The Clerks of the Signet were English officials who played an intermediate role in the passage of

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

through the seals. For most of the history of the position, four clerks were in office simultaneously. Letters patent prepared by the Clerk of the Patents were engrossed at the Patent Office and then sent by the Secretary of State to receive the

royal sign-manual The royal sign-manual is the signature of the sovereign, by the affixing of which the monarch expresses their pleasure either by order, commission, or warrant (law), warrant. A sign-manual warrant may be either an executive act (for example, an a ...

. The duty of the Clerks of the Signet was to compare the signed bills with a transcript prepared by the Clerk of the Patents, and then to rewrite the transcript as a bill of privy signet, which was returned to the Secretary of State to be signed with that instrument. By the end of the seventeenth centuries, many of the Clerks of the Signet performed their work through deputies, with the office itself becoming a

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...

. The

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

was given the authority to reduce the number of clerkships in 1832, abolishing one in 1833 and another in 1846. The two remaining posts were done away with in 1851.

List of Clerks of the Signet

* John Depeden c.1420 * Thomas Andrew c.1422 * William Crosby 1437–1459 * George Ashby c.1440 * Robert Osbern c.1440 * Nicholas Harpesfield c.1445 * Edmund Blake c.1450 * John Bowden 1452–1459 * Richard Bell 1463–1474 * William Robyns c.1470–c.1482 * Oliver King c.1473 * John Wylde c.1475–c.1488 * Edmund Gregory c.1479–c.1483 The history of these earlier Signets in the medieval period is not recorded by the table below. Appointments were not made under the

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...

until 1655 as the republic did not recognise hereditary house of Lords, so peerages were not created. * 1655–1705: John Nicholas * 16 June 1655: James Nutley * 20 March 1656: Samuel Morland Appointments resumed upon the Restoration in 1660, including two of the former officeholders, Warwick and Windebanke.

References

;Bibliography * J L Kirby (ed), Calendar of Signet Letters of Henry IV and Henry V (London 1978) * Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas (ed.), Proceedings and Ordinances of the Privy Council of England (7 vols, 1834-37) * {{cite web , title=Clerks of the Signet c.1539-1660 , url=http://www.history.ac.uk/office/signet.html , publisher=Institute of Historical Research , accessdate=2008-09-01 Civil service positions in the United Kingdom

Signet Signet may refer to: *Signet, Kenya, A subsidiary of the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), specifically set up to broadcast and distribute the DTT signals * Signet ring, a ring with a seal set into it, typically by leaving an impression in sea ...