Office of the Treasurer of the Navy | |
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Department of the Admiralty | |
Member of | Navy Board (1546–1832) |
Reports to | First Lord of the Admiralty |
Nominator | First Lord of the Admiralty |
Appointer | Prime Minister Subject to formal approval by the King-in-Council |
Term length | Not fixed (typically 3–7 years) |
Inaugural holder | William Gonson |
Formation | 1524–1836 |
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.
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.
Notable holders of this post included: [6]
Included:
The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of its history, from the early 18th century until its abolition, the role of the Lord High Admiral was almost invariably put "in commission" and exercised by the Lords Commissioner of the Admiralty, who sat on the governing Board of Admiralty, rather than by a single person. The Admiralty was replaced by the Admiralty Board in 1964, as part of the reforms that created the Ministry of Defence and its Navy Department.
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