer of the Navy (1546–1597).
        • Navy Pay Office
          • Office of the Paymaster of the Navy
            • Allotment Office
            • Bills and Accounts Office
            • Navy Branch
            • Office for Examining Treasurer's Accounts
            • Prize Branch
            • Remittance Office
            • Ticket Office
            • Office for Seaman's Wages
            • Office for Stores
      • Office of the Clerk of the Acts (1413–1796)
      • Office of the Controller of Treasurer Accounts (1667–1796)
      • Office of the Controller of Victualling Accounts (1667–1796)
        • Contract Office
      • Office of the Controller of Storekeepers Accounts (1671–1796)
        • Storekeepers HM Yards
Subsidiary boards
  • Office of the Navy Board
    • Office of the Comptroller of the Navy (1597–1831)
      • Sick and Hurt Board, (established temporarily in times of war from 1653, placed on a permanent footing from 1715).
        • Royal Naval Hospitals.
      • Transport Board (1690–1724, re-established 1794–1862).
        • Penal Transportation
      • Victualling Board (1683–1832).
        • Office of the Chairman of the Board
          • Office of the Commissioners of the Board
            • Office of the Secretary for Cash and Stores Accounts.
              • Cash Department
              • Stores Department
        • Victualling Yard, Antigua
          • Office of the Commissioner Antigua
        • Victualling Yard Deptford.
          • Office of the Commissioner Deptford
        • Victualling Yard, Gibraltar
          • Office of the Commissioner Gibraltar
        • Victualling Yard, Harwich
          • Office of the Commissioner Harwich
        • Victualling Yard, Jamaica
          • Office of the Commissioner Jamaica
        • Victualling Yard, Portsmouth
          • Office of the Commissioner Portsmouth
        • Victualling Yard, Plymouth
          • Office of the Commissioner Plymouth
Shore facilities

Note: Dockyards during this period were managed by the individual Commissioners of the Navy for each yard.

Home naval base and dockyards

Oversea naval bases and dockyards

Marines

Marine department

  • Office of the Admirals Regiment, (1655 – 1755).
  • Office of the Marine Department, (1755 – 1809).
    • Marine Pay Office
      • (Office of the Paymaster of the Marines, (1784 – 1831).

Marine forces

  • Office of Corps of the Royal Marines (1755)
    • Colonel Commandant Chatham Division
    • Colonel Commandant Portsmouth Division
    • Colonel Commandant Plymouth Division

Impress service

Note: Responsible for forced naval recruitment, the admiralty handled command and control of the impress service, whilst the navy board administered the service.

Sea fencible militias

Notes:The Sea Fencibles were a British naval militia, mostly volunteers, that was formed in 1793 to act as an anti-invasion force in coastal waters.

  • Office of the Director Sea Fencibles.
    • Offices of the Fencible Districts

Sea Fencible Districts, 1798 to 1801

  1. Emsworth to Beachy Head
  2. Beachy Head to Deal
  3. Deal to Faversham
  4. Leigh to Harwich
  5. Harwich to Yarmouth
  6. Isle of Wight
  7. Coast of Hampshire
  8. Coast of Dorset
  9. Coast of Devon
  10. Plymouth to Land's End
  11. Saltfleet to Flamborough Head
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