# Admiral of the Narrow Seas

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 Seas :
| rank | name | date/s | notes |
| Vice-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 Dudley | 1537 | |
| Vice-Admiral | Sir Rhys Mansell | June 1543 | |
| Vice-Admiral | Sir William Woodhouse | 1544–1545 | |
| Vice-Admiral | Sir Thomas Cotton | May. 1549 | |
| Vice-Admiral | Sir Henry Dudley | 26 March, 1552 | |
| Admiral | William Driver | December, 1552 – January, 1553 | |
| Vice-Admiral | Sir John Malen | 1557–1558 | |
| Vice-Admiral | Sir Ralph Chamberlain | September, – October, 1558 | |
| Vice-Admiral | Sir John Malyn | November, 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 Cotton | August, – 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 Howard | 1613 – 13 January, 1616 | |
| Admiral | Sir Francis Howard | 14 January, 1616 – 1618 | |
| Admiral | Sir Henry Mervyn | 1619–1623 | |
| Rear-Admiral | Sir John Penington | 1623–1626 | as Rear-Admiral for the Guard of the Narrow Seas |
| Rear-Admiral | Sir John Penington | 1631–1634 | as Rear-Admiral for the Guard of the Narrow Seas |
| Vice-Admiral | Robert Bertie, 3rd Earl of Lindsey | 1635–1639 | |
| Vice-Admiral | Sir John Penington | 1641–1642 | |
| Admiral | Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick | 1643 | |
| Vice-Admiral | Sir Thomas Rainsborough | 1643–1644 | also vice-admiral in the channel |
| General-at-Sea | Sir Robert Blake | 1652–1657 | Commanding in the channel, and at the Downs |
| Vice-Admiral | Sir John Lawson | 1665 | |
| Vice-Admiral | Sir Edward Montagu, 1st Earl Sandwich | July 1657 – 1658 | |
| Admiral | Sir Edward Montagu 1st Earl Sandwich | June 1661 – 1665 | |
| Vice-Admiral | Sir John Kempthorne | 1678 | |
| Vice-Admiral | Sir William Poole | 1679 | |
| Vice-Admiral | Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton | 1685–1687 | |
| Admiral | Sir Roger Strickland | 1687–1688 | rank as Admiral of the Blue |