The Admiral of the Narrow Seas also known as the Admiral for the guard of the Narrow Seas was a senior Royal Navy appointment. The post holder was chiefly responsible for the command of the English navy's Narrow Seas Squadron also known as the Eastern Squadron that operated in the two seas which lay between England and Kingdom of France (the English Channel particularly the Straits of Dover) and England and the Spanish Netherlands later the Dutch Republic (the southern North Sea) from 1412 to 1688. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Command of the Narrow Seas. History 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.

In the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Kingdom of England claimed sovereignty over certain bodies of water close to the British Isles: those between the Kingdom of France and England (the English Channel particularly the Straits of Dover) and the Spanish Netherlands later the Dutch Republic and England (the southern North Sea). As a result of England's claim of these territorial waters there was an enforceable requirement placed on any foreign ships passing through the area to acknowledge all English warships. England also exercised control over all fishing rights within the same waters.

Among the most important naval postings during these times was the Admiral of the Narrow Seas, sometimes called the Vice-Admiral of the Narrow Seas to denote that he was junior to the Lord Admiral of England. These flag officers were formally appointed by the crown. His responsibilities were to guard the narrow seas from foreign threats, protect English fishing vessels and enforce English sovereignty over said waters.

Claims to the narrow seas lasted until the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, along with other European countries, agreed to set a new three-mile limit in 1822.

Office holders Admiral/General at Sea/Vice-Admiral/Rear-Admiral Narrow Seasrank name date/snotesrefVice-Admiral Sir John Pendagrast 1412 Commanding the Narrow Seas office is presumed vacant (1413–1522)Vice-Admiral William FitzWilliam 1523–1524 also vice-admiral channel squadron/fleet Vice-Admiral Sir John Dudley1537 Vice-AdmiralSir Rhys Mansell June 1543 Vice-Admiral Sir William Woodhouse1544–1545 Vice-AdmiralSir Thomas Cotton May. 1549 Vice-AdmiralSir Henry Dudley 26 March, 1552 Admiral William DriverDecember 1552 – January 1553 Vice-Admiral Sir John Malen 1557–1558 Vice-Admiral Sir Ralph Chamberlain September–October 1558 Vice-Admiral Sir John MalynNovember 1558 – January 1559 Admiral Sir John Malen February 1563 – April 1563 lost with his ship off Rye Vice-Admiral Sir John Hawkins May – July 1563 Vice-Admiral Sir William Holstocke August 1562 – October 1563 Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas CottonAugust–September 1563 Rear-Admiral Henry Palmer 1587 Vice-Admiral Lord Henry Seymour 1588 Vice-Admiral Sir Martin Frobisher September 1589 – 1590 Admiral Luke Warde 1590–1591 Admiral Sir Richard Leveson 1598–1601 Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Mansell c. 1599 Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Mansell 1602–1604 Vice-Admiral Sir William Monson August 1604 – 1613 Vice-Admiral Sir Francis Howard1613 – 13 January 1616 Admiral Sir Francis Howard 14 January 1616 – 1618 Admiral Sir Henry Mervyn 1619–1623 Rear-Admiral Sir John Penington 1623–1626as Rear-Admiral for the Guard of the Narrow Seas Rear-AdmiralSir John Penington 1631–1634 as Rear-Admiral for the Guard of the Narrow Seas Vice-AdmiralRobert Bertie, 3rd Earl of Lindsey1635–1639 Vice-Admiral Sir John Penington 1641–1642 Admiral Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick 1643 Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Rainsborough1643–1644 also vice-admiral in the channel General-at-Sea Sir Robert Blake 1652–1657Commanding in the channel, and at the Downs Vice-Admiral Sir John Lawson 1665 Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Montagu, 1st Earl Sandwich July 1657 – 1658 AdmiralSir Edward Montagu 1st Earl Sandwich June 1661 – 1665 Vice-AdmiralSir John Kempthorne1678 Vice-AdmiralSir William Poole 1679 Vice-Admiral Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton 1685–1687 AdmiralSir Roger Strickland1687–1688rank as Admiral of the Blue

See also Admiral of the South, North and West Admiral of the West Admiral of the North Admiral of the North and West Battle of the Narrow Seas

References Citations

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Fulton, Thomas Wemyss (2002). The Sovereignty of the Sea: An Historical Account of the Claims of England to the Dominion of the British Seas, and of the Evolution of the Territorial Waters, with Special Reference to the Rights of Fishing and the Naval Salute. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. Keeler, Mary Frear; Cole, Maija Jansson; Bidwell, William B. (1997). Commons Debates 1628. Boydell & Brewer. Humble, Richard (1986). "Four Centuries of Sea Power 1509 to 1919". The rise and fall of the British Navy (1. publ. ed.). London: Macdonald Queen Anne Press. Knighton, Dr C. S.; Loades, Professor David (2013). The Navy of Edward VI and Mary I. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. . Laughton, John Knox. "Warde Luke". Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900. Wikisource. Retrieved 6 June 2018. Luke, John (1958). Tangier at High Tide: The Journal of John Luke, 1670–1673. Librairie Droz. . "Narrow Seas – Oxford Reference – in The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea". oxfordreference.com. University of Oxford. Nichols, John (2013). John Nichols's The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth: Volume III: 1579 to 1595. Oxford, England: OUP Oxford. Stewart, William (2009). Admirals of the World: A Biographical Dictionary, 1500 to the Present. McFarland. . Winfield, Rif (2010). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Publishing.