The Clerk Marshal (also spelled Clerk Martial) was an official of the British Royal Household in the department of the Master of the Horse. From the Restoration the office was held with that of Avenor until the latter post was abolished in 1793. The office of Clerk Marshal was then combined with that of First or Chief

Equerry An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...

until 1874. From 1841 the holder was a member of the Government, but the office ceased to be a political one from 1866.Chris Cook and Brendan Keith, ''British Historical Facts 1830–1900'', Macmillan 1975, p. 27 The duties of the Clerk Marshal were to

swear in Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to giv ...

the officers of the Master of the Horse's department, and for the payment of all officers and servants. He was also responsible for submitting the accounts of the department to the

Board of Green Cloth The Board of Green Cloth was a board of officials belonging to the Royal Household of England and Great Britain. It took its name from the tablecloth of green baize that covered the table at which its members sat. It audited the accounts of the R ...

. Clerks Marshal were appointed in the households of other members of the Royal Family as well.

List of Clerks Marshal

to King Charles II

* 8 June 1660: George Barker * 18 August 1660: Richard Mason * 10 September 1671: Joseph Cragg

to King James II

* 21 April 1685: Thomas Morley

to King William III and Queen Mary II

* 10 April 1688: William Ryder * 12 March 1689: Anthony Rowe * 27 April 1694: John Latton

to Queen Anne

* 23 June 1702: Hugh Chudleigh * 6 November 1707: Thomas Lister * 12 June 1711: Conyers Darcy

to King George I

* 29 September 1714: Conyers Darcy * 10 June 1717: Francis Negus

to King George II

* 20 June 1727: Francis Negus * 9 September 1732: ''vacant'' * 22 April 1734: Hon.

James Lumley James Lumley (c. 1706 – 14 March 1766) was an English Member of Parliament and landowner. Lumley was the seventh son of Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough and was educated at Eton College in 1718 and King's College, Cambridge in 1723. Hi ...

* 11 March 1741: Edmund Charles Blomberg * 8 November 1757: Courthorpe Clayton

to King George III

* 15 December 1760: Timothy Carr * 6 April 1771:

Benjamin Carpenter Benjamin Carpenter (May 17, 1725—March 29, 1804) was a leader of colonial Vermont who served as an officer in the American Revolution and as lieutenant governor. Biography Benjamin Carpenter was born in Swansea, Massachusetts on May 17, 1725. ...

(Chief Equerry from 1 January 1783) * 9 March 1788: Philip Goldsworthy * 6 January 1801: Robert Manners

to the Prince Regent, later King George IV

* 24 March 1812: Benjamin Bloomfield (knighted 1815) * 25 August 1817: Francis Thomas Hammond (knighted 1819)

to King William IV

* 16 July 1830: Sir

Andrew Francis Barnard General Sir Andrew Francis Barnard (1773 – 17 January 1855) was an Irish British Army officer. He served in various capacities in the West Indies, the Cape of Good Hope, Canada, the Netherlands, Sicily, Spain and in the Napoleonic Wars inclu ...

to Queen Adelaide

* 2 January 1846: Sir Andrew Francis Barnard

to Queen Victoria

* 20 July 1837: Henry Frederick Compton Cavendish * 10 September 1841: Lord Charles Wellesley * 7 July 1846: Lord Alfred Paget * 28 February 1852:

Lord Colville of Culross Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

* 30 December 1852: Lord Alfred Paget * 26 February 1858: Lord Colville of Culross * 1 July 1859: Lord Alfred Paget (held office until 1892)

to
Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Albert I of Belgium ...

* 2 January 1842: William Wemyss * 8 March 1853: Alexander Nelson Hood

to King Edward VII

* 1 January 1904: Sir Stanley de Astel Calvert Clarke (also Chief Equerry until 9 October 1908)

References

* {{cite web , url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43904 , title=The stables: Avenor, Chief Equerry and Clerk Martial 1660–1837 , author=R.O. Bucholz , publisher=Institute of Historical Research , year=2006 , work=Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 11 (revised): Court Officers, 1660–1837 , accessdate=20 August 2011 Positions within the British Royal Household