List of Speakers of the British House of Commons

This is a list of speakers of the British House of Commons (or of the English House of Commons before 1707).

List of Presiding Officers before 1377

Prior to 1377, the presiding officer was refer to as the "parlour or prolocutor":

*1258 Peter de Montfort (prolocutor, first identified presiding officer of the English House of Commons)
*1376 Sir Peter de la Mare

List of Speakers

peakers of the House of Commons of England 1377-1707

*1377 Sir Thomas Hungerford (first presiding officer identified by the title "Speaker")
*1377 Sir Peter de la Mare
*1378 - 1378 Sir James Pickering
*1379 - 1380 Sir John Guildesborough
*1381 - 1382 Sir Richard Waldegrave
*1382 - 1383 Sir James Pickering
*1383 - 1393 "unknown"
*1393 - 1398 Sir John Bussy
*1398 "none"
*1399 Sir John Cheney
*1399 John Doreward
*1400 - 1402 Sir Arnold Savage
*1402 Sir Henry Redford
*1403 - 1404 Sir Arnold Savage
*1404 Sir William Esturmy
*1405 - 1406 Sir John Tiptoft
*1407 - 1411 Thomas Chaucer
*1412 - 1413 "unknown"
*1413 William Stourton
*1413 John Doreward
*1414 Sir Walter Hungerford
*1414 - 1415 Thomas Chaucer
*1415 Richard Redman
*1415 - 1416 Sir Walter Beauchamp
*1416 - 1419 Roger Flower
*1420 - 1421 Roger Hunt
*1421 Thomas Chaucer
*1421 - 1422 Richard Baynard
*1422 Roger Flower
*1423 - 1424 Sir John Russell
*1425 Sir Thomas Walton
*1425 - 1426 Richard Vernon
*1427 - 1428 Sir John Tyrell
*1429 - 1430 Sir William Alington
*1430 - 1431 Sir John Tyrell
*1432 Sir John Russell
*1433 Roger Hunt
*1435 John Bowes
*1436 Sir John Tyrell
*1437 William Burley
*1439 - 1442 William Tresham
*1444 - 1445 William Burley
*1446 - 1447 William Tresham
*1448 - 1449 Sir John Say
*1449 Sir John Popham
*1449 - 1450 William Tresham
*1450 - 1451 Sir William Oldhall
*1452 - 1453 Thomas Thorpe
*1453 - 1454 Sir Thomas Charlton
*1455 - 1456 Sir John Wenlock
*1459 Sir Thomas Tresham
*1460 John Green
*1461 - 1462 Sir James Strangeways
*1463 - 1468 Sir John Say
*1469 - 1470 "none"
*1472 - 1477 William Alington
*1482 - 1483 John Wood
*1483 - 1484 William Catesby
*1485 - 1486 Sir Thomas Lovell
*1487 - 1488 John Mordaunt
*1489 - 1490 Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam
*1491 - 1492 Sir Richard Empson
*1495 Sir Robert Drury
*1496 - 1497 Sir Thomas Englefield
*1503 Edmond Dudley
*1509 Sir Thomas Englefield
*1511 - 1513 Sir Robert Sheffield
*1514 - 1515 Sir Thomas Nevill
*1523 Sir Thomas More
*1529 - 1533 Sir Thomas Audley
*1533 - 1536 Sir Humphrey Wingfield
*1536 Sir Richard Rich
*1539 - 1540 Sir Nicholas Hare
*1541 - 1544 Sir Thomas Moyle
*1545 - 1552 Sir John Baker
*1553 Sir James Dyer
*1553 Sir John Pollard
*1554 Sir Robert Broke
*1554 - 1555 Sir Clement Higham
*1555 Sir John Pollard
*1558 Sir William Cordell
*1559 Sir Thomas Gargrave
*1562 - 1563 Thomas Williams
*1566 - 1567 Richard Onslow
*1571 Sir Christopher Wray
*1572 - 1576 Sir Robert Bell
*1580 - 1583 Sir John Popham
*1584 - 1586 Sir John Puckering
*1588 - 1589 Thomas Snagge
*1592 - 1593 Sir Edward Coke
*1597 - 1598 Sir Christopher Yelverton
*1601 Sir John Croke
*1603 - 1611 Sir Edward Phelips
*1614 Sir Randolph Crewe
*1621 - 1622 Sir Thomas Richardson
*1623 - 1625 Sir Thomas Crewe
*1625 - 1626 Sir Heneage Finch
*1628 - 1629 Sir John Finch
*1640 Sir John Glanville
*1640 - 1647 William Lenthall
*1647 Henry Pelham
*1647 - 1653 William Lenthall
*1653 Rev. Francis Rous
*1654 - 1655 William Lenthall
*1656 - 1658 Sir Thomas Widdrington
*1658 - 1659 Chaloner Chute
*1659 Sir Lislebone Long
*1659 Thomas Bampfylde
*1659 - 1660 William Lenthall
*1660 Sir Harbottle Grimston
*1661 - 1671 Sir Edward Turnour
*1672 Sir Job Charlton
*1673 Sir Edward Seymour
*1678 Sir Robert Sawyer
*1678 - 1679 Sir Edward Seymour
*1679 Sir William Gregory
*1680 - 1681 Sir William Williams
*1685 - 1687 Sir John Trevor
*1688 - 1689 Henry Powle
*1689 - 1695 Sir John Trevor
*1695 - 1698 Paul Foley
*1698 - 1700 Sir Thomas Littleton
*1701 - 1705 Robert Harley
*1705 - 1707 John Smith

peakers of the House of Commons of Great Britain 1707-1800

Notes:-

* ¹ Numbering is from 1707. It is more usual to number Speakers to include those from the English predecessor body. On that basis Smith is the 125th and Addington is the 135th Speaker.
* ² Constituency at the time of first election as Speaker.
* ³ Bromley resigned from the chair to become Secretary of State for the Northern Department. He continued to serve in the House of Commons until his death on 13 February 1732.
* ⁴ Hanmer vacated the chair but continued to serve in the House of Commons until 1727.
* ⁵ Compton vacated the chair but continued to serve in the House of Commons until 1728.
* ⁶ Onslow, the longest serving Speaker, retired from the chair and the House of Commons. He seems to have been the last Speaker who survived his term by a significant period without being offerred a peerage.
* ⁷ Cust died shortly after he ceased to occupy the chair.
* ⁸ Norton was not re-elected as Speaker in 1780, but retained his seat as an MP until 1782.
* ⁹ Cornwall was subsequently MP for Rye 1784-1789.
* ¹⁰ Cornwall died in office.
* ¹¹ Grenville resigned from the chair to become Home Secretary. He continued to serve in the House of Commons until 1790.

peakers of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801

Notes:-

* ¹ Numbering is from 1801. It is more usual to number Speakers to include those from the English and British predecessor bodies. On that basis Addington is the 135th Speaker and Martin the 156th.
* ² Party allegiance at the time of first election as Speaker. The modern convention is for the Speaker to sever connections with his or her former party. From 1935 the Speaker has sought re-election as such, not using a party label. (Source: Craig "British Electoral Facts 1832-1987") Prior to this the general convention was that the Speaker was not opposed at general elections.
* ³ Constituency at the time of first election as Speaker.
* ⁴ Addington resigned from the chair to become Prime Minister. He continued to serve in the House of Commons until 1805.
* ⁵ Abbot was subsequently MP for Heytesbury 1802, Woodstock 1802-1806 and Oxford University 1806-1817.
* ⁶ Manners-Sutton was subsequently MP for Cambridge University 1832-1835. In 1834 he was defeated for re-election as Speaker, but retained his seat as an MP for a time. No subsequent Speaker has been defeated or remained in the House of Commons after leaving the chair.
* ⁷ Peel was subsequently MP for Warwick and Leamington 1885-1895.
* ⁸ Lowther was subsequently MP for Penrith and Cockermouth 1918-1921.
* ⁹ Whitley declined the customary peerage, upon his retirement from the chair and the House of Commons.
* ¹⁰ Fitzroy died in office. His widow was created 1st Viscountess Daventry.
* ¹¹ Hylton-Foster died in office. His widow was created The Baroness Hylton-Foster.
* ¹² Martin was subsequently MP for Glasgow North East from 2005.