| Office of the Surveyor of the Navy | |
|---|---|
 Ensign of theRoyal Navy | |
| 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 theQueen-in-Council |
| Term length | Not fixed (typically 3–7 years) |
| Inaugural holder | Benjamin Gonson |
| Formation | 1546-1869 |
TheSurveyor of the Navy, originally known asSurveyor and Rigger of the Navy,[1] held overall responsibility for the design of British warships from 1745. He was a principal commissioner and member of theNavy Board from the inauguration of that body in 1546 until the Board was abolished in 1832 and its operational functions taken over by theBoard of Admiralty. In 1860 the office was renamedController of The Navy until 1869, when the office was merged with that of theThird Naval Lord. TheDepartment of the Surveyor of the Navy was replaced by theDepartment of the Director of Dockyards in 1872.
The office was established in 1546 underHenry VIII of England when the post holder was styled asSurveyor and Rigger of the Navy until 1611. Until 1745 the actual design work for warships built at eachRoyal Dockyard was primarily the responsibility of the individualMaster Shipwright at that Royal Dockyard. For vessels built by commercial contract (limited to wartime periods, when the Royal Dockyards could not cope with the volume of work), the Surveyor's office drew the designs to which the private shipbuilders were required to build the vessels. From 1745 design responsibility was centred in the Surveyor's office, with the Master Shipwrights in the Dockyard responsible for implementation. In 1832 the Navy Board was abolished and all of its functions were brought under the sole control of theBoard of Admiralty.
Before 1832, the building, fitting out and repairing of HM ships were the responsibility of the Navy Board. Originally the principal officer most involved was the Surveyor of the Navy, who estimated annual stores requirements, inspected ships' stores and kept the Fleet's store-books and repair-bills. In the eighteenth century his duties passed increasingly to the Comptroller of the Navy.The office of Surveyor did not disappear, however, and after 1832, when the office of Comptroller was abolished, the Surveyor was made the officer responsible for the material departments.[2] In 1860 the name of the office was changed toController of the Navy[3] until 1869, when the office was amalgamated with the office of theThird Naval Lord.
In date order (note that the post of Surveyor was frequently shared, which enabled the Admiralty to have competitive designs prepared for evaluation):
In 1859 the post of Surveyor of the Navy was changed to Controller of the Navy
In 1869 the post of Controller of the Navy was merged with the office of theThird Naval Lord
This article contains text from this source, which is available under theOpen Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.This article contains text from this sourcehttp://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C712, which is available under theOpen Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
