List of speakers of the House of Commons of England

Last updated

This is a list of the speakers of the House of Commons of England, up to 1707.

Contents

For speakers of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801, see List of speakers of the British House of Commons.

List of parlours or prolocutors before 1377

Before 1377, the Speaker was referred to by terms such as the parlour and the prolocutor. Some of them presided, and Peter de Montfort and Peter de la Mare were certainly presiding officers of the Commons. The others named in this section were spokesmen. Some of them held judicial offices. It is not certain that they presided over the Commons.

The date given is that of the first meeting of the Parliament in question. Only Parliaments for which a presiding officer is known or supposed are included in the table.

ParliamentPresiding officerConstituencyNotes
First English Parliament, 11 June 1258 Peter de Montfort First identified presiding officer of the English House of Commons, styled prolocutor
27th of Edward II, 7 January 1327 William Trussell Joint spokesman of Lords and Commons, styled procurator
10th of Edward III, 16 March 1332 Henry de Beaumont ...
11th of Edward III, 9 September 1332 Geoffrey le Scrope ...
26th of Edward III, 29 March 1340 William Trussell ...
30th of Edward III, 28 April 1343 William Trussell Spokesman for the Commons alone
33rd of Edward III, 1347 William de Thorpe ...
34th of Edward III, 1348 William de Thorpe ...
36th of Edward III, 9 February 1351 William de Shareshull ...
55th of Edward III, 28 April 1376Sir Peter de la Mare Herefordshire First term (second after 1377)

Speakers of the House of Commons of England from 1377 to 1707

FromUntilSpeakerConstituencyNotes
January 13772 March 1377Sir Thomas Hungerforde Wiltshire First presiding officer styled Speaker. 56th Parliament of Edward III.
October 137728 November 1377Sir Peter de la Mare Herefordshire Second term (first before 1377). 1st of Richard II.
22 October 137816 November 1378Sir James Pickering Westmorland First term. 2nd of Richard II.
January 13806 December 1380Sir John Guildesborough Essex 4th and 5th of Richard II
18 November 138125 February 1382Sir Richard Waldegrave Suffolk 6th of Richard II and possibly in the next two Parliaments
23 February 138310 March 1383Sir James Pickering Yorkshire Second term. 9th of Richard II and possibly in several other Parliaments.
13831389unknownunknown10th to 21st of Richard II
28 January 13941398Sir John Bussy Lincolnshire Styled Commune Parlour. 22nd, 23rd (probably), 24th and 25th of Richard II
13981398nonenone25th of Richard II adjourned to Shrewsbury on 28 January 1398. Its authority was transferred to a Committee of 12 peers and 6 commoners (including Bussy, who was executed in 1399)
14 October 139915 October 1399Sir John Cheney (or Cheyne) Gloucestershire Resigned after two days as Speaker, 1st of Henry IV.
15 October 139919 November 1399 John Doreward Essex First term. 1st of Henry IV.
21 January 14011402Sir Arnold Savage Kent First term. 2nd of Henry IV and possibly 3rd.
3 October 140225 November 1402Sir Henry Redford Lincolnshire 4th of Henry IV
15 January 140410 April 1404Sir Arnold Savage Kent Second term. 5th of Henry IV.
7 October 140414 November 1404Sir William Esturmy (or Sturmy) Devon 6th of Henry IV
2 March 140622 December 1406Sir John Tiptoft Huntingdonshire 7th of Henry IV. First Speaker created a peer (1st Baron Tiptoft, 1426).
25 October 140719 December 1411 Thomas Chaucer Oxfordshire First term. 8th-10th of Henry IV.
14121413unknownunknown
8 May 14133 June 1413 William Stourton Dorset Styled parlour. 1st of Henry V.
3 June 14139 June 1413 John Doreward Essex Second term. 1st of Henry V.
1 May 141429 May 1414Sir Walter Hungerford Wiltshire 2nd of Henry V. Created 1st Baron Hungerford, 1426.
19 November 14141415 Thomas Chaucer Oxfordshire Second term. 3rd of Henry V.
5 November 14151415Sir Richard Redman (or Redmayne) Yorkshire 4th of Henry V
18 March 1416May 1416Sir Walter Beauchamp Wiltshire Styled Prolocutor. 5th of Henry V.
October 1416November 1419 Roger Flower Rutland First term. 6th-8th of Henry V.
14201421 Roger Hunt Bedfordshire First term. 9th of Henry V.
14211421 Thomas Chaucer Oxfordshire Third term. 10th of Henry V.
3 December 14211422 Richard Baynard Essex 11th of Henry V
11 November 142218 December 1422 Roger Flower Rutland Second term. 1st of Henry VI.
21 October 142328 February 1424Sir John Russell Herefordshire First term. 2nd of Henry VI.
2 May 142514 July 1425Sir Thomas Walton (or Wauton) Bedfordshire 3rd of Henry VI
28 February 14261 June 1426Sir Richard Vernon Derbyshire 4th of Henry VI
15 October 142725 March 1428Sir John Tyrrell Hertfordshire First term. 5th of Henry VI.
23 September 142923 February 1430Sir William Alington Cambridgeshire 6th of Henry VI
13 January 143120 March 1431Sir John Tyrrell Essex Second term. 7th of Henry VI.
14 May 143217 July 1432Sir John Russell Herefordshire Second term. 8th of Henry VI.
10 July 143321 December 1433 Roger Hunt Huntingdonshire Second term. 9th of Henry VI.
12 October 143523 December 1435 John Bowes Nottinghamshire 10th of Henry VI
23 January 1437March 1437Sir John Tyrrell Essex Third term. 11th of Henry VI.
19 March 143727 March 1437 William Burley (or Boerley) Shropshire First term. 11th of Henry VI.
13 November 143927 May 1442 William Tresham Northamptonshire First term. 12th and 13th of Henry VI.
26 February 14459 April 1445 William Burley (or Boerley) Shropshire Second term. Styled Prolocutor. 14th of Henry VI.
11 February 14473 March 1447 William Tresham Northamptonshire Second term. 15th of Henry VI.
13 February 144916 July 1449Sir John Say Cambridgeshire First term. 16th of Henry VI.
8 November 14498 November 1449Sir John Popham Hampshire Excused due to ill health. 17th of Henry VI.
8 November 14491450 William Tresham Northamptonshire Third term. 17th of Henry VI.
7 November 1450May 1451Sir William Oldhall Hertfordshire 18th of Henry VI
8 March 145316 February 1454 Thomas Thorpe Essex 19th of Henry VI. Left chair when imprisoned.
16 February 1454April 1454 Sir Thomas Charlton Middlesex 19th of Henry VI
10 July 1455January 1456Sir John Wenlock Bedfordshire Styled Prolocutor. 20th of Henry VI. Created 1st Baron Wenlock, 1461.
21 November 145920 December 1459Sir Thomas Tresham Northamptonshire Styled Prolocutor. 21st of Henry VI.
8 October 14601460 John Green Essex 22nd of Henry VI
5 November 14616 May 1462Sir James Strangeways Yorkshire Styled Prolocutor. 1st of Edward IV.
30 April 14631468Sir John Say Hertfordshire Second term. 2nd-3rd of Edward IV.
14691470unknownunknown4th-5th of Edward IV
7 October 14721478William Allington (of Bottisham) Cambridgeshire Grandson of the previous Speaker William Alington. 6th-7th of Edward IV.
21 January 1483February 1483 John Wood (or Wode) Surrey Styled Prolocutor. 8th of Edward IV.
24 January 148420 February 1484 William Catesby Northamptonshire 1st of Richard III
8 November 14851486Sir Thomas Lovell Northamptonshire Styled Prolocutor. 1st of Henry VII.
10 November 14871488Sir John Mordaunt Bedfordshire Styled Prolocutor. 2nd of Henry VII.
14 January 148927 February 1490Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam Lincolnshire Styled Prolocutor. 3rd of Henry VII.
18 October 1491March 1492Sir Richard Empson Northamptonshire Styled Prolocutor. 4th of Henry VII.
15 October 14951495Sir Robert Drury Suffolk 5th of Henry VII
19 January 14971497Sir Thomas Englefield Berkshire First term. 6th of Henry VII.
25 January 15041504 Edmond Dudley Staffordshire Styled Prolocutor. 8th of Henry VII.
23 January 151023 February 1510Sir Thomas Englefield Berkshire Second term. Styled Prolocutor. 1st of Henry VIII.
5 February 1512December 1513Sir Robert Sheffield Lincolnshire Styled Prolocutor. 2nd of Henry VIII.
6 February 151522 December 1515Sir Thomas Nevill Kent Styled Prolocutor. 3rd of Henry VIII.
16 April 152313 August 1523Sir Thomas More Middlesex Styled Prolocutor. 4th of Henry VIII.
5 November 152926 January 1533Sir Thomas Audley Essex Styled Prolocutor. 5th of Henry VIII. Created 1st Baron Audley, 1538.
9 February 15334 April 1536Sir Humphrey Wingfield Great Yarmouth 5th of Henry VIII. First Borough member to be Speaker.
9 June 153618 July 1536Sir Richard Rich Colchester 6th of Henry VIII. Created 1st Baron Rich, 1547.
28 April 153924 July 1540Sir Nicholas Hare Norfolk 7th of Henry VIII
19 January 154228 March 1544Sir Thomas Moyle Peterborough 8th of Henry VIII
November 154515 April 1552Sir John Baker Huntingdonshire 9th of Henry VIII and 1st of Edward VI
2 March 155331 March 1553Sir James Dyer Cambridgeshire 2nd of Edward VI
5 October 15535 December 1553 John Pollard Oxfordshire 1st of Mary I
2 April 15545 May 1554Sir Robert Broke City of London 2nd of Mary I
12 November 155416 January 1555Sir Clement Higham West Looe 3rd of Mary I
21 October 15559 December 1555 John Pollard Chippenham 4th of Mary I
20 January 155817 November 1558Sir William Cordell Suffolk 5th of Mary I
25 January 15598 May 1559Sir Thomas Gargrave Yorkshire 1st of Elizabeth I
12 January 156310 April 1563 Thomas Williams Exeter 2nd of Elizabeth I
1 October 15662 January 1567 Richard Onslow Steyning 2nd of Elizabeth I
2 April 157129 May 1571Sir Christopher Wray Ludgershall 3rd of Elizabeth I
8 May 15721576Sir Robert Bell Lyme Regis 4th of Elizabeth I
18 January 158119 April 1583Sir John Popham Bristol 4th of Elizabeth I
23 November 158414 September 1586Sir John Puckering Bedford 5th of Elizabeth I
29 October 158623 March 1587 Gatton 6th of Elizabeth I

Source: Laundy The Office of Speaker [1]

FromUntilSpeakerConstituencyNotes
15881589Sir Thomas Snagge (Bedford)
1592Sir Edward Coke (Norfolk) Solicitor-General for England and Wales
15971598Sir Christopher Yelverton (Northamptonshire)
1601Sir John Croke (City of London)
16031611Sir Edward Phelips (Somerset)
1614Sir Randolph Crewe (Saltash)
16211622Sir Thomas Richardson (St Albans)
16231625Sir Thomas Crewe (Aylesbury)
16251626Sir Heneage Finch (City of London)
16281629Sir John Finch (Canterbury)(Impeached by the Long Parliament, October 1640,
and fled to Holland, but returned at the Restoration)
1640Sir John Glanville (Bristol)
16401647 William Lenthall (Woodstock)
16441645Sir Sampson Eure (Leominster)Speaker in the Oxford Parliament (1644)
1647 Henry Pelham (Grantham)(temporary during Lenthall's abandonment of the Speakership)
16471653 William Lenthall (Woodstock)(Lenthall was restored to the Chair by the Army
and remained in office until Oliver Cromwell's dismissal of the Rump)
1653 Francis Rous (Devon)
16541655 William Lenthall (Oxfordshire)
16561658Sir Thomas Widdrington (Northumberland)
16571657 Bulstrode Whitelocke (Buckinghamshire)(temporary during Widdrington illness)
16581659 Chaloner Chute (Middlesex)
1659Sir Lislebone Long (Wells)(temporary during Chute's illness,
but was himself taken ill after only five days in office}
14 April 165922 April 1659 Thomas Bampfylde (Exeter)
16591660 William Lenthall (Oxfordshire)
1660 William Say (Camelford)(temporary during Lenthall illness)
1660 Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet (Colchester)
16611671Sir Edward Turnour (Hertford)
1672Sir Job Charlton (Ludlow)
1673Sir Edward Seymour (Totnes)
1678Sir Robert Sawyer (Wycombe)((Temporary during Seymour's illness)
16781679Sir Edward Seymour (Totnes)
1679Sir William Gregory (Weobley)
16801681Sir William Williams (Chester)
16851687Sir John Trevor (Denbigh)
16881689 Henry Powle (Windsor)
16891695Sir John Trevor (Yarmouth, IoW)(expelled for corruption)
16951698 Paul Foley (Hereford)
16981700 Sir Thomas Littleton, 3rd Baronet (Woodstock)
17011705 Robert Harley (New Radnor)
17051707 John Smith (Andover)

For speakers of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801, see List of speakers of the British House of Commons.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Laundy, Peter (1964), The Office of Speaker, London: Cassell