The papers include several examples of Henslow's drawings as a young man when he was draughtsman to Sir Thomas Slade. There is a list of the ships built under his supervision in Plymouth yard and family photographs, notes and other papers until 1878. Also see Edward Henslow's (Son of Sir John Henslow) for drawings of ships' figureheads under reference SPB/56.

Administrative / biographical background
Henslow entered the dockyard service as a shipwright apprentice to Sir Thomas Slade (d.1771). After a period at the Navy Office as a draughtsman, he moved quickly up the service as Master Boat Builder at Woolwich, 1762 to 1764, Purveyor of Chatham Yard, 1764 to 1765, and Master Caulker of Portsmouth, 1765 to 1767. In 1767 he was Second Assistant to the Master shipwright at Portsmouth and in 1771 was the Assistant to the Surveyor of the Navy. He was Master Shipwright at Plymouth, 1775 to 1784 In 1785 he was appointed Surveyor of the Navy, which post he held until 1806.