"Great Steward" redirects here. For the Scottish title, see
mormaer .
The position of Lord High Steward of England is the first of the Great Officers of State . The office has generally remained vacant since 1421, except at coronations , when the Lord High Steward bears St. Edward's Crown , and during the trials of peers in the House of Lords, when the Lord High Steward presides. In general, but not invariably, the Lord Chancellor was appointed to act as Lord High Steward in the latter situation. The trial of peers by their peers in the House of Lords was abolished in 1948, although impeachment trials have not been abolished. There was a "Court of the Lord High Steward" which served this purpose when Parliament was not in session.
Although initially the position was largely an honorary one, over time it grew in importance until its holder became one of the most powerful men of the kingdom. From the late 12th century, the office was considered to be bound with the Earldom of Leicester . When the House of Lancaster ascended the throne in 1399, Henry IV made his second son, Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence , Lord High Steward. He held the post until his death in 1421.
The Lord High Steward of Ireland in contrast is a hereditary title, also known as the Hereditary Great Seneschal , vested in the Earl of Shrewsbury , Waterford and Talbot, who is the Premier Earl of Ireland, Chetwynd-Talbot.
Lord High Stewards of England, 1154–1421 [ edit ]
1154–68: Robert, 2nd Earl of Leicester
1168–90: Robert Blanchemains, 3rd Earl of Leicester
1190–1204: Robert FitzPernel, 4th Earl of Leicester
1206–18: Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester
1218-1239: uncertain, probably vacant
1239–65: Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
1265–96: Edmund, 1st Earl of Lancaster
1296–1322: Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster
1322–24: uncertain, probably vacant
1324–45: Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
1345–61: Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster
1362–99: John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
1399: Henry of Bolingbroke, 2nd Duke of Lancaster
1399–1421: Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence
Lord High Stewards of England, 1422–present [ edit ]
Incomplete before 1660 .
Name
Year
Notes
Sources
?
1429
coronation of Henry VI
The Earl of Devon
1445
coronation of Margaret of Anjou
[ 1]
The Duke of Suffolk
1461
coronation of Edward IV
[ 2]
?
1465
coronation of Elizabeth Woodville
The Duke of Buckingham
1478
trial of The Duke of Clarence
The Duke of Norfolk
1483
coronation of Richard III
[ 3]
?
1485
coronation of Henry VII
The Duke of Bedford
1487
coronation of Elizabeth of York
The Earl of Oxford
1499
trial of The Earl of Warwick
The Duke of Norfolk
1503
trial of The Lord Dudley
[ 3]
The Duke of Buckingham
1509
coronation of Henry VIII
The Duke of Norfolk
1521
trial of The Duke of Buckingham
[ 3]
The Duke of Suffolk
1533
coronation of Anne Boleyn
[ 4]
The Duke of Norfolk
1534
trial of The Lord Dacre
[ 3]
The Duke of Norfolk
1536
trial of Anne Boleyn
[ 3]
The Marquess of Exeter
1537
trial of The Lord Darcy
The Lord Audley of Walden
1538
trial of Lord Montaguand the Marquess of Exeter
The Lord Audley of Walden
1541
trial of The Lord Dacre
The Lord Russell
1547
coronation of Edward VI
The Marquess of Winchester
1551
trial of the Duke of Somerset
[ 5]
The Duke of Norfolk
1553
trial of the Duke of Northumberland
[ 3]
The Earl of Derby
1553
coronation of Mary I
The Earl of Arundel
1557
trial of Lord Stourton
The Earl of Arundel
1559
coronation of Elizabeth I
[ 6]
The Marquess of Northampton
1559
trial of Lord Wentworth
The Earl of Shrewsbury
1571
trial of The Duke of Norfolk ,
The Marquess of Winchester
1587
funeral of Mary, Queen of Scots
[ 5]
The Earl of Derby
1589
trial of The Earl of Arundel and Surrey
The Lord Buckhurst
1601
trial of The Earl of Essex
The Earl of Nottingham
1603
coronation of James I
The Duke of Buckingham
1626
coronation of Charles I
The Lord Coventry
1631
trial of the Lord Audley (Earl of Castlehaven in Ireland)
[ 7]
The Earl of Arundel and Surrey ,
1641
trial of The Earl of Strafford
The Duke of Ormonde
1661
coronation of Charles II
The Earl of Clarendon
(Lord Chancellor )
1666
trial of The Lord Morley
The Lord Finch
(Lord Chancellor)
1676
trial of The Lord Cornwallis
trial of The Earl of Pembroke
1679
trial of The Earl of Danby
1679
the trial of The Earl of Powis , The Viscount Stafford , The Lord Arundell of Wardour , The Lord Petre , and The Lord Belasyse
1680
trial of The Viscount Stafford ,
The Duke of Ormonde
1685
coronation of James II
The Lord Jeffreys
(Lord Chancellor)
1686
trial of The Lord Delamere
The Earl of Devonshire
1689
coronation of William IIIand Mary II
The Marquess of Carmarthen
(Lord President of the Council )
1693
trial of The Lord Mohun
The Lord Somers
(Lord Chancellor)
1699
trial of The Earl of Warwick , and of The Lord Mohun
The Duke of Devonshire
1702
coronation of Anne
The Duke of Grafton
1714
coronation of George I
The Lord Cowper
(Lord Chancellor)
1716
trial of The Earl of Derwentwater , The Lord Widdrington , The Earl of Nithsdale , The Earl of Carnwath , The Viscount Kenmure , and The Lord Nairne ,
1716
trial of The Earl of Winton
1717
trial of The Earl of Oxford and Mortimer
The Lord King
(Lord Chancellor)
1725
trial of The Earl of Macclesfield
The Duke of Dorset
1727
coronation of George II
The Earl of Hardwicke
(Lord Chancellor)
1746
trial of The Earl of Kilmarnock , The Earl of Cromartie , and The Lord Balmerino
1747
trial of The Lord Lovat
The Lord Henley
(Lord Keeper)
1760
trial of The Earl Ferrers
The Earl Talbot
1761
coronation of George III
The Earl of Northington
(Lord Chancellor)
1765
trial of The Duchess of Kingston ,
The Lord Thurlow
(Lord Chancellor)
1788–93
trial of Warren Hastings
The Lord Loughborough
(Lord Chancellor)
1793–95
trial of Warren Hastings
The Lord Erskine
(Lord Chancellor)
1806
trial of The Viscount Melville
The Marquess of Anglesey
1821
coronation of George IV
The Duke of Hamilton
1831
coronation of William IV
1838
coronation of Victoria
The Lord Denman
(Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench )
1841
trial of The Earl of Cardigan
The Earl of Halsbury
(Lord Chancellor)
1901
trial of The Earl Russell
The Duke of Marlborough
1902
coronation of Edward VII
[ 8]
The Duke of Northumberland
1911
coronation of George V
[ 9]
The Earl of Durham
1911-12
Lord High Steward to King George V during his visit to India from 1911 to 1912
[ 10]
The Viscount Hailsham
(Lord Chancellor)
1935
trial of The Lord de Clifford :
the last trial of a peer in the Lords.
The Marquess of Salisbury
1937
coronation of George VI
[ 11]
The Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope
1953
coronation of Elizabeth II
[ 12]
References [ edit ]
^ The Peerage
^ "Suffolk 1448", Cracroft's Peerage , UK .
^ a b c d e f http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/Norfolk1483.htm
^ "Suffolk 1514", Cracroft's Peerage , UK
^ a b Patrick Cracroft-Brennan, Winchester, Marquess of (E, 1551) . Accessed 19 July 2014.
^ "The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth" . History Today. Retrieved 10 January 2012 .
^ Patrick Cracroft-Brennan, Coventry, Baron (E, 1628 – 1719) . Accessed 29 January 2012.
^ The London Gazette : (Supplement) no. 27489. p. 6865 . 29 October 1902. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
^ The London Gazette : (Supplement) no. 28535. p. 7084 . 27 September 1911. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
^ The London Gazette : no. 28536. p. 7121 . 29 September 1911. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
^ The London Gazette : (Supplement) no. 34453. p. 7051 . 10 November 1937. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
^ The London Gazette : (Supplement) no. 40020. p. 6238 . 20 November 1953. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
England
Scotland
Italics indicate officers that are in commission, purely ceremonial or defunct