Chamberlain of London

Last updated

Richard Clark (1739-1831) wearing his black furred robe as Chamberlain of the City of London Richard Clark.jpeg
Richard Clark (1739–1831) wearing his black furred robe as Chamberlain of the City of London

The Chamberlain of the City of London is an ancient office of the City of London, dating back to at least 1237.

Contents

The Chamberlain is the finance director of the City of London Corporation. [1] They are the financial adviser, accountant, receiver and paymaster and are responsible for the City of London's local and private trust funds. The Chamberlain is responsible for making arrangements for the investment of City of London and other funds and is one of the three official trustees. The role is assisted by the Clerk of the Chamber or Chamberlain's Court, a similarly ancient role. The Lord Mayor of London, elected annually, is the leader of the corporation.

Through the Chamberlain's Court [2] they administer the admission to the Freedom of the City and personally admit all honorary freemen. The Chamberlain is responsible to the Court of Aldermen for constituting new livery companies and for interpreting and amending their ordinances and charters.

The Chamberlain's relationship with the Court of Common Council is the same that applies to other local authority chief finance officers (CFOs) and therefore they have the same responsibilities placed upon them as any other CFO in the United Kingdom.

The current holder of the office is Caroline Al-Beyerty, the 81st Chamberlain in unbroken succession from 1237 to the present. Mrs Al-Beyerty has made history in becoming the first woman to hold this office.

History

The civic Chamberlain of London (effectively the corporation's Treasurer) should not be confused with the "King's Chamberlain of London" (effectively a royal victualler). [3] Originally responsible for collection and distribution of revenues within the city and nominally appointed by the Crown, the office-holder's term traditionally began on Midsummer Day and cannot be removed "unless some great cause of complaint appear against him". [4]

The Chamberlain was responsible for the Chamber of London, [5] the place where various monies of the city were received and stored. The monies were referred to as the City's Cash although there were other funds such as the City Bridge Fund, administered by the Chief Commoner, and later the City Fund, a fund created to handle the rates.

In 1590, the right of the Chamberlain to levy local taxes on goods sold within the city was upheld in The Chamberlain of London’s Case as a valid regulatory measure. [6] [7]

The longest-serving Chamberlain is Benjamin Scott (1858-1892), closely followed by Richard Clark (1798-1831) and Sir Adrian Pollock (1912-1943), all of whom exceeded tenures of thirty years and died in office.

Today the office still has important ceremonial responsibilities, [8] including administering the creation of Freemen of London.

Full list of Chamberlains

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worshipful Company of Fishmongers</span> Livery company of the City of London

The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London, being an incorporated guild of sellers of fish and seafood in the City. The Company ranks fourth in the order of precedence of City Livery Companies, thereby making it one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports</span> Ceremonial official in the United Kingdom

The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cinque Ports, a group of five port towns on the southeast coast of England that was formed to collectively supply ships for The Crown in the absence at the time of a formal navy. Today the role is a sinecure and an honorary title, and fourteen towns belong to the Cinque Ports confederation. The title is one of the higher honours bestowed by the Sovereign; it has often been held by members of the Royal Family or prime ministers, especially those who have been influential in defending Britain at times of war.

The Groom Porter was an office at the royal court of the monarch of Britain, who had "the Inspection of the King's Lodgings, and takes care that they are provided with Tables, Chairs, Firing, &c. As also to provide Cards, Dice, &c. when there is playing at Court: To decide Disputes which arise in Gaming". He was also responsible for "oversight of common Billiards Tables, common Bowling Grounds, Dicing Houses, Gaming Houses and Common tennis Courts and power of Licensing the same within the Citys of London and Westminster or Borough of Southwark."

Sir William Laxton was a Lord Mayor of London during the reign of Henry VIII, and eight times Master of the Worshipful Company of Grocers. He is the founder of Oundle School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Groom of the Stool</span> English monarch courtier

The Groom of the Stool was the most intimate of an English monarch's courtiers, responsible for assisting the king in excretion and hygiene.

Sir Richard Gardiner was, in 1478, elected Lord Mayor of London. He was Alderman of Walbrook Ward, and had been Sheriff of the City of London in 1469. He was also elected in 1478 a Member of Parliament for the City of London, one of the two aldermanic representatives of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wardrobe (government)</span> Department of the kings household in medieval and early modern England

The King's Wardrobe, together with the Chamber, made up the personal part of medieval English government known as the King's household. Originally the room where the king's clothes, armour, and treasure were stored, the term was expanded to describe both its contents and the department of clerks who ran it. Early in the reign of Henry III the Wardrobe emerged out of the fragmentation of the Curia Regis to become the chief administrative and accounting department of the Household. The Wardrobe received regular block grants from the Exchequer for much of its history; in addition, however, the wardrobe treasure of gold and jewels enabled the king to make secret and rapid payments to fund his diplomatic and military operations, and for a time, in the 13th-14th centuries, it eclipsed the Exchequer as the chief spending department of central government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farringdon Within</span> Ward of the City of London

Farringdon Within is one of the 25 wards of the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It was formed in the 14th century from the sub-division of the pre-existing Farringdon Ward into Farringdon Within, and Farringdon Without, beyond the Wall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farringdon Without</span> Ward of the City of London

Farringdon Without is the most westerly Ward of the City of London, its suffix Without reflects its origin as lying beyond the City's former defensive walls. It was first established in 1394 to administer the suburbs west of Ludgate and Newgate, and also around West Smithfield. This was achieved by splitting the very large, pre-existing Farringdon Ward into two parts, Farringdon Within and Farringdon Without. The large and prosperous extramural suburb of Farringdon Without has been described as having been London's first West End.

Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other Ancien Régime royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in England while French was still the language of the court, the title was varlet or valet de chambre. In German, Danish and Russian the term was "Kammerjunker" and in Swedish the similar "Kammarjunkare".

This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Warwickshire.

This is a list of sheriffs and since 1998 high sheriffs of Worcestershire.

Sir William Ashhurst or Ashurst was an English banker and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1689 and 1710. He served as Lord Mayor of London for the year 1693 to 1694.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Pilkington</span>

Sir Thomas Pilkington was an English merchant, politician and Lord Mayor of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lawrence (lord mayor)</span>

Sir John Lawrence was an English merchant who was Lord Mayor of London from 1664 to 1665. He was therefore Lord Mayor during the period of the Great Plague of London.

Sir Thomas Scawen was a British merchant, financier and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1708 and 1722. He was Governor of the Bank of England from 1721 to 1723.

Sir Cuthbert Buckle was a 16th-century English merchant and Lord Mayor of London of Westmorland origins.

Sir Edward Clarke, of Brickendon, Hertfordshire, was an English merchant who served as Lord Mayor of London in the year 1696 to 1697.

Sir Henry Marshall (1688–1754), of St. Mary at Hill, London and Theddlethorpe, Lincolnshire, was a British merchant and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1754. He was Lord Mayor of London for the year 1744 to 1745

References

  1. Overview of the City of London Corporation's Structure City of London Official website.
  2. 'An Introduction to the Chamberlain's Court of the City of London' with details of archive locations (Leaflet, City of London, n.d.) (Whatdotheyknow.com, pdf).
  3. See T.F. Tout, Chapters in the Administrative History of Mediaeval England: The Wardrobe, The Chamber, and the Small Seals, Vol. I (Manchester University Press 1920), p. 89 note 4, and pp. 159-60 (Google).
  4. "Book 2, Ch. 2 - Summary of civil government". British History Online. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  5. See, e.g., M.C. Wren, 'The Chamber of the City of London, 1633-1642', The Accounting Review Vol. 24 no. 2 (April 1949), pp. 191-98.
  6. "Online Library of Liberty - Cases of By-Laws and Ordinances The Chamberlain of London's Case. - Selected Writings of Sir Edward Coke, vol. I". oll.libertyfund.org. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  7. Non-subscription edition: J.H. Thomas and J.F. Fraser (eds), The Reports of Sir Edward Coke, Knt. [1572-1613]. In Thirteen Parts, 6 Vols (Joseph Butterworth and Son, London 1826), III: Parts V-VI, pp. 126-28.
  8. Sir I. Gane, KCVO, 'The Chamber of London: Some Reflections by a Chamberlain of London', Guildhall Historical Association Papers, 29 January 1962, 7 pp., (GHA 386, Association pdf online) Archived 2017-10-21 at the Wayback Machine .

Sources