The Clerk of the Privy Council is a senior civil servant in His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, being Head of the Privy Council Office.[1]

This historic office is less powerful now than it once was and than its Canadian equivalent, whose holder serves ex officio as Head of the Canadian Civil Service, whereas these roles in the UK have been divided between the Cabinet Secretary and the Head of HM Civil Service.[2]

Until 1859 there were multiple — usually four — clerks of the Privy Council. Three of the four positions then extant were progressively abolished in the 19th century until only one remained in 1859. The Clerk of the Privy Council is deputized by one or two Deputy Clerks, although the office of Senior Clerk has been established in the past.[3][4]

Clerks in Ordinary, 1540–present

Date One Two Three Four Five Six
10 August 1540 William Paget[5]
23 April 1543 John Mason[6] William Honnyng
17 November 1545 vacant
18 December 1545 Sir Thomas Chaloner
March 1547 Thomas Smith
10 May 1548 Armagil Wade[7]
20 May 1550 William Thomas[8]
24 September 1551 Bernard Hampton[9]
12 May 1552 vacant
By 31 March 1553 vacant
19 July 1553 vacant
30 July 1553 Sir Francis Allen[9] William Smith
After 23 December 1566 vacant
1570 vacant
29 April 1571 Edmund Tremayne[10]
1572 vacant
6 July 1572 Robert Beale[10]
18 July 1576 Sir Thomas Wilkes[10] Henry Cheke
After 5 September 1581 vacant
September 1582 vacant
7 October 1584 Sir William Wade[11]
19 March 1587 Sir Anthony Ashley[12]
2 March 1598 vacant
21 April 1598 Sir Thomas Smith[10]
27 May 1601 vacant
18 June 1601 Sir Thomas Edmondes
25 May 1608 Sir Ralph Winwood[12] Sir John Corbet[9]
15 August 1609 vacant
7 September 1609 Sir Clement Edmondes[9]
27 November 1609 vacant
By 31 May 1610 vacant
22 July 1610 Sir George Calvert[13]
7 December 1611 vacant
23 August 1613 vacant
24 September 1613 Francis Cottington[14]
24 February 1614 William Trumbull[9]
16 February 1619 vacant
February 1619 Sir Albertus Morton
13 October 1622 vacant
7 November 1622 John Dickenson[9]
11 December 1622 Sir Thomas Meautys[15]
24 January 1623 Sir William Beecher
September 1635 vacant
9 October 1635 Sir Edward Nicholas[13]
By 20 January 1636 vacant
26 May 1636 Sir Dudley Carleton[16]
27 January 1641 Sir Richard Browne[17]
27 November 1641 vacant
Date One Two Three Four
14 May 1649 Sir Edward Walker vacant vacant vacant
18 November 1656 Sir George Lane
27 October 1658 Sir John Nicholas
22 June 1660 Sir Richard Browne
23 September 1664 Sir Robert Southwell
24 January 1672 Sir Joseph Williamson
16 September 1674 Sir Philip Lloyd
21 February 1677 Sir Thomas Doleman
5 December 1679 Francis Gwyn
16 January 1685 William Bridgeman Sir Philip Musgrave
6 February 1685 vacant
22 October 1686 William Bridgeman William Blathwayt
11 December 1688 vacant vacant
21 February 1689 Charles Montagu Richard Cooling
24 March 1692 John Dyve
12 January 1693 William Bridgeman
27 July 1697 John Povey
18 May 1699 Edward Southwell
11 January 1705 Sir Christopher Musgrave
2 November 1710 Sir Christopher Musgrave
12 May 1715 James Vernon
26 March 1716 Sir Robert Hales
23 October 1717 Abraham Stanyan
3 February 1720 Temple Stanyan
22 May 1729 Sir Walter Carey
11 February 1731 William Sharpe
21 April 1752 Gilbert West
14 April 1756 Henry Fane
6 May 1756 William Blair
19 May 1757 Francis Vernon
22 April 1762 Philip Sharpe
23 June 1764 Hon. Robert Walpole
11 September 1767 Sir Stephen Cotterell
4 December 1772 Sir George Chetwynd
1 January 1779 William Fawkener
25 August 1786 Grey Elliot
June 1787
19 April 1810 abolished
8 August 1810 Richard, Viscount Chetwynd
19 August 1811 James Buller
20 March 1821 Charles Greville
24 March 1824 abolished
15 December 1830 Hon. William Bathurst
May 1859 abolished
June 1860 Sir Arthur Helps
17 March 1875 Sir Charles Lennox Peel[18]
9 August 1898 Sir Almeric FitzRoy[19][20]
31 May 1923 Sir Maurice Hankey[21]
1 August 1938 Sir Rupert Howorth[22]
1942 Sir Eric Leadbitter[23]
30 June 1951 Major Francis Ford Fernau[24]
1953 Sir Godfrey Agnew[25]
1974 Sir Neville Egerton Leigh[26][27]
1984 Sir Geoffrey de Deney[28]
1992 Sir Nigel Nicholls
1998 Alex Galloway
2007 Judith Simpson
2012 Richard Tilbrook

See also

References

  1. ^ www.gov.uk
  2. ^ Comparisons between UK and Canadian Government: The Role of the Clerk to the Privy Council
  3. ^ "Organisational Chart of the Privy Council Office (PCO)". 3 September 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-03.
  4. ^ "Organisational Chart of the Privy Council Office (PCO)". 1 June 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-06-01.
  5. ^ Left office on being appointed Secretary of State
  6. ^ Left office on being appointed joint Master of the King's Post
  7. ^ Not continued by Mary I
  8. ^ "By 31 March 1553 Thomas had surrendered the clerkship" - Dakota L. Hamilton, ‘Thomas, William (d. 1554)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005 accessed 20 May 2016
  9. ^ a b c d e f Died in office
  10. ^ a b c d Probably died in office
  11. ^ Resigned
  12. ^ a b Surrendered his office
  13. ^ a b Probably vacated office on appointment as secretary of state Clerks of the Privy Council 1540-1644 - A provisional list compiled by J C Sainty, April 2004
  14. ^ Probably vacated office on appointment as secretary to Prince of Wales
  15. ^ He performed the duties of his office until August 1645 when the office became virtually extinct. - The Private Correspondence of Jane Lady Cornwallis Bacon, 1613-1644, Page 56 - died 1649
  16. ^ Died 1654
  17. ^ In February 1641 he was sent on his first diplomatic mission as ambassador, to the queen of Bohemia and the elector palatine, who were then in the Low Countries, and in the following July he was dispatched as resident to Paris, where he was to remain until 1660. J. T. Peacey, ‘Browne, Sir Richard, baronet (1605–1683)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2008 accessed 13 May 2016
  18. ^ "No. 24192". The London Gazette. 19 March 1875. p. 1685.
  19. ^ "No. 26995". The London Gazette. 12 August 1898. p. 4844.
  20. ^ www.thepeerage.com: Sir Almeric Fitzroy
  21. ^ "No. 32829". The London Gazette. 1 June 1923. p. 3834.
  22. ^ "No. 34536". The London Gazette. 29 July 1938. p. 4875.
  23. ^ www.npg.org.uk
  24. ^ www.thepeerage.com: Sir Eric Leadbitter
  25. ^ www.independent.co.uk: Sir Godfrey Agnew
  26. ^ www.burkespeerage.com: LEIGH formerly of West Hall
  27. ^ Sir Neville Leigh KCVO
  28. ^ Whitaker's Almanack 2012: Sir Geoffrey de Deney

External links

Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Category