Downs Station Explained

Unit Name:	Downs Station
Dates:	1626–1834
Country:	United Kingdom
Branch:	Royal Navy
Type:	Naval formation
Command Structure:	Royal Navy
Garrison:	Deal, Kent, England

The Downs Station^[1] also known as the Commander-in-Chief, the Downs^[2] orAdmiral Commanding at the Downs was a formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain and then the United Kingdom's Royal Navy based at Deal. It was a major command of the Royal Navy from 1626 until 1834.^[3]

The Downs is a roadstead (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 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.^[4]

It served as a base for warships patrolling the North Sea. 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's control, whose role and geographic area of responsibility was re-defined by the Admiralty.

Commanders in chief

Incomplete list includes:^[5]
= 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 ^[6]
• Rear-Admiral Basil Beaumont, 1699–1703
• Commodore Richard Griffith, 1707
• Commodore Gerard Ellwes, 1707–1708 ^[7]
• Commodore Charles Cornwall, 1709–1710
• Commodore Tudor Trevor, 1711–1712
• Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Wager, 1712–1714
• Captain Edward Vernon, 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*^[8]

Station not active 1782 to 1790

• Rear-Admiral Sir Richard King, 1790–1791

Station not active 1791 to 1793

• Rear-Admiral John MacBride, 1793–1794 ^[9]
• Vice-Admiral Joseph Peyton, 1794–1799
• Rear-Admiral John Bazely, 1796–1797*
• Vice-Admiral Skeffington Lutwidge, 1799–1802^[10]
• Rear-Admiral Edward Thornbrough, 1803 ^[11]
• Vice-Admiral Philip Patton, 1803–1804^[12]
• Vice-Admiral John Holloway, 1804–1807 ^[13]
• Vice-Admiral Bartholomew Rowley, 1807–1808 ^[14]
• Vice-Admiral George Campbell, 1808–1811^[15]
• Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Foley, 1811–1815 ^[16]
• Rear-Admiral William Hall Gage, 1833^[17]

Temporary command in absence of senior officer *

References

• Book: Charnock . John . Biographia Navalis; or, Impartial memoirs of the lives of officers of the navy of Great Britain from 1660 . 1794 . 29–31 . Volume 1.
• Ireland, Bernard (2001), Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail - War at Sea 1756–1815, 1st Ed, WW Norton & Co. .
• Marshall, John (18 November 2010). Royal Naval Biography: Or, Memoirs of the Services of All the Flag-Officers, Superannuated Rear-Admirals, Retired-Captains, Post-Captains, and Commanders. Cambridge University Press.
• 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. .
• Book: Schomberg. Isaac. Naval Chronology: Or, An Historical Summary of Naval & Maritime Events, from the Time of the Romans, to the Treaty of Peace, Volume 5. 1802. T Egerton. London, England. 224.

Notes and References

1. Book: Clarke. James Stanier. McArthur. John. The Naval Chronicle: Volume 27, January-July 1812: Containing a General and Biographical History of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom with a Variety of Original Papers on Nautical Subjects. 2 September 2010. Cambridge University Press. 9781108018661. 43. en.
2. Book: Papers, Relative to Correspondence between Sir Home Popham and the Admiralty, between 1 January 1787 and 31st December 1792. 1808. Oxford University. 198. en.
3. Book: Lee. Christopher. Nelson and Napoleon: The Long Haul to Trafalgar. 20 Nov 2014. Faber & Faber. 9780571321681. Chapter 7. en.
4. Book: Robson, Martin . The Battle of Trafalgar . 2005 . Conway Maritime Press . 0-85177-979-4 . 29, 36, 158.
5. Web site: Hiscocks. Richard. Downs commander-in-chief 1777-1815 - more than Nelson. more than Nelson. Richard Hiscocks. 10 March 2017. 1 February 2016.
6. Web site: Harrison. Simon. Stafford Fairborne (d.1716). threedecks.org. Simon Harrison 2017. 20 March 2018.
7. Web site: Harrison . Simon . Commander-in-Chief at The Downs . threedecks.org . S.Harrison . 16 February 2019 . 2010–2018.
8. Book: Marshall. John. Royal Naval Biography: Or, Memoirs of the Services of All the Flag-Officers, Superannuated Rear-Admirals, Retired-Captains, Post-Captains, and Commanders. 18 November 2010. Cambridge University Press. 9781108022712. 10. en.
9. Book: O’Byrne. William R.. A Naval Biographical Dictionary - Volume 1. 6 Feb 2012. Andrews UK Limited. 9781781502778. 38. en.
10. Web site: Archives. The National. Admiral Skeffington Lutwidge, Commander-in-Chief in the Downs, Order to Captain Portlock of the Arrow. Copy. Paper No 6.. discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1799 May 26, HO 69/5/6. 10 March 2017.
11. Book: Burke. John. A genealogical and heraldic history of the commoners of Great Britain and Ireland. 1838. Henry Colburn, London. 302. Rear-Admiral Edward Thornbrough Downs Station.. en.
12. Book: O’Byrne. William R.. A Naval Biographical Dictionary - Volume 2. 6 Feb 2012. Andrews UK Limited. 9781781502792. 875. en.
13. Book: Goodman. Alfred Edwin. Goodman, a Family History. 1916. A.H. Timms, Printer. 404. en.
14. Book: Urban. Sylvanus. Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle. 1811. E. Cave, London. 586. en.
15. Book: The Annual biography and obituary. 1827. A & R Spottiswoode, London. 448. en.
16. Book: Marshall. John. Royal Naval Biography: Or, Memoirs of the Services of All the Flag-Officers, Superannuated Rear-Admirals, Retired-Captains, Post-Captains, and Commanders. 18 November 2010. Cambridge University Press. 9781108022682. 220. en.
17. Web site: Laughton. John Knox. Gage William Hall. Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900. 15 March 2017.