Chief Clerks c. 1694-1870

Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4, Admiralty Officials 1660-1870. Originally published by University of London, London, 1975.

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Citation:

'Chief Clerks c. 1694-1870', in Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4, Admiralty Officials 1660-1870, ed. J C Sainty( London, 1975), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol4/pp41-42 [accessed 1 December 2024].

'Chief Clerks c. 1694-1870', in Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4, Admiralty Officials 1660-1870. Edited by J C Sainty( London, 1975), British History Online, accessed December 1, 2024, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol4/pp41-42.

"Chief Clerks c. 1694-1870". Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4, Admiralty Officials 1660-1870. Ed. J C Sainty(London, 1975), , British History Online. Web. 1 December 2024. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol4/pp41-42.

Chief Clerks c. 1694-1870

Provision was made for two Chief Clerks, sometimes known as 'First' Clerks, in the establishment of 1694, each with a salary of £200. (fn. 1) The number was reduced to one in 1696 on Burt's departure from office. The salary of his colleague, Fawler, was then increased to £250. It was further increased to £400 in 1703. (fn. 2) On Fawler's promotion to the position of Deputy Secretary in 1705, Burt returned to the office and succeeded him as Chief Clerk with a salary of £300 which was reduced to £200 at the peace of 1713. In 1715 it was increased to £400 which remained the salary of the Chief Clerk until 1783. (fn. 3)

Between 1728 and 1783 the office was not filled on a regular basis, appointments being made only when the Secretary was acting without the assistance of a joint Secretary, a Second Secretary or a Deputy Secretary: 1742-4, 1751-6 and 1763-4. At other times during this period the senior established Clerk received a salary of £200 as opposed to £400. When a Deputy Secretary was serving he apparently undertook the duties of the Chief Clerk. During the time that the post of Second Secretary was occupied (1746-51 and 1759-63) it appears that the senior established clerk had a rather greater measure of responsibility than he had at other times. (fn. 4)

In 1783 the office of Chief Clerk was established on a permanent basis with a basic salary of £200 together with fees and a variety of allowances. (fn. 5) In 1800 a consolidated salary of £800 was provided with an additional £150 as Receiver of Fees and Paymaster of Contingencies in time of war. (fn. 6) In 1807 the remuneration was fixed at £900 in time of peace and at £1000, together with the Paymaster's allowance of £150, in time of war. (fn. 7) In 1815 the war allowances were made permanent and the salary was fixed at £1150. (fn. 8) It was reduced to £1000 in 1832. (fn. 9) In 1867 provision was made for the salary to rise by annual increments of £50 to £1100. (fn. 10)

LIST OF APPOINTMENTS
By 1694 Fawler, J.
1694 Burt, E.
1705 19 Nov. Burt, E. (fn. 11)
1723 15 March Corbett, T.
1742 14 Oct. Hawes, T.
1743 18 June Osborn, R.
1751 2 May Milnes, J.
1763 4 July Fearne, C.
1783 13 Jan. Parker, H.
1795 16 June Wright, C.
1807 28 Sept. Kite, T.
1813 1 July Pearce, W.
1819 21 Aug. Dyer, J.
1832 14 May Amedroz, H. F.
1849 5 Jan. Hay, J. H.
1853 18 Nov. Dyer, J. J.
1857 21 March Pennell, C. H.
1865 13 July Briggs, J. H.
1870 31 March Wolley, T.

Footnotes

  • 1. Adm. 2/16 p. 414. For a conjectural account of the earlier holders of the office of Chief Clerk, see p. 2
  • 2. SPB, i f. 20; Adm. 2/183 pp. 189-90, 317.
  • 3. Adm. 2/185 p. 205; Adm. 2/191 pp. 417-18; Adm. 2/193 pp. 127-8.
  • 4. The senior established Clerks during these periods were: Ram (1746-51), Milnes (April-May 1751) and Fearne (1759-63). That Fearne was accorded a relatively important position in the office is clear from the list of distribution of duties of 26 Oct. 1759 (G. F. James, 'The Admiralty Establishment 1759', BIHR, xvi (1938-9), 24-7). See also Adm. 3/67, 16 Oct. 1759 where Fearne is in fact called 'Chief Clerk'.
  • 5. Adm. 3/96, 13 Jan. 1783; 3rd Rept. on Fees, 97-8.
  • 6. Order in council 15 Jan. 1800 (HC 138 pp. 2-3 (1816) xiii, 170-1).
  • 7. Order in council 28 Oct. 1807 (PC 2/174 pp. 284-6).
  • 8. Order in council 21 June 1815 (HC 125 p. 1 (1816) xiii, 167); Adm. 12/178, 27 June 1816.
  • 9. Adm. 12/284, 14 May 1832; order in council 1 Aug. 1832 (PC 2/213 pp. 495-9).
  • 10. Order in council 2 Feb. 1867 (PC 2/265 pp. 158-9).
  • 11. Reappointed.