Edward III’s king’s ships were supported by an increasingly complex administrative and logistical structure. This was continually refined between 1335 and 1377 and was superior to the improvised methods used by Edward II and later reverted to by Richard II. One of Edward’s most important innovations was the introduction of a specialised officer called the Clerk of the King’s Ships. The first incumbent, a wardrobe clerk called Thomas Snettisham, was appointed in 1335. The clerk’s job was to maintain accounts for all the king’s ships, including their expenses and the proceeds of trade. He was supposed to keep these for later reference, and to be audited by the Exchequer, and to hand over a complete record of his dealings to his successor when he moved on. Clerks of the King’s Ships were also responsible for paying masters and mariners, and for arranging routine voyages such as transporting governmental figures around London. The clerks were not always entirely diligent. Snettisham was surprised on one occasion, when Edward demanded to see the records and mysteriously they were nowhere to be found.

Having a dedicated clerk to deal with the king’s ships was a new idea, and there were problems. The officer was in charge of every aspect of maintaining twenty-five or more ships, and the workload was too great. The clerk was supposed to be on hand to pay masters when they presented their accounts, which could be any time. When a master came to obtain payment, he might find that Snettisham was in a remote forest selecting oaks for a new ship or in Bridport buying rope. For this reason minor officials were introduced to support him. In 1341 a clerk was appointed as a ‘vitaller’, dedicated to buying food. A group of subordinate officers called ‘receivers’ were also employed to receive money, stores and weapons on the clerk’s behalf. Perhaps because of the number of assistants needed, the office was considered highly responsible and paid accordingly. The incumbent would earn six times as much as a clerk working on one of the ships, 36–40d per day compared to 6d for a ship’s clerk.