Port Mahon Dockyard[1] was a
Royal Navy Dockyard located at
Port Mahon,
Menorca,
Spain. It was opened in 1708 and in 1802 the port was ceded back to Spain. However a resident commissioner of the Royal Navy was still appointed as late as 1814. The dockyard was administered by the
Navy Board and was part of the
Mediterranean Fleet.
History
The Port Mahon Dockyard was established at Port Mahon, one of the world's deepest natural harbours, in 1708, following orders issued by the
Admiralty to Admiral Sir
George Byng the Commander-in-Chief of the
Mediterranean Squadron. He was instructed to develop the Port of Mahon as a naval base following the
capture of Minorca.[2] The dockyard was located on the north side of the
harbour, opposite Port Mahon town. In 1756 control of the dockyard was fought over during the
Battle of Minorca (1756). During the 1760s naval storehouses were constructed. The dockyard was the Royal Navy's principal Mediterranean base for much of the eighteenth century; however the territory changed hands more than once in that time, before being finally ceded to Spain in 1802.[3]
Administration of the dockyard and other key officials
The Master Shipwright was the
key official at the royal navy dockyards until the introduction of resident commissioners by the Navy Board after which he became deputy to the resident commissioner. In 1832 the post of commissioner was replaced by the post of superintendent.
^Clowes, Sir William Laird (1897–1903). The royal navy, a history from the earliest times to the present Volume III. London, England: S. Low Marston. p. 4.
^Clowes, Sir William Laird (1897–1903). The royal navy, a history from the earliest times to the present Volume III. London, England: S. Low Marston. p. 327.
^Baugh, Daniel A. (2015).
"Overseas Bases". British Naval Administration in the Age of Walpole. Princeton, United States: Princeton University Press. p. 7.
ISBN9781400874637.
^Admiralty, Great Britain (1814).
"Civil Service". The Navy List. London, England: H.M. Stationery Office. p. 118.
^Harrison, Simon (2010–2018).
"Storekeeper at Port Mahon". threedecks.org. S, Harrison. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
Sources
Archives, National (1708–1802). "Royal Naval dockyard staff: Port Mahon Dockyard on Minorca". The National Archives. London, England.
Baugh, Daniel A. (2015). "Overseas Bases". British Naval Administration in the Age of Walpole. Princeton, United States: Princeton University Press.
ISBN9781400874637.
Clowes, Sir William Laird (1897–1903). The royal navy, a history from the earliest times to the present Volume III. London, England: S. Low Marston.
Dickinson, H. T. (2008). A Companion to Eighteenth-Century Britain. Hoboken, New Jersey, United States: John Wiley & Sons.
ISBN9780470998878.