Board of Ordnance

The Board of Ordnance was a British government body responsible for the supply of armaments and munitions to the British Army. It was also responsible for providing artillery trains for armies and maintaining coastal fortresses and later management of the artillery and engineer corps. It also produced maps for military purposes, a function later taken over by the Ordnance Survey. The board’s headquarters were in the Tower of London. Until c. 1830, the board was also responsible for naval munitions, including cannon, shot, muskets, and gunpowder.

History

The introduction of gunpowder to Europe led to innovations in offensive weapons such as cannon and defenses such as fortifications. In the 1370s, to manage the new technology, the royal household appointed a courtier to administer weapons, arsenals and castles. The office and main arsenal were located in the White Tower of the Tower of London. The earliest known Master of Ordnance was Nicholas Merbury, appointed about 1415-1420 by Henry V of England. Merbury was present at the Battle of Agincourt . The Office of Ordnance was created by Henry VIII of England in 1544 and became the Board of Ordnance in 1597, its principal duties being to supply guns, ammunition, stores and equipment to the King's Navy.

The Board of Ordnance consisted of six principal officers:

• Master-General of the Ordnance (head of the board)
• Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance
• Surveyor-General of the Ordnance
• Clerk of the Ordnance
• Storekeeper of the Ordnance
• Clerk of the Deliveries of the Ordnance

In 1830, the principal officers were reduced to four by the abolition of the posts of Lieutenant-General and Clerk of the Deliveries.

The Treasurer of the Ordnance was also an important officer of the department, although he did not sit on the board. This office was consolidated with several others in 1836 to form that of Paymaster-General. A number of other inferior officers reported to the board, such as clerks, storekeepers, engineers, and master gunners.

The board was incorporated into the War Office in 1855 by an Act of Parliament (18 & 19 Vict. c. 117) as the Department of the Master-General of the Ordnance and was effectively abolished.

Sub-divisions of the Board of Ordnance

The Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers answered to the Board of Ordnance instead of the War Office until 1855. The Ordnance Medical Department was established to provide surgeons for these corps.

Ordnance Board

Almost fifty years later, after the Second Boer War, and unease that the British Army had been ill-equipped, a new office called the Ordnance Board was created. It consists of a board of munitions experts, whose purpose was to advise the Army Council on the safety and approval of weapons. The Ordnance Board, and its name, survived within the Ministry of Defence until the mid 1990s when it was renamed the Defence Ordnance Safety Group; long before then, the Ordnance Board had extended its scope to encompass more than just the safety and approval of the Army’s ordnance.

Notable Staff

One of its 18th century map-makers was noted water-colour artist Paul Sandby.

See also

• Royal Ordnance Factories
• Ordnance Survey
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