Civilian officer of the Royal Navy
Sir Henry Parnell was the last Treasurer of the Navy
The Treasurer of the Navy ,[ 1] originally called Treasurer of Marine Causes [ 2] or Paymaster of the Navy ,[ 3] was a civilian officer of the Royal Navy , one of the principal commissioners of the Navy Board responsible for naval finance[ 4] from 1524 to 1832. The treasurer was based at the Navy Pay Office .
History
Originally established in 1524, the first holder of the post was William Gonson ; he held the office for twenty years until 1544.[ 5] Although a member of the board, his office was semi-autonomous. The office-holder was responsible for the direction and control of the finance of the Royal Navy . The office was a political appointment and frequently was held by up-and-coming young politicians who would later go on to hold more important positions. Before 1832 all accounts were dealt with by a number of different offices and officials. The Treasurer of the Navy originated during the reign of Henry VIII . He was the senior member of the Navy Board responsible for all Navy accounts; he gradually withdrew during the seventeenth century from the board's day-to-day affairs and his office, and the Navy Pay Office, came to be regarded as entirely separate from the Navy Office. The Treasurer of the Navy survived the re-organisational changes of 1832, but the office was abolished in 1835 and its duties were transferred to the Paymaster General's ' Office.
Treasurers of the Navy 1524–1836
Notable holders of this post included:[ 6]
Service
Name
Notes
1524–October 1544
Vice-Admiral, Sir William Gonson
[ 7] [ 8]
October 1544–December 1545
Captain John Wynter
merchant and sea-captain of Bristol[ 9]
25 Apr 1546–8 Jul 1549
Robert Legge
8 Jul 1549–18 Nov 1577
Benjamin Gonson [ 10]
18 Nov 1577–26 Nov 1577
Benjamin Gonson and John Hawkins
26 Nov 1577–12 Nov 1595
John Hawkins
Knighted 26 July 1588
22 Dec 1598–26 Apr 1604
Fulk Greville [ 11]
26 Apr 1604–11 May 1618
Sir Robert Mansell
11 May 1618–5 Apr 1627
Sir William Russell
created baronet 12 March 1627
5 Apr 1627–21 Jan 1630
Sackville Crowe
created baronet 8 July 1627
1630–1639
Sir William Russell
1639–1642
Sir William Russell and Henry Vane
1642–1646
Sir William Russell and Sir John Penington (Royalist )
1646–1654
Sir William Russell (Royalist)
1645–1650
Sir Henry Vane (Parliamentary )
1648–1650
Richard Fanshawe (Royalist)
1651–1660
Richard Hutchinson (Parliamentary)
1660–1667
Sir George Carteret
1667–1668
Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey
1668–1671
Sir Thomas Osborne and Sir Thomas de Littelton, Bt
1671–1673
Sir Thomas Osborne
1673–1681
Edward Seymour
1681–1689
Anthony Carey, 5th Viscount Falkland
1689–1699
Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford
1699–1710
Sir Thomas de Littleton
1710–1711
Robert Walpole
1711–1714
Charles Caesar
1714–1718
John Aislabie
1718–1720
Richard Hampden
1720–1724
George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington
1724–1734
Pattee Byng, 2nd Viscount Torrington
1734–1742
Arthur Onslow
1742
Thomas Clutterbuck
1742–1743
Sir Charles Wager
1743–1744
Sir John Rushout, 4th Baronet
1744–1749
George Bubb Dodington
1749–1754
Henry Legge
1754–1756
George Grenville
1756
George Bubb Dodington
1756–1762
George Grenville
1762–1765
William Wildman Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington
1765–1770
Richard Howe, 4th Viscount Howe
1770–1777
Sir Gilbert Elliot, 3rd Bt
1777–1782
Welbore Ellis
1782
Isaac Barré
1782–1783
Henry Dundas
1783–1784
Charles Townshend
1784–1800
Henry Dundas
Except 1 January 1786 – 18 August 1802
1800–1801
Dudley Ryder
1801–1803
Charles Bragge
1803–1804
George Tierney
1804–1806
George Canning
1806–1807
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
1807–1818
George Rose
1818–1823
Frederick John Robinson
1823–1827
William Huskisson
1827–1828
Charles Grant
1828–1830
William Vesey Fitzgerald
1830
Thomas Frankland Lewis
1830–1834
Charles Poulett Thomson
1834–1835
William Lowther, Viscount Lowther
1835–1836
Sir Henry Parnell
Departments and offices under Treasurer
Included:
References
^ Mackenzie, Sir George (1 January 1821). "The Royal naval and military calendar: and national record for 1821" . Google Books . Printed for the author. Retrieved 28 February 2017 .
^ Knighton, C. S.; Loades, David (2016). Elizabethan Naval Administration . Routledge. p. 5. ISBN 9781317145035 .
^ Knighton, C. S.; Loades, D. M. (2011). The Navy of Edward VI and Mary I . Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 570. ISBN 9781409418474 .
^ "Navy Board: Navy Pay Office: Treasurer's Out-Letters" . discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk . National Archives, 1807–1830, ADM 15. Retrieved 28 February 2017 .
^ Hill Miller, Helen (1985). Captains from Devon: the great Elizabethan seafarers who won the oceans for England . Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. p. 33 . ISBN 9780912697277 .
^ Sainty, J. C. (January 2003). "Navy Treasurer c. 1546–1836" . www.history.ac.uk . Institute of Historical Research, University of London. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018.
^ Knighton, C. S.; Loades, D. M. (2011). The Navy of Edward VI and Mary I . Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 570. ISBN 9781409418474 .
^ Miller, Helen Hill (1985). Captains from Devon : the great Elizabethan seafarers who won the oceans for England . Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. p. 33 . ISBN 9780912697277 .
^ Knighton, C. S.; Loades, D. M. (2011). The Navy of Edward VI and Mary I . Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 570. ISBN 9781409418474 .
^ Bennell, John (2004). "Gonson, William (d. 1544)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi :10.1093/ref:odnb/47400 . (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ "Greville, Fulke (GRVL568F)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
^ Cock, Randolph; Rodger, N. A. M. "A Guide to the Naval Records in the National Archives" (PDF) . humanities.exeter.ac.uk . University of London. p. 221. Retrieved 8 January 2019 .
Sources
External links
Principal officers
Lieutenant of the Admiralty , (1546-1564)
Treasurer of Marine Causes , (1546-1564)
Comptroller of the Navy , (1546-1660)
Surveyor of the Navy , (1546-1832)
Clerk of the Navy , (1546-1660)
Master of Naval Ordnance , (1546-1589)
Keeper of the Storehouses , (1546-1560)
Surveyor of Marine Victuals , (1550-1679)
Treasurer of the Navy and Senior Commissioner , (1564-1660)
Comptroller of the Navy and Chairman of the Board , (1660-1832)
Treasurer of the Navy , (1660-1832)
Clerk of the Acts , (1660-1796)
Controller of Treasurer Accounts , (1667-1796)
Controller of Victualling Accounts , (1667-1796)
Controller of Storekeepers Accounts , (1671-1796)
Comptroller of Victualling and Transport Services , (1800-1832)
Commissioners for Current Business , (1686-1688)
Commissioners for Old Accounts , 1686-1688)
Commissioners for Examining Accounts (Incurred) , (1688-1689)
Deputy Comptroller of the Navy , (1793-1813), (1829-1832)
Pay Commissioner , (1796-1814)
Civil Architect and Engineer of the Navy , (1808-1812)
Surveyor of Buildings , (1813-1832)
Surveyor of Dockyards , (1813-1832)
Accountant-General of the Navy , (1829-32)
Superintendent of Transport , (1829-1831)
Storekeeper-General of the Navy , (1829-32)
Subsidiary boards Resident Commissioners of the navy home yards
Resident Commissioner, Chatham Dockyard , (1631-1829)
Resident Commissioner, Portsmouth Dockyard , (1649-1829)
Resident Commissioner, Woolwich Dockyard ,(1688-1828)
Resident Commissioner, Plymouth Dockyard , (1691-1822)
Resident Commissioner, Deptford Dockyard , (1714-1823)
Resident Commissioner, Sheerness Dockyard , (1793-1822)
Resident Commissioner, Devonport Dockyard , (1823-1832)
Resident Commissioners of the navy overseas yards
Resident Commissioner, Jamaica Yard , (1675-1832)
Resident Commissioner, Cadiz Yard, (1694)
Resident Commissioner, Bombay Yard
Resident Commissioner, Kinsale Yard , (1694-1713)
Resident Commissioner, Gibraltar Yard , (1704-1832)
Resident Commissioner, Antigua Yard , (1707-1832)
Resident Commissioner, Ascension Yard , (1728-1832)
Resident Commissioner, Port Mahon Yard , (1742-1763)
Resident Commissioner, Halifax Yard , (1759-1832)
Resident Commissioner, Barbados Yard , (1779-1783, 1810)
Resident Commissioner, Kingston Yard , (1783-1832)
Resident Commissioner, Ajaccio Yard , (1794-1799)
Resident Commissioner, Bermuda Dockyard , (1795-1832)
Resident Commissioner, Amherstburg Yard , (1796-1813)
Resident Commissioner, Quebec Yard , (1804-1826)
Resident Commissioner, Malta Dockyard , (1805-1832)
Resident Commissioner, Madras Yard , (1808-1817)
Resident Commissioner, Cape of Good Hope Yard , (1808-1822)
Resident Commissioner, Bombay Dockyard , (1808-1816)
Resident Commissioner, Trincomalee Dockyard , (1810-1832)
Offices under the principal officers