John Hopton (naval administrator)

John Hopton (c. 1470 – 1524) was an English naval officer and naval administrator who was appointed the first Clerk Comptroller of the Navy (1512–1524) one of the Clerks of His Majesty's Kings Marine who served under King Henry VIII of England.[1]

John Hopton
Bornc. 1470
England
Died1524
England
Allegiance England
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service1512-1524
RankCaptain
Commands heldClerk Comptroller of the Navy

Career

John Hopton was a gentleman usher of chamber of King Henry VIII whom he served as both a naval officer and naval administrator. The King had ordered the construction of new dockyards at both Erith and Limehouse in Kent, England as the Navy Royal was expanding. The Clerk of Kings Ships Robert Brygandine workload was becoming too much for one official to handle this led to the creation of a new office. In February 1512 Hopton was appointed Clerk Comptroller of the Navy. In addition the King ordered the construction of new storehouses both Deptford and Erith In 1513 Hopton was also appointed Keeper of the Kings Storehouse at Deptford Dockyard and Keeper of the Kings Storehouse at Erith Dockyard. Sharing responsibility with Brygandine he looked after ships and stores for the Thames and Medway area whilst Brgandine was responsible for Portsmouth and Southampton he held all these offices simultaneously until 1524.[2][3] Hopton was not only a naval administrator on 26 May 1513 Henry VIII appointed him Captain of the Fleet to carry the King's army to Calais which later led to the Battle of the Spurs at which he commanded the troop ships.[4]

During the Tudor period from 1512 and until his death in 1524, Hopton became the most prominent person in Naval Administration responsible for almost all naval expenditure.[5]

Footnotes
  1. Childs, David (2009). Tudor Sea Power: The Foundation of Greatness. Seaforth Publishing. p. 298. ISBN 9781473819924.
  2. Loades, David (2011). "3: The King at War 1511 to 1514". Henry VIII. Stroud, England: Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445606651.
  3. Hewerdine, Anita (2012). The Yeomen of the Guard and the Early Tudors: The Formation of a Royal Bodyguard. London, England: I.B.Tauris: Bloomsbury. p. 84. ISBN 9781848859838.
  4. Brewer, J. S. (2015). Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 588. ISBN 9781108062602.
  5. Rodger, N.A.M. (1997). "Council of the Marine: Administration 1509 to 1574". The safeguard of the sea : a naval history of Britain. Vol 1., 660-1649. London, England: Penguin. pp. 222–223. ISBN 9780140297249.

Bibliography
  1. Brewer, J. S. (2015). Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108062602.
  2. Childs, David (2009). Tudor Sea Power: The Foundation of Greatness. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781473819924.
  3. Hewerdine, Anita (2012). The Yeomen of the Guard and the Early Tudors: The Formation of a Royal Bodyguard. London, England: I.B.Tauris: Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781848859838.
  4. Loades, David (2011). Henry VIII. Stroud, England: Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445606651.
  5. Rodger, N.A.M. (1997). The safeguard of the sea : a naval history of Britain. Vol 1., 660–1649. London, England: Penguin. ISBN 9780140297249.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.