Board of Ordnance

The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence of the realm and its overseas possessions, and as the supplier of munitions and equipment to both the Army and the Navy'. The Board also maintained and directed the Artillery and Engineer corps, which it founded in the 18th century. By the 19th century, the Board of Ordnance was second in size only to HM Treasury among government departments. The Board lasted until 1855, at which point it was disbanded.

Origins of the Board

The introduction of gunpowder to Europe led to innovations in offensive weapons, such as cannon, and defences, such as fortifications. From the 1320s a member of the Royal Household, the 'Keeper of the Privy Wardrobe in the Tower of London', became increasingly responsible for the procurement, storage and distribution of weapons. His office and main arsenal were located in the White Tower. This 'Privy Wardrobe in the Tower' grew, both in size and significance, after the start of the Hundred Years' War.
During the following century, the influence of the Privy Wardrobe and its staff receded, and no new Keepers were appointed after 1476. In its place, a distinct Office of Ordnance began to establish itself at the Tower; this body was responsible for firearms and artillery, and was staffed in the 1460s by a Master, a Clerk and a Yeoman. In the 1540s, during the reign of Henry VIII, the Ordnance Office was expanded, with new officers appointed and their principal duties clarified.
In 1671, the Office of Ordnance took over the work of the Office of Armoury at the Tower; the Armoury had been a parallel body which was originally responsible for armour and edged weapons, but its activities had gradually widened over time, causing a degree of duplication. At this time, the Ordnance Office also began to conduct oversight of the nation's forts and fortifications. In 1683, the board of management was formally constituted as the Board of Ordnance by Warrant of King Charles II; it consisted of five Principal Officers meeting under the chairmanship of the Master-General. At the same time it was given a new constitution by Lord Dartmouth, the Master-General. These detailed Instructions continued, with relatively little change, to provide the working framework for the Board and its officers until the early 19th century. The Board was a decision-making body, answerable to the Master-General who had power of veto.. They were required to meet at least twice a week at the Tower in order to transact business.

Principal officers

By the mid-16th century the Master was assisted by five 'Principal Officers' who later went on to form the Board, which thus consisted of:
Two overseers:

Master of the Ordnance
Lieutenant of the Ordnance

And four heads of department:

Surveyor of the Ordnance
Clerk of the Ordnance
Storekeeper of the Ordnance
Clerk of the Deliveries of the Ordnance

The offices of Master of the Ordnance and Clerk of the Ordnance may be said to date from 1414, when Letters Patent were issued on behalf of Henry V of England to 'Nicholas Merbury, Master of our Works, Engines, Cannons and other kinds of Ordnance for War, and to John Louth, Clerk of the same Works'. Merbury was present at the Siege of Harfleur and at the Battle of Agincourt. By 1450 Master of Ordnance was a permanent appointment, firmly based at the Tower of London.
The office of Yeoman of the Ordnance was abolished in 1543 and its duties were split between two new officers: the Storekeeper of the Ordnance and Clerk of the Deliveries. At the same time the office of Surveyor of the Ordnance was also established.
Until 1544 the Master had generally managed the day-to-day activities of the Ordnance Office. In that year, however, King Henry VIII appointed his brother-in-law Thomas Seymour as Master of the Ordnance, displacing the incumbent Sir Christopher Morris, who continued his previous work but with a new title: Lieutenant of the Ordnance. Thereafter the Lieutenant had day-to-day oversight of the Board's activities, while Master had more the role of a statesman and supervisor.
From the 17th century through till 1828 the Master-General routinely had a seat in Cabinet, and thus served as de facto principal military adviser to the government. Some of the most illustrious soldiers of their generation served as Master-General: Marlborough, Cadogan, Cornwallis, Hastings, Wellington, Hardinge.
While the offices of Master-General and Lieutenant-General were almost always filled by prominent soldiers, the Ordnance Office was a largely civilian organisation up until the formation of its Artillery and Engineer corps in the early 18th century. Prior to 1716, civilians were generally employed as gunners and engineers by the Board; Storekeepers and their subordinates were also civilians as were those engaged in manufacturing. Having established the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers, however, the Board had parallel oversight of both a Military and a Civil Establishment. The Master-General was head of both Establishments; on a practical level, the Lieutenant-General had day-to-day oversight of the military personnel and the Surveyor-General oversaw the civil departments.

Other personnel

From its earliest years, the Ordnance Office was staffed by a large number of Clerks to manage its substantial administrative functions. A number of other officials reported to the board, including furbishers, proofmasters, keepers and fireworkers.
Two appointments stand out, as they were appointed by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm: namely the Master Gunner of England and the Chief Engineer. These were the senior technicians on the staff. The appointment of Master Gunner was first made as early as 1485, though it ceased after the establishment of the Regiment of Artillery in the 18th century; that of Chief Engineer was instituted in 1660.
The Treasurer of the Ordnance was another important officer of the department, although he did not sit on the board. This office was instituted in 1670 ; the post was consolidated with several others in 1836 to form that of Paymaster General.
The Master of Naval Ordnance was a specific office established in 1546 who was assigned to the Council of the Marine and acted as a liaison between both boards.
The Board also had a network of officers in place in key forts, ordnance yards and other installations throughout the Realm. The senior Ordnance officer in these locations was usually termed the Storekeeper, and he was responsible directly to the Board. Prior to the Union of the Crowns there was a Master of the Ordnance in the North who had greater autonomy, though he was reliant on the London office for most supplies. Moreover, a Master of the Ordnance in Dublin oversaw a largely independent Irish Board of Ordnance until 1801.

Coat of Arms

The Arms of the Board of Ordnance first appeared in the seventeenth century, and were given royal approval in 1806, confirmed by a grant from the College of Arms in 1823. The blazon is as follows:

Arms: Azure - 3 Field Pieces in pale, or; on a chief, argent, 3 cannonballs, proper.
Crest: Out of a mural crown, argent, a dexter cubit arm, the hand grasping a thunderbolt, winged and inflamed, proper.
Supporters: On either side a Cyclops, in the exterior hand of the dexter a Hammer, and in that of the sinister a pair of Forceps, resting on the shoulder of each respectively, all proper.
Motto: sua tela tonanti. .

The old Board's coat of arms is remembered today in the cap badge of the Royal Logistic Corps, which has the shield at its centre. The crest appears on the ensign of the Corps of Royal Engineers.

Broad Arrow

The broad arrow was the Board's mark, used as such from the 17th century. Stamped on guns, papers, buildings and all kinds of equipment, it originally signified royal ownership. A proclamation of 1699 clarified its use on stores of war belonging to the Board of Ordnance; just over a hundred years later, in 1806, the Board directed its Storekeepers and others to mark "all descriptions of Ordnance Stores... with the broad arrow as soon as they shall have been received as fit for His Majesty's Service".

The 'Ordnance Regiment'

In the 16th century, the Constable of the Tower of London routinely exercised his right to summon local citizens to form a garrison to guard the Tower; by the early 17th century this had been formalised into a standing militia. During the reign of Charles II, the Tower was still consistently being guarded by two garrison companies of militia. Then in 1685, following Charles's death, the new King James II asked Lord Dartmouth to form a new Ordnance Regiment 'for the care and protection of the cannon': as well as guarding the stocks of guns, arms and ammunition in the Tower more effectively, it was envisaged that the new regiment would provide protection for the artillery trains, which were formed when necessary to deliver ordnance. The old guard companies formed the core of this new regiment, but they were soon augmented by a further ten companies of 100 men each ; there was in addition a company of miners. The regiment was to be housed in the Grand Storehouse, then under construction in the Tower. As a precaution against the risk of igniting the Ordnance stores of gunpowder, it was equipped with modern flintlock fusils, rather than with the matchlock muskets borne by most other regular troops. As such, the King referred to it as 'Our Royal Regiment of Fusiliers'. In its formative years, the regiment accompanied the royal artillery train to Hounslow Heath each summer ; there they guarded the guns, and the gunners and matrosses who had been drafted in to operate them. In due course, after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Fusiliers ceased to be an Ordnance Regiment and became a regular Infantry regiment ; but they continued to retain a base at the Tower. In 1949, the regimental depot returned to the Tower, to Waterloo Barracks ; it remained there for the next eleven years. Today, the Tower remains the Regimental Headquarters of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.