Admiralty administration 1783-1806

Abstract

This thesis examines the professional, political and social composition of the Admiralty Board, its secretariat, business and financial methods and office routine between 1783 and 1806, Membership of the Board was confined to younger sons of politically powerful aristocrats and seamen of political importance or professional reputation. Most civil lords moved to other departments after short terms at the Admiralty. For seamen a seat at the Board was often the culmination of a career. The secretaries and chief clerks, possessing a life time's experience of affairs, were of prime importance in office routine. The Admiralty was an executive branch of government with extensive patronage but limited machinery. It controlled the weapon the Cabinet directed, but the feeding and clothing of that weapon was the responsibility of subordinate offices, chiefly the Navy and Victualling Boards, often virtually autonomous, on whom the Admiralty relied for professional advice. The First Lord was an important Cabinet minister and the Admiralty co-operated with the major government departments. Personal relationships between departmental heads and secretaries, often made easier by a similar social background, were all important to facilitate business in the web of ancient government practice. Only occasionally did politics make the Admiralty a storm centre, leading to the downfall of ministries and the political ruin of the First Lord as in 1804-6.The Admiralty's attitude to its employees was paternalistic. There was an improvement in conditions of work, pay and pensions by 1806 and a greater emphasis on regular attendance and efficiency by 1806, thanks to the reports of several Parliamentary commissions of inquiry into Admiralty affairs, and to the work of individual First Lords, especially Lords St. Vincent and Barham.