The Royal Dockyards 1690–1850 by Jonathan G. Coad

Abstract

156 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE United States. However, increasing competition from Soviet space exploration and the Japanese electronics industry soon paved the way for worldwide cooperation. At the same time, new options for describing and shaping complex technical systems grew up against the background of expanding automation coupled with more intense interdisciplinary research. This first synopsis of the development of engineering sciences con­ centrates on the cognitive aspect, linked to the interactions with ma­ terial production. Unfortunately the concept of linear progress dom­ inates, as reflected in the stereotypical expressions “not yet” and “already.” Incidentally, that applies equally to the authors’ more de­ tailed work (much ofit postdoctoral dissertations that are sadly missing from the bibliography). The reproduction aspect of engineering sci­ ences is only occasionally mentioned, yet it represents an important component of methodological approach, as can be seen in Buchheim’s other writings. It remains to be seen whether this research topic, well represented in the past at the Dresden University of Technology, will be maintained under the new political conditions. If so, this book could help to fertilize the historical discourse in North America and Western Europe on the relationship between science and technology and also to stimulate international discourse, specifically on the genesis of the engineering sciences, thus closing the remaining gaps. Oskar Blumtritt Dr. Blumtritt is curator of telecommunications at the Deutsches Museum. The Royal Dockyards 1690-1850. By Jonathan G. Coad. Brookfield, Vt.: Gower Publishing Company, 1989. Pp. xxvi + 399; illustrations, maps. $89.95. Jonathan Coad has tackled an immense subject and wins wide stripes for writing this book. (In the United States the subject will probably be claimed by industrial archaeologists; it will keep them busy for years!) The men who sail and fight on the deep blue leave the shore establishment in the hands of others. But valor afloat depends ultimately on the skills of those who design, build, and maintain naval bases—landlubbers, if you please. Coad states at the outset that “the Royal Navy was probably the greatest industrial organization in the world.” Is it possible to refute that? In 1711 there were 6,488 employees, in 1730 over 10,000, and by 1814 over 17,000. Finding that no British dockyard buildings older than the year 1690 still exist, he starts the narrative at that time and runs on to about 1850, when steam power and iron warships heralded a new technological age. The original British concern was defense against the French and Dutch. But as offensives moved into the Mediterranean and across TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 157 the Atlantic, bases at Portsmouth and Plymouth in the west soon rivaled the earlier yards with their shallow waters and frustrating winds. By 1814 the navy had over 900 ships to be serviced by bases as far away as Antigua, Bermuda, Gibraltar, and Bombay. Facing an immensely large and complicated subject, Coad carved it up to allow for several approaches. He devotes part one to the home bases, mainly the big ones at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth. He covers planning and organization under the Navy Board, with a picture of rival bureaucrats muscling each other along a way marked by poor bookkeeping. The need for reform was slowly acknowledged: by 1806, “a regular Surveyor of Civil Architecture is absolutely necessary, and ... he ought to have a salary of £300 a year.” The Royal Engineers enter the picture by the 1850s. There is a chapter on office buildings and houses, including Somerset House and capital structures in Whitehall. Another chapter examines the technical problems presented in building the drydocks—huge and expensive structures. The first crude one at Plymouth was lined with timber and closed by a crosswall of wood filled in with clay and stones. By 1700 all the yards had better ones. In the 19th century the slips in building yards were sometimes covered to protect wooden ships and increase the productivity of workers. Whether built of timber or of iron, they were quite remarkable and their structural design is of interest beyond dockyards. The wooden navy required much space for the storage and seasoning of timber, and a certain amount of attention was paid to fireproof floors...