Admiralty

The Admiralty was the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Originally exercised by a single person, the office of Lord High Admiral was from the 18th century invariably put "in commission", and was exercised by a Board of Admiralty, officially known as The Commissioners for Exercising the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, &c. (alternatively of England, Great Britain or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland depending on the period).

In 1964 the functions of the Admiralty were transferred to a new Admiralty Board, which is a committee of the tri-service Defence Council of the United Kingdom and part of the Ministry of Defence. The new Admiralty Board meets only twice a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is controlled by a Navy Board (not to be confused with the historical Navy Board described later in this article). It is now uncommon for the various authorities now in charge of the Royal Navy to be referred to simply as "The Admiralty."

The title of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom is now vested in the Sovereign. However, there continues to be a Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom and a Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom, both of which are honorary offices.

For information on the administration of the Royal Admiralty, with specific information regarding each of the separate officers and branches see: Admiralty administration.

History

The office of Admiral of England, or Lord Admiral and later Lord High Admiral was created in around 1400. In 1546 King Henry VIII established the Council of the Marine, later to became the Navy Board, to oversee administrative affairs of the naval service. Operational control of the Navy remained the responsibility of the Lord High Admiral, who was one of the nine Great Officers of State.

In 1628, Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission and control of the Royal Navy passed to a committee in the form of the Board of the Admiralty. The office of Lord High Admiral passed a number of times in and out of commission until 1709, after which the office was permanently in commission.

The members of the Board of Admiralty were known as the Lords Commissioners of Admiralty. The Lords Commissioners were always a mixture of admirals, known as Naval Lords or Sea Lords, and civilian lords, normally politicians. The president of the Board was known as the First Lord of the Admiralty, who was a member of the Prime Minister's Cabinet.

After 1806, the First Lord of the Admiralty was always a civilian, while the professional head of the navy came to be (and is still today) known as the First Sea Lord.

In 1831 the Navy Board was abolished as a separate entity and its duties and responsibilities were given over to the Board of Admiralty.

In 1964 the Admiralty was subsumed into the Ministry of Defence along with the War Office and the Air Ministry. Within the expanded Ministry of Defence are the new Admiralty Board, Army Board and Air Force Board, each headed by the Secretary of State for Defence. As mentioned above, there is also a Navy Board in charge of the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy.

The buildings

The Admiralty complex lies between Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade and The Mall and includes five buildings. As the Admiralty no longer exists as a department, these are now used as an "office bank" by the government:

• The oldest building was long known simply as The Admiralty, and is now referred to popularly as the Old Admiralty and officially as the Ripley Building. It was designed and built by Thomas Ripley, a former carpenter and protegé of Sir Robert Walpole, whose creation provoked the scorn of Alexander Pope:

See under Ripley rise a new White-hall,

While Jones' and Boyle's united labours fall.

— The Dunciad (1743), book III, ii, 327-8

Image:The Admiralty (now the Ripley Buidling) by Thomas Hosmer Shepherd, 1830..jpgIt is a three storey u-shaped brick building, and completed in 1726. As Pope implied the architecture is rather dull, lacking either the vigour of the baroque style which was fading from fashion at the time, or the austere grandeur of the Palladian style which was just coming into vogue. It is mainly notable for being perhaps the first purpose built office building in Great Britain. It contained a board room, other state rooms and offices and apartments for the Lords of the Admiralty. Robert Adam designed the screen which was added to the entrance front in 1788. Nowadays the Ripley Building is allocated to the Cabinet Office and contains government function rooms.

• Admiralty House: This is a moderately proportioned mansion to the south of the Ripley Building, which was built in the late 18th century as the residence of the First Lord of the Admiralty, and served that purpose until 1964. Winston Churchill was one of its occupants. It lacks its own entrance from Whitehall, and is entered through the Ripley Building. It is a three storey building in yellow brick with neo-classical interiors. Its rear facade faces directly onto Horse Guards Parade. The architect was Samuel Pepys Cockerell. There are now three ministerial flats in the building [1].

• The Admiralty Extension. This is the largest of the Admiralty Buildings. It was begun in the late 19th century and redesigned while the construction was in progress to accommodate the extra offices needed due to the naval arms race with the German Empire. It is red brick building with white stone detailing in the Queen Anne style with French influences.
• Admiralty Arch is linked to the Admiralty extension by a bridge. In architectural terms it is part of the ceremonial route from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. It contains further offices.
• The Admiralty Citadel is a squat windowless World War II fortress at the north east corner of Horse Guards Parade. See Military citadels under London for further details.

Reference

• London 6: Westminster (from the Buildings of England series) by Nikolaus Pevsner and Simon Bradley (2003). Yale University Press ISBN 0300095953.

See also

• List of Lord High Admirals and First Lords of the Admiralty
• List of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty
• First Sea Lord
• Second Sea Lord
• Third Sea Lord
• Lord High Admiral of Scotland
• Admiralty administration
• List of British politicians by wealth at death