List of Lord Chancellors and Lord Keepers

The following is a list of Lord Chancellors and Lord Keepers of the Great Seal of England and Great Britain. It also includes a list of Commissioners of Parliament's Great Seal during the English Civil War and Interregnum.

Lord Chancellors and Lord Keepers of England, 1068–1707

11th century

12th century

13th century

14th century

15th century

1500–1654

Image Name Term of office Monarch
(Reign)
Henry Deane, Archbishop of Canterbury, Keeper 1500 1502 Henry VII

(1485–1509)
William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, Keeper to 1504 1502 1515
Henry VIII

(1509–1547)
Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal Archbishop of York 1515 1529
Sir Thomas More 1529 1532
Sir Thomas Audley
(Lord Audley of Walden from 1538)
1532 1544
Lord Wriothesley 1544 1547
Edward VI

(1547–1553)
Lord St John, Keeper 1547 1547
Lord Rich 1547 1551
Thomas Goodrich, Bishop of Ely 1552 1553
Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester 1553 1555 Mary I

(1553–1558)
Nicholas Heath, Archbishop of York 1555 1558
Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper 1558 1579 Elizabeth I

(1558–1603)
Sir Thomas Bromley 1579 1587
Sir Christopher Hatton 1587 1591
In Commission: 1591 1592
Sir John Puckering, Lord Keeper 1592 1596
Sir Thomas Egerton, Lord Keeper to 19 July 1603
(Lord Ellesmere from 1603
Viscount Brackley from 1616)
6 May
1596
5 March
1617
James I

(1603–1625)
Sir Francis Bacon, Lord Keeper to 1618
(Lord Verulam from 1618
Viscount St Alban from 1621)
7 March
1617
1621
In Commission: 1621 1621
John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln, Lord Keeper 1621 1625
Sir Thomas Coventry, Lord Keeper
(Lord Coventry from 1628)
1625 1640 Charles I

(1625–1649)
Lord Finch, Lord Keeper 1640 1641
Lord Lyttleton of Mounslow, Lord Keeper
(Took Great Seal to the King in 1642)
1641 1645
Sir Richard Lane, Lord Keeper 1645 1650
Charles II

Court in exile
from 1649
Vacant 1650 1653
Sir Edward Herbert, Lord Keeper 1653 1654

The Great Seal was captured and destroyed by Parliament on 11 August 1646

Commissioners of Parliament's Great Seal 1643–1660

Image Name[1] Term (From – To)
In Commission: Nov 1643 – Oct 1646
In Commission: 1646–1648
In Commission: 1648–1649
In Commission: 1649–1654
In Commission: 1654–1656
In Commission: 1656–1659
In Commission: January – June 1659
In Commission: June 1659 – 1660
In Commission: 1660-1660

From the Restoration, 1660, to the Act of Union, 1707

Portrait Name Term of office Monarch
(Reign)
Sir Edward Hyde
(Lord Hyde from 1660,
Earl of Clarendon from 1661)
13 January
1658
30 August
1667
Charles II

(1660–1685)
Sir Orlando Bridgeman (Lord Keeper) 31 August
1667
17 November
1672
Earl of Shaftesbury 17 November
1672
9 November
1673
Sir Heneage Finch (Lord Keeper until 1675)
(Lord Finch from 10 January 1673,
Earl of Nottingham from 12 May 1681)
9 November
1673
18 December
1682
Sir Francis North (Lord Keeper)
(Lord Guilford from 1683)
20 December
1682
5 September
1685
James II

(1685–1688)
Lord Jeffreys 28 September
1685
December
1688
In Commission: 4 March
1689
14 May
1690
Mary II

(1689–1694)
&
William III

(1689–1702)
In Commission: 14 May
1690
22 March
1693
Sir John Somers (Lord Keeper until 1697)
(Lord Somers from 1697)
23 March
1693
27 April
1700
In Commission: 27 April
1700
31 May
1700
Sir Nathan Wright (Lord Keeper) 31 May
1700
11 October
1705
Anne

(1702–1714)
William Cowper (Lord Keeper)
(Lord Cowper from 1706)
11 October
1705
4 May
1707

Lord High Chancellors and Lord Keepers of Great Britain (1707–present)

  Tory       Whig       Conservative       Liberal       Labour       National Liberal
Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Term of office Party Ministry Monarch
(Reign)
The Right Honourable
William Cowper
1st Baron Cowper

PC KC FRS
(c. 1665–1723)
4 May
1707
23 September
1710[2]
 
Godolphin–Marlborough
 
Anne

(1702–1714)
Oxford–Bolingbroke
In Commission: 26 September
1710
19 October
1710
The Right Honourable
Simon Harcourt
1st Baron Harcourt

PC [nb 1]
(1661–1727)
19 October
1710
21 September
1714
Tory
The Right Honourable
William Cowper
1st Baron Cowper

PC KC FRS
(c. 1665–1723)
21 September
1714
15 April
1718
Townshend I George I

(1714–1727)
Stanhope–Sunderland I
In Commission: 18 April
1718
12 May
1718
Stanhope–Sunderland II
The Right Honourable
Thomas Parker
1st Earl of Macclesfield
[nb 2]
PC FRS
(1666–1732)
12 May
1718
7 January
1725
Whig
Walpole–Townshend
In Commission: 7 January
1725
1 June
1725
The Right Honourable
Peter King
1st Baron King

PC FRS
(c. 1669–1734)
1 June
1725
29 November
1733
George II

(1727–1760)
Walpole
The Right Honourable
Charles Talbot
1st Baron Talbot

PC
(1685–1737)
29 November
1733
14 February
1737
The Right Honourable
Philip Yorke
1st Earl of Hardwicke
[nb 3]
PC
(1690–1764)
21 February
1737
19 November
1756
Whig
Carteret
Broad Bottom
(I & II)
Newcastle I
In Commission: 19 November
1756
30 June
1757
Pitt–Devonshire
1757 Caretaker
The Right Honourable
Robert Henley
1st Earl of Northinton
[nb 4]
PC [nb 5]
(1708–1772)
30 June
1757
30 July
1766
Whig Pitt–Newcastle
George III

(1760–1820)
[nb 6]
Bute
Grenville
(WhigTory)
Rockingham I
The Right Honourable
Charles Pratt
1st Baron Camden

PC
(1714–1794)
30 July
1766
17 January
1770
Whig Chatham
(WhigTory)
Grafton
(WhigTory)
The Right Honourable
Charles Yorke

MP for Cambridge University
(1722–1770)[nb 7]
17 January
1770
20 January
1770
Whig
In Commission: 21 January
1770
23 January
1771
North
The Right Honourable
Henry Bathurst
2nd Earl Bathurst
[nb 8]
PC QC
(1714–1794)
23 January
1771
3 June
1778
Tory
The Right Honourable
Edward Thurlow
1st Baron Thurlow

PC QC
(1731–1806)
3 June
1778
7 April
1783
Tory
Rockingham II
Shelburne
(WhigTory)
In Commission: 9 April
1783
23 December
1783
Fox–North
(WhigTory)
The Right Honourable
Edward Thurlow
1st Baron Thurlow

PC QC
(1731–1806)
23 December
1783
June
1792
Tory Pitt I
In Commission: 15 June
1792
28 January
1793
The Right Honourable
Alexander Wedderburn
1st Baron Loughborough

PC QC
(1733–1805)
28 January
1793
14 April
1801
The Right Honourable
John Scott
1st Baron Eldon

PC QC FRS FSA
(1751–1838)
14 April
1801
7 February
1806
Tory Addington
Pitt II
The Right Honourable
Thomas Erskine
1st Baron Erskine

PC KC
(1750–1823)
7 February
1806
1 April
1807
Whig All the Talents
(WhigTory)
The Right Honourable
John Scott
1st Earl of Eldon
[nb 9]
PC QC FRS FSA
(1751–1838)
1 April
1807
12 April
1827
Tory Portland II
Perceval
Liverpool
George IV

(1820–1830)
The Right Honourable
John Copley
1st Baron Lyndhurst

PC KS FRS
(1772–1863)
2 May
1827
24 November
1830
Tory Canning
(CanningiteWhig)
Goderich
(CanningiteWhig)
WellingtonPeel
William IV

(1830–1837)
The Right Honourable
Henry Brougham
1st Baron Brougham and Vaux

PC QC FRS
(1778–1868)
24 November
1830
9 July
1834
Whig Grey
Melbourne I
The Right Honourable
John Copley
1st Baron Lyndhurst

PC KS FRS
(1772–1863)
21 November
1834
8 April
1835
Conservative Wellington Caretaker
Peel I
In Commission: 23 April
1835
16 January
1836
Melbourne II
The Right Honourable
Charles Pepys
1st Baron Cottenham

PC QC
(1781–1851)
16 January
1836
30 August
1841
Whig
Victoria

(1837–1901)
The Right Honourable
John Copley
1st Baron Lyndhurst

PC KS FRS
(1772–1863)
3 September
1841
27 June
1846
Conservative Peel II
The Right Honourable
Charles Pepys
1st Baron Cottenham

PC QC
(1781–1851)
6 July
1846
19 June
1850
Whig Russell I
In Commission: 19 June
1850
15 July
1850
The Right Honourable
Thomas Wilde
1st Baron Truro

PC QS
(1782–1855)
15 July
1850
21 February
1852
Whig
The Right Honourable
Edward Sugden
1st Baron St Leonards

PC
(1781–1875)
27 February
1852
17 December
1852
Conservative Who? Who?
The Right Honourable
Robert Rolfe
1st Baron Cranworth

PC
(1790–1868)
28 December
1852
21 February
1858
Whig Aberdeen
(PeeliteWhig)
Palmerston I
The Right Honourable
Frederic Thesiger
1st Baron Chelmsford

PC QC FRS
(1794–1878)
26 February
1858
11 June
1859
Conservative DerbyDisraeli II
The Right Honourable
John Campbell
1st Baron Campbell

PC QC FRSE
(1779–1861)
18 June
1859
24 June
1861
Liberal Palmerston II
The Right Honourable
Richard Bethell
1st Baron Westbury

PC QC
(1800–1873)
26 June
1861
7 July
1865
Liberal
The Right Honourable
Robert Rolfe
1st Baron Cranworth

PC
(1790–1868)
7 July
1865
26 June
1866
Liberal
Russell II
The Right Honourable
Frederic Thesiger
1st Baron Chelmsford

PC QC FRS
(1794–1878)
6 July
1866
29 February
1868
Conservative DerbyDisraeli III
The Right Honourable
Hugh Cairns
1st Baron Cairns

PC QC
(1819–1885)
29 February
1868
1 December
1868
Conservative
The Right Honourable
William Wood
1st Baron Hatherley

PC
(1801–1881)
9 December
1868
15 October
1872
Liberal Gladstone I
The Right Honourable
Roundell Palmer
1st Baron Selborne

PC FRS
(1812–1895)
15 October
1872
17 February
1874
Liberal
The Right Honourable
Hugh Cairns
1st Earl of Cairns
[nb 10]
PC QC
(1819–1885)
21 February
1874
21 April
1880
Conservative Disraeli II
The Right Honourable
Roundell Palmer
1st Earl of Selborne
[nb 11]
PC FRS
(1812–1895)
28 April
1880
9 June
1885
Liberal Gladstone II
The Right Honourable
Hardinge Giffard
1st Baron Halsbury

PC QC
(1823–1921)
24 June
1885
28 January
1886
Conservative Salisbury I
The Right Honourable
Farrer Herschell
1st Baron Herschell

PC QC DL
(1837–1899)
6 February
1886
20 July
1886
Liberal Gladstone III
The Right Honourable
Hardinge Giffard
1st Baron Halsbury

PC QC
(1823–1921)
3 August
1886
11 August
1892
Conservative Salisbury II
The Right Honourable
Farrer Herschell
1st Baron Herschell

GCB PC QC DL FRS
(1837–1899)
18 August
1892
21 June
1895
Liberal Gladstone IV
Rosebery
The Right Honourable
Hardinge Giffard
1st Earl of Halsbury
[nb 12]
PC QC
(1823–1921)
29 June
1895
4 December
1905
Conservative Salisbury
(III & IV)

(Con.Lib.U.)
Edward VII

(1901–1910)
Balfour
(Con.Lib.U.)
The Right Honourable
Robert Reid
1st Earl Loreburn
[nb 13]
GCMG PC
(1846–1923)
10 December
1905
10 June
1912
Liberal Campbell-Bannerman
Asquith
(IIII)
George V

(1910–1936)
The Right Honourable
Richard Haldane
1st Viscount Haldane

KT PC KC FRS
(1856–1928)
10 June
1912
25 May
1915
Liberal
The Right Honourable
Stanley Buckmaster
1st Baron Buckmaster

PC KC
(1861–1934)
25 May
1915
5 December
1916
Liberal Asquith Coalition
(Lib.Con.Lab.)
The Right Honourable
Robert Finlay
1st Baron Finlay

GCMG PC
(1842–1929)
10 December
1916
10 January
1919
Conservative Lloyd George
(I & II)

(Lib.Con.Lab.)
The Right Honourable
F. E. Smith
1st Earl of Birkenhead
[nb 14]
PC KC
(1872–1930)
10 January
1919
19 October
1922
Conservative
The Right Honourable
George Cave
1st Viscount Cave

GCMG PC
(1856–1928)
24 October
1922
22 January
1924
Conservative Law
Baldwin I
The Right Honourable
Richard Haldane
1st Viscount Haldane

KT OM PC KC FRS
(1856–1928)
22 January
1924
6 November
1924
Labour MacDonald I
The Right Honourable
George Cave
1st Viscount Cave

GCMG PC
(1856–1928)
6 November
1924
28 March
1928
Conservative Baldwin II
The Right Honourable
Douglas Hogg
1st Baron Hailsham

PC KC
(1872–1950)
28 March
1928
4 June
1929
Conservative
The Right Honourable
John Sankey
1st Viscount Sankey
[nb 15]
GBE PC KC
(1866–1948)
7 June
1929
7 June
1935
Labour MacDonald II
National I
(N.Lab.Con.N.Lib.
Lib.
National II
(N.Lab.Con.N.Lib.
Lib. until 1932
)
The Right Honourable
Douglas Hogg
1st Viscount Hailsham

PC KC
(1872–1950)
7 June
1935
9 March
1938
Conservative National III
(Con.N.Lab.N.Lib.)
Edward VIII

(1936)
National IV
(Con.N.Lab.N.Lib.)
George VI

(1936–1952)
The Right Honourable
Frederic Maugham
Baron Maugham

PC KC
(1866–1958)
9 March
1938
3 September
1939
Conservative
The Right Honourable
Thomas Inskip
1st Viscount Caldecote

OBE PC KC
(1876–1947)
3 September
1939
12 May
1940
Conservative Chamberlain War
(Con.N.Lab.N.Lib.)
The Right Honourable
John Simon
1st Viscount Simon

GCSI GCVO OBE PC KC
(1873–1954)
10 May
1940
27 July
1945
National Liberal Churchill War
(All parties)
Churchill Caretaker
(Con.N.Lib.)
The Right Honourable
William Jowitt
1st Viscount Jowitt
[nb 16]
PC
(1885–1957)
27 July
1945
26 October
1951
Labour Attlee
(I & II)
The Right Honourable
Gavin Simonds
1st Baron Simonds

PC QC
(1881–1971)
30 October
1951
18 October
1954
Conservative Churchill III
Elizabeth II

(1952–present)
The Right Honourable
David Maxwell Fyfe
1st Viscount Kilmuir

GCVO PC QC
(1900–1967)
18 October
1954
13 July
1962
Conservative
Eden
Macmillan
(I & II)
The Right Honourable
Reginald Manningham-Buller
1st Baron Dilhorne

PC
(1905–1980)
13 July
1962
16 October
1964
Conservative
Douglas-Home
The Right Honourable
Gerald Gardiner
Baron Gardiner

PC QC
(1900–1990)
16 October
1964
19 June
1970
Labour Wilson
(I & II)
The Right Honourable
Quintin Hogg
Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone

PC QC
(1907–2001)
20 June
1970
4 March
1974
Conservative Heath
The Right Honourable
Frederick Elwyn Jones
Baron Elwyn-Jones

CH PC
(1909–1989)
5 March
1974
4 May
1979
Labour Wilson
(III & IV)
Callaghan
The Right Honourable
Quintin Hogg
Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone

CH PC QC
(1907–2001)
4 May
1979
13 June
1987
Conservative Thatcher I
Thatcher II
The Right Honourable
Michael Havers
Baron Havers

PC
(1923–1992)
13 June
1987
26 October
1987
Conservative Thatcher III
The Right Honourable
James Mackay
Baron Mackay of Clashfern

PC QC
(born 1927)
28 October
1987
2 May
1997
Conservative
Major I
Major II
The Right Honourable
Alexander Irvine
Baron Irvine of Lairg

PC QC
(born 1940)
2 May
1997
12 June
2003
Labour Blair
(I–III)
The Right Honourable
Charles Falconer
Baron Falconer of Thoroton

PC QC
(born 1946)
12 June
2003
27 June
2007
Labour
The Right Honourable
Jack Straw
[nb 17]
MP for Blackburn
(born 1946)
28 June
2007
11 May
2010
Labour Brown
The Right Honourable
Kenneth Clarke

QC
MP for Rushcliffe
(born 1940)
12 May
2010
4 September
2012
Conservative Cameron–Clegg
(Con.L.D.)
The Right Honourable
Chris Grayling

MP for Epsom and Ewell
(born 1962)
4 September
2012
9 May
2015
Conservative
The Right Honourable
Michael Gove

MP for Surrey Heath
(born 1967)
9 May
2015
14 July
2016
Conservative Cameron II
The Right Honourable
Elizabeth Truss

MP for South West Norfolk
(born 1975)
14 July
2016
11 June
2017
Conservative May I
The Right Honourable
David Lidington

CBE
MP for Aylesbury
(born 1956)
11 June
2017
8 January
2018
Conservative May II
The Right Honourable
David Gauke

MP for South West Hertfordshire
(born 1971)
8 January
2018
Incumbent Conservative

Notes

  1. Lord Keeper of the Great Seal until 1713.
  2. Baron Parker from 1714; created Earl of Macclesfield and Viscount Parker in 1721.[3]
  3. Baron Hadwicke from 1733; created Earl of Hardwicke and Viscount Royston in 1754.[4]
  4. Baron Henley from 1760; created Earl of Northinton in 1764[5]
  5. Lord Keeper of the Great Seal until 1761.
  6. The Prince of Wales served as Prince Regent from 5 February 1811.
  7. Yorke, who had been associated with the opposition, was persuaded to accept appointment as Lord Chancellor and was to have been created Baron Morden. However on meeting with his erstwhile opposition colleagues he became ashamed of his action. He refused to sign the patent conferring the peerage on himself and then committed suicide.
  8. Baron Apsley from 1771; succeeded as Earl Bathurst and Baron Bathurst in 1775.
  9. Baron Eldon from 1799; created Earl of Eldon and Viscount Encombe in 1821.[6]
  10. Baron Cairns from 1867; created Earl Cairns and Viscount Garmoyle in 1878.[7]
  11. Baron Selborne from 1872; created Earl of Selborne and Viscount Wolmer in 1882.[8]
  12. Baron Halsbury from 1885; created Earl of Halsbury and Viscount Tiverton in 1898.[9]
  13. Baron Loreburn from 1906; created Earl Loreburn in 1911.[10]
  14. Baron Birkenhead from 1919; created Viscount Birkenhead in 1921; created Earl of Birkenhead and Viscount Furneaux in 1922.[11]
  15. Baron Sankey from 1929; created Viscount Sankey in 1932.[12]
  16. Baron Jowitt from 1945; created Viscount Jowitt in 1947.[13]
  17. First non-peer to serve as Lord Chancellor since Sir Robert Henley as Lord Keeper of the Seal in 1760.

References

  1. Cook and Wroughton, English Historical Facts, 1603–1688, PP 8–9
  2. Geoffrey Treasure, ‘Cowper, William, first Earl Cowper (1665–1723)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2009 accessed 27 March 2009
  3. "No. 5986". The London Gazette. 29 August 1721. p. 1.
  4. "No. 9359". The London Gazette. 30 March 1754. p. 2.
  5. "No. 10418". The London Gazette. 15 May 1764. p. 4.
  6. "No. 17722". The London Gazette. 7 July 1821. p. 1410.
  7. "No. 24627". The London Gazette. 24 September 1878. p. 5263.
  8. "No. 25183". The London Gazette. 29 December 1882. p. 6649.
  9. "No. 26930". The London Gazette. 18 January 1898. p. 299.
  10. "No. 28514". The London Gazette. 18 July 1911. p. 5349.
  11. "No. 32776". The London Gazette. 12 December 1922. p. 8793.
  12. "No. 33795". The London Gazette. 2 February 1932. p. 703.
  13. "No. 37860". The London Gazette. 21 January 1947. p. 411.
  • John Haydn and Horace Ockerby, The Book of Dignities, third edition, W.H. Allen and Co. Ltd, London 1894, reprinted Firecrest Publishing Limited, Bath 1969, p. 352–358
  • John Lord Campbell (1845) Lives of the Lords Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of England. 5th ed. (1868) London: Murray, vol. 10
  • Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
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