Knight Marshal
The Knight Marshal is a former office in the British Royal Household established by King Henry III in 1236. The position later became a Deputy to the Earl Marshal from the reign of Henry VIII until the office was abolished in 1846 .[1]
The Knight Marshal and his men were responsible for maintaining order within the King's Court (Court of Marshalsea or Palace Court) which was abolished in 1849.
According to The Present State of the British Court, published in 1720,
- "The Knight Marshal is an Officer employ'd in the King's Court or Marshalsea, and the Marshal's Men under him are properly the King's Bailiffs. They arrest in the Verge of the Court {i.e. within a 12 mile radius of the Sovereign's palace} when a Warrant is back'd by the Board of Green-cloth. The Knight Marshal and his Men have place in all publick Cavalcades, at Declaring of War, Proclaiming Peace, publick Entries and Processions made by the Soveraign."
The Knight Marshal was appointed by the Crown for life by letters patent under the great seal frequently in the form of grants in reversion. Board wages were fixed at £21 5s 10d in 1662. In 1685 a salary of £26 was provided. This was raised to £500 in 1790 but reduced to £271 in 1816.
The separate office of Knight Marischal exists in the Royal Household of Scotland, but has not been filled since 1863.
List of Knights Marshal
- temp Richard III William Brandon
- temp Henry VII Sir John Digby
- temp Henry VIII Sir William Pickering
- Sir Ralph Assheton
- 1542 26 August 1542 – 1556 Sir Ralph Hopton
- 1555 1555 Sir Anthony Kingston
- 1556 May 1556 – 1558 Sir Thomas Holcroft
- 1558 Mar 1558–1558 Sir Thomas Hervey
- 1558 21 Dec 1558–1571 Sir Ralph Hopton and Robert Hopton
- 1597 May Sir Thomas Gerard[2]
- circa 1610 Thomas Vavasour[3]
- 1623 1623 George Goring, 1st Earl of Norwich
- 1625 1625–1642 Sir Edmumd Verney
- 1660 11 July Sir William Throckmorton
- 1667 22 April Sir Edmund Wyndham
- 1681 3 March Sir Edward Villiers
- 1689 4 July Sir Edward Villiers
- 1700 11 July Philip Meadows
- 1757 5 December 1757 – 1792 Sydney Meadows
- 1792 15 November 1792 – 1795 Hugh Boscawen
- 1795 10 November Sir James Burges, Bt
- 1824 11 October 1824 – 1846 Sir Charles Montolieu Lamb, Bt
H.M.'s Marshalmen
A token number of Marshalmen continued to be appointed even after the demise of the Marshalsea Court; they became honorary appointments within the Royal Household and were in attendance on the Sovereign on ceremonial occasions. Six King's Marshalmen took part in the 1937 Coronation procession;[4] since when appointments to this office have ceased. The Marshalmen wore a distinctive uniform, consisting of a scarlet coat, blue trousers and a shako, and carried a baton engraved with the Royal Arms at one end, and at the other the coat of arms of the City of Westminster.[5]
Sources
The Database of Court Officers 1660-1837
References
- ↑ p.288Money Barnes, Major R. The Soldiers of London Seeley, Service & Co 1963
- ↑ History of Parliament Online: Members 1558-1603 - GERARD, Thomas I (c.1564-1618) - Author: N.M.S.
- ↑ Beddard, Robert (January 1995). "Ham House". History Today 45 (1).
- ↑ http://www.dnw.co.uk/medals/auctionarchive/searchcataloguearchive/itemdetail.lasso?itemid=67324 Information from private papers of one of the last Marshalmen, Charles Bland, who died in 1945
- ↑ Dress worn at Court http://archive.org/stream/dressinsigniawor00greauoft#page/164/mode/1up