First Lord of the Admiralty, formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the Naval Service from 1628 to 1964, when the Admiralty, Air Ministry, Ministry of Defence and War Office were merged to form the Ministry of Defence. The holder was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the direction and control of the Admiralty (them being the pre-eminent member of the Board of Admiralty), the Royal Navy, and the Royal Marines. It was one of the earliest known permanent government posts. The modern-day equivalent of the office is the Secretary of State for Defence.
History In 1628, during the reign of Charles I, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, Lord High Admiral of England, was assassinated and the office was placed in commission, under the control of a Board of Commissioners.
The first such First Lord of the Admiralty was Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland, who was appointed in 1628. The First Lord was not always a permanent member of the board until the Admiralty Department was established as an official government department in 1709 with the First Lord as its head; it replaced the earlier Office of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs. During most of the 17th century and the early 18th century, it was not invariable for the Admiralty to be in commission, so there are gaps in the list of First Lords, and a small number of First Lords were for a time Lord High Admiral.
After the Glorious Revolution, during the reign of William and Mary, Parliament passed the Admiralty Act 1690 (2 Will. & Mar. Sess. 2. c. 2), vesting in the commissioners the powers formerly held by the Lord High Admiral of England. At this point the Admiralty became a permanent Cabinet position.
The office has been held in commission from that time onwards, except for two short periods when Prince George of Denmark (1701-1709) and the Duke of Clarence (1827–1828) served as Lord High Admiral. The Board of the Admiralty comprised a number of "Lords Commissioners" headed by a First Lord.
From the early 1800s the post was always held by a civilian (previously flag officers of the Royal Navy also held the post). In 1832 First Lord Sir James Graham instituted reforms and amalgamated the Board of Admiralty and the Navy Board. By the provisions of the Admiralty Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 40), two lords in committee could legalise any action of the board.
In 1868 Prime Minister, William Gladstone appointed Hugh Childers First Lord, who would introduce a new system at the Admiralty. However these changes restricted communication between the board members who were affected by these new regulations, and the sittings of the Board were discontinued altogether. This situation described was further exacerbated by the disaster of in 1870, a poorly-designed new vessel for the navy.
The responsibility and powers of the First Lord of the Admiralty were laid down by an Order in Council dated 14 January 1869, and a later Order (19 March 1872) made the First Lord responsible to the Sovereign and to Parliament for all the business of the Admiralty. However, by describing the Lords of the Admiralty as the "assistants" of the First Lord, and by specifically defining their duties, this had, in fact, partially disabled the collective power of the Board.
In 1931, for the first time since 1709, the First Lord was not a member of the cabinet.
In 1946, the three posts of Secretary of State for War, First Lord of the Admiralty, and Secretary of State for Air became formally subordinated to that of Minister of Defence, which had itself been created in 1940 for the co-ordination of defence and security issues.
In 1964, the office of First Lord of the Admiralty was abolished, the last holder being George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe, whose father, Admiral of the Fleet John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, had served as First Sea Lord nearly 50 years earlier. The functions of the Lords Commissioners were then transferred to an Admiralty Board, which forms part of the tri-service Defence Council of the United Kingdom.
List of First Lords of the Admiralty
First Lords of the Admiralty of England (1628–1701) First Lord of the Admiralty Term of office Richard Weston1st Earl of PortlandBaron Weston from 1628, created Earl of Portland in 1633. 1628 1635 Robert Bertie1st Earl of Lindsey 1635 1636 William JuxonThomas Mason, Serving God and Mammon: William Juxon, 1582–1663 () 1636 1638 Algernon Percy10th Earl of NorthumberlandLord High Admiral 1638–1642. 1642 1643 Francis Cottington1st Baron Cottington 1643 1646 Prince Rupert of the Rhine 1673 1679 Sir Henry Capell 1679 1681 Daniel Finch2nd Earl of Nottingham 1681 1684 Arthur Herbert1st Earl of TorringtonLord High Admiral 1689. 1689 1690 Thomas Herbert8th Earl of Pembroke 1690 1692 Charles Cornwallis3rd Baron Cornwallis 1692 1693 Anthony Cary5th Viscount Falkland 1693 1694 Edward Russell1st Earl of Orford 1694 1699 John Egerton3rd Earl of Bridgewater 1699 1701 Thomas Herbert8th Earl of PembrokeOffice-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4, Admiralty Officials 1660–1870 1701 1702
Senior Members of the Lord High Admiral's Council (1702–1709) Senior Member Term of office Sir George Rooke 1702 1705 Sir David Mitchell 1705 1708 David Wemyss4th Earl of Wemyss 1708 1709
First Lords of the Admiralty of Great Britain (1709–1801) First Lord of the Admiralty Term of office Ministry Monarch Edward Russell1st Earl of Orford 1709 1710 Godolphin–Marlborough Anne John Leake 1710 1712 Oxford–Bolingbroke Thomas Wentworth1st Earl of Strafford 1712 1714 George I Edward Russell1st Earl of Orford 1714 1716 Townshend James Berkeley3rd Earl of Berkeley 1717 1727 Stanhope–Sunderland I Stanhope–Sunderland II Walpole–Townshend George II George Byng1st Viscount Torrington 1727 1733 Walpole Charles WagerMP for Portsmouth until 1734; MP for Westminster from 1734. 1733 1741 Daniel Finch8th Earl of Winchilsea 1741 1744 Carteret John Russell4th Duke of Bedford 1744 1748 Broad Bottom John Montagu4th Earl of Sandwich 1748 1751 George Anson1st Baron Anson 1751 1756 Newcastle I Richard Grenville-Temple2nd Earl Temple 1756 1757 Pitt–Devonshire Daniel Finch8th Earl of Winchilsea 1757 1757 1757 Caretaker George Anson1st Baron Anson 1757 1762 Pitt–Newcastle George III George Montague-Dunk2nd Earl of Halifax 1762 1762 Bute George Grenville 1762 1763 John Montagu4th Earl of Sandwich 1763 1763 Grenville John Perceval2nd Earl of Egmont 1763 1766 Rockingham I Chatham Charles Saunders 1766 1766 Edward Hawke 1766 1771 Grafton North John Montagu4th Earl of Sandwich 1771 1782 Augustus Keppel1st Viscount Keppel 1782 1783 Rockingham II Shelburne Richard Howe5th Viscount Howe 1783 1783 Augustus Keppel1st Viscount Keppel 1783 1783 Fox–North Richard Howe5th Viscount Howe 1783 1788 Pitt I John Pitt2nd Earl of Chatham 1788 1794 George Spencer2nd Earl Spencer 1794 1801
First Lords of the Admiralty of the United Kingdom (1801–1964) First Lord of the Admiralty Term of office Party Ministry Monarch John Jervis1st Earl of St Vincent 1801 1804 Whig Pitt I George III Addington Henry Dundas1st Viscount Melville 1804 1805 Tory Pitt II Charles Middleton1st Baron Barham 1805 1806 Tory Charles GreyViscount Howick 1806 1806 Whig All the Talents Thomas Grenville 1806 1807 Whig Henry Phipps3rd Baron Mulgrave 1807 1810 Tory Portland II Perceval Charles Philip Yorke 1810 1812 Tory Robert Dundas2nd Viscount Melville 1812 1827 Tory Liverpool George IV Prince William HenryDuke of ClarenceAs Lord High Admiral . 1827 1828 — Canning Goderich Robert Dundas2nd Viscount Melville 1828 1830 Tory WellingtonPeel William IV James GrahamMP for Cumberland until 1832; MP for East Cumberland from 1832 1830 1834 Whig Grey George Eden2nd Baron Auckland 1834 1834 Whig Melbourne I Wellington Caretaker Thomas Robinson2nd Earl de Grey 1834 1835 Conservative Peel I George Eden2nd Baron Auckland 1835 1835 Whig Melbourne II Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound2nd Earl of Minto 1835 1841 Whig Victoria Thomas Hamilton9th Earl of Haddington 1841 1846 Conservative Peel II Edward Law1st Earl of Ellenborough 1846 1846 Conservative George Eden1st Earl of Auckland 1846 1849 Whig Russell I Francis Baring 1849 1852 Whig Algernon Percy4th Duke of Northumberland 1852 1852 Conservative DerbyDisraeli I James Graham 1852 1855 Peelite Aberdeen Palmerston I Sir Charles Wood3rd Baronet 1855 1858 Whig John Pakington 1858 1859 Conservative DerbyDisraeli II Edward Seymour12th Duke of Somerset 1859 1866 Liberal Palmerston II Russell II John Pakington 1866 1867 Conservative DerbyDisraeli III Henry Lowry-Corry 1867 1868 Conservative Hugh Childers 1868 1871 Liberal Gladstone I George Goschen 1871 1874 Liberal George Ward Hunt 1874 1877 Conservative Disraeli II William Henry Smith 1877 1880 Conservative Thomas Baring1st Earl of Northbrook 1880 1885 Liberal Gladstone II Lord George Hamilton 1885 1886 Conservative Salisbury I George Robinson1st Marquess of Ripon 1886 1886 Liberal Gladstone III Lord George Hamilton 1886 1892 Conservative Salisbury II John Spencer5th Earl Spencer 1892 1895 Liberal Gladstone IV Rosebery George Goschen 1895 1900 Conservative Salisbury William Palmer2nd Earl of Selborne 1900 1905 Liberal Unionist Edward VII Balfour Frederick Campbell3rd Earl Cawdor 1905 1905 Conservative Edward Marjoribanks2nd Lord Tweedmouth 1905 1908 Liberal Campbell-Bannerman Reginald McKenna 1908 1911 Liberal Asquith George V Winston Churchill 1911 1915 Liberal Arthur Balfour 1915 1916 Conservative Asquith Coalition Edward Carson 1916 1917 Conservative Lloyd George Eric Geddes 1917 1919 Conservative Walter Long 1919 1921 Conservative Arthur Lee1st Baron Lee of Fareham 1921 1922 Conservative Leo Amery 1922 1924 Conservative Law Baldwin I Frederic Thesiger1st Viscount Chelmsford 1924 1924 Independent MacDonald I William Clive BridgemanMP for Oswestry 1924 1929 Conservative Baldwin II A. V. Alexander 1929 1931 Labour MacDonald II Austen Chamberlain 1931 1931 Conservative National I Bolton Eyres-Monsell1st Viscount MonsellMP for Evesham until 1935; thereafter created Viscount Monsell. 1931 1936 Conservative National II National III Edward VIII Samuel Hoare 1936 1937 Conservative George VI Duff Cooper 1937 1938 Conservative National IV James Stanhope7th Earl Stanhope 1938 1939 Conservative Winston Churchill 1939 1940 Conservative Chamberlain War A. V. Alexander 1940 1945 Labour Churchill War Brendan Bracken 1945 1945 Conservative Churchill Caretaker A. V. Alexander 1945 1946 Labour Attlee George Hall1st Viscount Hall 1946 1951 Labour Frank Pakenham1st Baron Pakenham 1951 1951 Labour James Thomas1st Viscount CilcenninMP for Hereford until 1955; thereafter created Viscount Cilcennin. 1951 1956 Conservative Churchill III Elizabeth II Eden Quintin Hogg2nd Viscount Hailsham 1956 1957 Conservative George Douglas-Hamilton10th Earl of Selkirk 1957 1959 Conservative Macmillan Peter Carington6th Baron Carrington 1959 1963 Conservative George Jellicoe2nd Earl Jellicoe 1963 1964 Conservative Douglas-Home
From 1 April 1964, Queen Elizabeth II assumed the title of Lord High Admiral. Ministerial responsibility for the Royal Navy was transferred to the newly created Secretary of State for Defence.
Notes:
Boards, departments and offices under the First Lord Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office (1628–1709) Admiralty Department (1709–1964) Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) Navy Board (1628–1832) Sick and Hurt Board (1653–1806) Transport Board (1690–1724, 1794–1817) Victualling Board (1683–1832) Office of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty Office of the Senior Naval Lord (1689–1771) Office of the First Naval Lord (1771–1904) Office of the First Sea Lord (1904–1917) Office of the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff (1917–1964) Office of the Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty (1800–1910) Office of the Naval Secretary (1910–1964) Office of the Secretary to the Admiralty (1660–1763)