Navy Board was the commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832.
| FactSnippet No. 2,232,109 |
10 Facts About Navy Board
2.
Origins of the Navy Board can be traced back to the 13th century via the office Keeper of the King's Ports and Galleys; later known as the Clerk of the King's Ships.
| FactSnippet No. 2,232,110 |
3.
The Lieutenant of the Admiralty, Treasurer of Marine Causes and Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy Board were all added in 1544, and a seventh officer, the Master of Naval Ordnance a year later.
| FactSnippet No. 2,232,111 |
4.
The Navy Board remained independent until 1628, when it became a subsidiary body of the Board of Admiralty now reporting to the First Lord of the Admiralty.
| FactSnippet No. 2,232,112 |
5.
In 1660 the Treasurer of the Navy ceased to direct the board and was replaced by the Comptroller who now held the new joint title of Chairman of the Board.
| FactSnippet No. 2,232,113 |
6.
Note: The Navy Pay Office was independent of the Board; though the Board's Commissioners were required to authorize payments, all funds were held and issued by the Pay Office.
| FactSnippet No. 2,232,114 |
7.
Instrumental in the early administration of the Navy Board Office were between four and seven "Principal Officers" though some were styled differently prior to 1660.
| FactSnippet No. 2,232,115 |
8.
Normally resident at their respective dockyards and thus known as resident commissioners, these commissioners did not normally attend the board's meetings in London; nevertheless, they were considered full members of the Navy Board and carried the full authority of the board when implementing or making decisions within their respective yards both at home and overseas.
| FactSnippet No. 2,232,116 |
9.
In particular, the committee noted the Navy Board had long since abandoned financial controls; that it had instead "established a scale of expense greatly beyond what existed during former periods of peace, " and that its operations tended to "exalt its own importance" over the needs of the public service as a whole.
| FactSnippet No. 2,232,117 |
10.
An amendment proposed by First Sea Lord Sir George Cockburn suggested that Navy Board be preserved and only the Victualling Board abolished, but this was defeated by 118 votes to 50.
| FactSnippet No. 2,232,118 |