The Surveyor of Buildings also known as the Department of the Surveyor of Buildings was the civil officer initially a member of the

Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the Regulatory agency, commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headqua ...

then later the

Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

responsible for superintending, maintaining and improving the British

Royal Navy Dockyard Royal Navy Dockyards (more usually termed Royal Dockyards) were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial c ...

s, Naval Buildings, and Architectural Works of the Admiralty from 1812 to 1837.

History

The office holder evolved out of an earlier post in 1796 when an '' Inspector-General of Naval Works'' was appointed to superintend the Naval Works Department then under the

with responsibility for all civil engineering works in the royal naval dockyards. In 1806 the ''Commissioners of Enquiry for Revising and Digesting the Civil Affairs of the Royal Navy'' produced a fourth report (since 1785) in which they recommended the abolition of the Inspector-Generals Department as a semi-autonomous function and recommended the role be re-styled and its responsibilities broadened. In 1807 the title was changed to the ''Civil Architect and Engineer of the Navy'' his department then reported directly to the

. In 1813 the title and role was changed to ''Surveyor of Buildings'' whose responsibilities shifted focus towards architectural works. In 1827 the Surveyors department was expanded to include the duties of managing the buildings belonging to the Victualling Department and including its various yards and stations. In 1832 the Navy Board was abolished and its role and responsibilities were merged into the Admiralty. In 1837 following restructuring the surveyors department was abolished and its functions merged into a new Architectural and Engineering Works Department under a ''Director of Naval Works'' who then reported to the

Civil Lord of the Admiralty The Civil Lord of the Admiralty formally known as the Office of the Civil Lord of Admiralty also referred to as the Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty was a member of the Board of Admiralty who was responsible for managing the Royal N ...

Office holders

Surveyor of Building (1812-1837)

* Mr. Edward Holl, 28 November 1812 - 3 February 1824 * Mr.

George Ledwell Taylor George Ledwell Taylor (31 March 1788 – 1 May 1873) was an architect and landowner who lived in London. Life Taylor was born on 31 March 1788 and educated at Rawes's academy, Bromley. He became a pupil of the architect James Burton (proper ...

, 3 February 1824 - 1837,

Timeline

, Inspector-General of Naval Works, 1796-1807 *

, Civil Architect and Engineer of the Navy, 1808-1812 * Navy Board, Surveyor of Buildings, 1812-1832 *

, Surveyor of Buildings, 1832-1837 * Board of Admiralty, Architectural and Engineering Works Department, 1837-1919 * Board of Admiralty, Civil Engineer in Chiefs Department, 1919-1960 * Board of Admiralty, Navy Works Department, 1960-1963

References

Sources

* Archives, National, (1796-1960), Records of Works Departments
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C711/Records of Works Departments
* Clowes. Laird. William. (1899), The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to Present, Volume IV, and Volume V, Sampson Lowe Marston and Co, London. * Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 7, Navy Board Officials 1660-1832, ed. J M Collinge (London, 1978), British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol7 ccessed 9 June 2017 * Naval works department, in Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4, Admiralty Officials 1660-1870, ed. J C Sainty (London, 1975), pp. 91–94. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol4/pp91-94 ccessed 14 July 2017 * Rodgers N.A.M. (1979), The Admiralty, Offices of State, Terrance Dalton Ltd, Lavenham, England. * Skempton A. W. (2002). A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: 1500-1830, Volume 1 of A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland. Thomas Telford, England.

External links

{{Board of Admiralty, state=collapsed S 1796 establishments in Great Britain 1837 disestablishments in the United Kingdom