Erith Dockyard located at

Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies nort ...

Kent, England Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

was an early Tudor

naval dockyard A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that u ...

operated by the

English 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 Fra ...

that opened in 1512 due to persistent flooding the dockyard closed in 1521.

History

The name Erith comes from the Saxon ‘Earhyth’ meaning muddy landing place. It was traditionally a small port along the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

. In the 16th century

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

established a naval dockyard in Erith. It became a trading hub, as spices and cotton from the East Indies were delivered onto London. A naval storehouse was constructed at Erith in 1512 that was managed by the Keeper of the Kings Storehouses who was one of the Clerks of the Kings Marine a Tudor (naval administrator). Erith Dockyard was used as an advance base for routine maintenance before ships were transferred to

Deptford Dockyard Deptford Dockyard was an important naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and many significant events a ...

. It closed due to persistent flooding in 1521. However, according to naval historian Nicholas A. M. Rodger although Erith dockyard closed it was an important center of naval administration of the English Navy from 1514 into the 1540s.

Administration of the dockyard and other key officials

The Master Shipwright was usually the key official at the royal navy dockyards until the introduction of resident commissioners by 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 ...

after which he became deputy to the resident commissioner. In 1832 the post of commissioner was usually replaced by the post of

admiral superintendent The admiral-superintendent was the Royal Navy officer in command of a larger Royal Navy Dockyard, Naval Dockyard. HMNB Portsmouth, Portsmouth, HMNB Devonport, Devonport and Chatham Dockyard, Chatham all had admiral-superintendents, as did some other ...

Keeper of Kings Storehouse, Erith

Post holders included: # 1512-1524, John Hopton (also Keeper at

) # 1524-1537,

William Gonson Vice-Admiral Sir William Gonson (1482–1544), was a Naval Judge and Naval Administrator of the English Royal Navy who served under King Henry VIII. Biography Career During the Tudor Period William Gonson's early career was as a private Mer ...

(ditto)

Ships fitted out at the dockyard

Included: # HMS Trinity Sovereign, also known as HMS Sovereign, an English warship in service built in 1488 and listed until 1521. # HMS Henry Grace à Dieu

Citations

Sources

# Childs, David (March 2010). Tudor sea power : the foundation of greatness. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Pub. . # Oppenheim, Michael (1896). A history of the administration of the royal navy and of merchant shipping in relation to the navy, from MDIX to MDCLX, with an introduction treating of the preceding period. London, New York, J. Lane. # Rodger, N. A. M. (1997). The safeguard of the sea : a naval history of Britain. Vol 1., 660-1649. London, England: Penguin. . {{Royal Navy shore establishments Royal Navy dockyards in England Royal Navy bases in England 1512 establishments in England