Chatham Chest
Encyclopedia
The Chatham Chest was a fund set up around 1590 to pay pensions to disabled seamen. It was financed by members' contributions which were deducted from their pay, and has therefore been described as the world's first occupational pension scheme. The assets of the scheme were held in an actual chest which is also called the Chatham Chest. The Chest was previously located in the National Maritime Museum
at Greenwich
, London
., and is now on display at The Museum of the Royal Dockyard, in Chatham Historic Dockyard
.
petitioned Queen Elizabeth
for relief and maintenance. Although the Chest was financed at first entirely by members' contributions of sixpence per month, the Government had to give a pay rise first. The main credit for founding it probably belongs to Charles Howard
, Lord Howard of Effingham (1536–1624), the Lord High Admiral of England. Pensions were granted on a fixed scale, the amounts of which ranged from £6.13s.4d per annum for the loss of a limb to £15 per annum for the loss of both arms. In addition each pensioner was granted an immediate lump sum, generally equal to one year's pension, called "smart money".
, Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board, took a great interest in the affairs of the Chest and reported in his diary (18 June 1667) that there was no money to pay the pensioners 'at their public pay the 14th of this month, which will make us a scorn to the world'. However, the money was found and taken down the Thames by barge to Chatham, and the immediate crisis was staved off. From about 1673 onwards it became tacitly accepted that the Government would meet the excess of expenditure over income each year on a "pay as you go" basis. This principle remained in force, though sometimes the Government was late in paying and pensions fell into arrears. In 1690 some pensions were as much as three years outstanding. The Chest experienced a substantial increase in the number of pensioners during the Napoleonic Wars
, rising to 5,205 in 1802.
in 1803 the Chest was merged with Greenwich Hospital. The merger was completed in 1814, by which time the Chest had existed for 224 years and had been an undoubted success, helping to meet the needs of poor people whose physical handicap made the struggle for survival even harder than usual.
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
at Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
., and is now on display at The Museum of the Royal Dockyard, in Chatham Historic Dockyard
Chatham Historic Dockyard
Chatham Historic Dockyard is a maritime museum on part of the site of the former royal/naval dockyard at Chatham in Kent, England.Chatham Dockyard covered 400 acres and was one of the Royal Navy's main facilities for several hundred years until it was closed in 1984. After closure the dockyard was...
.
Origin
Originally conceived as a charity, the Chest was established after many seamen who had been disabled in the war against SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
petitioned Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
for relief and maintenance. Although the Chest was financed at first entirely by members' contributions of sixpence per month, the Government had to give a pay rise first. The main credit for founding it probably belongs to Charles Howard
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham , known as Howard of Effingham, was an English statesman and Lord High Admiral under Elizabeth I and James I...
, Lord Howard of Effingham (1536–1624), the Lord High Admiral of England. Pensions were granted on a fixed scale, the amounts of which ranged from £6.13s.4d per annum for the loss of a limb to £15 per annum for the loss of both arms. In addition each pensioner was granted an immediate lump sum, generally equal to one year's pension, called "smart money".
Difficulties
During its long life the Chest experienced many difficulties. In the early days income exceeded expenditure and the balance was invested in property. However, it was not always easy to ensure that the contributions deducted from seamen's pay at the end of voyages actually reached the Chest. By 1660 the Chest had serious financial problems, because the number of pensioners had increased during the First Dutch War and the war against Spain, but when peace returned and the ships were paid off, the Chest's income dramatically decreased. The first expedient adopted was to offer pensioners voluntary commutation of their pensions, based on 2 years' purchase, but still the Chest found it difficult to pay the remaining pensions. Samuel PepysSamuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
, Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board, took a great interest in the affairs of the Chest and reported in his diary (18 June 1667) that there was no money to pay the pensioners 'at their public pay the 14th of this month, which will make us a scorn to the world'. However, the money was found and taken down the Thames by barge to Chatham, and the immediate crisis was staved off. From about 1673 onwards it became tacitly accepted that the Government would meet the excess of expenditure over income each year on a "pay as you go" basis. This principle remained in force, though sometimes the Government was late in paying and pensions fell into arrears. In 1690 some pensions were as much as three years outstanding. The Chest experienced a substantial increase in the number of pensioners during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, rising to 5,205 in 1802.
Merger
Following an Act of ParliamentAct of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in 1803 the Chest was merged with Greenwich Hospital. The merger was completed in 1814, by which time the Chest had existed for 224 years and had been an undoubted success, helping to meet the needs of poor people whose physical handicap made the struggle for survival even harder than usual.