Chancellor of the Order of the Garter

The Chancellor of the Order of the Garter is an officer of the Order of the Garter.

Officers of the Order of the Garter (left to right): Secretary (barely visible), Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, Garter Principal King of Arms, Register, Prelate, Chancellor

History of the office

When the Order of the Garter was founded in 1348 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, by Edward III of England three officers were initially appointed to serve them, the Prelate, the Register and the Usher. In 1477 Edward IV decreed that the further position of Chancellor should be created to be responsible for the seal and its use. Accommodation was to be provided in what came to be called the Chancellor's Tower. The position of Chancellor was to be second in seniority to the Prelate and was granted to Richard Beauchamp, Bishop of Salisbury, and his successors in that position. At that time Windsor Chapel lay geographically in the See of Salisbury, although as a royal chapel it did not come under the direct jurisdiction of the Bishop.^[1]

The unbroken succession of Bishops of Salisbury came to an end in 1551 when Sir William Cecil was made Chancellor by Edward VI, after which a succession of lay Chancellors were appointed.^[1]

Following a number of petitions by successive Bishops of Salisbury, their right to hold the position was conceded in 1669 and on the death of Henry de Vic the honour reverted to the Bishops of Salisbury.^[1]

In 1837 boundary changes made Windsor Castle fall in the diocese of Oxford and the Chancellorship was transferred to the Bishop of Oxford. A century later, the Bishop of Salisbury again challenged the loss of the office on the grounds that the Chancellorship had been attached to his office regardless of the diocese in which the chapel of the order lay and that, in any event, St George's Chapel, as a Royal Peculiar, was not under diocesan jurisdiction. The office of Chancellor was removed from the Bishop of Oxford (the outgoing bishop, Thomas Banks Strong, had been outspoken in the abdication crisis of Edward VIII), and withheld from his successors.

The office has since been held by one of the Knights Companion.

Chancellors of the Order of the Garter

Bishops of Salisbury

1477–1481: Richard Beauchamp^[2]
1482–1484: Lionel Woodville^[2]
1485–1493: Thomas Langton^[2]
1493–1499: John Blyth^[2]
1500–1501: Henry Deane^[2]
1502–1524: Edmund Audley^[2]

Lay Chancellors

1551–1553: Sir William Cecil, Secretary of State^[2]
1553–1572: Sir William Petre, Secretary of State^[2]
1572–1577: Sir Thomas Smith, Secretary of State^[2]
1578–1587: Sir Francis Walsingham, Secretary of State^[2]
1587–1588: Sir Amias Paulet, Secretary of State^[2]
1589–1596: Sir John Wolley, Secretary for the Latin Tongue^[2]
1596–1607: Sir Edward Dyer^[2]
1607–1617: Sir John Herbert, Secretary of State^[2]
1617–1632: Sir George More^[2]
1632–1636: Sir Francis Crane^[2]
1637-1644: Sir Thomas Roe^[2]
1645–1658: Sir James Palmer^[2]
1658–1671: Sir Henry de Vic^[2]

Bishops of Salisbury

1671–1689: Seth Ward^[2]
1689–1715: Gilbert Burnet^[2]
1715–1721: William Talbot
1721–1723: Richard Willis
1723–1734: Benjamin Hoadly
1734–1748: Thomas Sherlock
1748–1757: John Gilbert
1757–1761: John Thomas
1761: The Hon Robert Hay Drummond
1761–1766: John Thomas
1766–1782: John Hume
1782–1791: Shute Barrington
1791–1807: John Douglas
1807–1825: John Fisher
1825–1837: Thomas Burgess

Bishops of Oxford

1837–1845: Richard Bagot
1845–1869: Samuel Wilberforce
1870–1889: John Mackarness
1889–1901: William Stubbs
1901–1911: Francis Paget
1911–1919: Charles Gore
1919–1925: Hubert Burge
1925–1937: Thomas Strong

Knights Companion Chancellors

1937–1943: The Duke of Portland
1943–1959: The Earl of Halifax
1960–1972: The Marquess of Salisbury
1972–1977: The Viscount Cobham
1977–1994: The Marquess of Abergavenny
1994–2012: The Lord Carrington^[3]^[4]
2012–present: The Duke of Abercorn^[4]

References

1 2 3 Ashmole, Elias. The history of the most noble Order of the Garter. p. 189.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Ashmole, Elias. The history of the most noble Order of the Garter. p. 543.
↑ "No. 53843". The London Gazette. 8 November 1994. p. 15625.
1 2 "No. 60301". The London Gazette. 17 October 2012. p. 19937.

Chancellors of the Order of the Garter
Bishops of Salisbury (1477–1550)	Richard Beauchamp Lionel Woodville Thomas Langton John Blyth Henry Deane Edmund Audley
Lay Chancellors (1551–1671)	Sir William Cecil Sir William Petre Sir Thomas Smith Sir Francis Walsingham Sir Amias Paulet Sir John Wolley Sir Edward Dyer Sir John Herbert Sir George More Sir Francis Crane Sir Thomas Roe Sir James Palmer Sir Henry de Vic
Bishops of Salisbury (1671–1837)	Seth Ward Gilbert Burnet William Talbot Richard Willis Benjamin Hoadly Thomas Sherlock John Gilbert John Thomas The Hon Robert Hay Drummond John Thomas John Hume Shute Barrington John Douglas John Fisher Thomas Burgess
Knights Companion (from 1937)	William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham John Nevill, 5th Marquess of Abergavenny Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn

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