The vice-admiralties of the coast were posts established in each of the twenty maritime counties of England, the North and South of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2 ...

, and the four provinces of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. The officer holders, designated as "vice-admirals", were responsible for naval administration in their county, and were deputies of Lord High Admiral. A vice-admiral's responsibilities included, deciding the lawfulness of prizes 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, acting as a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility ...

and implementing the role of the Impress Service. The earliest record of an appointment was of William Gonson as Vice-Admiral of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North ...

and

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowesto ...

in 1536. From around 1560, vice-admirals of the coasts acquired a more public profile than they had enjoyed previously. In the second half of the sixteenth century they increasingly received orders from the

privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. In 1561, apparently for the first time,

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

addressed instructions directly to the vice-admirals. In 1660 their function came under the remit of the

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 ...

. There are also a few examples of the title Vice-Admiral of the West. It is not however clear whether this was a separate appointment or possibly some incorrect use of an older title being applied to the holders of the Cornwall or

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. Devon is a ...

post.

List of vice-admiralties

England

Vice-Admiral of Cheshire The holder of the post Vice-Admiral of Cheshire was responsible for the defence County of Cheshire, England. As a Vice-Admiral, the post holder was the chief of naval administration for his district. His responsibilities included pressing men ...

Vice-Admiral of Cornwall C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C" ...

(including the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of th ...

) *

Vice-Admiral of Cumberland The holder of the post Vice-Admiral of Cumberland was responsible for the defence of the county of Cumberland, England. As a Vice-Admiral, the post holder was the chief of naval administration for his district. His responsibilities included pr ...

Vice-Admiral of Devon 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 pres ...

Vice-Admiral of Dorset The Vice-Admiral of Dorset was responsible for the defence of the County of Dorset, England. As a Vice-Admiral, the post holder was the chief of naval administration for his district. His responsibilities included pressing men for naval service ...

Vice-Admiral of Durham The Vice-Admiral of the coast of Durham was responsible for the defence County Durham, England. History As a Vice-Admiral, the post holder was the chief of naval administration for his district. His responsibilities included pressing men for na ...

Vice-Admiral of Essex The Vice-Admiral of Essex was responsible for the defence of the county of Essex, 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 ...

* Vice-Admiral of Gloucester *

Vice-Admiral of Hampshire The Vice-Admiral of Hampshire was responsible for the defence of the county of Hampshire, England. History As a vice-admiral, the post holder was the chief of naval administration for his district. His responsibilities included pressing men f ...

(including the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

) * Vice-Admiral of Kent *

Vice-Admiral of Lancashire This is a list of people who have served as Vice-Admiral of Lancashire. ;Lancashire and Cheshire *Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby bef. 1569–1572 *Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby 1573–1593 *Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby 1593–15 ...

* Vice-Admiral of Lincolnshire * Vice-Admiral of Norfolk *

Vice-Admiral of Northumberland This is a list of people who have served as Vice-Admiral of Northumberland. * Reginald Beseley 1559–? (also Vice-Admiral of Yorkshire, 1559–1563, Vice-Admiral of Durham 1559–1563, Vice-Admiral of Cumberland 1559-1563 and Vice-Admir ...

* Vice-Admiral of Somerset *

Vice-Admiral of Suffolk S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. History ...

* Vice-Admiral of Sussex * Vice-Admiral of Westmorland * Vice-Admiral of Yorkshire

Wales

* Vice-Admiral of North Wales *

Vice-Admiral of South Wales The Vice-Admiral of South Wales was responsible for the coastal defence of South Wales. History As a vice-admiral, the post holder was the chief of naval administration for his district. His responsibilities included pressing men for naval serv ...

* Vice-Admiral of Carmarthen * Vice-Admiral of Pembroke

Scotland

Vice-Admiral of Scotland The Lord High Admiral of Scotland was one of the Great Officers of State of the Kingdom of Scotland before the Union with England in 1707. The office was one of considerable power, also known as ''Royal Scottish Admiralty'', including command ...

* Vice-Admiral of Orkney and Shetland * Vice-Admiral of the Western Coast

Ireland

* Vice-Admiral of Ireland * Vice-Admiral of Connaught * Vice-Admiral of Leinster * Vice-Admiral of Munster * Vice-Admiral of Ulster

References

External links

Lists of post holders for each county are to be found as follows:
1558-1660

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vice-Admirals of the Coast * *