Admiralty
It evolved from *Admiralty Navy War Council, (1909–1912) which in turn became the Admiralty War Staff, (1912–1917) before finally becoming the Admiralty Naval Staff in 1917. It was the former senior command, operational planning, policy and strategy department within the British Admiralty. It was established in 1917 and existed until 1964 when the department of the Admiralty was abolished, and the staff departments function continued within the Navy Department of the Ministry of Defence until 1971 when its functions became part of the new Naval Staff, Navy Department of the Ministry of Defence.
Admiralty in the 16th century
King Alfred the Great first established a navy for England in the ninth century. Navies during the very early middle ages were temporary naval formations of merchant ships requisitioned by the monarch as a feudal duty. In 1050 King Edward the Confessor established a framework for naval service to the crown by assigning ports located on the English Channel the name given to them was the Cinque Ports that consisted of a readily available Cinque Port Fleet. The King's council controlled naval matters until the institution of a Lord Admiral or High Admiral formed after 1360. Prior to 1414 naval and judicial administration and operations was divided into specific geographical areas each commanded by an admiral responsible for one of the three seas, North, South and West that surround the British Isles. They were Northern Admiralty, (1294-1412) the Northern and Southern Admiralty, (1364-1414) the Northern and Western Admiralty, (1364-1414), the Western Admiralty, (1294-1412) and the Southern Admiralty, (1294-1412), and the Southern Northern and Western Admiralty, (1360-1369). In 1414 these remaining regional admiralty "North and West" was abolished and its functions and jurisdiction were centralized under a single Admiralty Office. However regional commands didn't entirely disappear such as the Narrow Seas Admiralty, established in 1412 it remained within the navy as a sub-commands to the higher office of the Lord High Admiral usually administered by a vice-admiral.