List of lords commissioners of the Admiralty

This is a list of lords commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660).

The lords commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of the Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was not vested in a single person. The commissioners were a mixture of politicians without naval experience and professional naval officers, the proportion of naval officers generally increasing over time. In 1940, the Secretary of the Admiralty, a civil servant, became a member of the Board. The Lord High Admiral, and thus the Board of Admiralty, ceased to have operational command of the Royal Navy when the three service ministries were merged into the Ministry of Defence in 1964, when the office of Lord High Admiral reverted to the Crown.

1628 to 1641

20 September 1628: Commission. Richard Weston, 1st Baron Weston (Lord High Treasurer), First Lord Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey (Lord Great Chamberlain) Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset (Lord Chamberlain to the Queen) Francis Cottington, 1st Baron Cottington (Chancellor of the Exchequer) Sir Henry Vane (Comptroller of the Household) Sir John Coke (Secretary of State) Sir Francis Windebank (Secretary of State) 10 April 1635: Commission. Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey (Lord Great Chamberlain), First Lord others 16 March 1636: Commission William Juxon (Lord High Treasurer), First Lord others 13 April 1638: Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland, Lord High Admiral

1641 to 1661

From the appointment of Warwick until 1660, appointments during this period were made by Parliament or a part thereof. 7 December 1643: Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, Lord High Admiral 15 April 1645: Commission (by the Committee of Both Houses). Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele Dudley North, 3rd Baron North William Earle Philip Stapleton John Evelyn Jr. Christopher Wray, MP John Rolle Giles Grene D. Hollis John Selden, MP F. Rouse Thomas Eden, MP T. Lisle Bulstrode Whitelocke, MP 28 April 1645: Commission (by the House of Commons) Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick Alexander Bence Squire Bence H. Pelham 12 February 1649: Commission (by the House of Commons) _ Dean Francis Popham Colonel Robert Blake 23 February 1649: Powers transferred to the Council of State 3 December 1653: General Robert Blake General George Monck Major-General John Desborow Vice-Admiral William Penn Colonel Philip Jones Colonel John Clerk John Stone Major William Burton Vincent Gooking Lieutenant-Colonel Kelsey November 1655: During the Protectorate (CSPD, IX, 10)https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261190884_The_NAVAL_ADMINISTRATION_of_the_INTERREGNUM_1641-59|Page 155https://open.library.ubc.ca/media/download/pdf/831/1.0104532/1|Page 155 John Lambert William Sydenham John Desborough Philipp Jones Thomas Kelsey Edward Salmon Edward Montague General George Monck General Robert Blake John Clerke Governor Edward Hopkins

1661 to 1681

29 January 1661: James, Duke of York and Albany, Lord High Admiral 9 July 1673: Commission. Prince Rupert of the Rhine Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury (ex officio as Lord Chancellor) Thomas, 1st Viscount Osborne (ex officio as Lord High Treasurer) Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey (ex officio as Lord Privy Seal) George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington (ex officio as Secretary of State for the Southern Department) Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet (ex officio as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household) Henry Coventry (ex officio as Secretary of State for the Northern Department) Edward Seymour (ex officio as Treasurer of the Navy) 31 October 1674: Commission. Prince Rupert Heneage Finch, 1st Baron Finch (ex officio as Lord Keeper) Thomas Osborne, 1st Earl of Danby (ex officio as Lord High Treasurer) Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey (ex officio as Lord Privy Seal) George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet (ex officio as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household) Henry Coventry (ex officio as Secretary of State for the Southern Department) Sir Joseph Williamson (ex officio as Secretary of State for the Northern Department) Edward Seymour (ex officio as Treasurer of the Navy) 26 September 1677: Commission. Prince Rupert Heneage Finch, 1st Baron Finch (ex officio as Lord Chancellor) Thomas Osborne, 1st Earl of Danby (ex officio as Lord High Treasurer) Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey (ex officio as Lord Privy Seal) James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet (ex officio as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household) Henry Coventry (ex officio as Secretary of State for the Southern Department) Sir Joseph Williamson (ex officio as Secretary of State for the Northern Department) Sir John Ernle Sir Thomas Chicheley Edward Seymour (ex officio as Treasurer of the Navy) 14 May 1679: Commission. Sir Henry Capell, First Lord Daniel Finch Sir Thomas Lee, 1st Baronet Sir Humphrey Winch, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Meres Edward Vaughan Edward Hales

1681 to 1701

19 February 1681: Commission. Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, First Lord Sir Humphrey Winch, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Meres Edward Hales William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker Sir Thomas Littleton, 2nd Baronet 20 January 1682: Commission. Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, First Lord Sir Humphrey Winch, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Meres Edward Hales William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker Henry Savile Sir John Chicheley, Naval Lord 22 August 1683: Commission. Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, First Lord Sir Humphrey Winch, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Meres Edward Hales William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker Henry Savile Sir John Chicheley, Naval Lord Arthur Herbert, Naval Lord (supernumerary) 17 April 1684: Commission. Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, First Lord Sir Humphrey Winch, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Meres Sir Edward Hales, 3rd Baronet Henry Savile Sir John Chicheley, Naval Lord Arthur Herbert, Naval Lord John Vaughan, Baron Vaughan (supernumerary) 19 May 1684: King Charles II 6 February 1685: King James II 13 February 1689: King William III 8 March 1689: Commission. Arthur Herbert, First Lord and Senior Naval Lord John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery Sir Michael Warton Sir Thomas Lee, 1st Baronet Sir John Chicheley, Naval Lord Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet William Sacheverell 20 January 1690: Commission. Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke, First Lord John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery Sir Thomas Lee, 1st Baronet Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet Sir John Chicheley, Senior Naval Lord 5 June 1690: Commission. Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke, First Lord John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery Sir Thomas Lee, 1st Baronet Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet Edward Russell, Senior Naval Lord Sir Richard Onslow, 2nd Baronet Henry Priestman, Naval Lord 23 January 1691: Commission. Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke, First Lord Sir Thomas Lee, 1st Baronet Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet Sir Richard Onslow, 2nd Baronet Henry Priestman, Senior Naval Lord Anthony Carey, 5th Viscount Falkland Robert Austen 16 November 1691: Commission. Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke, First Lord Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet Sir Richard Onslow, 2nd Baronet Henry Priestman, Senior Naval Lord Anthony Carey, 5th Viscount Falkland Robert Austen Sir Robert Rich, 2nd Baronet 10 March 1692: Commission. Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, First Lord Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet Sir Richard Onslow, 2nd Baronet Henry Priestman, Senior Naval Lord Anthony Carey, 5th Viscount Falkland Robert Austen Sir Robert Rich, 2nd Baronet 15 April 1693: Commission. Anthony Carey, 5th Viscount Falkland, First Lord Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet Henry Priestman, Senior Naval Lord Robert Austen Sir Robert Rich, 2nd Baronet Henry Killigrew, Naval Lord Sir Ralph Delaval, Naval Lord 2 May 1694: Commission. Edward Russell, First Lord and Senior Naval Lord Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet Henry Priestman, Naval Lord Robert Austen Sir Robert Rich, 2nd Baronet Sir George Rooke, Naval Lord Sir John Houblon 24 February 1696: Commission. Edward Russell, First Lord and Senior Naval Lord Henry Priestman, Naval Lord Robert Austen Sir Robert Rich, 2nd Baronet Sir George Rooke, Naval Lord Sir John Houblon James Kendall 5 June 1697: Commission. Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford, First Lord and Senior Naval Lord Henry Priestman, Naval Lord Sir Robert Rich, 2nd Baronet Sir George Rooke, Naval Lord Sir John Houblon James Kendall Goodwin Wharton 31 May 1699: Commission. John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater, First Lord John Thompson, 1st Baron Haversham Sir Robert Rich, 2nd Baronet Sir George Rooke, Senior Naval Lord Sir David Mitchell, Naval Lord 28 October 1699: Commission. John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater, First Lord [ohn Thompson, 1st Baron Haversham Sir George Rooke, Senior Naval Lord Sir David Mitchell, Naval Lord George Churchill, Naval Lord

1701 to 1721

4 April 1701: Commission. Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke, First Lord John Thompson, 1st Baron Haversham Sir George Rooke, Senior Naval Lord Sir David Mitchell, Naval Lord George Churchill, Naval Lord 26 January 1702: Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke, Lord High Admiral 20 May 1702: Prince George, Lord High Admiral Council of the Lord High Admiral, 22 May 1702: Sir George Rooke Senior Member Sir David Mitchell George Churchill Richard Hill Council of the Lord High Admiral, 29 March 1703: Sir George Rooke Senior Member Sir David Mitchell George Churchill Richard Hill James Brydges Council of the Lord High Admiral, 30 April 1704: Sir George Rooke Senior Member Sir David Mitchell George Churchill Richard Hill James Brydges Henry Paget Council of the Lord High Admiral, 26 December 1704: Sir George Rooke Senior Member Sir David Mitchell George Churchill Richard Hill James Brydges Henry Paget Sir Cloudesley Shovell Council of the Lord High Admiral, 11 June 1705: Sir David Mitchell Senior Member George Churchill Richard Hill Henry Paget Sir Cloudesley Shovell Robert Walpole Council of the Lord High Admiral, 8 February 1706: Sir David Mitchell Senior Member George Churchill Richard Hill Henry Paget Sir Cloudesley Shovell Robert Walpole Sir Stafford Fairborne 28 June 1707: Prince George, Lord High Admiral (reappointed as Lord High Admiral of Great Britain following the Union with Scotland) Council of the Lord High Admiral, 28 June 1707 Sir David Mitchell Senior Member George Churchill Richard Hill Henry Paget Sir Cloudesley Shovell Robert Walpole Sir Stafford Fairborne Council of the Lord High Admiral, 19 April 1708: David Wemyss, 4th Earl of Wemyss Senior Member George Churchill Richard Hill Henry Paget Sir Stafford Fairborne Sir John Leake Council of the Lord High Admiral, 20 June 1708: David Wemyss, 4th Earl of Wemyss Senior Member George Churchill Richard Hill Henry Paget Sir John Leake Sir James Wishart Robert Fairfax 28 October 1708: Queen Anne, Lord High Admiral 29 November 1708: Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke, Lord High Admiral, Senior Member 8 November 1709: Commission. Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford, First Lord Sir John Leake, Senior Naval Lord Sir George Byng, Naval Lord George Dodington Paul Methuen 4 October 1710: Commission. Sir John Leake, Naval Lord (not called "First Lord") Sir George Byng, Senior Naval Lord George Dodington Paul Methuen Sir William Drake, 4th Baronet John Aislabie 20 December 1710: Commission. Sir John Leake, Naval Lord Sir George Byng, Senior Naval Lord Sir William Drake, 4th Baronet John Aislabie Sir James Wishart, Naval Lord George Clarke