In 1675 the British first made use of a wharf at Port Royal and assigned a resident Naval Officer to superintend these facilities;.

[2] Following the 1692 earthquake, Port Royal never fully recovered from its preeminent position as a major commercial center.

Despite this the dockyard served as the headquarters of the British Royal Navy in the Caribbean.

Over the next thirty years, more facilities were added: cooperages, workshops, sawpits, and accommodation (including a canteen) for the crews of ships being careened there.

[4] The Master Shipwright was usually the key official at the royal navy dockyards until the introduction of resident commissioners by the Navy Board who were responsible for administrating naval yards; after which he became deputy to the resident commissioner.