Vice-Admiral of the West

Last updated

The historical title Vice-Admiral of the West is sometimes applied to holders of the crown appointment Vice-Admiral of the Coast of counties in the South West of England.

The duties of a Vice-Admiral of the coast were to control the shipping (especially piracy) around a maritime county's coast and organise defense on land and at sea. He also acted as a local judge to deal with maritime matters.

It is not entirely clear if the role of Vice-Admiral of the West was in fact separate or additional to the role either Vice-Admiral of the Coast of Cornwall or Vice-Admiral of the Coast of Devon. Appointees to both these posts seem to have been described in writings after their deaths as Vice-Admiral of the West despite appearing appointed to their counties in contemporary papers.

The following are said to have been Vice-Admirals of the West:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North America and West Indies Station</span> Military unit

The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956, with main bases at the Imperial fortresses of Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the two combined to form the North America and West Indies Station. It was briefly abolished in 1907 before being restored in 1915. It was renamed the America and West Indies Station in 1926. It was commanded by Commanders-in-Chief whose titles changed with the changing of the formation's name, eventually by the Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station.

Admiral Sir James Michael Burnell-Nugent, is a retired Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief Fleet from 2005 to 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Champernowne</span> 16th-century English politician

Sir Arthur Champernowne was an English politician, high sheriff and soldier who lived at Dartington Hall in Devon, England.

The holder of the post Vice-Admiral of Devon was responsible for the defence of the county of Devon, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HMNB Devonport</span> Operating base in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy

His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Royal Navy. The largest naval base in Western Europe, HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth, England.

John Nutt was an English pirate. He was one of the more notorious brigands of his time, raiding the coast of southern Canada and western England for over three years before his capture by Sir John Eliot in 1623. His arrest and conviction caused a scandal in the English court, after Nutt paid Eliot £500 in exchange for a pardon, and was eventually released by Secretary of State George Calvert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Baronet</span> English soldier and politician

Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Baronet of Berry Pomeroy, Devon, was Member of Parliament for Devon, twice High Sheriff of Devon and an Army Colonel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth</span> Former senior position in the Royal Navy

The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. Between 1845 and 1896, this office was renamed Commander-in-Chief, Devonport. The Commanders-in-Chief were based in what is now Hamoaze House, Devonport, Plymouth, from 1809 to 1934 and then at Admiralty House, Mount Wise, Devonport, from 1934 until 1996.

Admiral Sir Charles Ekins GCB was an officer of the Royal Navy who served in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and rose to the rank of admiral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiralty in the 16th century</span> English government ministry responsible for the Royal Navy until 1707

The Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office (1546–1707), previously known as the Admiralty Office (1414–1546), was a government department of the Kingdom of England, responsible for the Royal Navy. First established in 1414 when the offices of the separate Admiral of the North and West were abolished and their functions unified under a single centralised command, it was headed by the Lord High Admiral of England. The department existed until 1707 when England and Scotland united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, after which it was known as the British Admiralty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiralty in the 17th century</span>

During the early 17th century, England's relative naval power deteriorated; in the course of the rest of the 17th century, the office of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs steered the Navy's transition from a semi-amateur Navy Royal fighting in conjunction with private vessels into a fully professional institution, a Royal Navy. Its financial provisions were gradually regularised, it came to rely on dedicated warships only, and it developed a professional officer corps with a defined career structure, superseding an earlier mix of sailors and socially prominent former soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiralty in the 18th century</span>

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 Downs Station also known as the Commander-in-Chief, the Downs or Admiral Commanding at the Downs was a formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain and then the United Kingdom's Royal Navy based at Deal. It was a major command of the Royal Navy from 1626 until 1834.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Milton</span> Village and civil parish in south Devon, England

South Milton is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district, in the county of Devon, England, situated on the south coast about 2 miles south-west of Kingsbridge. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Sutton, south of the village, and Upton, north of the village. In 2021 the parish had a population of 371.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiral of the North</span> Former English Navy appointment

The Admiral of the North also known as Admiral of the Northern Seas and Admiral of the Northern Fleet was a senior English Navy appointment. The Admiral was chiefly responsible for the command of the navy's fleet that operated in the North Sea and off the English coast out of Yarmouth from 1294 to 1412.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiral of the West</span> Former English Navy appointment

The Admiral of the West, also known as Admiral of the Western Seas or Admiral of the Western Fleet, was formerly an English Navy appointment. The postholder was chiefly responsible for the command of the English navy's fleet based at Portsmouth, which operated in the English Channel, Irish Sea and Atlantic Ocean, from 1294 to 1412.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiral of the North and West</span> Former English Navy post

The Admiral of the North and West or Admiral of the North and Western Fleets was a former senior appointment of the English Navy. The post holder was Commander-in-Chief of the English navy's North and Western Fleets operating in the North Sea, the English Channel, the Southern Irish Sea and Atlantic from 1364 to 1414.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiral of the South</span> Former English Navy appointment

The Admiral of the South also known as Admiral of the Southern Fleet was a senior English Navy appointment. The post holder was chiefly responsible for the command of the navy's fleet that operated in the English Channel out of Portsmouth from 1294 to 1326.

The Commander-in-Chief, Leith formally known as the Commander-in-Chief at Leith and on the Coast of Scotland was a military commander and formation of the Royal Navy from 1745 to 1825.

References