The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The position has existed since at least 1315, and duties include preparing the minutes of Lords proceedings, advising on proper parliamentary procedure and pronouncing royal assent. Many of the Clerk's duties are now fulfilled by their deputies and the Clerk of the Parliaments' Office.
The Under Clerk of the Parliaments is the formal name for the Clerk of the House of Commons.
The term Clerk of the Parliaments is also used as a formal alternative title by the Clerk of the Senate of Canada and the Clerks of the Legislative Councils of New South Wales and Western Australia. In the Australian state of Victoria the title is given to the longer-serving of the Clerks of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly. The title was also formerly used for the Clerk of the Australian Senate and the longer-serving of the Clerks of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of South Australia.
History The position has existed since at least 1315, when records from the parliament held by Edward II at Lincoln make reference to a clerk nominated by the king to serve as a "special deputy".Macqueen (1842) p.63 This clerk was tasked with reading out the titles of bills and the responses from Parliament. In later parliaments starting with those under Richard II, the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery would read the titles, and the Clerk of the Parliaments the responses.Pollard (1942) p.314 The actual term Clerk of the Parliaments did not come into use until the reign of Henry VIII, and the plural (parliaments, rather than Parliament) signifies that it is a life appointment – the clerk is appointed for all parliaments, not just the one currently sitting. On 12 March 1660 a deputy clerk was appointed for the first time after the clerk (Mr Bowyer) was too ill to attend Parliament.Macqueen (1842) p.64 The Clerk of the Parliaments Act 1824 (5 Geo. 4. c. 82) defined the clerk's duties for the first time in statute, and the act is still in force and binding on current clerks.
Appointment and duties The Clerk of the Parliaments is appointed by letters patent from the sovereign, who also holds the sole power to remove him or her.The Stationery Office (2007) p.18 The Clerk has a variety of tasks within the House of Lords. Appointees were originally ecclesiastical figures, although the nineteenth century saw a shift towards members of the legal profession.Macqueen (1842) p.65 They are assisted by two other clerks – the Clerk Assistant and the Reading Clerk.
The Clerk of the Parliaments, or another clerk, sits in the chamber at the table of the house during sittings, and calls on items of business. At the start of a sitting all three table clerks (Clerk of the Parliaments, Clerk Assistant and Reading Clerk) are normally present. When at the table the Clerk wears court dress (including a tail coat and waistcoat), a gown and a wig. The wig worn by the Clerk of the Parliaments is a bench wig as worn by a High Court judge; other clerks wear a barrister's wig. Male clerks wear a wing collar and white bow tie, and female clerks bands as worn by barristers.
As well as providing advice on procedure, the clerk also prepares the minutes of proceedings in the Lords, signs all official documents and communications, returns bills to the House of Commons and pronounces royal assent.The Stationery Office (2007) p.19 The clerk also supervises several offices, including their own (the Clerk of the Parliaments' Office), Black Rod's Department, which deals with security in the Lords, the Committee Office, which gives legal and procedural advice to committees within the Lords, and formerly (until 2009) the Judicial Office, which advised and assisted the Law Lords.The Stationery Office (2007) p.21 Since the nineteenth century many of these duties have been performed by their deputies and their own office.
Office holders TermNameAppointments prior to 1485 are taken from Guide to the Records of Parliament by M F Bond (HMSO 1971), p.303Notes?1280–1290John Kirkby1290–1314Gilbert of Rothbury1315Robert of Ashby1316–William of Airmync1327 – post 1334Henry of EdenstoweThomas of Braytonin office 1351 & 1352John of Coddingtonin office 1377Geoffrey Martinin office 1377Edmund Brudenell?1372–1386Richard de Ravenser?c1381John de Walthamante 1384–1394John de Scarle1394–1414John Rome1414–1423John Frank1424–1436William Prestwyke1437–1438John Bate1438–1447Thomas Kirkby1447–1470John Fawkes1470–1471Baldwin Hyde1471–1483John Gunthorpe1483–1485Thomas Hutton1485–1496John Morgan1496–1509Richard Hatton1509–1523John Taylor 1523–1531Brian Tuke 1531–1540Edward North1540–1541Thomas Soulemont1541–1543William PagetNAThomas Knight1550–1551John Mason1574–NAFrancis Spelman1574–1597Anthony Mason1597–1609Thomas SmithKnighted 16031609–1621Robert Bowyer1621–1635Henry Elsynge 1635–1637Thomas Knyvett1637–1638Daniel Bedingfield1638–1644John Browne1644Edward Norgate1649–1660Henry Scobell1660–1691John Browne1691–1716Matthew Johnson1716–1740William Cowper1740–1788Ashley Cowper1788–1818George Rose1818–1855George Henry Rose1855–1875John Shaw-Lefevre1875–1885Sir William Rose1885–1917Sir Henry Graham1917–1930Sir Arthur Thring1930–1934Sir Edward Alderson1934–1949Sir Henry Badeley1949–1953Sir Robert Overbury1953–1959Sir Francis Lascelles1959–1963Sir Victor Goodman1963–1974Sir David Stephens1974–1983Sir Peter Henderson1983–1990Sir John Sainty2 January 1991 – 4 January 1997Sir Michael Wheeler-Booth4 January 1997 – 13 July 2003Sir Michael Davies14 July 2003 – 3 November 2007Sir Paul HayterKnighted 20074 November 2007 – 15 April 2011Sir Michael PownallKnighted 201116 April 2011 – 15 April 2017 Sir David BeamishKnighted 201718 April 2017 – 1 April 2021 Sir Edward OllardKnighted 20212 April 2021 – 1 April 2026 Sir Simon BurtonKnighted 20262 April 2026 – presentChloe MawsonFirst woman to hold the post
References
External links The records of the Clerk of the Parliaments are held by the UK Parliamentary Archives
Bibliography