Comptroller of the Navy (Navy Board)

The Comptroller of the Navy originally called the Clerk Comptroller of the Navy was originally a principal member of the English Navy Royal, and later the British Royal Navy, Navy Board. From 1512 until 1832, the Comptroller was mainly responsible for all British naval spending and directing the business of the Navy Board from 1660 as its chairman. The position was abolished in 1832 when the Navy Board was merged into the Board of Admiralty. The comptroller was based at the Navy Office.

History

The post was originally created in 1512 during the reign of Henry VIII of England when the post holder was styled as the Clerk Comptroller until 1545. In 1561 the name was changed to Comptroller of the Navy. The Comptroller presided over the Board from 1660, and generally superintended the business of the Navy Office, and was responsible for the offices dealing with bills, accounts and wages during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. By the eighteenth century the principal officer responsible for estimating annual stores requirements, inspecting ships' stores and maintaining the Fleet's store-books and repair-bills was the Surveyor of the Navy; however, the Surveyor's duties passed increasingly to the Comptroller of the Navy during the latter half this period. The office of Surveyor did not altogether disappear. In 1832 the Comptroller's department was abolished following a merger of the Navy Board with the Board of Admiralty and the Surveyor was made the officer responsible under the First Naval Lord for the material departments, and became an adviser to the Board of Admiralty.