Admiralty

The administration of the Navy 1688-1832 was controlled by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty and the Navy Board. With occasional exceptions, the number of Lords Commissioners varied between five and seven. According to the Admiralty patent, orders had to be signed by at least 3 members of the board, that number having authority "to be everything which belongs to the office of our Lord High Admiral". Sometimes for greater speed, an order was signed and dispatched by the secretary, but it was followed by an order in due form as soon as the board met, back dated to cover action which had taken place on the secretary's order.

The Navy Board, which was set up by Henry VIII in 1546, was responsible for the building and repair of ships and the maintenance of the dockyards, as well as the appointment of warrant and junior officers. Its responsibilities were divided between four principal officers, resident in London. These were the Comptroller, the Surveyor and the Treasurer and the Clerk of the Acts, and the three dockyard commissioners at Portsmouth, Chatham and Plymouth. Extra commissioners were sometimes appointed. Within the organisation of the Navy Office, there were several departments, such as the Ticket Office, the Slop Office, the Office for Stores and the Marine Office, some of them being housed in separate buildings. In 1788 the staff of the Navy Office was five times as large as that of the Admiralty.

The pressure of business caused by war was responsible for the creation of further departments, some of which were retained in the eighteenth century even in times of peace. A Board of Commissioners for Victualling was set up in 1683 and this body which usually consisted of seven commissioners remained responsible for the victualling of the navy until the reforms of 1832. The Commissioners for taking care of the sick and wounded seamen continued to function after the peace of 1714, though their number was reduced from four to two, and in the subsequent wars of the eighteenth century were also responsible for prisoners of war. In 1788 the latter function was transferred to the Transport Board, which had operated from 1690-1724 and was revived in 1794. This board took over the remaining duties of the commissioners for sick and wounded seaman in 1806, the number of its commissioners being increased then from four to six.

The administration of public offices were made the subject of an inquiry in 1786 but the reports were not published until 1806. Some alterations were made at the end of the century and for a time the Navy Board was organised on the committee system, but this was found to be unsuccessful. In 1817 the number of boards was reduced to three, by the absorption of the Transport Board into the Victualling Board. The Admiralty Act of 1832 abolished the three boards, the Admiralty Boards, the Navy Board and the Victualling Board, and concentrated all authority in the Board of Admiralty. The dockyard commissioners were replaced by superintendents.