Chamberlain Of London
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Chamberlain of the City of London is an ancient office of the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, dating back to at least 1237. The Chamberlain is the finance director of the
City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...
. 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 The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...
, elected annually, is the leader of the corporation. Through the Chamberlain's Court 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 The Court of Aldermen forms part of the senior governance of the City of London Corporation. It comprises twenty-five Aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor (becoming senior Alderman during his or her year of office). ...
for constituting new
livery companies A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are Style (form of a ...
and for interpreting and amending their ordinances and charters. The current holder of the office is Caroline Al-Beyerty, the 81st Chamberlain in unbroken succession from 1237 to the present. Mrs Al-Beyerty 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 A victualler (pronounced /ˈvɪt(ə)lə/) is traditionally a person who supplies food, beverages and other provisions for the crew of a vessel at sea. There are a number of other more particular uses of the term, such as: * The official supplier ...
). Originally responsible for collection and distribution of revenues within the city and nominally appointed by
the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
, the office-holder's term traditionally began on Midsummer Day and cannot be removed "unless some great cause of complaint appear against him". The Chamberlain was responsible for the Chamber of London, the place where various monies of the city were received and stored. The monies were referred to as the
City's Cash City's Cash is an endowment fund, overseen by the City of London Corporation, built up over 800 years and passed from generation to generation to fund services that the Corporation claims benefit London and the nation as a whole. It is one of th ...
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 Rate or rates may refer to: Finance * Rate (company), an American residential mortgage company formerly known as Guaranteed Rate * Rates (tax), a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom used to fund local government * Exchange rate, rate ...
. 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. The longest-serving Chamberlain is
Benjamin Scott Benjamin Scott FRAS (15 April 1814 – 17 January 1892) served as the Chamberlain of the City of London, from 1858 until his death. As well as an enduring figure in the life of the city, he was a committed social activist of the age, collabor ...
(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.


Functions

The Chamberlain acts as the financial adviser, accountant, receiver and paymaster for the City of London and is responsible for the City's local and private trust funds. The Chamberlain's relationship with the
Court of Common Council The Court of Common Council is the primary decision-making body of the City of London Corporation. It meets nine times per year. Most of its work is carried out by committees. City of London Corporation elections , Elections are held at least eve ...
is the same that which applies to other
local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
chief finance officers (CFOs) and therefore they have the same responsibilities placed upon them as any other CFO in the United Kingdom. The Chamberlain's Department includes departments and teams responsible for the financial and commercial administration of the City. The office also retains has important ceremonial responsibilities,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)
.
including administering the creation of Freemen of London.


Full list of Chamberlains

* John de Woburne and John Wacher (1237) * Stephen de Mundene and Hugh Motun (1274–1277) * Hugh Motun (1277–1285) * William de Betoyne (1288–1298) * John de Dunstaple and Simon de Paris (1298–1300) * Nicholas Pycot (1300–1304) * Richard Poterel (1304–1310) * Luke de Haverynge (1310–1311) * John le Mazeliner (1311–1313) * John Dode (1313–1318) * Thomas Prentiz (1318–1320) *
Andrew Horn Andrew Horn (–1328) was a fishmonger of Bridge Street, London, lawyer and legal scholar. Biography He served as Chamberlain of London, Chamberlain of the City of London from 1320 until his death in 1328. Sir William Blackstone's ''Commentarie ...
(1320–1328) * Henry de Seccheford (1328–1336) * Thomas de Maryns (1336–1349) * Thomas de Waldene (1349–1359) * John de Cantebrigge (1359–1374) * William de Eynesham (1374–1378) * John Ussher (1378–1380) * Richard Odyham (1380–1391) * Stephen Speleman (1391–1404) * John Proffyt (1404–1416) * John Hille (1416–1420) * John Bederenden (1420–1434) * John Chicheley (1434–1449) * John Middleton (1449–1450) *
John Sturgeon John Sturgeon (by 1498 – 1570/71), of London, was an English politician. Family Sturgeon was married to Joan by 1522. They had at least three sons and two daughters. Career He was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for London in 1542 ...
(1450–1454) * Thomas Thornton (1454–1463) * Robert Colwyche (1463–1474) * William Philip (1474–1479) * Miles Adys (1479–1484) * William Purchas (1484–1492) * William Milbourne (1492–1506) * Nicholas Mattok (1506–1517) *
John Barnard John Edward Barnard, (born 4 May 1946) is an English engineer and racing car designer. Barnard is credited with the introduction of two new designs into Formula One: the carbon fibre composite chassis first seen in with McLaren, and the sem ...
(1517–1525) *
John Husee John Husee (died November 1548) (''alias'' Hussey) was a London merchant, and the business agent in England of Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle (d.1542), during Lisle's absence abroad whilst serving as Governor of Calais during the years 1 ...
(1525–1532) *
George Medley George Medley (1720–1796) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1768 and 1790. Medley was the son of Thomas Medley of Buxted Place and his wife Annabella Dashwood, daughter of Sir Samuel Dashwood MP former Lord Ma ...
(1532–1548) * Thomas Hayes (1548–1550) *
John Sturgeon John Sturgeon (by 1498 – 1570/71), of London, was an English politician. Family Sturgeon was married to Joan by 1522. They had at least three sons and two daughters. Career He was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for London in 1542 ...
(1550–1563) * George Heton (1563–1577) *
John Mabbe John Mabbe or Mab was the name of two English goldsmiths working in Tudor London. The senior John Mabbe (who died in 1582 and was buried at St Matthew Friday Street) was a son of John Mabbe of Clayton and his wife Joan Goble of Sussex. John Mabbe, ...
(1577–1583) * Robert Brandon (1583–1591) *
Thomas Wilford Sir Thomas Mason Wilford (20 June 1870 – 22 June 1939) was a New Zealand politician. He held the seats of Wellington Suburbs then Hutt continuously for thirty years, from 1899 to 1929. Wilford was leader of the New Zealand Liberal Party, an ...
(1591–1603) * Cornelius Fish (1603–1626) * Robert Bateman (1626–1643) * Gilbert Harrison (1643–1651) * Thomas Player Snr (1651–1672) * Thomas Player Jnr (1672–1683) * Peter Ayleworth (1683–1684) * Sir Peter Rich (1684–87; 1688–89; 1691) * Henry Loades (1687–1688) * Sir Leonard Robinson (1689–1691; 1691–1696) * Sir Thomas Cuddon (1696–1702) * Sir William Fazackerly (1703–1718) * Sir George Ludlam (1718–1727) * Samuel Robinson (1728–1734) * Sir John Bosworth (1734–1751) * Sir Thomas Harrison (1751–1765) * Sir Stephen Theodore Janssen (1765–1776) * Benjamin Hopkins (1776–1779) *
John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...
(1779–1797) * Richard Clark (1798–1831) *
Sir James Shaw Sir James Shaw, 1st Baronet (26 August 1764 – 22 October 1843), became Lord Mayor of London in 1805. (Requires login or UK library card for access) From humble beginnings in a farming family in Ayrshire, he became a successful merchant and ...
(1831–1843) * Sir William Heygate (1843–1844) * Anthony Brown (1844–1853) * Sir John Key (1853–1858) *
Benjamin Scott Benjamin Scott FRAS (15 April 1814 – 17 January 1892) served as the Chamberlain of the City of London, from 1858 until his death. As well as an enduring figure in the life of the city, he was a committed social activist of the age, collabor ...
(1858–1892) * Sir William Cotton (1892–1902) * Sir Joseph Dimsdale (1902–1912) * Sir Adrian Pollock (1912–1943) * Anthony Pickford (acting 1943–1945) * Irving Blanchard Gane (1945–1962) *
Ean Kendal Stewart–Smith Ean may refer to: People * Ean Campbell (1856–1921), Scottish Anglican cleric, bishop of Glasgow and Galloway * Ean Elliot Clevenger, American multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter * Ean Evans (1960–2009), bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd f ...
(1962–1964) *
Charles Richard Whittington Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
(1964–1973) * John Percival Griggs (1974–1983) * Bernard Harty (1983–1995; 1996–1999 with joint position of
Town Clerk A clerk (pronounced "clark" /klɑːk/ in British and Australian English) is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in ma ...
) * Peter Derrick (2000–2006) * Christopher Bilsland OBE (2006–2013) * Dr. Peter Kane (2014–2021) * Caroline Al-Beyerty 2021–


References

{{reflist


Sources

* Betty R. Masters, ''The Chamberlain of the City of London 1237–1987'' (The Corporation of London, 1988
(Google - title only)(Hathi Trust - search only)
* 'Introduction: The Chamber in the sixteenth century', in B.R. Masters (ed.), ''Chamber Accounts of the Sixteenth Century'', London Record Society 20, (London 1984)
pp. xxxii-xxxviii
(British History Online accessed 6 August 2015). * (List of Chamberlains from 1688 to 1765), in J. Noorthouck, 'Addenda: The succession of aldermen from 1689', ''A New History of London Including Westminster and Southwark'' (London 1773)
pp. 894-97
(British History Online accessed 18 November 2017). * 'Appendix III: Aldermen who were also chamberlains of the City', in A.P. Beavan, ''The Aldermen of the City of London Temp. Henry III - 1912'' (London 1908/1912)
p. lxiv
(British History Online, accessed 18 November 2017). 1237 establishments Ceremonial officers in England City of London Corporation