Victualling Commissioners
Encyclopedia
The Commissioners for the victualling of the Navy, often called Victualling Commissioners, were the body responsible under the Navy Board
for victualling
ships of the British Royal Navy
.
. Though nominally under the direction of the Navy Board
, the Victualling Board was effectively independent.
, and laid down strict criteria on the quality of the provisions it required. In the 1660s Samuel Pepys
reformed the system of having a Purser
assigned to each ship to oversee the distribution of supplies, and obliged each one to lodge a cash surety, and to keep complete accounts of every item issued, in an attempt to stamp out the fairly commonplace corruption that had been notorious. (In 1658 the crew of HMS Maidstone
had demolished the Victualling Office at Rochester in protest at the foul quality of the food. Their captain Thomas Penrose refused to name any of the culprits.) Though by no means perfect the system generally improved, and if the food was of poor quality, at least there was plenty of it. The Victualling Board built breweries, slaughterhouses, and bakeries near to Navy Yard
s to provide beer, salted meat and ship's biscuit, and modern research has shown that during the period of the Napoleonic Wars
only about 1% of supplies were actually condemned as unfit to eat.
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...
for victualling
Provisioning (disambiguation)
The term provisioning can refer to:* in telecommunications:**Provisioning, equipping a telecommunications network* in shipping:**Provisioning, stocking materials or supplies; especially food...
ships of the British Royal 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...
.
Creation
Previous to this supplies had been provided by outside contractors, but they were of such poor quality that the government was forced to take control in order to effectively engage in the wars against the DutchAnglo-Dutch Wars
The Anglo–Dutch Wars were a series of wars fought between the English and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries for control over the seas and trade routes. The first war took place during the English Interregnum, and was fought between the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic...
. Though nominally under the direction 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...
, the Victualling Board was effectively independent.
Course
From 1654 it had its headquarters at Tower HillTower Hill
Tower Hill is an elevated spot northwest of the Tower of London, just outside the limits of the City of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formerly it was part of the Tower Liberty under the direct administrative control of Tower...
, and laid down strict criteria on the quality of the provisions it required. In the 1660s Samuel Pepys
Samuel 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...
reformed the system of having a Purser
Purser
The purser joined the warrant officer ranks of the Royal Navy in the early fourteenth century and existed as a Naval rank until 1852. The development of the warrant officer system began in 1040 when five English ports began furnishing warships to King Edward the Confessor in exchange for certain...
assigned to each ship to oversee the distribution of supplies, and obliged each one to lodge a cash surety, and to keep complete accounts of every item issued, in an attempt to stamp out the fairly commonplace corruption that had been notorious. (In 1658 the crew of HMS Maidstone
HMS Mary Rose (1654)
The Maidstone was a 40-gun fourth-rate frigate of the English Royal Navy, originally built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England at Woodbridge, and launched in 1654....
had demolished the Victualling Office at Rochester in protest at the foul quality of the food. Their captain Thomas Penrose refused to name any of the culprits.) Though by no means perfect the system generally improved, and if the food was of poor quality, at least there was plenty of it. The Victualling Board built breweries, slaughterhouses, and bakeries near to Navy Yard
Navy Yard
Navy Yard may refer to:* Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts* Brooklyn Navy Yard, the New York Naval Shipyard* Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina* San Francisco Naval Shipyard, California* Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California...
s to provide beer, salted meat and ship's biscuit, and modern research has shown that during the period of 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...
only about 1% of supplies were actually condemned as unfit to eat.
Abolition
Eventually in 1832 the Victualling Board as a separate entity was abolished and its functions were assumed by the Board of Admiralty.Sources
- N. A. M. Rodger, The Command of The Ocean - A Naval History of Britain : Volume II 1649-1815 (Penguin ISBN 0-713-99411-8)