28 Sep 2010
This small pocket book (14 x 8.5 cm) appears to have been used as a general notebook to record essential items of information regarding naval victualling. The author is unknown. Manuscript ref: GBK/5
The book contains all the essential information required to order the correct amount of food and drink for ships serving on various stations. There are tables for calculating the amounts of various victuals needed for a given number of men. In order to ensure that the victuals provided by suppliers were of an acceptable standard, there are also notes regarding the production of certain staple items. For the purpose of comparison, the author has also included a table of provisions allowed to seamen in the Russian Navy.
Seamen were always issued with a standard set of provisions, which were set out initially in 1711. Although various additions and alterations were made to these orders, they remained substantially the same until the period of this notebook, and officials used them as a guide to provisioning ships. Using these orders, a seaman’s allowance included bread or ship’s biscuit; ‘good, wholesome’ beer; beef from a ‘well-fed ox’; bacon or ‘salted English pork’; fish; butter and Suffolk or Cheddar cheese.
The provisions were varied depending on the whereabouts of the ship. For example, in the West Indies brandy might replace beer and raisins or currants might replace beef. Bread was not very often available and the bread allowance would more usually be made up of ship’s biscuit. Although the biscuit often became infested with weevils on long journeys, it was designed to remain in good condition, provided that it was stored properly, for long periods of time. As always, the naval instructions specified that the biscuit was of good quality to start with: ‘good clean, sweet, sound, well boalted with a House Cloth well baked and well conditioned Wheaten Biscuit.’
The navy took care to purchase only good quality provisions, which would last for a reasonable amount of time at sea. The notebook includes a lengthy description of the best method of curing beef and pork so that it would keep well. However, there were occasions when the food or drink provided went rotten sooner than would have been expected. In this case, as the book notes, defective provisions were ‘To be sold, and amount paid to the Treasurer of the Navy’. All in all, the 18th-century seamen was probably at least as well fed, if not better, than his counterpart on land.
This notebook is one of several general notebooks kept by naval officers held in the manuscripts collection.
- For information about this and other items in the collection please ask a member of the library staff.
- Copies of the images on this page can be ordered via the Picture Library, or by contacting 020 8312 6600 / images@rmg.co.uk. Please quote the 'Repro ID' reference number displayed under the image.