Penn, Admiral Sir William (1621-1670)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0064 WYN/1-20
Held at	: National Maritime Museum   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/ ›
Full title	: Penn, Admiral Sir William (1621-1670)
Date(s)	: [1621-1670]
Level of description	: Subfonds View parent record
Extent	: 4 boxes
Name of creator(s)	: Penn | Sir | William | 1621-1670 | Knight | Admiral

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Penn served under the Commonwealth in the Irish Fleet. He then went to the Mediterranean in the CENTURION and FAIRFAX, 1650 to 1651, before becoming First Captain of the TRIUMPH. During 1652 and 1653 he was Vice-Admiral of the Fleet under General Robert Blake during the First Dutch War. The following year he was appointed General and Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet, in the SWIFTSUR, for the expedition to capture HISPANIOLA, returning home in 1655. During the Second Dutch War, Penn was appointed to the ROYAL CHARLES, the Duke of York's flagship, in a capacity similar to that of 'Captain of the Fleet'. He served at the Navy Board as a Commissioner between 1660 and 1663, influencing the tactical instructions and drawing up the code long-known as the 'Duke of York's Sailing and Fighting Instructions'. See Granville Penn, Memorials of the professional life and times of Sir William Penn. From 1644 to 1670 (London, 1833, 2 vols).

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers of Sir William Penn. Sir William's life after 1650 is well covered but for the earlier period there are only a few orders, instructions and isolated documents. The collection includes a log, 1650 to 1651, accounts of battles, 1652 to 1653, a log of the SWIFTSURE and sailing and fighting instructions, both to and from Penn, for the expedition to the West Indies. The 1665 campaign is covered by an incomplete log of the ROYAL CHARLES, a description of the battle of Lowestoft, several sailing and fighting instructions and orders of battle. There are also administrative papers and personal letters covering Penn's tenure of office at the Navy Board.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Conditions governing access:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Finding aids:

Detailed catalogue online at the: National Maritime Museum website .

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Edited by Sarah Drewery, Sep 2011.

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
2011-04-19