Government office overview | |
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Formed | 1546 |
Preceding Government office | |
Dissolved | 1835 |
Jurisdiction | Kingdom of England Kingdom of Great Britain |
Headquarters |
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Government office executive |
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Parent department | Navy Office |
The Navy Pay Office [1] also known as the Navy Treasury was established in 1546. The office was administered by the Treasurer of the Navy, and was semi-autonomous of the Navy Office. It existed until 1835 when all offices and accounting departments of the Royal Navy were unified into the Department of the Accountant-General of the Navy. The Navy Pay Office received money directly from HM Treasury. [2]
The Navy Pay Office (NPO) was established in 1546, it was administered by the Treasurer of the Navy and existed until 1835 when all finance and accounting offices and departments of the Royal Navy were centralized into a single department under the Accountant-General of the Navy. The office was responsible processing naval finance including payments to flag officers, other commissioned officers and non-commissioned naval personnel and including the Victualling Office. The work of its staff was divided into a number of branches with specific areas of responsibility, these were overseen by the paymaster of the navy, the inspector of seamen's wills and the captains comptrolling payments of ships at Portsmouth, Plymouth and the Nore. [3]
The Navy Pay Office (domain of the Treasurer of the Navy and the Paymaster of the Navy) was independent of the Navy Board; though the board's commissioners were required to authorize payments, all funds transferred from HM Treasury were held and issued by the Navy Pay Office (which was also known as the Naval Treasury).
The Navy Pay Office consisted of a number of specific departments and offices that included: [4] [5] [6]
Each branch within the Navy Pay Office was administered by a Chief Clerk each had a head cashier together with other supporting staff. [7]
The Treasurer of the Navy, originally called Treasurer of Marine Causes or Paymaster of the Navy, was a civilian officer of the Royal Navy, one of the principal commissioners of the Navy Board responsible for naval finance from 1524 to 1832. The treasurer was based at the Navy Pay Office.
The Navy Board and formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes was the commission with responsibility for day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headquartered within the Navy Office.
The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy. It was usually filled by a Member of Parliament. Although he attended Board of Admiralty meetings informally he was not made a full member of that Board until 1929. He served as the deputy to the First Lord of the Admiralty in Parliament and was mainly responsible for all naval finance and spending proposals from 1625 until 1959.
The Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office (1546-1707) originally known as the Admiralty Office (1414-1546) was a government office of the Kingdom of England and the English Navy's central command. It was first established in 1414 when the remaining regional admiralties, the Northern and Western were abolished and their functions were unified under a single centralized command. It was administered by the Office of the High Admiral of England, Ireland and Aquitaine later called the Lord Admiral of England. During the sixteenth century it oversaw the creation of standing "Navy Royal", with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, originated in the early 16th century during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, which saw privately owned ships combining with the Royal Navy in highly profitable raids against Spanish commerce and colonies. In 1588, Philip II of Spain sent the Spanish Armada against England to end English support for Dutch rebels, to stop English corsair activity and to depose the Protestant Elizabeth I and restore Catholicism to England. The Spaniards sailed from Lisbon, planning to escort an invasion force from the Spanish Netherlands but the scheme failed due to poor planning, English harrying, blocking action by the Dutch, and severe storms. A Counter Armada, known as the English Armada, was dispatched to the Iberian coast in 1589, but failed to drive home the advantage England had won upon the dispersal of the Spanish Armada in the previous year. The Admiralty of England existed until 1707 when Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland united to form the single Kingdom of Great Britain when it then became known as the Admiralty Department or Admiralty of Great Britain.
The Glorious Revolution of 1688 rearranged the political map of Europe, and led to a series of wars with France that lasted well over a century. This was the classic age of sail; while the ships themselves evolved in only minor ways, technique and tactics were honed to a high degree, and the battles of the Napoleonic Wars entailed feats that would have been impossible for the fleets of the 17th century. Because of parliamentary opposition, James II fled the country. The landing of William III and the Glorious Revolution itself was a gigantic effort involving 100 warships and 400 transports carrying 11,000 infantry and 4,000 horses. It was not opposed by the English or Scottish fleets.
The Department of the Accountant-General of the Navy also known as Accountant-General's Department was the department charged by the British Government with reviewing all naval estimates, conducting naval audits and processing payments. from 1829-1932.
The Clerk of the Acts, originally known as the Keeper of the King's Ports and Galleys, was a civilian officer in the Royal Navy and a principal member of the Navy Board. The office was created by King Charles II in 1660 and succeeded the earlier position of Clerk of the Navy(1546 to 1660). The Clerk was responsible for the organisation of Navy Office, processing naval contracts and coordinating the administrative and secretarial side of the Navy Board's work. The post lasted until 1796, when its duties were merged with that of the Second Secretary to the Admiralty later known as the Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty.
The Controller of Victualling Accounts also called Comptroller of Victualling Accounts was a civilian officer in the Royal Navy who was also a principal member of the Navy Board from 1667 until 1796, he was responsible for examining the accounts of bills made out by the Victualling Board on behalf of the Navy Board. He was based at the Navy Office. He superintended the Office for Examining Victualling Accounts
The Controller of Treasurer Accounts also called Comptroller of Treasurer Accounts was the civilian officer in the Royal Navy who was a principal member of the Navy Board initially from 1667 to 1679 and then again from 1691 until 1796, he was responsible for inspecting the accounts of the money received by and paid out of the Treasurer of the Navy's department on behalf of the Navy Board. He was based in the Navy Office
The Deputy Comptroller of the Navy was a principal member of the Navy Board of the Royal Navy who was responsible for chairing the Committee of Correspondence and managing all internal and external communications of the Navy Board from 1793 to 1816 and then again from 1829 to 1832. He was based at the Navy Office.
The Surveyor of Buildings also known as the Department of the Surveyor of Buildings was the civil officer initially a member of the Navy Board then later the Board of Admiralty responsible for superintending, maintaining and improving the British Royal Navy Dockyards, Naval Buildings, and Architectural Works of the Admiralty from 1812 to 1837.
The Victualling Department originally known as the Department of the Comptroller of Victualling and Transport Services or the Victualling Office, also known as the Department of the Director of Victualling was the British Admiralty department responsible for civil administration of Victualling Yards and the storing and supply of Naval Victuals for the Royal Navy from 1832 to 1964.
The Navy Office was the government office charged with responsibility for the day-to-day civil administration of the British Royal Navy from (1576-1832). It contained all the members of the Navy Board and various other departments and offices. The day-to-day business of the Navy Office was administered by Clerk of the Acts from 1660 until 1796, who was responsible for the organisation of the office and management of its staff. When his office was abolished his duties were assumed by separate committees for Accounts, Correspondence, Stores, Transports and Victualling who were, in turn, presided over by the Comptroller of the Navy until 1832. It was one of two government offices that were jointly responsible for directing naval affairs. In 1832 following reforms of the naval service the Navy Office was abolished all of its functions and staff were merged within the Admiralty.
The Marine Pay Department was formed in 1755, and replaced the earlier Marine Pay Office that was established in 1702. It was responsible for processing marines' pay to the Royal Marine Divisions located at Chatham, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Woolwich. The department was initially administered by the Paymaster of the Marines whose title later changed to the Paymaster and Inspector General of Marines. In 1809 it absorbed the secretariat duties of the Marine Department. The department existed until 1831 as part of the Royal Marine Office when it was abolished and its duties transferred to the Navy Pay Office.
The Solicitor to the Admiralty was established in 1692 as the Solicitor for the Affairs of the Admiralty and Navy. In 1828 his responsibilities to the office were widened when the post was renamed as the Solicitor to the Admiralty. The Solicitor to the Admiralty was the Department of Admiralty's chief legal adviser and legal practitioner who acted on its behalf until 1875 following the abolition of the High Court of the Admiralty.
The Ticket Office was established in 1660 as part of the Navy Office. It administered the payment of naval wages in conjunction with the Navy Pay Office until 1829, when it was merged with the Office for Seamen's Wages where it became the Ticket and Wages Branch.
The Paymaster of the Marines was established in 1831 following the abolition of Marine Pay Department within the Admiralty that had its own paymaster for the marines. This office holder was part of the Navy Pay Office under the Treasurer of the Navy. The post holder was responsible for processing payments to the Corps of the Royal Marines until the Navy Pay Office was abolished in 1832 as part of reforms of HM Naval Service.
Jamaica Dockyard also known as Port Royal Dockyard was a British Royal Navy Dockyard located at Port Royal, Jamaica. It was established 1675 and closed in 1905. The dockyard was initially administered by the Navy Board then later the Board of Admiralty.
The Sea Transport Branch of the British Board of Trade, originally established as the Transport Department or Naval Transport Department, was a logistical branch of the Department of Admiralty responsible for the provision of naval transportation services. It underwent numerous name changes throughout its complicated history with responsibility for sea transportation, known as the Department of the Director of Transports from 1890.
The Storekeeper-General of the Navy was initially a senior appointment and principal commissioner of the British Navy Board created in 1829. In 1832 the navy board was abolished and this office holder then became a member of the Board of Admiralty until 1869, when his office was abolished and his responsibilities were assumed by the Third Naval Lord and Controller of the Navy.