This chapter will approach its subject matter from a different slant from that taken in the previous chapters of this book. Up to now, the aim of this volume has been to highlight a system that was progressively developed by the Victualling Board in order to victual the Royal Navy, and as a consequence the approach taken has been that of presenting this as a whole, in a macroeconomic fashion, starting with an examination of the work of the central Commissioners at top level. This chapter will complete the study by taking a micro-economic approach and analysing how victualling was organised at the local level. This will be done by undertaking a thorough investigation of the victualling yard at Plymouth. Of all the major ports, Plymouth was considered to be the most suitable for this study, for a variety of reasons, including its role in victualling an ever-increasing number of vessels despite its incomplete infrastructure (see Chapter 4), a task that was not without certain challenges.

The first part of this chapter will analyse the division of tasks among the men in charge of victualling at Plymouth, and the second section will then examine the mode of management and the different sources for this westernmost of home victualling yards, working in the closest proximity to naval operations.