Lord High Steward

The position of Lord High Steward of England is the first of the Great Officers of State. The office has generally remained vacant since 1421, except at coronations and during the trials of peers in the House of Lords, when the Lord High Steward presides. In general, the Lord Chancellor was appointed to act as Lord High Steward in the latter situation. The trial of peers by their peers in the House of Lords was abolished in 1948, although trials on impeachment have not been abolished (though long obsolete). There was a "Court of the Lord High Steward" which served this purpose when Parliament was not in session.

Although initially the position was largely an honorary one, over time it grew in importance until its holder became one of the most powerful men of the kingdom. From the late 12th century, the office was considered to be bound with the Earldom of Leicester. When the House of Lancaster ascended the throne in 1399, Henry IV made his second son, Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence, Lord High Steward. He held the post until his death in 1421.

The office should not be confused with the Lord Steward, a court functionary.

The Lord High Steward of Ireland in contrast is a hereditary title, also known as the Hereditary Great Seneschal, vested in the Earl of Shrewsbury, Waterford and Talbot, who is the Premier Earl of Ireland, Chetwynd-Talbot.

Lord High Stewards of England, 1186-1421

*Robert, 2nd Earl of Leicester 1154-1168
*Robert Blanchemains, 3rd Earl of Leicester 1168-1190
*Robert FitzPernel, 4th Earl of Leicester 1190-1204
*Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester 1206-1218
*Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester 1218-1265
*Edmund, 1st Earl of Lancaster 1265-1296
*Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster 1296-1322
*Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster 1324-1345
*Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster 1345-1361
*John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster 1362-1399
*Henry of Bollingbroke, 2nd Duke of Lancaster 1399
*Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence 1399-1421

Lord High Stewards of England at coronations, 1422-present

*"incomplete"
*The Duke of Buckingham 1509
*The Lord Russell 1547
*The Earl of Derby 1553
*"incomplete"
*The Duke of Ormonde 1661
*The Duke of Ormonde 1685
*The Earl of Devonshire 1689
*The Duke of Devonshire 1702
*The Duke of Grafton 1714
*The Duke of Dorset 1727
*The Earl Talbot 1761
*The Marquess of Anglesey 1821
*The Duke of Hamilton 1831
*The Duke of Hamilton 1838
*The Duke of Marlborough 1902
*The Duke of Northumberland 1911
*The Marquess of Salisbury 1937
*The Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope 1953

Lord High Stewards of England at the Trials of Peers, 1422-present

*"incomplete before 1660"
*The Duke of Buckingham, at the trial of The Duke of Clarence, 1478
*The Earl of Oxford, at the trial of The Earl of Warwick, 1499
*The Duke of Norfolk, at the trial of The Duke of Buckingham, 1521
*The Duke of Norfolk, at the trial of Anne Boleyn, 1536
*The Lord Audley of Walden, at the trial of Lord Montagu and the Marquess of Exeter, 1538
*The Lord Audley of Walden, at the trial of Lord Dacre, 1541
*The Marquess of Northampton, at the trial of Lord Wentworth, 1559
*The Earl of Shrewsbury, at the trial of The Duke of Norfolk, 1571
*The Earl of Derby, at the trial of The Earl of Arundel and Surrey, 1589
*The Lord Buckhurst, at the trial of The Earl of Essex, 1601
*The Earl of Arundel and Surrey, at the trial of The Earl of Strafford, 1641
*The Earl of Clarendon, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Lord Morley, 1666
*The Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Lord Cornwallis, 1676
*The Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Pembroke
*The Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Danby, 1679
*The Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Powis; The Viscount Stafford; The Lord Arundell of Wardour; The Lord Petre; and The Lord Belasyse, 1679
*The Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Viscount Stafford, 1680
*The Lord Jeffreys, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Lord Delamere, 1685
*The Marquess of Carmarthen, Lord President of the Council, at the trial of The Lord Mohun, 1699
*The Lord Somers, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Warwick; and of The Lord Mohun, 1699
*The Lord Cowper, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Derwentwater; The Lord Widdrington; The Earl of Nithsdale; The Earl of Carnwath; The Viscount Kenmure; and The Lord Nairne, 1716
*The Lord Cowper, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Winton, 1716
*The Lord Cowper, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, 1717
*The Lord King, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Macclesfield, 1725
*The Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of The Earl of Kilmarnock; The Earl of Cromartie, and The Lord Balmerinoch, 1746
*The Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of The Lord Lovat, 1747
*The Lord Henley, Lord Keeper, for the trial of The Earl Ferrers, 1760
*The Earl of Northington, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of The Duchess of Kingston, 1765
*The Lord Thurlow, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of Warren Hastings, 1788-1793
*The Lord Loughborough, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of Warren Hastings 1793-1795
*The Lord Erskine, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of The Viscount Melville 1806
*The Lord Denman, Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, for the trial of The Earl of Cardigan, 1841
*The Earl of Halsbury, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl Russell, 1901
*The Viscount Hailsham, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Lord de Clifford, 1935: "the last trial of a peer in the Lords."

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