The Surveyor of the Navy also known as Department of the Surveyor of the Navy and originally known as Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy
was a former principal commissioner and member of both 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 ...
from the inauguration of that body in 1546 until its abolition in 1832 and then a member
Board of Admiralty
The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...
from 1848-1859. In 1860 the office was renamed ''Controller of The Navy'' until 1869 when the office was merged with that of the
Third Naval Lord's the post holder held overall responsibility for the design of British warships.
History
The office was established in 1546 under
Henry VIII of England
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 disa ...
when the post holder was styled as ''Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy'' until 1611. Although until 1745 the actual design work for warships built at each
Royal Dockyard
Royal Navy Dockyards (more usually termed Royal Dockyards) were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial ...
was primarily the responsibility of the individual
Master Shipwright at that Royal Dockyard. For vessels built by commercial contract (limited to wartime periods, when the Royal Dockyards could not cope with the volume of work), the Surveyor's office drew the designs to which the private shipbuilders were required to build the vessels. From 1745 design responsibility was centred in the Surveyor's office, with the Master Shipwrights in the Dockyard responsible for implementation. In 1832 the Navy Board was abolished and all of its functions were brought under the sole control of the Board of Admiralty.
Before 1832 the building, fitting out and repairing of HM ships were the responsibility of the Navy Board. Originally the principal officer most concerned was the Surveyor of the Navy, who estimated annual stores requirements, inspected ships' stores and kept the Fleet's store-books and repair-bills. In the eighteenth century his duties passed increasingly to the Comptroller of the Navy.
The office of Surveyor did not disappear, however, and after 1832, when the office of Comptroller was abolished, the Surveyor was made the officer responsible under the First Sea Lord for the material departments, and became a permanent member of the Board of Admiralty in 1848. In 1859 the name of the office was changed to Controller of the Navy until 1869 when the office was amalgamated with the office of the
Third Naval Lord
The post of Controller of the Navy (abbreviated as CofN) was originally created in 1859 when the Surveyor of the Navy's title changed to Controller of the Navy. In 1869 the controller's office was abolished and its duties were assumed by that of ...
.
Office holders
Surveyor and Riggers of the Navy (1546–1611)
In date order (note that the post of Surveyor was frequently shared, which enabled the Admiralty to have competitive designs prepared for evaluation):
:''Surveyors and Riggers of the Navy''
*Vice-Admiral, 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 ...
, 1524-1541
*
Benjamin Gonson
Benjamin Gonson (c. 1525–1577) was an English Naval Administrator, and the first Surveyor of the Royal Navy. He was a founding member of England's Navy Board during the Tudor period.
Career
Benjamin Gonson began his career as a private shipw ...
24 April 1546 - June 1549.
* Admiral Sir
William Wynter
Admiral Sir William Wynter (c. 1521 – 20 February 1589) was an admiral and principal officer of the Council of the Marine under Queen Elizabeth I of England and served the crown during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604).
Personal
Wynter wa ...
8 July 1549.
* Rear-Admiral Sir
Henry Palmer 11 July 1589.
* Sir
John Trevor 20 December 1598 -1611.
Surveyors of the Navy (1611-1859)
* Sir
Richard Bingley 1611-1619.
*
Thomas Norreys
Sir Thomas Norris (1556–1599) was an English soldier. He sat in the Irish House of Commons, and was made Lord President of Munster in Ireland. His last name is sometimes spelt Norreys.
Family
He was the fifth son of Henry Norris, 1st Baron ...
12 February 1619 – 1625.
*
Joshua Downing 1625-1628.
*
Sir Thomas Aylesbury 1628.
*
Kenrick Edisbury
Kenrick Edisbury (1670?–1736), of Deptford, Kent and Gresford, Denbighshire, was an English Member of Parliament.
He was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of Great Britain for Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Hav ...
19 December 1632.
* Vice-Admiral
William Batten
Sir William Batten (1601 to 5 October 1667) was an English naval officer and administrator from Somerset, who began his career as a merchant seaman, served as second-in-command of the Parliamentarian navy during the First English Civil War, th ...
26 September 1638.
* John Holland 16 February 1649.
*
George Payler
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 ...
1654.
*
Sir William Batten
Sir William Batten (1601 to 5 October 1667) was an English naval officer and administrator from Somerset, who began his career as a merchant seaman, served as second-in-command of the Parliamentarian navy during the First English Civil War, th ...
20 June 1660.
*
Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...
25 November 1667.
* Sir
John Tippetts 5 September 1672.
*
Edmund Dummer 9 August 1692.
*
Daniel Furzer
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
22 September 1699.
* Daniel Furzer and
William Lee (jointly) 19 October 1706.
* Daniel Furzer (alone) 16 November 1714.
*
Jacob Ackworth
Sir Jacob Ackworth or Acworth (1668–1748) was an English shipbuilder and ship designer employed by the Royal Navy. As a designer he adopted Newtonian theories to create lighter and faster ships but this approach marginalised him with the ver ...
6 April 1715.
* Sir Jacob Ackworth and
Joseph Allin
Joseph Allin was an 18th century shipbuilder to the Royal Navy. His works merge with those of his namesake son who was also a Master Shipwright at Portsmouth Dockyard and later Surveyor to the Navy at which point he became Sir Joseph Allin.
Jo ...
(jointly) 11 July 1745.
* Joseph Allin (alone) 16 March 1749.
*
Thomas Slade
Sir Thomas Slade (1703/4–1771) was an English naval architect, most famous for designing HMS ''Victory'', Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Early life
He was the son of Arthur Slade (1682–1746) and his wife Hannah ...
and
William Bately (jointly) 4 September 1755.
* Thomas Slade and
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...
(jointly) 28 June 1765.
[Lavery, ''The Ship of the Line'', p106 and p124]
*
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...
(alone) 22 February 1771.
* Sir
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...
and
Edward Hunt (jointly) 11 April 1778.
* Edward Hunt and
John Henslow (jointly) 13 December 1784.
[Lambert, ''The Last Sailing Battlefleet'', p59]
*
John Henslow (alone) 7 December 1786.
* John Henslow and
William Rule (jointly) 11 February 1793.
* Sir William Rule and
Henry Peake (jointly) 20 June 1806.
*
Joseph Tucker and
Robert Seppings
Sir Robert Seppings, FRS (11 December 176725 April 1840) was an English naval architect. His experiments with diagonal trusses in the construction of ships led to his appointment as Surveyor of the Navy in 1813, a position he held until 1835.
Bi ...
(jointly) 14 June 1813. (Seppings became Sir Robert Seppings from 20 February 1822.
*
Sir Robert Seppings
Sir Robert Seppings, FRS (11 December 176725 April 1840) was an English naval architect. His experiments with diagonal trusses in the construction of ships led to his appointment as Surveyor of the Navy in 1813, a position he held until 1835.
Bi ...
(alone) 1 March 1831.
* Sir
William Symonds
Sir William Symonds CB FRS (24 September 1782 – 30 March 1856, aboard the French steamship ''Nil'', Strait of Bonifacio, Sardinia)[Baldwin Wake Walker
Admiral Sir Baldwin Wake Walker, 1st Baronet, (6 January 1802 – 12 February 1876) was Surveyor of the Navy from 1848 to 1861. and was responsible for the Royal Navy's warship construction programme during the 1850s naval arms race and at th ...]
5 February 1848 – 1859.
[Lambert, ''The Last Sailing Battlefleet'', p56]
Controllers of the Navy (1859-1869)
''In 1859 the post of Surveyor of the Navy was changed to Controller of the Navy''
*
Rear-Admiral Sir Baldwin Wake Walker, 1859–1861
*
Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Robinson, 1861–1869
''In 1869 the post of Controller of the Navy's post was merged with the office of the
Third Naval Lord
The post of Controller of the Navy (abbreviated as CofN) was originally created in 1859 when the Surveyor of the Navy's title changed to Controller of the Navy. In 1869 the controller's office was abolished and its duties were assumed by that of ...
''
Timeline
* Navy Board, Surveyor of the Navy, 1546-1832
* Board of Admiralty, Surveyor of the Navy, 1832-1859
* Board of Admiralty, Controller of the Navy, 1859-1912
* Board of Admiralty, Directorate of Naval Construction, 1913-1958
* Board of Admiralty, Ship Department, Naval Construction Division, 1959-1964
References
Sources
*
Lambert, Andrew ''The Last Sailing Battlefleet, Maintaining Naval Mastery 1815-1850'', published Conway Maritime Press, 1991. .
*Childs, David (2009). Tudor Sea Power: The Foundation of Greatness. Seaforth Publishing. .
*Hamilton, Sir Richard Vesey (1896). Naval Administration: The Constitution, Character, and Functions of the Board of Admiralty, and of the Civil Departments it Directs. G. Bell and Sons. London.
*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. .
*''Principal officers and commissioners'', Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 7: Navy Board Officials 1660-1832 (1978), pp. 18–25. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=16833.
Attribution
This article contains text from this source http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C712, which is available under th
Open Government Licence v3.0 © Crown copyright.
{{Board of Admiralty, state=collapsed
S
1546 establishments in England
1869 disestablishments in the United Kingdom