The Common Serjeant of London (full title The Serjeant-at-Law in the Common Hall) is an ancient British legal office, first recorded in 1291, and is the second most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court after the

Recorder of London The recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The recorder is appointed by the Cr ...

, acting as deputy to that office, and sitting as a judge in the trial of criminal offences. He is also one of the High Officers 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 ...

, and must undertake certain civic obligations alongside his judicial duties: each Midsummer he presides at the election of

Sheriffs A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is commonly ...

in the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...

, and each Michaelmas he plays a key role in the ceremonial election of the

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

. He presents the Sheriffs to the

King's Remembrancer The King's Remembrancer (or Queen's Remembrancer) is an ancient judicial post in the legal system of England and Wales. Since the Lord Chancellor no longer sits as a judge, the Remembrancer is the oldest judicial position in continual existence ...

at the annual Quit Rents ceremony, and is in attendance on most other major ceremonial occasions. The Common Serjeant is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

. Formerly, the Common Serjeant of London was a legal officer of the City Corporation of London. The Common Serjeant of London attended on 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 ...

and 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). ...

on court days, and acted with them in council. He also attended the Court of Aldermen and Common Council, and had charge of the Orphans' Estates Judge Richard Marks, KC, was appointed the 81st Common Serjeant on 3 March 2015.

Incomplete list of Common Serjeants

* Thomas Juvenal (1291–1309) * Thomas de Kent (1309–c.1318) * Gregory de Norton (c.1318–1329) * William de Ford (1333–1353) * John Wentbrigg (c.1353–1362) * Ralph Strode (c.1375–1385) * John Tremayne (1388–1389) *

John Fray Sir John Fray (died 1461) was an English lawyer who was Chief Baron of the Exchequer and a Member of Parliament. Biography He was elected Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire in 1419 and 1420. He served on a number of commissions before ...

(1421–1422) * Alexander Anne (1424–?1435) * John Wilton (1437–?1441) * Robert Danvers (1441–1442) * Richard Moyle (1441–?1443) *

Thomas Billing Sir Thomas Billing (died 1481) was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Early life and career Billing is said by Fuller to have been a native of Northamptonshire, where two villages near Northampton bear his name, and to have ...

(1443–1449) * John Nedeham (1448–?1452) * Thomas Urswick (1452–1455) * Robert Ingleton (1454–1456) * Guy Fairfax (1456–?1457) * Thomas Rigby (1457–?1460) * Thomas Bryan (1460–1463) * John Baldwyn (1463–1469) * Robert Molyneux (1469–) * John Haugh * Richard Higham *

Thomas Frowyk Sir Thomas Frowyk KS (c. 1460 – 7 October 1506) was an English justice. Family Born at Gunnersbury, Middlesex, Thomas Frowyk was the son of a London mercer, Sir Thomas Frowyk, by his second wife, Jane Sturgeon, daughter of Richard Sturgeon ...

(1486–1496) * Thomas Marowe (1496–) * John Greene (1495–) * Henry White * William Walsingham of Gray's Inn (1526–) * John Onley (1530–1533) *

Edward Hall Edward Hall ( – ) was an English lawyer and historian, best known for his #Chronicle, ''The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and Yorke''—commonly known as ''Hall's Chronicle''—first published in 1548. He was ...

(1533–1535) * Robert Southwell (1535–1536) * Thomas Atkyns * Sir Robert Broke (1536–1546) * John Marshe (1547–1563) * Bernard Randolph (1563–1583) * Thomas Kirton (1583–1601) * Richard Wilbraham (died 1601) *

Richard Wheler Richard Wheler (died 1614) was the member of the Parliament of England for Great Bedwyn for 1584 and 1586 and for Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborou ...

of Lincoln's Inn (1601–?1608) * Daniel Hills of Lincoln's Inn * Thomas Jones of Gray's Inn (died 1625 - Sergeant for 12 years) * Ralph Latham (died 1641) * Henry Proby (1643–) (died 1660) *

Sir Richard Browne, 2nd Baronet Sir Richard Browne, 2nd Baronet (before 1634 – September 1684) was a barrister and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660. Browne was the son of Sir Richard Browne, 1st Baronet, and his wife Bridget Bryan. He was admitted as a ba ...

(1661–1671) * George Jeffreys (1671–1678) * Henry Crispe (1678–1700) * Duncan Dee (1700–1720) * John Lingard (1720–1729) * Thomas Garrard (1729–1758) * Thomas Nugent (1758–1790) * John Silvester (1790–1803) *

Newman Knowlys Newman Knowlys (1758– 5 January 1836) was an English barrister and judge and the Common Serjeant of London and Recorder of London. Knowlys was born in London, the fourth son of William Knowlys, a merchant of London. He was educated at Botesda ...

(1803–1811) *

Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman, (23 July 177926 September 1854) was an English lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord Chief Justice between 1832 and 1850. Background and education Denman was born in London, the son of Dr Thomas De ...

(1822–1830) * Hon. Charles Ewan Law (1830–1833) * John Mirehouse of Angle, Pembrokeshire (1833–1850) * Edward Bullock (1850–1855) * Thomas Chambers (1857–1878) * Sir William Thomas Charley (1878–1892) * Sir

Forrest Fulton Sir James Forrest Fulton (12 July 1846 – 25 June 1926) was a British judge and Conservative politician. Early life Born in Ostend, Belgium, he was the youngest son of Lieutenant-Colonel James Forrest Fulton and his wife, Fanny née Jessopp. ...

(1892–1900) * Sir Frederick Albert Bosanquet, MA, KC, JP (1900–1917) * Sir Henry Fielding Dickens KC (1917–1932) * Henry Holman Gregory KC (1932–1934) *

Cecil Whiteley George Cecil Whiteley King's Counsel, KC Master of Arts, MA Doctor of Law#United Kingdom, DL Justice of the Peace, JP (1875–1942), was Common Serjeant of London from 1933 to 1942 and a Judge at the Mayor's and City of London Court. Cecil White ...

(1934–1942) * Sir Hugh Loveday Beazley (1942–1953) * Sir

Edward Anthony Hawke Sir Edward Anthony Hawke (26 July 1895 – 25 September 1964) was a British judge and the Common Serjeant of London from 1954 to 1959 and Recorder of London from 1959 to 1964.Fred E. Pritchard, ‘Hawke, Sir (Edward) Anthony (1895–1964)’, rev ...

(1954–1959) * Sir

Carl Douglas Aarvold Sir Carl Douglas Aarvold (7 June 1907 – 17 March 1991) was an England, English barrister who became Recorder of London. Among other cases, he presided at the 1965 trial of the Kray twins. In his earlier days, he was also an England nation ...

(1959–1964) *

Mervyn Griffith-Jones John Mervyn Guthrie Griffith-Jones (1 July 1909 – 13 July 1979) was a British judge and former barrister. He led the prosecution of Penguin Books in the obscenity trial in 1960 following the publication of D. H. Lawrence's ''Lady Chatterley' ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

MC QC (1964–1979) * Sir John Leonard (1979–1981)Obituary
in ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'' * Sir David Tudor Price (1981–84) * Thomas Herbert Pigot QC (1984–90) * Robert Davison Lymbery QC (1990–1993) * Neil Denison QC (1993–2001) * Peter Beaumont QC (2001–2004) *

Brian Barker Brian John Barker (born 1945), is a British retired judge. From February 2013 to January 2015 he served as the Recorder of London, the most senior judge at the Old Bailey. Prior to that he was the Common Serjeant of London, the second most se ...

QC (2005–2013) *

Nicholas Hilliard Nicholas Hilliard ( – before 7 January 1619) was an English goldsmith and limner best known for his portrait miniatures of members of the courts of Elizabeth I and James I of England. He mostly painted small oval miniatures, but also some l ...

QC (2013–2015) (80th Serjeant) * Richard Leon Marks KC (2015–Present)

Gallery

Image:Sir Robert Broke.jpg, Sir Robert Broke, Common Serjeant of London in 1536 Image:George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem by William Wolfgang Claret.jpg, Judge George Jeffreys, Common Serjeant of London in 1671 Image:Sir John Silvester.jpg, Sir John Silvester, Common Serjeant 1790-1803 Image:1stLordDenman.jpg,

Lord Denman Baron Denman, of Dovedale in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1834 for the prominent lawyer, judge and Whig politician Thomas Denman. He served as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench fro ...

, Common Serjeant of London 1822 - 1830 Image:W T Charley.jpg,

William Thomas Charley Sir William Thomas Charley, KC (5 March 1833 – 8 July 1904) was a British judge and Conservative Party politician. Life Charley was born in Woodbourne, County Antrim, Ulster in 1833, the youngest son of Matthew Charley and Anne Roberts. He ...

, Common Serjeant of London in 1878 File:Forrest Fulton Vanity Fair 9 July 1903.jpg, Sir

by 'Spy' in '' Vanity Fair'' (1903) Image:Frederick-Albert-Bosanquet-1901.jpg, Sir Frederick Bosanquet as Common Serjeant of London.

Caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

by 'Spy' from '' Vanity Fair'' (1901) Image:judge-brian-barker.jpg, Judge

QC, Common Serjeant of London 2005 to 2013

References

External links

Appointment of Common Serjeant of LondonCommon Serjeant of London on the Probert Encyclopaedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Common Serjeant of London Law in London English law Common Serjeants of London Historical legal occupations Old Bailey