The documents, from Admiralty records, consist of forty-six plans, 1704 to 1875. Two small-scale maps show Gibraltar about 1704 and two plans show the fortifications early in the century. Twenty-seven plans, elevations and sections show the New Mole and Fort, 1728 to 1751, with proposed alterations and additions to facilities. Fourteen plans and designs, 1734 to 1747, are for a new hospital. One map shows the dockyard, victualling yard and hospital in 1875

Administrative / biographical background
The dockyard at Gibraltar dates from 1704 when the peninsula became a British possession. Development of the yard was slight during the first part of the eighteenth century due to the British possession of Port Mahon, thereafter the buildings and facilities were steadily improved.