The historical title Vice-Admiral of the West is sometimes applied to holders of the crown appointment Vice-Admiral of the Coast of counties in the South West of England.
The duties of a Vice-Admiral of the coast were to control the shipping (especially piracy) around a maritime county's coast and organise defense on land and at sea. He also acted as a local judge to deal with maritime matters.
It is not entirely clear if the role of Vice-Admiral of the West was in fact separate or additional to the role either Vice-Admiral of the Coast of Cornwall or Vice-Admiral of the Coast of Devon. Appointees to both these posts seem to have been described in writings after their deaths as Vice-Admiral of the West despite appearing appointed to their counties in contemporary papers.
The following are said to have been Vice-Admirals of the West:
- Sir John Arundell of Trerice - said to have held the post under Edward VI
- Sir Arthur Champernowne - Vice-Admiral of the Devon Coast 1562 - 1577
- Sir Walter Raleigh - Vice-Admiral of the Devon Coast 1586 - 1603
Famous quotes containing the word west:
“It is said that a carpenter building a summer hotel here ... declared that one very clear day he picked out a ship coming into Portland Harbor and could distinctly see that its cargo was West Indian rum. A county historian avers that it was probably an optical delusion, the result of looking so often through a glass in common use in those days.”
—For the State of New Hampshire, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)