Clerk of the Privy Council (United Kingdom)

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

This historic office is less powerful nowadays 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 to the Privy Council. Three of the four positions then extant were progressively abolished in the 19th century until only one remained in 1859.

Clerks in Ordinary 1540–present

Date	One	Two	Three	Four
10 August 1540	William Paget
23 April 1543	John Mason	William Honnyng
17 November 1545	William Honnyng	vacant
18 December 1545		Sir Thomas Chaloner
March 1547			Thomas Smith
10 May 1548			Armagil Wade
20 May 1550	Armagil Wade		William Thomas
24 September 1551				Bernard Hampton
12 May 1552		William Thomas	Bernard Hampton
19 July 1553	vacant	vacant
30 July 1553	Sir Francis Allen	William Smith
1567		vacant
29 April 1571	Edmund Tremayne
6 July 1572			Robert Beale
12 October 1576		Sir Thomas Wilkes
7 October 1584	Sir William Wade
2 January 1594				Sir Anthony Ashley
21 April 1598		Sir Thomas Smith
18 June 1601			Sir Thomas Edmondes
25 May 1608					Sir Ralph Winwood	Sir John Corbet
7 September 1609					Sir Clement Edmondes
27 November 1609		vacant
22 July 1610				Sir George Calvert
7 December 1611
24 September 1613	Francis Cottington
24 February 1614			William Trumbull
February 1619				Sir Albertus Morton
7 November 1622					John Dickenson
11 December 1622	Sir Thomas Meautys
24 January 1623				Sir William Beecher
9 October 1635			Sir Edward Nicholas[3]
26 May 1636					Sir Dudley Carleton
27 January 1641				Sir Richard Browne

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^[4]
• 9 August 1898: Sir Almeric FitzRoy^[5][6]
• 31 May 1923: Sir Maurice Hankey^[7]
• 1 August 1938: Sir Rupert Howorth^[8]
• 1942: Sir Eric Leadbitter^[9]
• 30 June 1951: Major Francis Ford Fernau^[10]
• 1953: Sir Godfrey Agnew^[11]
• 1974: Sir Neville Egerton Leigh^[12][13]
• 1984: Sir Geoffrey de Deney^[14]
• 1992: Sir Nigel Nicholls
• 1996: Robert Bulling (acting)
• 1998: Alex Galloway
• 2007: Judith Simpson
• 2012: Richard Tilbrook

See also

• Sir Jeremy Heywood
• Honours Committee
• Clerk of the Privy Council (Canada)

External links

• Sainty, Sir John. "Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Clerks to the Privy Council".

References

1. www.gov.uk
2. Comparisons between UK and Canadian Government: The Role of the Clerk to the Privy Council
3. Probably vacated office 27 November 1641 on appointment as secretary of state Clerks of the Privy Council 1540-1644 - A provisional list compiled by J C Sainty, April 2004
4. The London Gazette: no. 24192. p. 1685. 19 March 1875.
5. The London Gazette: no. 26995. p. 4844. 12 August 1898.
6. www.thepeerage.com: Sir Almeric Fitzroy
7. The London Gazette: no. 32829. p. 3834. 1 June 1923.
8. The London Gazette: no. 34536. p. 4875. 29 July 1938.
9. www.npg.org.uk
10. www.thepeerage.com: Sir Eric Leadbitter
11. www.independent.co.uk: Sir Godfrey Agnew
12. www.burkespeerage.com: LEIGH formerly of West Hall
13. Sir Neville Leigh KCVO
14. Whitaker's Almanack 2012: Sir Geoffrey de Deney