The Downs Station also known as the Commander-in-Chief, the Downs or Admiral Commanding at the Downs was a formation of the

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...

and then the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

based at Deal. It was a major

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * command (Unix), a Unix command * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on A ...

of the Royal Navy from 1626 until 1834. The Downs is a

roadstead A roadstead or road is a sheltered body of water where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.United States Army technical manual, TM 5-360. Port Construction and Rehabilitation'. Washington: United States. Gove ...

(area of sheltered, favourable sea) in the southern North Sea near the English Channel off the east Kent coast. It is primarily known in

naval history Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. The Military, armed forces branch designated for naval warfare is a navy. Naval operations can be ...

for the Dutch defeat of the Spanish in the Battle of the Downs in 1639.

History

The Downs served as permanent base for naval vessels operating out of

Deal, Kent Deal is a coastal town in Kent, England, which lies where the North Sea and the English Channel meet, north-east of Dover, England, Dover and south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town whose history is closely linked t ...

. It served as a base for warships patrolling the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. The command generally covered an area in the southern North Sea near the English Channel off the east Kent coast. The station lasted until 1815, when it was absorbed into the

Commander-in-Chief, The Nore The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. Nore, The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of t ...

's control, whose role and geographic area of responsibility was re-defined by the Admiralty.

Commanders in chief

Incomplete list includes:
= died in post * Commodore Sir Henry Palmer, 1626 * Rear-Admiral Sir John Penington, 1626–1631 * Vice-Admiral Sir John Penington, 1638–1645 * Vice-Admiral Sir John Mennes, 1645–1649 * Rear-Admiral Richard Badiley, 1649–1650 * Vice-Admiral John Lawson, 1650–1656 * Vice-Admiral Richard Badiley, 1656 * Admiral Sir Edward Montagu, 1657–1663 * Commodore Thomas Allin, 1663–1664 * Admiral Sir William Penn, 1664–1666 * Vice-Admiral Sir John Holmes, 1667–1679 * Commodore Stafford Fairborne, 1695–1697 * Rear-Admiral Basil Beaumont, 1699–1703 * Commodore Richard Griffith, 1707 * Commodore Gerard Ellwes, 1707–1708 * Commodore Charles Cornwall, 1709–1710 * Commodore Tudor Trevor, 1711–1712 * Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Wager, 1712–1714 * Captain

Edward Vernon Admiral Edward Vernon (12 November 1684 – 30 October 1757) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He had a long and distinguished career, rising to the rank of admiral after 46 years service. As a vice admiral during the War of Jenkins' E ...

, 1716 * Commodore Philip Cavendish, 1716 * Admiral Edward Vernon, 1745 * Vice-Admiral William Martin, 1745 * Commodore Matthew Michell, 1745–1748 * Admiral Thomas Smith, 1755–1758 * Commodore Sir Peircy Brett, 1758–1761 * Commodore John Moore, 1761–1766 * Rear-Admiral John Montagu, 1771 * Commodore John Elliot, 1777–1778 * Vice-Admiral Matthew Buckle, 1778–1779 * Vice-Admiral Francis William Drake, 1779–1782 * Rear-Admiral John Evans, 1780–1781* * Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Hughes, 1781–1782* ''Station not active 1782 to 1790'' * Rear-Admiral Sir Richard King, 1790–1791 ''Station not active 1791 to 1793'' * Rear-Admiral

John MacBride John MacBride (sometimes written John McBride; ; 7 May 1868 – 5 May 1916) was an Irish republican and military leader. He was executed by the British government for his participation in the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin. Early life Jo ...

, 1793–1794 * Vice-Admiral Joseph Peyton, 1794–1799 * Rear-Admiral John Bazely, 1796–1797* * Vice-Admiral Skeffington Lutwidge, 1799–1802 * Rear-Admiral Edward Thornbrough, 1803 * Vice-Admiral Philip Patton, 1803–1804 * Vice-Admiral John Holloway, 1804–1807 * Vice-Admiral Bartholomew Rowley, 1807–1808 * Vice-Admiral George Campbell, 1808–1811 * Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Foley, 1811–1815 * Rear-Admiral William Hall Gage, 1833. ''Temporary command in absence of senior officer *''

Notes

References

* * Ireland, Bernard (2001), Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail - War at Sea 1756–1815, 1st Ed, WW Norton & Co. . * Rodger, N.A.M. (2004), The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649–1815. New York and London: W.W. Norton and Company. . * {{Royal Navy fleets Commands of the Royal Navy Military units and formations established in 1777 Military units and formations disestablished in 1815