The Clerk of the Acts, originally known as the Keeper of the King's Ports and Galleys, was a civilian officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

and a principal member of the

Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headquartered within the ...

. The office was created by King Charles II in 1660 and succeeded the earlier position of Clerk of the Navy(1546 to 1660). The Clerk was responsible for the organisation of Navy Office, processing naval contracts and coordinating the administrative and secretarial side of the Navy Board's work. The post lasted until 1796, when its duties were merged with that of the

Second Secretary to the Admiralty The Permanent Secretary of the Admiralty was the permanent secretary at the Admiralty, the department of state in Great Britain responsible for the administration of the Royal Navy. He was head of the Admiralty Secretariat, later known as the '' ...

later known as the Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty.

History

The ultimate origins of the office lie in the reign of King John, who developed a royal fleet and the earliest known administrative structure for the English Navy, through his appointment of

William of Wrotham William of Wrotham or William de Wrotham (died ) was a medieval English royal administrator and clergyman. Although a late 13th-century source says that William held a royal office under King Henry II of England (reigned 1154–1189), the first ...

as Keeper of the King's Ports and Galleys in the early 13th century. According to modern historians, William had a "special responsibility for ports, customs, and the navy". Murray (1935),

Oppenheim Oppenheim () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is a well-known wine center, being the home of the German Winegrowing Museum, and is particularly known for the wines from the Oppenheimer Kröten ...

reprint, (1940), Lloyd (1970) and Runyan (1987) support the view that his office continued until the creation of the

in 1546 and is therefore a direct predecessor of the later Clerk of the Acts and the Secretary of the Admiralty. However, a clear definition of Wrotham's office is not conclusive and has been viewed by other sources such as Turner (1994) to be similar to that of the

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

. King John's son and successor Henry III continued to refine the administration the royal fleet. However it was during

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

's reign that a formal naval administration really began to evolve when the Keeper was succeeded by the office of Clerk of the King's Ships, according to naval historian

Nicholas A. M. Rodger Nicholas Andrew Martin Rodger FSA FRHistS FBA (born 12 November 1949) is a historian of the Royal Navy and senior research fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Life and academia The son of Lieutenant Commander Ian Alexander Rodger, Royal Navy, ...

in his book the Admiralty (1979) states "Insofar as mediaeval Kings of England possessed a permanent administrator of their navies, he was the 'Clerk of the Kings Ships'. The post first appears in a distinct form under King John with William de Wrotham as ''Keeper of the Kings Ports and Galleys'', the Clerk of the Kings Ships was not a one man department of state but a permanent agent of the crown" For a period of over 300 years this official was responsible, sometimes really and sometimes nominally, for control of naval organisation until the formation of the

in 1546. During the course of the following centuries the title changed its name. In the fifteenth century the post was known as the Clerk of Marine Causes and during the sixteenth century the office was known as the Clerk of the Navy, in the seventeenth century, Clerk of the Acts. Between the years 1673 and 1677 the office was held jointly by two clerks of the acts, and then again from 1702 until 1706. Between 1673 and 1680 the post was held simultaneously with the Secretary of the Admiralty. In the same year the Clerk of the Acts was appointed an assistant to alleviate him of some of his secretarial duties and thus separating those responsibilities from the office of the secretary. In 1796 the offices of Clerk of the Acts and three other offices, those of Comptroller of Storekeepers Accounts, Comptroller of Treasurer Accounts and Comptroller of Victualling Accounts, were abolished and the Board reconstituted; the function of the Navy Office was then supervised by three Committees, of Correspondence, Accounts and Stores.

Responsibilities

The Clerk of the Acts' official responsibility's were: * As head of the Navy Office staff * Administering and processing of all Naval contracts. * Coordinating the secretarial side of the Navy Board's work. * Framing and writing answers to letters, orders, and commands from the Board of Admiralty. * Management of Navy Board records. * Processing of petty cash payments * Provision, equipment and victualing of all ships. * Superintending and organising the business of the

. The Clerk of the Kings Ships' responsibilities were: * Administration of ships of the Crown. * Repair of ships of the Crown. * Payments to all crews of the Crown's ships * Safekeeping of ships of the Crown. * Victualling of ships of the Crown. The Keeper of the Kings Ports and Galleys' responsibilities were: * Carrying out the King's orders regarding the Navy. * Organization and general conduct on the Navy. * Supervision of repairs of ships. * Requisition merchant shipping in relation to meet abnormal demands of transport and supply. * Process mariners' payments.

List of office holders

Included:
:Note this an incomplete list Keeper of the King's Ports and Galleys *

, 1206–1216. *

Reginald de Cornhill Reginald de Cornhill (occasionally Reynold de Cornhill) was an English administrator under King John. Reginald de Cornhill's father, Gervase, had also been High Sheriff of Kent in 1170-74 and his brother Henry de CornhillPowell "Administration o ...

, 1216–? * William de Formell ? * Geoffrey de Lucy, 1224–? * Hamo de Crevequer ? * Waleran Tuetonicus, 1235–? :Note: ''The post is assumed to have been left vacant, this is because no official court records have been found after this date listing any other similar office holders until the appearance of the clerk of the kings ships at the beginning of the fourteenth century'' Clerks of the Kings Ships (also referred to as Keeper of the Kings Ships or Clerk of the Ships) * Alexander le Peyntour, 1320–? * William de Clewre, 1336–1358, (at various times individually or jointly with de Torskey and de Snetesham) * Thomas de Snetesham, 1336–1358 (at various times individually or jointly with de Torskey and Haytfield) * Matthew de Torksey, 1336–1358, (at various times individually or jointly with Snetesham and Haytfield) * John de Haytfield, 1358–1378, (at various times individually or jointly with de Crull) * Sir Robert de Crull, 1359–1378, (at various times individually or jointly with de Haytfield) * John Chamberlyn, 1398–1405 Clerk of Marine Causes (in official court circulars also referred to as Clerk of the Ships) * John Elmeton, 1409–1413 * William Catton, 18 July 1413 – 3 February 1420 * William Soper, 3 February 1420 – 7 April 1442 * Richard Clyvedon, 7 April 1442 – 1460 * Piers Bowman, 1461–1479 * Thomas Rogers, 12 December 1480 – 1488 * William C'omersall, 1488 – 18 May 1495 Clerks of the Navy (in official court circulars also referred to as Clerk of the Ships) * Robert Brygandine, 19 May 1495 – 1523 * Thomas Jermyn, and William Gonson, 1523–1533, (jointly) * Leonard Thoreton 1533–1538 *

Sir Thomas Spert Vice-Admiral of England Sir Thomas Spert (spelled in some records as Pert) (died December 1541) was a mariner who reached the rank of vice admiral in service to King Henry VIII of England. He was sailing master of the flagships ''Mary Rose'' and ...

, 1538–1543 * Edmund Wynter, 1544–1545 * John Wynter 1545–1546 *

Richard Howlett Richard Howlett was Dean of Cashel from 1639 until 1641: In the Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic ...

, 24 April 1546 – 10 October 1560. *

George Wynter George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

, 10 October 1560 – 2 June 1567. *

John Hawkins John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, 2 June 1567, (appointed but did not succeed). *

, 2 June 1567 – 24 March 1582. *

William Borough William Borough (1536–1599) was a British naval officer who was Comptroller of the Navy and the younger brother of Stephen Borough. He participated in the British attack on Cádiz in 1587. He was responsible for the drawing of several early map ...

and Benjamin Gonson, 24 March 1582 – 6 July 1596. * (Sir) Peter Buck and Benjamin Gonson, 6 July 1596 – 17 April 1604. * John Legatt, 17 April 1604, (appointed but did not succeed). * Sir Peter Buck and Benjamin Gonson, 17 April 1604 – 24 March 1605. * Denis Flemming, 24 March 1605 – 15 February 1639. ''From June 1639 to August 1706 two clerks of the acts were occasionally appointed jointly to the office'' * Denis Flemming and Thomas Barlow, 16 February 1639 – 13 July 1660, (jointly) Note: ''Title of Clerk of the Navy is changed to Clerk of the Acts in 1660'' Clerks of the Acts *

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

, 13 July 1660 – 19 June 1673 *

and T. Hayter, 19 June 1673 – 14 April 1677 (jointly) * T. Hayter and James Sotherne. 14 April 1677 – May 1679 (jointly) * James Southerne, May 1679 – 5 February 1690. *

Charles Sergison Charles Sergison (11 January 1655 – 26 November 1732) was an English Royal Navy administrator and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1698 to 1702. Sergison became a clerk in one of the Royal Naval dockyards in 1671 and by 1685 was ...

, 6 February 1690 – 10 February 1702. *

and S. Atkins, 11 February 1702 – 24 August 1706 (jointly) *

, 25 August 1706 – 20 May 1719. * T. Holmes, 21 May 1719 – 10 October 1726. * T. Pearse, 11 October 1726 – 14 April 1743. * John Clevland, 15 April 1743 – 15 August 1743. * R. Osborn, 16 August 1743 – 26 July 1747. * Daniel Devert, 27 July 1747 – 2 February 1761. * Timothy Brett, 3 February 1761 – 19 March 1761. * Edmund Mason, 20 March 1761 – 15 July 1773. * George Marsh, 16 July 1773 – 1796.

References

Sources

* ''Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 7, Navy Board Officials 1660–1832'', ed. J M Collinge (London, 1978), British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol7 ccessed 25 March 2017 * ''Navy Clerk of the Acts c. 1546–1660. A provisional list'' compiled by J C Sainty, Institute of Historical Research, University of London, January 2003. {{Navy Board, state=collapsed 1546 establishments in England A C