The Comptroller of the Navy originally called the Clerk Comptroller of the Navy was originally a principal member of the English Navy Royal, and later the British

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 F ...

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 1512 until 1832, the Comptroller was mainly responsible for all British naval spending and directing the business of the Navy Board from 1660 as its

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

. The position was abolished in 1832 when the Navy Board was merged into 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 ...

. The comptroller was based at the Navy Office.

History

The post was originally created in 1512 during the reign of

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 the ''Clerk Comptroller'' until 1545 in 1561 the name was changed to ''Comptroller of the Navy''. He presided over the Board from 1660, and generally superintended the business of the Navy Office, and was responsible for the offices dealing with bills, accounts and wages during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. By the eighteenth century the principal officer responsible for estimating annual stores requirements, inspecting ships' stores and maintaining the Fleet's store-books and repair-bills was the

Surveyor of the Navy 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 from the inauguration of that body in 15 ...

; however, his duties passed increasingly to the Comptroller of the Navy during the latter half this period. The office of Surveyor did not altogether disappear. In 1832 the Comptroller's department was abolished following a merger of the Navy Board with the

and the Surveyor was made the officer responsible under the First Naval Lord for the material departments, and became an adviser to the Board of Admiralty. In 1860 the name of the office was changed to Controller of the Navy and in 1869 his office 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 ...

and then became known as Third Naval Lord and Controller of the Navy, he became independent of the First Naval Lord and himself a member of the Board of Admiralty. This article contains text from this source, which is available under th
Open Government Licence v3.0
© Crown copyright.

Office holders

Included:

Clerk Comptrollers of the Navy

John Hopton John Hopton (died 1558) was a 16th-century Roman Catholic Bishop of Norwich. He was a member of the Dominican Order by 1516, in Oxford. He was educated at the University of Bologna in Italy and at Oxford University, where he took a doctorate in ...

, 1512-1524 *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 ...

, 1524-1540 *John Osborne, 1540-1545 *William Broke, 1545-1561

Comptrollers of the Navy

* Vice-Admiral William Holstocke, 1561–1580 *

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 ...

, 1580–1598 * Sir Henry Palmer 1598– 20 November 1611 * Sir Guylford Slingsby, 1611–1618 :''Post in commission 1618–1628'' * Sir Guylford Slingsby 1628–1631 * Sir Henry Palmer, 1632–1641 * Vice-Admiral Sir George Carteret, 1641–1642 * Sir Robert Slingsby, 31 August 1660 - 26 October 1661 * Vice-Admiral Sir John Mennes, 28 November 1661 – 18 February 1671 * Admiral Sir Thomas Allin, 15 April 1671 – 28 January 1680 * Thomas Hayter, 28 January 1680 - 2 February 1682 * Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Haddock, 2 February 1682 – 17 April 1686 :''Post vacant 1686-1688'' * Admiral Sir Richard Haddock, 12 October 1688 – 26 January 1715 * Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Wager, 16 March 1715 – 23 April 1718 *Thomas Swanton, 23 April 1718 - 9 February 1723 * Vice Admiral James Mighells, 9 February 1723 – 21 March 1734 * Captain Richard Haddock, 27 April 1734 – 27 March 1749 * Captain Savage Mostyn, 27 March 1749 – 28 February 1755 * Commodore Edward Falkingham, 28 February 1755 - 25 November 1755 * Captain Charles Saunders, 25 November 1755 – 24 June 1756 * Captain Digby Dent, 24 June 1756 - 29 December 1756 * Captain George Cockburne, 29 December 1756 – 20 July 1770 * Captain Sir Hugh Palliser, 6 August 1770 – 12 April 1775 * Captain Maurice Suckling, 12 April 1775 – 14 July 1778 * Admiral Charles Middleton, 7 August 1778 – 29 March 1790 * Captain Sir Henry Martin, 29 March 1790 – 1 August 1794 * Captain Sir Andrew Hamond, 25 September 1794 – 3 March 1806 * Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Thompson, 3 March 1806 – 20 June 1806 * Admiral Sir Thomas Byam Martin, 20 June 1806 – 2 November 1831 * Rear-Admiral Hon. George Dundas, 2 November 1831 - June 1832 In 1832 the post of Comptroller of the Navy was abolished and duties passed to the Surveyor of the Navy.

References

Sources

* Childs. David (2009). Tudor Sea Power: The Foundation of Greatness. Seaforth Publishing. . * Collinge, J.M. (1978). Navy Board officials, 1660-1832 Volume 7 of Office-holders in modern Britain. London: University of London, Institute of Historical Research.

External links

* 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 {{Admiralty Department, state=collapsed C N 1561 establishments in England 1832 disestablishments in the United Kingdom