The holder of the post Vice-Admiral of Devon was responsible for the defence of the county of Devon, England.

History

As a Vice-Admiral, the post holder was the chief of naval administration for his district. His responsibilities included pressing men for naval service, deciding the lawfulness of

prizes A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

(captured by

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s), dealing with salvage claims for wrecks and acting as a judge. The earliest record of an appointment was of George Basset 1558. In 1863 the Registrar of the Admiralty Court stated that the offices had 'for many years been purely honorary' (HCA 50/24 pp. 235-6). Appointments were made by the Lord High Admiral when this officer existed. When the admiralty was in commission appointments were made by the crown by letters patent under the seal of the admiralty court.

Vice-Admirals of Devon

This is a list of people who have been Vice-Admiral of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. Between 1603 and 1623, a separate command existed for North Devon. * George Basset 1558 * John Courtenay 1558–1560 ''with'' *

Robert Yeo Robert Yeo (born Robert Yeo Cheng Chuan; 1940) is a Singaporean poet, playwright and novelist. Career Yeo is a retired lecturer of the National Institute of Education and Nanyang Technological University. In 2011, he is a teacher of creative wri ...

1558–1560 * George Basset 1560 *

1560–1562 * Sir Arthur Champernowne 1562–1578 * Robert Hill 1578–1582 *''vacant''? * Edward Seymour bef. 1584–1585? * Sir Walter Raleigh 1585–1603 * Sir Richard Hawkins 1603–August 1606, April 1607–1610 *

Sir Richard Cowper ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

1610–1615 * Sir Lewis Stukley 1615–1619 *

Sir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet (c. 1580 – 5 October 1659) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1601 and 1625. He was an ambassador to Denmark. During the English Civil War, he supported the Roya ...

1619–1622 * Sir John Eliot 1622–1626 *

Sir John Drake ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

1626–1628 ''with'' * Sir James Bagg 1626–1638 ''with'' *

bef. 1634–1642 ''with'' * John Harris 1638–1642 *''vacant'' * Sir John Berkeley 1644 (Royalist) * John Waddon 1644 (Parliamentarian) * John Eliot 1645–1655 (Parliamentarian) * Henry Hatsell 1655–1660 (Parliamentarian) * John Eliot 1660 (Parliamentarian) * Sir Hugh Pollard, 2nd Baronet 1660–1666 *

Sir John Fowell, 2nd Baronet Sir John Fowell, 2nd Baronet (14 August 1623 – 8 January 1677) of Fowelscombe in the parish of Ugborough in Devon, was thrice elected a Member of Parliament for Ashburton in Devon, between 1659 and 1677. He fought in the Parliamentary arm ...

1666–1677 *

Sir Edward Seymour, 3rd Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, 3rd Baronet (10 September 1610 – 4 December 1688) of Berry Pomeroy Castle was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1688. He fought for the Royalist cause in the English ...

1677–1688 * George Courtenay 1689–1715 * Sir Francis Drake, 3rd Baronet 1715–1717 * Jonathan Elford 1718–1727 *

Theophilus Fortescue Theophilus Fortescue (1707–1746), of Castle Hill, Filleigh, near Barnstaple, Devon, was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1727 to 1746. Fortescue was the third son of Hugh Fortescue, MP of Filleigh and his first wif ...

1727–1746 *''vacant'' *

John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, (30 September 17105 January 1771) was an 18th-century British statesman.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peer ...

1761–1771 *''vacant'' *

Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue (12 March 1753 – 16 June 1841) was a British peer, created Earl Fortescue in 1789. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Beaumaris from 1784 to 1785. Origins He was the son of Matthew Fortescue, 2nd ...

1831–1839 *

Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue KG, PC (13 February 1783 – 14 September 1861), styled Viscount Ebrington from 1789 to 1841, was a British Whig politician. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1839 to 1841. Background and educa ...

1839–1861

Vice-Admirals of North Devon

William Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bath William Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bath (29 Sep 1557 – 12 July 1623) was Lord Lieutenant of Devon. His seat was at Tawstock Court, three miles south of Barnstaple in North Devon, which he rebuilt in the Elizabethan style in 1574, the date being ...

1603–1623

References

External links

Institute of Historical Research
{{Vice-Admiralties of the Coast Vice-Admirals D