Surveyor of the Navy
Encyclopedia
The Surveyor to the Navy was a civilian officer in the Royal Navy
. He was a member of the Navy Board
from the inauguration of that body in 1546, and held overall responsibility for the design of British warships, although until 1745 the actual design work for warships built at each Royal Dockyard was primarily the responsibility of the individual Master Shipwright at that Royal Dockyard. For vessels built by commercial contract (limied to wartime periods, when the Royal Dockyards could not cope with the volume of work), the Surveyor's office drew the designs to which the private shipbuilders were required to build the vessels. From 1745 design responsibility was centred in the Surveyor's office, with the Master Shipwrights in the Dockyard responsible for implementation. In 1859 the post of Surveyor of the Navy was changed to Controller of the Navy
.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. He was a member of the Navy Board
Navy Board
The Navy Board is today the body responsible for the day-to-day running of the British Royal Navy. Its composition is identical to that of the Admiralty Board of the Defence Council of the United Kingdom, except that it does not include any of Her Majesty's Ministers.From 1546 to 1831, the Navy...
from the inauguration of that body in 1546, and held overall responsibility for the design of British warships, although until 1745 the actual design work for warships built at each Royal Dockyard was primarily the responsibility of the individual Master Shipwright at that Royal Dockyard. For vessels built by commercial contract (limied to wartime periods, when the Royal Dockyards could not cope with the volume of work), the Surveyor's office drew the designs to which the private shipbuilders were required to build the vessels. From 1745 design responsibility was centred in the Surveyor's office, with the Master Shipwrights in the Dockyard responsible for implementation. In 1859 the post of Surveyor of the Navy was changed to Controller of the Navy
Third Sea Lord
The Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy was formerly the Naval Lord and member of the Board of Admiralty responsible for procurement and matériel in the British Royal Navy...
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List of Surveyors 1546-1859
In date order (note that the post of Surveyor was frequently shared, which enabled the Admiralty to have competitive designs prepared for evaluation):- Benjamin Gonson 24 April 1546.
- Sir William Wynter 8 July 1549.
- Sir Henry PalmerHenry Palmer (Royal Navy officer)-Life:His family was from Tottington by Aylesford. He is first mentioned as commanding a squadron of the queen's ships on the coast of Flanders in 1576. From that time he was constantly employed in the queen's service. In 1580 and following years he was a commissioner for the repair and maintenance...
11 July 1589. - Sir John TrevorJohn Trevor (1563-1630)Sir John Trevor was a Welsh politician.He was the second son of John Trevor of Trevalyn, Denbighshire, and the younger brother of Richard Trevor and older brother of Thomas Trevor and Sackville Trevor.He served Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, as did his brothers Richard and...
20 December 1598. - Sir Richard Bingley 1611.
- Thomas Norreys 12 February 1619.
- Joshua Downing 1625.
- Sir Thomas AylesburyThomas AylesburyThomas Aylesbury may refer to:* Sir Thomas Aylesbury, 1st Baronet *Thomas Aylesbury...
1628. - Kenrick Edisbury 19 December 1632.
- William BattenWilliam BattenSir William Batten was an English naval officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1667.Batten was the son of Andrew Batten, master in the Royal Navy. In 1625 he was stated to be one of the commanders of two ships sent on a whaling voyage to Spitsbergen by the Yarmouth...
26 September 1638. - John HollandJohn HollandJohn Holland may refer to:*Sir John Holland, 1st Baronet , English politician*Sir John Holland, 2nd Baronet , British politician*John Holland, on the Los Angeles County Civil Defense and Disaster Commission in 1960s...
16 February 1649. - George Payler 1654.
- Sir William BattenWilliam BattenSir William Batten was an English naval officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1667.Batten was the son of Andrew Batten, master in the Royal Navy. In 1625 he was stated to be one of the commanders of two ships sent on a whaling voyage to Spitsbergen by the Yarmouth...
20 June 1660. - Thomas Middleton 25 November 1667.
- Sir John Tippetts 5 September 1672.
- Edmund DummerEdmund Dummer (naval engineer)Edmund Dummer was an English naval engineer and shipbuilder who, as Surveyor of the Navy, founded the Royal Navy dockyard at , Plymouth and extended that at Portsmouth. His survey of the Royal Navy Dockyards is a valuable and well-known historic document...
9 August 1692. - Daniel Furzer 22 September 1699.
- Daniel Furzer and William LeeWilliam Lee-Miscellaneous:*William Lee , Roman Catholic bishop*William Lee , Roman Catholic bishop*William Lee , colonial writer and ship's captain...
(jointly) 19 October 1706. - Daniel Furzer (alone) 16 November 1714.
- Jacob Acworth 6 April 1715.
- Sir Jacob Acworth and Joseph Allin (jointly) 11 July 1745.
- Joseph Allin (alone) 16 March 1749.
- Thomas SladeThomas SladeSir Thomas Slade was an English naval architect, most famous for designing HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.-Career Outline:...
and William Bately (jointly) 4 September 1755. - Thomas Slade and John Williams (jointly) 28 June 1765.
- John Williams (alone) 22 February 1771.
- Sir John Williams and Edward HuntEdward HuntEdward Hunt arrived in Sydney in 1814 and soon rose to prominence in that city. He was a cabinet maker and involved in religious and charitable matters...
(jointly) 11 April 1778. - Edward Hunt and John HenslowJohn HenslowSir John Henslow was Surveyor to the Navy a post he held jointly or solely from 1784 to 1806.-Career:He was 7th child of John Henslow a master carpenter in the dockyard at Woolwich...
(jointly) 13 December 1784. - John Henslow (alone) 7 December 1786.
- John Henslow and William Rule (jointly) 11 February 1793.
- Sir William Rule and Henry Peake (jointly) 20 June 1806.
- Joseph Tucker and Robert SeppingsRobert SeppingsSir Robert Seppings FRS was an English naval architect.Seppings was born at Fakenham, Norfolk, and in 1782 was apprenticed in Plymouth dockyard...
(jointly) 14 June 1813. (Seppings became Sir Robert Seppings from 20 February 1822. - Sir Robert Seppings (alone) 1 March 1831.
- William SymondsWilliam SymondsSir William Symonds FRS was "Surveyor of the Navy" in the Royal Navy from 9 June 1832 to October 1847, and took part in the naval reforms instituted by the Whig First Lord of the Admiralty Sir James Robert George Graham in 1832.-Early life:He was the second son...
9 June 1832. (Symonds became Sir William Symonds in 1836.) - Sir Baldwin Wake WalkerBaldwin Wake WalkerAdmiral Sir Baldwin Wake Walker, 1st Baronet KCB was Surveyor of the Navy from 1848 to 1861. and was responsible for the Royal Navy's warship construction programme during the 1850s naval arms race and at the time of the introduction of the Ironclad warship; it was his decision to build HMS...
5 February 1848.