The Cofferer of the Household was formerly an office in the English and British Royal Household. Next in rank to the Comptroller, the holder paid the wages of some of the servants above and below stairs, was a member of the Board of Green Cloth, and sat with the Lord Steward in the Court of the Verge.[1][2] The cofferer was usually of political rank and always a member of the Privy Council.[3]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Henry_Fiennes_Pelham-Clinton%2C_2nd_Duke_of_Newcastle-under-Lyne_by_William_Hoare.jpg/220px-Henry_Fiennes_Pelham-Clinton%2C_2nd_Duke_of_Newcastle-under-Lyne_by_William_Hoare.jpg)
The office dates from the 13th century, when it was known as Cofferer of the Wardrobe. The Keeper of the Wardrobe was at this time increasingly occupied with matters of state, and so his chief clerk gradually took on additional responsibilities for accounting and bookkeeping, and came to be referred to as the Cofferer.[4] As such, he became in effect the working head of the Wardrobe, and acted when required as locum tenens to the Keeper. The Cofferer had his own staff of clerks, who later came to be known as the Clerks of the Green Cloth (after the green cloth covering of the table in the accounting office).[4]
By the end of the 14th century the Wardrobe had ceased to be an independent office of influence at Court; its officers were made subsidiary to the Lord Steward and duly re-designated as being 'of the Household' (rather than 'of the Wardrobe').[5] The Cofferer retained his role as principal accounting officer under the Lord Steward.[6]
The office of Cofferer was abolished by the Civil List and Secret Service Money Act 1782.[7] By the same means 'provision was made for more economical methods of keeping the accounts of Civil List expenditure under the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury':[6] thenceforward the accounts of the Lord Steward's Department were included in the Estimates.
List of incumbents
editName | Entered office | Left office | Notes | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|
Roger Repington | In office during the reign of Empress Matilda in the 12th century | [8] | ||
William Louth | 1274 | 1280 | [9] | |
William March | 1280 | 1284 | [9] | |
Henry Wheatley | 1284 | 1287 | [9] | |
Walter Langton | 1287 | 1290 | Keeper of the Wardrobe, 1290 | [9] |
John Droxford | 1290 | 1290 | Keeper of the Wardrobe, 1295 | [9] |
Philip Everdon | 1290 | 1295 | [9] | |
Walter Barton | 1295 | 1297 | [9] | |
Ralph Manton | 1297 | 1303 | [9] | |
Walter Bedwyn | 1303 | 1307 | [9] | |
Peter Collingbourn | 1307 | 1308 | Keeper of the Wardrobe, 1312 | [9] |
John Ockham | 1308 | 1309 | [9] | |
Robert Wodehouse | 1309 | 1311 | Controller of the Wardrobe, 1314 | [9] |
John Ockham | 1311 | 1314 | [9] | |
Nicholas Huggate | 1314 | 1315 | Controller of the Wardrobe, 1326 | [9] |
Henry Hale | 1316 | 1316 | [9] | |
Robert Wodehouse | 1317 | 1318 | [9] | |
Unknown | (1318–1320) | [9] | ||
Richard Ferriby | 1320 | 1323 | Controller of the Wardrobe, 1331 | [9] |
Unknown | (1323–1327) | [9] | ||
Richard Bury | 1327 | 1328 | Keeper of the Wardrobe, 1328 | [9] |
John Houton | 1328 | 1331 | [9] | |
William Norwell | 1331 | 1334 | Keeper of the Wardrobe, 1335 | [9] |
John Cokham | 1334 | 1335 | [9] | |
John Houton | 1335 | 1337 | [9] | |
Richard Nateby | 1337 | 1338 | Controller of the Wardrobe, 1338 | [9] |
William Dalton | 1338 | 1344 | Controller of the Wardrobe, 1344 | [9] |
Richard Eccleshall | 1334 | 1349 or 1350 | [9] | |
Unknown | (1350–1359) | [9] | ||
Thomas Brantingham | 1359 | 1361 | Keeper of the Wardrobe, 1368 | [9] |
Unknown | (1361–1369) | [9] | ||
Richard Beverley | 1369 | 1376 | Keeper of the Wardrobe, 1376 | [9] |
John Carp | 1376 | 1390 | Keeper of the Wardrobe, 1390 | [9] |
John Stacy | 1390 | 1395 | [9] | |
Thomas More | 1395 | 1399 | Keeper of the Wardrobe, 1401 | [9] |
Unknown | ||||
John Spencer | 1413 | 1413 | Keeper of the Great Wardrobe, 1413 | [10][11] |
William Kinwolmarsh | In office during the reign of Henry V | [12] | ||
Unknown | ||||
John Kendale | 1461 | 1470 | [13] | |
John Elrington | 1471 | 1474 | Keeper of the Wardrobe, 1474 | [13] |
Richard Jeny | 1479 | [13] | ||
James Blundell | 1479 | 1481 | [13] | |
John Belle | 1483 | 1485 | [13] | |
Laurence Warham | In office in 1485 | [14] | ||
John Payne | 1486 | 1492 | [14] | |
William Fisher | 1492 | 1494 | [14] | |
William Cope | 1494 | 1505 | [14] | |
Edward Cheseman | by 1508 | [14] | ||
John Shurley | 1509 | 1527 | [14] | |
Sir Edmund Peckham | 1524 or 1527 | 1547 | [14][15] | |
John Ryther | 1547 | 1552 | [14][16] | |
Thomas Weldon | 1552 | 1553 | [14][17] | |
Sir Richard Freeston | 1553 | 1557 | [14] | |
Michael Wentworth | 1558 | 1558 | [14][18] | |
Thomas Weldon and Richard Ward | 1558 | 1559 | [14][17][19] | |
Thomas Weldon | 1559 | 1567 | [14][17] | |
Richard Ward | 1567 | 1578 | [14][19] | |
Anthony Crane | 1578 | 1580 | [14] | |
John Abingdon | 1580 | 1582 | [14] | |
Gregory Lovell | 1582 | 1597 | [14] | |
Sir Henry Cocke | 1597 | 1610 | [14][20] | |
Sir Robert Vernon | 1610 | 1615 | [14][20] | |
Sir Arthur Ingram | 1615 | 1615 | Suspended | [14][20] |
Sir Marmaduke Dayrell | 1615 | cont. | [14][20] | |
Sir Marmaduke Dayrell and Sir Henry Vane | 1625 | 1632 | [14][20] | |
Sir Henry Vane and Sir Roger Palmer | 1632 | 1632 | [14][20] | |
Sir Roger Palmer | 1632 | 1643 | [14] | |
William Ashburnham | 1642 | 1646 | [3][21] | |
Commonwealth | (1649–1660) | [21] | ||
William Ashburnham | 1660 | 1679 | [7] | |
Lord Brouncker, from 1684 The Viscount Brouncker | 1679 | 1685 | [7] | |
Sir Peter Apsley | 1685 | 1689 | [7] | |
The Viscount Newport, from 1694 The Earl of Bradford | 1689 | 1702 | [7] | |
Sir Benjamin Bathurst | 1702 | 1704 | [7] | |
Francis Godolphin, from 1706 Viscount Rialton | 1704 | 1711 | First period in office; succeeded as The Earl of Godolphin in 1712 | [7] |
Samuel Masham, from 1712 The Lord Masham | 1711 | 1714 | [7] | |
The Earl of Godolphin | 1714 | 1723 | Second period in office | [7] |
William Pulteney | 1723 | 1725 | Created The Earl of Bath in 1742 | [7] |
The 7th Earl of Lincoln | 1725 | 1728 | [7] | |
Vacant | (1728–1730) | [7] | ||
Horatio Walpole | 1730 | 1741 | Created The Lord Walpole in 1756 | [7] |
Thomas Winnington | 1741 | 1744 | [7] | |
The Lord Sandys | 1744 | 1744 | [7] | |
Edmund Waller | 1744 | 1747 | [7] | |
The 9th Earl of Lincoln | 1747 | 1754 | Succeeded as The Duke of Newcastle in 1768 | [7] |
Sir George Lyttelton, 5th Baronet | 1754 | 1756 | Created The Lord Lyttelton in 1756 | [7] |
The Duke of Leeds | 1756 | 1761 | [7] | |
James Grenville | 1761 | 1761 | [7] | |
The Earl of Thomond | 1761 | 1765 | [7] | |
The Earl of Scarbrough | 1765 | 1766 | [7] | |
Hans Stanley | 1766 | 1774 | [7] | |
Jeremiah Dyson | 1774 | 1776 | [7] | |
Hans Stanley | 1776 | 1780 | [7] | |
Viscount Beauchamp | 1780 | 1782 | Succeeded as The Marquess of Hertford in 1794 | [7] |
References
edit- ^ The Present State of the British Court, or, an Account of the Civil and Military Establishment of England. London: printed for A. Bell. W. Taylor; and J. Osborn. 1720. p. 7.
- ^ Rogers, R. (2012). Who Goes Home: A Parliamentary Miscellany. Biteback Publishing. p. 33–34. ISBN 978-1-84954-480-1. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
The Board of Green Cloth audited the accounts of the Royal Household and sat as a court on offences committed on ... for premises controlled by the Royal Palaces, and did not finally disappear until 2004, following the Licensing Act 2004.
- ^ a b Haydn, Joseph (1851). The Book of Dignities. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. pp. 213–214. OL 7005826M.
- ^ a b Tout, T. F. (1920). Chapters in the administrative history of mediaeval England: the wardrobe, the chamber, and the small seals (Volume II). Manchester University Press. pp. 39–41. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ^ Tout, T. F. (1928). Chapters in the administrative history of mediaeval England: the wardrobe, the chamber, and the small seals (Volume IV). Manchester University Press. pp. 160–161. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ^ a b Guide to the Contents of the Public Record Office (volume II). London: H. M. Stationery Office. 1963. p. 211.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Bucholz, Robert (1782). "Household Below Stairs: Cofferer of the Household 1660" (PDF). Database of Court Officers. Department of History, Loyola University of Chicago. pp. 4–5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 March 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ Burke, John (1835). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Enjoying Territorial Possessions or High Official Rank: But Uninvested with Heritable Honours, Volume 2. London: R. Bentley. p. 473.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah Tout, T. F. (1933). Chapters in the Administrative History of Medieval England: The Wardrobe, the Chamber, and the Small Seals. Vol. 6. Manchester: University Press. pp. 30–32. OL 7212073M.
- ^ Woodger, L. S. "Spencer, John (d.1417), of Banham, Norf. and Burgate, Suff". The History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ Roskell, J. S. "The Composition of the Parliament of May 1413". The History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ Kirby, J. L. (January 2008). "Killamarsh , William (d. 1422)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/50138. Retrieved 24 December 2012. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b c d e Myers, Alec Reginald (1959). The Household of Edward IV. Manchester University Press.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "Officers of the Green Cloth: Cofferer". Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ Dale, M. K. "Peckham, Sir Edmund (by 1495–1564), of the Blackfriars, London and Denham, Bucks". The History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ Coros, D. F. "Ryther (Ryder), John (by 1514–52), of London". The History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ a b c Baker, T. F. T. "Weldon, Thomas (by 1499–1567), of Cookham, Berks". The History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ Swales, R. J. W. "Wentworth, Michael (by 1512–58), of Whitley, Yorks., Mendham, Suff. and Cannon Row, Westminster, Mdx". The History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ a b Baker, T. F. T. "Ward, Richard I (by 1511–78), of Hurst, Berks". The History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f Thrush, Andrew. "Principal officeholders 1603–29". The History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ a b Henning, Basil Duke Henning. "Ashburnham, William (c.1604-79), of Ashburnham House, Little Dean's Yard, Westminster". The History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 24 December 2012.