Former English Navy post
The Admiral of the North and West [1] 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.
History
The origins of the office Admiral of the North and West dates back to 7 July 1364 with appointment of Sir Ralph de Spigurnell, originally styled Admiral of the North and West Sea.[2] The office was styled by different names from its establishment such as Admiral of the North and West Stations. From 28 April 1369 to 24 November 1377 there was no further appointments until the post was revived with the appointment of Michael, Lord Wingfield he held the office very briefly until December 1377 when it once again ceased. On 10 December 1386 it was revived again with the appointment of Richard FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel he held the post until 18 May 1389. There would be a further four appointments from May 1389 to April 1400 before the office ceased again. It was established for the final time on 23 December 1406 the command being given to John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset. The last Commander-in-Chief was Thomas Beaufort, Earl of Dorset, from 1408 until 1414. It was considered one the English Navy's most important Naval Commands from the mid-14th century until the beginning of the 15th century.
Two of the office holders Sir John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset and Thomas Beaufort, Earl of Dorset both retained the title for life. The first royal commission as Admiral to a naval officer was granted in 1303. By 1344 it was only used as a rank at sea for a captain in charge of a fleet or fleets.[3]
- Rank and Role
The naval defence of England from the end of the 13th century was divided into regional commands or 'admiralties' until the end of the fourteenth Century.[4] The appointment of an admiral was not regarded by the English government at the time as an honorary post subordinate to a military rank, their importance attached to their office can be confirmed by the recording of their allowances paid recorded in the Calendar of Patent Rolls.[5] In the fourteenth Century Admirals were paid a respectable salary which was only granted because the position was viewed as substantially important. In addition the rank of admiral was only granted to men of high prestige within feudal hierarchy, most recipients of the office were usually knights but more often earls.[6] The Admirals duties usually consisted of assembling fleets for naval expeditions undertaken by the monarch on campaign, maintaining order and discipline and supervising the work of the Admiralty Courts for each region. On major military expeditions the Admiral would go to sea with their fleets and accompany the overall Commander-in-Chief of both sea and land forces usually the King himself but sometimes a nobleman of higher rank than the admiral. Their role was to observe and direct naval battles but not necessarily taking part in them, themselves.[6] However, from 1344 onward their role was moving from primarily administrative role to that of a sea of a seagoing command.[7]
In 1337 the first known record of the appointment of a "vice-admiral' was granted to a Nicholas Ususmaris, a Genoese, he was made Vice-Admiral
of the King's fleet of galleys, and all other ships of Aquitaine. However these appointments were few and far between. There was two further instances of the appointment of Vice-Admirals to Sir Thomas Drayton as Vice-Admiral of the Northern Fleet and Sir Peter Bard Vice-Admiral of the Western Fleet both on 28 July 1338.[8]
Special assistants were appointed to handle two important sub-divisions of the admirals powers. The first was the admiral's lieutenant, or deputy, referred to as sub-admirals, who handled administrative and legal duties and each of these admirals had one and often retained more knowledge than the Admiral himself in relation to the sea and coastal communities.[9] It would not be until the early 15th century that they would appointed on a more regular basis however they were referred to at this time as the admirals Lieutenant-General this office eventually became known as the Lieutenant of the Admiralty.[10]
The second was the Wardens of the Coast for each region who were responsible for the direction and co-ordination of the fleet, the equipping of boats and processing payments to sailors and superintendence of the Sea Guard Militia assigned to each coastal county.[6] From the mid fourteenth century there was a move to centralise these regional naval authorities as seen with the appointment of the Admiral of the Southern, Northern and Western fleets sometimes referred to as Admiral of the Fleet or Admiral of England and the Admiral of the North and West this tendency towards unifying regional naval authorities under one admiral eventually led to the creation of the office of the Lord-Admiral of England[6]
The Admirals were logistically supported by the Clerk of the King's Ships who looked after all the navy's finances whilst victualling of the navy was handled by another one of King's Clerks.[6]
