no'n'n' 
 
 o'a'n'D' ' 
 
 
 
 THE SPEAKERS OF THE
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 RIVERSIDE
 
 ; : THE SPEAKERS OF ! '. 
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
 
 BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 
 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOHN DELANE 
 THE HISTORY OF ST. JAMES'S SQUARE 
 
 ETC. ETC.
 
 THE SPEAKERS OF 
 
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 
 THE PRESENT DAY WITH A 
 TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION 
 OF WESTMINSTER AT VARIOUS 
 EPOCHS & A BRIEF RECORD OF 
 THE PRINCIPAL CONSTITUTIONAL 
 CHANGES DURING SEVEN CENTURIES 
 BY ARTHUR IRWIN DASENT 
 WITH NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 BY JOHN LANE & A PORTRAIT 
 OF EVERY SPEAKER WHERE ONE 
 IS KNOWN TO EXIST 
 
 LONDON : JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD 
 NEW YORK : JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMXI
 
 WILLIAM BKENDON AND SON, LTD., PRINTERS, PLYMOUTH
 
 DEDICATED WITH SINCERE REGARD 
 TO 
 
 ARTHUR WELLESLEY PEEL 
 
 SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 1884-1895 
 NOW 1ST VISCOUNT PEEL OF SANDY
 
 PREFACE 
 
 IT is now more years ago than I care to remember 
 since the outline of this book suggested itself 
 to me. Undeterred by the adverse opinion of 
 some who insisted that there was little or nothing, 
 worth the telling, to be said of the earlier Speakers 
 with the possible exceptions of Coke, Lenthall and Arthur 
 Onslow, to mention the three names which most readily 
 occur to the superficial enquirer I received sufficient 
 encouragement from the late Sir Archibald Milman and 
 other friends to induce me to supplement and revise 
 the earlier labours of Townsend and Manning in the 
 same field. 
 
 The outcome of these years of toil, performed in the 
 intervals of official duty, is a blend of history and bio- 
 graphy based on authentic records, and leavened, here 
 and there, with topographical matter tending to throw 
 light upon some of the obscurities which surround the 
 origin of Parliaments. I have endeavoured to show the 
 close nature of the ties which united the greatest of 
 Benedictine Monasteries to the popular assembly in 
 the earliest days of its existence, though I must admit 
 that the allusions to Parliament remaining in the archives
 
 viii PREFACE 
 
 of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster are disappoint- 
 ingly few. 
 
 There are occasional entries in the carefully kept 
 accounts of the monks of wine bought by the abbots 
 for the entertainment of distinguished personages re- 
 pairing to Westminster in obedience to the Royal 
 summons, but, with the exception of the extremely 
 interesting entry on page 45 of this volume, I have 
 found little which adds to our previous knowledge of 
 the relations of Church and State in the Middle Ages. 
 
 One minor survival of this ancient connection may 
 be mentioned here. This is the custom, still annually 
 observed, of opening the gate leading from Dean's 
 Yard into Great College Street on the first day of a 
 new session, but on no other. 
 
 This practice, far from being a mere police regulation 
 of modern date, carries the mind back to that remote 
 period when the Plantagenet Kings, in conjunction 
 with the Abbots of Westminster and the Archbishops 
 of Canterbury, watched with jealous care the growth 
 of representative institutions. 
 
 In the middle of the fourteenth century that great 
 ecclesiastic Simon Langham, who sleeps to-day in the 
 chapel of St. Benedict, walked with measured steps to 
 his place hi the House of Lords, resplendent in jewelled 
 cope and mitre, escorted by a long train of attendant 
 priests and acolytes, and with his processional cross of 
 gold borne high before him. 
 
 In his progress to the Palace he would have met a
 
 PREFACE ix 
 
 throng of knights, scarcely less picturesque in their 
 glittering armour than his own cortege, making peaceful 
 invasion of his monastic house. 
 
 Drawn from every shire in the land, they filled the 
 cloisters and choked the vestibules leading to the Chapter 
 House or to some other chamber temporarily set apart 
 for their use, there forthwith to deliver a mighty shout 
 of assent (or the contrary, as the case might be) to the 
 demands of their sovereign lord for the support of the 
 realm and the maintenance of his Royal estate. 
 
 There would be little or nothing in the way of dis- 
 cussion. Their voices were collected then and there 
 by some official of the Court, as they stood leaning on 
 their swords. It is true that the carrying of arms 
 within the Palace during the sittings of Parliament had 
 been discountenanced by Edward II, but the prohibition 
 was so commonly disregarded that his successor formally 
 sanctioned the practice in the case of Earls and Barons, 
 save only in his Royal presence. Once their duty had 
 been performed, the Knights of the Shire were at liberty 
 to depart to their homes, and, until they were again 
 summoned to Westminster to repeat the process with 
 little or no variation, save in the amount of the subsidy 
 required of them, the monks could pursue their ordinary 
 avocations undisturbed by the clank of spurs and the 
 tramp of armed men. 
 
 Having very briefly outlined the nature of an early 
 Parliamentary assembly, I may here indulge in a frag- 
 ment of autobiography by way of excuse for having
 
 x PREFACE 
 
 attempted the history of over two hundred separate 
 elections to the Chair, covering between them a period 
 of more than seven centuries. 
 
 Born as I was under the shadow of the Abbey in 
 the Broad Sanctuary it was my good fortune to re- 
 ceive my first intelligent impressions of Westminster 
 from the lips of my father's friend and neighbour, the 
 late Dean Stanley. In a sense I may be said to have 
 assisted at the funeral of Lord Palmerston, and, inci- 
 dentally, at the inauguration of a new Parliamentary 
 epoch, for I retain to this day a vivid recollection of 
 being held up at a window by my nurse to see that great 
 man's coffin carried into the Abbey by the west door. As 
 a boy I was present at the last Westminster election 
 fought under the old system, and I remember the 
 hustings in Trafalgar Square. 
 
 But my most enduring memories of the Abbey and 
 its priceless historical associations are those which I 
 received from the holder of an ecclesiastical office, unique 
 in its dignity in this or any other country, and it would 
 be strange, indeed, if I had not acquired from the teach- 
 ings of so fascinating a guide an abiding interest in 
 Westminster, and all that it means to Englishmen. 
 Somehow my life has been bound up with the place of 
 my birth. Returning to it in 1882 on the nomination 
 of Sir Thomas Erskine-May (Lord Farnborough), my 
 first official chief, to devote myself to the service of 
 the House of Commons for more than a quarter of a 
 century the greater part of my days, and, in the aggregate,
 
 PREFACE xi 
 
 an appalling number of hours after midnight, have been 
 passed within the walls of St. Stephen's. 
 
 I need hardly say that this book is written in no party 
 spirit, nor is it designed to serve any purpose other 
 than that of accuracy. 
 
 My publisher has shown such zeal and enthusiasm 
 in the preparation of the portraits and other illustrations, 
 that it will be unnecessary for me to add a word con- 
 cerning them. I may say, however, that, to the best 
 of my belief, no likeness of either Catesby, Dudley, or 
 Empson has ever been published before. The various 
 printed authorities consulted are, in the majority 
 of instances, indicated in the footnotes, but I desire 
 to acknowledge here my frequent indebtedness to 
 Messrs. Longmans' recently completed Political History 
 of England. 
 
 Sir Courtenay Ilbert, K.C.B., the present Clerk of the 
 House, gave me the benefit of his views on Mediaeval 
 Parliaments, but my especial thanks are due to Mr. 
 T. L. Webster, the second Clerk Assistant of the House, 
 for many valuable suggestions throughout the course 
 of my labours, and for unreservedly placing his know- 
 ledge of the more technical questions dealt with in 
 these pages at my disposal. Mr. M. W. Patterson, of 
 Trinity College, Oxford, was good enough not only to 
 help me in the revision of the proof sheets, but to save 
 me from many errors both of omission and commission. 
 The Rev. R. B. Rackham, of the Deanery, Westminster, 
 searched the Sacrist's and other Rolls in the Abbey
 
 xii PREFACE 
 
 Muniment room with a view to helping me in this branch 
 of my researches. Miss Lenthall, of Besselsleigh, Berks, 
 a descendant of the celebrated Speaker of that name, 
 also gave me much valuable information, as did Colonel 
 La Terriere, the present owner of Burford Priory. 
 
 Last, but by no means least, I must tender my grateful 
 acknowledgments to Mr. J. Horace Round, the first 
 living authority on peerage law and the most discrimin- 
 ating, as well as the most fascinating, genealogist of the 
 present age. 
 
 He kindly brought to my notice the very instructive 
 account of the election of Sir Thomas Lovell to the Chair 
 in the first year of Henry VII. Though unfortunately 
 received too late for incorporation in my Tudor chapter, 
 I trust that it will gain importance by appearing, as it 
 does, in an Appendix at the end of the book. The same 
 remark applies to the speech of Sir Thomas More, on 
 presentation for the Royal approval, which I have also 
 placed by itself, on account of the eminence of the man 
 who made it. 
 
 I shall be grateful for any additions or corrections 
 which I may be favoured with, and, especially, for any 
 unpublished letters or documents relating to individual 
 Speakers. 
 
 ARTHUR IRWIN DASENT. 
 
 THE DUTCH HOUSE, HAMPTON-ON-THAMES, 
 February 5/A, 1911.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 WESTMINSTER IN THE REIGN OF HENRY III. THE ISLE 
 OF THORNS. THE PALACE AND THE ABBEY. PREFER- 
 ENCE OF HENRY FOR WESTMINSTER. DAWN OF THE 
 ENGLISH CONSTITUTION. WESTMINSTER THE EARLIEST 
 MEETING-PLACE OF THE COMPLETE PARLIAMENT. . 3 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS . 22 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE 
 WARS OF THE ROSES UPON PARLIAMENTARY INSTITUTIONS 6 1 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS UNDER THE HOUSE OF YORK, 
 A PERIOD, FOR THE MOST PART, OF SUBSERVIENCY TO 
 THE CROWN 87 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 WESTMINSTER AND PARLIAMENT IN TUDOR TIMES. RE- 
 STRICTION OF THE POWERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 AND INCREASED POWER OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL . 99 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE LIBERTIES OF THE PEOPLE . 164
 
 xiv CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG GOTHA. 
 RISE OF THE SYSTEM OF CABINET GOVERNMENT, WITH 
 MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY TO PARLIAMENT . .251 
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 
 THE PRESENT DAY, WITH THE PLACES THEY SAT FOR, 
 THE DATES OF THEIR APPOINTMENT TO AND CLOSE OF 
 OFFICE, ETC 341 
 
 APPENDIX I 419 
 
 APPENDIX II . . . . . . . . .421 
 
 INDEX 4.21;
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 SIR THOMAS HUNGERFORD, 1376-7 . Frontispiece (in colour} 
 
 From a stained-glass window in Farleigh Hungerford Church. 
 Drawn by Stanley North. 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 THE JEWEL TOWER, WESTMINSTER . ... 8 
 
 From a drawing by L. Hussell Conway. 
 
 STAIRCASE AND ANCIENT DOORWAY IN THE JEWEL TOWER . 10 
 
 From a photograph by Sir Benjamin Stone. 
 
 VAULTED CHAMBER IN THE JEWEL TOWER . . . . 12 
 
 From a photograph by Sir Benjamin Stone. 
 
 SIR THOMAS HUNGERFORD, 1376-7 . . 52 
 
 From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 SIR THOMAS HUNGERFORD, 1376-7 . . . . 54 
 
 From a drawing by Stanley North of the monumental effigy in the chapel 
 at Farleigh Castle. 
 
 HENRY IV CLAIMING THE THRONE OF ENGLAND . 60 
 
 From the Harleian Manuscripts. 
 
 SIR ARNOLD SAVAGE, 1400-1, 1403-4 . . 66 
 
 From a brass in S. Chancel of Bobbing Church, Kent. 
 
 JOHN TIPTOFT, EARL OF WORCESTER . . 70 
 
 From a monumental effigy in Ely Cathedral. 
 
 THOMAS CHAUCER, 1407, 1409-10, 1411, 1414, 1421 . . . 72 
 
 From a print of the memorial brass in Ewelme Church, Oxfordshire. 
 
 SIR WALTER HUNGERFORD, AFTERWARDS LORD HUNGERFORD, 1414 74 
 
 Formerly in the north ^ide of the nave of Salisbury Cathedral. Reproduced 
 from Cough's Sepulchral Mouuments. 
 
 ROGER HUNT, 1420 . . . ... 76 
 
 From a memorial brass of 1473 in Great Linford Church, Bucks. It may 
 possibly be that of his son. 
 
 EFFIGY OF SIR RICHARD VERNON, 1425-6 . . . . 78 
 
 In the Church of Tong, Shropshire. 
 
 SIR JOHN SAY, 1448-9, 1463, 1467 . . ... 80 
 
 From a brass in Broxbourne Church, Herts. Reproduced from Waller's 
 Monumental Brasses, 1864. 
 
 WILLIAM CATESBY, 1483-4 . . ... 96 
 
 From a memorial brass at Ashby St. Ledgers, Northants.
 
 xvi ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 SIR THOMAS LOVELL, 1485 (in photogravure) . ... 102 
 
 From the bronze medallion in Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey, by 
 Torregiano (photogravure). 
 
 SIR JOHN MORDAUNT, 1487 . . ... 105 
 
 From a monumental effigy in Turvey Church, Beds. 
 
 SIR RICHARD EMPSON, 1491, AND EDMOND DUDLEY, 1503-4, 
 
 WITH HENRY VII . . . ... 106 
 
 From a painting in the possession of the Duke of Rutland. 
 
 SIR ROBERT DRDRY, 1495 ... 108 
 
 From a monumental effigy in St. Mary's Church, Bury St. Edmunds. 
 
 SIR REGINALD BRAY, 1496 . . . . no 
 
 From a drawing in the possession of Mr. Justice Bray of a window in the 
 Priory Church, Malvern. 
 
 SIR ROBERT SHEFFIELD, 1511-12 . . . . . 118 
 
 From a print. 
 
 SIR THOMAS NEVILL, 1514-15 . . ... 120 
 
 From a memorial brass in Mereworth Church, Kent. 
 
 SIR THOMAS MORE, 1523 . . . . . . 122 
 
 From a painting at the Speaker's House. 
 
 SIR THOMAS AUDLEY, 1529 . . . . . 124 
 
 From a painting at the Speaker's House. 
 
 SIR HUMPHREY WINGFIELD, 1533 . . ... 126 
 
 From a painting in the possession of Major J. M. Wingfield, Tickencote Hall, 
 Stamford. 
 
 SIR RICHARD RICH, 1536 . . . . 128 
 
 From a print. 
 
 SIR JOHN BAKER, 1545, 1547 . . ... 130 
 
 From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 SIR JAMES DYER, 1552-3 . . . ... 132 
 
 Reproduced from an original painting in the possession of Canon Mayo, of 
 Long Burton, Farley. 
 
 SIR ROBERT BROOKE, 1554 . . ... 132 
 
 From a drawing at the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 SIR CLEMENT HEIGHAM, 1554 . . ... 133 
 
 From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 SIR WILLIAM CORDELL, 1557-8 . . ... 134 
 
 From a portrait at St. John's College, Oxford. 
 
 SIR THOMAS GARGRAVE, 1558-9 . . ... 136 
 
 From a painting in the possession of Milner Gibson Gery Cullum, Esq. 
 
 THOMAS WILLIAMS, 1562-3 . . ... 138 
 
 From a memorial brass at Harford Church, Devon.
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS xvii 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 SIR CHRISTOPHER WRAY, 1571 . . ... 138 
 
 From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 RICHARD ONSLOW, 1566 . . . ... 140 
 
 From a painting in the Speaker's House. 
 
 SIR ROBERT BELL, 1572 . . . ... 140 
 
 From a print. 
 
 SIR JOHN POPHAM, 1580-1 . . ... 142 
 
 From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 SIR JOHN PUCKERING, 1584, 1586. . ... 142 
 
 From his tomb in Westminster Abbey. From a print. 
 
 SPEAKER SNAGGE'S MONUMENT, 1588-9 . ... 144 
 
 At Marston Morteyne, Beds. From a drawing. 
 
 LETTER FROM LORD BURGHLEY TO SPEAKER SNAGGE, 1588-9 . 146 
 SIR EDWARD COKE, 1592-3 . . ... 148 
 
 From a painting at Holkham. 
 
 SIR CHRISTOPHER YELVERTON, 1597 . ... 158 
 
 From a print. 
 
 SIR JOHN CROKE, 1601 . . . ... 160 
 
 From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 SIR EDWARD PHELIPS, 1603-4 . . ... 166 
 
 From a painting at Montacute, Somerset. 
 
 MONTACUTE, SOMERSET . . . ... 168 
 
 Built by Sir Edward Phelips. 
 
 SIR RANDOLPH CREWE, 1614 . . ... 170 
 
 From a painting in the Speaker s House. 
 
 SIR THOMAS RICHARDSON, 1620-1 . . ... 172 
 
 From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 SIR THOMAS CREWE, 1623-4, 1625 . . ... 174 
 
 From a painting in the. Speaker's House. 
 
 SIR HENEAGE FINCH, 1625-6 . . ... 176 
 
 From a painting at Guildhall, by J. M. Wright. 
 
 SIR JOHN FINCH, 1627-8 . . . ... 176 
 
 From a painting by Van Dyck in the possession of Lord Barnard. 
 
 THE KNIGHTS, CITIZENS AND BURGESSES OF THE COUNTIES, 
 CHIESAND BOROUGH TOWNES OF ENGLAND AND WALES AND 
 THE BARONIE OF THE PORTS NOW SITTING IN PARLIAMENT, 
 HOLDEN AT WESTMINSTER THE 17 OF MARCH, 1627-8, IN THE 
 THIRD YEAR OF THK RAIGNE OF OUR SOVERAIGNE LORD 
 KING CHARLES, ETC. (SPEAKER, SIR JOHN FINCH) . . 178 
 
 From a woodcut in the possession of Sir Walter Spencer-Stanhope. 
 
 b
 
 xviii ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 SIR JOHN GLANVILLE, 1640 . . ... 182 
 
 From a painting at the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 WILLIAM LENTHALL, 1640, 1647, 1654, 1659 (2), 1659-50 . . 184 
 
 From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 WESTMINSTER AS SPEAKER LENTHALL KNEW IT . 186 
 
 From Hollar's etching of New Palace Yard. 
 
 JOHN RUSHWORTH, CLERK ASSISTANT OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, 
 
 1640 . . . . ... 192 
 
 From a painting at the Speaker's House. 
 
 BURFORD PRIORY, FORMERLY THE RESIDENCE OF SPEAKER 
 
 LENTHALL, AS RESTORED IN 1908-9 . ... 204 
 
 HENRY PELHAM, 1647 . . . ... 208 
 
 From a painting in the possession of the Earl of Yarborough. 
 
 FRANCIS Rous, 1653 . . . ... 210 
 
 From a print. 
 
 SIR THOMAS WIDDRINGTON, 1656 . . ... 212 
 
 From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 BULSTRODE WHITELOCKE, 1656-7 . . ... 212 
 
 From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 CHALONER CHUTE, 1658-9 . . ... 214 
 
 From a painting at the Vyne, Basingstoke. 
 
 SIR HARBOTTLE GRIMSTON, 1660 . . ... 214 
 
 From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery by Lely. 
 
 THE MACE . . . . ... 216 
 
 im a photograph in the 
 Erskine, of Cardross). 
 
 SIR EDWARD TURNOUR, 1661 . . ... 218 
 
 From a painting in the Speaker's House. 
 
 SIR JOB CHARLTON, 1672-3 . . . . . 222 
 
 From a painting in the Speaker's House. 
 
 SIR EDWARD SEYMOUR, 1672-3, 1678, 1678-9 . . . 224 
 
 From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 SIR ROBERT SAWYER, 167*5 . . ... 226 
 
 From a painting in the possession of the Earl of Carnarvon. 
 
 SIR WILLIAM GREGORY, 1678-9 . . ... 228 
 
 From a painting in the Speaker's House. 
 
 SIR WILLIAM WILLIAMS, 1680, 1680-1 . ... 228 
 
 From a painting in the Speaker's House. 
 
 SIR JOHN TREVOR, 1685, 1689-90 . . ... 230 
 
 From a painting in the Speaker's House. 
 
 From a photograph in the possession of the Serjeant-at-Arms (Mr. H. D. 
 " Cardro
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS xix 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 HENRY POWLE, 1688-9 . . . ... 232 
 
 From a print. 
 
 STOKE EDITH, HEREFORDSHIRE. BUILT BY SPEAKER FOLEY . 234 
 PAUL FOLEY, 1694-5, 1695 . . ... 234 
 
 From a miniature in the possession of Paul Henry Foley, Esq., at Stoke Edith. 
 
 SIR THOMAS LITTLETON, 1698 . . ... 236 
 
 From a print. 
 
 ROBERT HARLEY, 1700-1, 1701, 1702 . ... 238 
 
 From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 JOHN SMITH, 1705, 1707 . . . . . 240 
 
 From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 SIR RICHARD ONSLOW, 1708 . . ... 242 
 
 From a painting in the Speaker's House. 
 
 WILLIAM BROMLEY, 1710 . . ... 244 
 
 From a print. 
 
 SIR THOMAS HANMER, 1713-14 . . ... 250 
 
 From a print. 
 
 SIR SPENCER COMPTON, 1714-15, 1722 . ... 252 
 
 From a print. 
 
 ARTHUR ONSLOW, 1727-8, 1734-5, 1741, 1747, 1754 . . 254 
 
 From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 SPEAKER ARTHUR ONSLOW'S HOUSE IN SOHO SQUARE . . 256 
 
 No. 20, formerly Falconbergh House. 
 
 WESTMINSTER AS SPEAKER ONSLOW KNEW IT ... 262 
 
 From Lediard and Fourdrinier's Map of 1740. 
 
 JEREMIAH DYSON, CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 1814-20 . 268 
 
 From a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds in the possession of Mrs. Myddelton. 
 
 SIR JOHN Cusr, 1761, 1768 . . ... 27$ 
 
 From a painting in the Speaker's House. 
 
 SIR FLETCHER NORTON, 1770, 1774 . . ... 278 
 
 From a painting by Sir Wm. Beechy in the possession of Lord Grantley. 
 
 SIR FLETCHER NORTON . . . ... 280 
 
 A caricature by Ingleby lent by Lord Grantley. 
 
 CHARLES WOLFRAN CORNWALL, 1780, 1784 . ... 282 
 
 From a painting by Gainsborough in the Speaker's House. 
 
 WILLIAM WYNDHAM GRENVILLE, 1789 . ... 286 
 
 From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery. 
 
 HENRY ADDINGTON, 1789, 1790, 1796, 1801 . . . 290 
 
 From a print.
 
 xx ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 SKETCH OF THE INTERIOR OF ST. STEPHEN'S, WITH PORTRAITS OF 
 ADDINGTON, SPEAKER ABBOT, AND JOHN LEY (CLERK OF THE 
 HOUSE) . . . . ... 292 
 
 From a print by Js. Gillray. 
 
 SIR JOHN MITFORD, 1801 . . ... 294 
 
 From a painting in the Speaker's House. 
 
 CHARLES ABBOT, 1802 (2), 1806, 1807, 1812 . . . 298 
 
 From a print. 
 
 CHARLES MANNERS-SUTTON, 1817, 1819, 1820, 1826, 1830, 1831, 
 
 1833 . . . . . . 304 
 
 From a print. 
 
 SPEAKER MANNERS-SUTTON. "MAKE WAY FOR MR. SPEAKER" 314 
 
 By H. B. 
 JAMES ABERCROMBY, 1835, 1837 . . ... 318 
 
 From a print. 
 
 * CHARLES SHAW-LEFEVRE, 1839, 1841, 1847, 1852 . . . 320 
 
 From a print. 
 
 JOHN EVELYN DKNISON, 1857, 1859, 1866, 1868 . . . 326 
 
 From a print. 
 
 HENRY BOUVERIE WILLIAM BRAND, 1872, 1874, 1880 . . 334 
 
 From an engraving in the possession of the Serjeant-at-Arms after F. Sargent. 
 
 ARTHUR WELLESLEY PEEL, 1884, 1886 (2), 1892 . . . 336 
 
 WILLIAM COURT GULLY, 1895 (2), 1900 . ... 338 
 
 JAMES WILLIAM LOWTHER, 1905, 1906, 1910, 1911 . . . 340
 
 A NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 BY THE PUBLISHER 
 
 BOUT two years ago Mr. Arthur Dasent wrote, 
 as a stranger, offering me his book on the 
 Speakers of the House of Commons from the 
 earliest times to the present day, hoping that 
 I would publish it and that I would afford the book 
 eight or twelve illustrations. He was informed, when I 
 replied, that if I undertook the publication I would give 
 a picture of every Speaker of whom we could find a 
 portrait. Later on we recollected that our common 
 interest in prints had brought us together on several 
 occasions many years earlier. 
 
 The present is one of the rare opportunities which a 
 publisher interested in portraiture has of giving rein to 
 his fancy. I certainly have never published a book which 
 has afforded me greater interest in this direction. 
 
 It has also confirmed a conviction which I have had 
 for many years, that there should be a Royal Commission 
 on historical portraits on the same lines as the Royal 
 Commission on historical manuscripts, for I have abundant 
 proof of surprising ignorance on the part of many owners 
 of portraits of distinguished Englishmen, who neither
 
 xxii NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 know the names of the subjects of the portraits they 
 possess nor those of the artists who painted them. The 
 head of one notable house sent me three portraits of 
 successive ancestors, each bearing the same Christian 
 name, but which was which and which was the man 
 I wanted for my purpose I had to find out for 
 myself. 
 
 I seldom wander round the picture gallery of a country 
 house, however remote, without finding one or more 
 unidentified portraits, and occasionally examples of what 
 I believe to be paintings by English Primitives. 
 
 From some points of view, this is the most interesting 
 collection of portraits known to me ; its range of date, 
 from the close of the fourteenth century to the present 
 day, the historical and decorative importance of the 
 subjects and the various forms of portraiture, all but 
 unique, make it a veritable pageant of English History. 
 
 Within these covers are gathered two portraits from 
 church windows, eight memorial brasses, six monu- 
 mental effigies ; and there is one noble example of the 
 art of Torregiano in the beautiful medallion of Sir Thomas 
 Lovell, now thanks to the munificence of Sir Charles 
 Robinson preserved in Westminster Abbey. This is 
 appropriately placed in Henry VII Chapel, guarding, as it 
 were, the same artist's masterpiece, the recumbent figure 
 of Margaret Beaufort, likewise in bronze. There is also a 
 miniature, that of Paul Foley, reproduced by kind per- 
 mission of Mr. Paul Henry Foley. There are forty-seven 
 paintings, some of which are of rare interest ; and seven-
 
 NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxiii 
 
 teen fine prints, mostly after famous portraits, the 
 originals of which in many instances cannot now be 
 traced. 
 
 It has been a difficult matter to get together so many 
 early portraits. One obstacle has been the fact that 
 Mr. Dasent has added sixteen important characters to 
 the Dictionary of National Biography : William Alington 
 (1429), William Alington (1472), Richard Baynard (1421), 
 Henry Beaumont (1331-2), John Bowes (1435), Sir 
 Robert Brooke (1554), Sir Thomas Charlton (1453-4), Sir 
 John Cheyne (1399), John Dorewood (1399), Sir Thomas 
 Englefield (1496-7), Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam (1488-9), 
 John Green (1460), Sir John Guildesborough (1379-80), 
 Peter de Montfort (1258), Henry Pelham (1647), and 
 William Stourton (1413). It is comparatively easy to 
 hunt up portraits when these are given in the D.N.B. ; 
 but it is not always certain even then that the picture 
 is available for reproduction. For instance, the D.N.B. 
 
 states that a portrait of is in the possession 
 
 of a peer whose ancestor was a Speaker in the eighteenth 
 century, but although I have written three times to the 
 noble possessor he has not vouchsafed a reply ; which 
 recalls the famous story about this same ancestor a 
 well-known Counsel before he was elected to the Chair 
 who was notorious for his disagreeable, abrupt manner, 
 and broad dialect. On one occasion, when pleading before 
 the Court on some disputed question of manorial rights, 
 he remarked to the presiding judge that he could speak 
 from personal experience on the subject, " for I myself
 
 xxiv NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 have two little manors." The judge bowed and said, 
 " We all know that, Sir " 
 
 The earliest Speaker of whom we have any kind of 
 portrait is Sir Thomas Hungerford, who was also the 
 first " Speaker for the Commons " mentioned on the 
 Rolls, of whom I have reproduced as frontispiece a 
 drawing by Mr. Stanley North from the portrait at present 
 in the window of the church at Farleigh Hungerford. 
 As Sir Walter Hungerford did not build the church until 
 1443, forty-five years after the death of Sir Thomas, it may 
 not be exactly contemporary, though experts agree in as- 
 signing it a very early date. It is possible, too, that the 
 window may have been removed from Farleigh Castle 
 Chapel after the church was built. A drawing, also by 
 Mr. North, of the freestone monumental effigy in Farleigh 
 Castle has been included. I have, in addition, reproduced 
 a drawing from an Album of the Speakers which will be 
 dealt with later in the library of the National Portrait 
 Gallery. This drawing is inscribed as being copied from 
 a picture in the possession of Richard Pollen, Esq. It 
 will be observed that all three portraits have a striking 
 resemblance to each other. The nondescript costume 
 of the picture is, of course, of a later date. 
 
 The son of Sir Thomas Hungerford, Sir Walter, was also 
 Speaker in 1414. His tomb is in Salisbury Cathedral, 
 where there was a monument with his effigy in brass. I 
 have reproduced the brassless figure in the hope that, 
 if the brass should be in some private collection, the 
 owner will see fit to restore it to its proper position. I
 
 NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxv 
 
 will now consider the other seven portraits represented by 
 memorial brasses, namely, Thomas Chaucer at Ewelme 
 Church, Oxon ; Sir Arnold Savage at Bobbing Church, 
 Kent ; and William Catesby at the Church of Ashby St. 
 Ledgers, Northants. These three names impart a strange, 
 opalescent character to one's vision, for apart from the 
 Speakership they suggest pilgrimages, romance, poetry, 
 prose, and even conspiracy. There are also brasses of Sir 
 John Say, slightly restored, in Broxbourne Church, Hert- 
 fordshire ; Sir Thomas Nevill in the church at Mere- 
 worth, Kent ; and Thomas Williams in Harford Church, 
 Ivybridge, Devon. In this church there is also a fine 
 brass in colours to the memory of the ancient family of 
 Prideaux, one of whom was the mother of Thomas 
 Williams. The epitaph on Thomas Williams is so quaint 
 that it has been thought desirable to reproduce it : 
 
 tyetfc t&e corpg o CjjomjS ftflliUrfo 
 reafcer Ije in Court appounteti toa 
 gfacreti min&e to bertu Mo aspire 
 parlament fie Speaker fjence oio 
 
 comen peace fje gtuaieu to pregerue 
 treto rel^ffion euer to m&vnttynz 
 3|n place of Jugtpce ^^ete as? ty ty 
 
 notoe in jjeaben to^ mi0fjtie 31otie tiot^ Kaigne 
 
 The brass of Roger Hunt, dated 1473, in Great Linford 
 Church, Bucks, may possibly be that of the Speaker of 
 1420 and 1433, but it is more probably that of his son. 
 
 Of monumental effigies and tombs the following have
 
 xxvi NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 been reproduced : Sir Thomas Hungerford ; Sir Richard 
 Vernon in Tong Church, Salop ; Sir John Mordaunt in 
 Turvey Church, Bedfordshire ; Sir Robert Drury in 
 St. Mary's Church, Bury St. Edmunds ; Sir John 
 Puckering, in Westminster Abbey ; Thomas Snagge, at 
 Marston Morteyne, Beds, which has been reproduced 
 from a drawing kindly supplied by his descendant, Sir 
 Thomas Snagge. 
 
 In addition to the portrait of Sir Thomas Hungerford 
 in the window of Farleigh Hungerford Church, it should 
 be stated that the portrait of Sir Reginald Bray is from 
 a window in the Priory Church at Malvern. Mr. Justice 
 Bray possesses a drawing of it, from which our reproduc- 
 tion has been made. Sir Reginald Bray died without 
 issue, but he left the greater part of his estates, including 
 the manors at Shere, to the eldest son of his younger 
 brother John ; Edmund became Lord Bray, and he gave 
 his estates at Shere to Sir Edward Bray, his next brother, 
 from whom Mr. Justice Bray is descended, and to whom 
 the manors at Shere still belong. Judge Edward Bray 
 is also descended in the same line, being a brother of Mr. 
 Justice Bray. 
 
 It must be owned that the piece de resistance of the 
 collection is the wonderful picture at Belvoir, which the 
 Duke of Rutland has most kindly allowed us to repro- 
 duce, of Henry VII, with Empson and Dudley on either 
 side of him. This extraordinary picture is on panel, yj\ 
 by 29! inches, but, unhappily, the master who painted 
 it is unknown, though there can be but little doubt that
 
 NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxvii 
 
 it is the work of an English artist. It is, of course, the 
 earliest and finest representation of the painter's art in 
 our Valhalla. 
 
 In the National Portrait Gallery are the following 
 paintings, all of which have been used excepting the one 
 of Sir James Dyer : William Wyndham Grenville, 
 Arthur Onslow, Sir John Popham, Sir Christopher Wray, 
 Sir John Glanville, William Lenthall, Sir Harbottle 
 Grimston, Bulstrode Whitelocke, and Robert Harley. In 
 the case of Sir James Dyer a reproduction has been made 
 from a painting in the possession of the Rev. Canon Mayo, 
 of Long Burton. 
 
 There is also, as mentioned above, a kind of Speakers' 
 Album in the Reference Library of the National Portrait 
 Gallery, which contains forty-five clever water-colour 
 drawings copied by an early nineteenth-century anony- 
 mous artist, probably S. P. Harding or Sylvester Harding, 
 most likely the former, who did much work of this kind. 
 We have, however, only used the following from this in- 
 teresting collection : Sir Thomas Hungerford, Sir John 
 Baker, from an original picture in the possession of 
 William Baker, Esq., of Norwich ; Sir Robert Brooke ; Sir 
 Clement Heigham, from a picture in the possession of 
 John Higham, of Bedford ; Sir John Croke ; Sir Thomas 
 Richardson ; Sir Edward Seymour ; John Smith ; and 
 Sir Thomas Widdrington. This last-named Speaker was 
 buried in the Church of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, where 
 there was an imposing monument to his memory ; but 
 this was broken up and, curiously enough, it is believed
 
 xxviii NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 to have been buried in the course of some church restoration, 
 as was undoubtedly done in the case of a ponderous 
 memorial of the Bellasis family in the same church 
 which had fallen into disrepair. 
 
 I must not omit to enumerate the names of the other 
 Speakers whose portraits figure in the Album referred 
 to above, for in some cases the names of the contem- 
 poraneous owners of the original pictures from which the 
 water-colour drawings were made are given : Sir Thomas 
 More ; Sir Thomas Audley ; Sir Richard Rich, from a 
 drawing after Hans Holbein, in the possession of Mr. 
 Simco ; Sir James Dyer ; Richard Onslow ; Sir Chris- 
 topher Wray ; Sir Robert Bell, from a miniature in the 
 possession of J. Bell, Esq. ; Sir Edward Coke ; Sir Edward 
 Phelips ; Sir Randolph Crewe ; Sir Thomas Crewe ; Sir 
 Heneage Finch, from an original picture at the Guild- 
 hall ; Sir John Finch, from a picture at the Speaker's 
 house (a similar portrait by Van Dyck is at Raby 
 Castle) ; Francis Rous, from an original picture at 
 Pembroke College, Oxford ; Sir Harbottle Grimston ; Sir 
 Edward Tumour ; Sir Robert Sawyer, from an original 
 picture at Barbers Hall ; Sir William Gregory, from an 
 original picture in the possession of Mr. Gregory ; Henry 
 Powle ; Paul Foley, from an original picture at Coldham ; 
 Robert Harley ; Sir Richard Onslow ; Sir Thomas Hanmer ; 
 Sir Spencer Compton ; Arthur Onslow ; Sir John Cust ; 
 Sir Fletcher Norton ; Charles Wolfran Cornwall ; William 
 Wyndham Grenville ; Henry Addington ; Sir John 
 Mitford; Charles Abbot, from an original picture at
 
 NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxix 
 
 Christ Church College, Oxford; and Charles Manners- 
 Sutton. 
 
 We are indebted to the Earl of Yarborough for per- 
 mission to reproduce his portrait of Henry Pelham ; 
 to the Earl of Leicester for the portrait of Sir Edward 
 Coke ; to Lord Barnard for that of Sir John Finch ; to 
 MajorWingfield for the picture of Sir Humphrey Wingfield ; 
 to Mr. George Gery Milner-Gibson Cullum for that of 
 Sir Thomas Gargrave ; to Mr. William Robert Phelips, 
 of Montacute, for the fine portrait of Sir Edward Phelips ; 
 to Mr. Charles Chute for the portrait of Chaloner Chute 
 at the Vyne ; to Lord Grantley for that of Sir Fletcher 
 Norton ; to the President of St. John's College, Oxford, 
 for the distinguished portrait of Sir William Cordell, 
 who was executor to the Will of Sir Thomas White, 
 the founder of the college ; and to Mr. Bernard Kettle, 
 of the Guildhall Library, for the very interesting por- 
 trait of Sir Heneage Finch, by John Michael Wright. 
 Finch was also one of the " Fire " Judges whom Lely 
 fortunately declined to paint. The Corporation then 
 commissioned Wright, a native of Scotland, to paint 
 a number at 36 each. This artist's work is not 
 sufficiently appreciated. He is the only man, we can 
 recollect, who was endowed with two Christian names 
 in the seventeenth century, but perhaps he felt over- 
 weighted by the fact, for he frequently signed himself 
 " Michael Ritus." 
 
 The following have been reproduced from rare en- 
 gravings, a few from my own collection, but chiefly from
 
 xxx NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 those loaned to me by that most intelligent and obliging of 
 dealers, Mr. Bruen, of Greek Street : Sir Robert Sheffield ; 
 Sir Richard Rich ; Sir Robert Bell ; Sir Christopher 
 Yelverton ; Francis Rous ; Henry Powle ; Sir Thomas 
 Littleton ; William Bromley ; Sir Thomas Hanmer ; Sir 
 Spencer Compton ; Henry Addington ; Charles Abbot ; 
 Charles Manners-Sutton ; James Abercromby ; Charles 
 Shaw - Lefevre ; John Evelyn Denison ; and Henry 
 Bouverie Brand. This last was kindly lent by the 
 Serjeant-at-Arms, Mr. H. D. Erskine, of Cardross. 
 
 I have reserved till the last the important collection 
 of portraits which adorns the Speaker's official resi- 
 dence. These Mr. Lowther with great kindness placed 
 at our entire disposal. The collection is of varied interest 
 and the pictures are of different sizes ; some are un- 
 questionably copies. We have reproduced the following : 
 Sir Thomas Audley ; Sir Job Charlton ; Charles Wolfran 
 Cornwall, by Gainsborough ; Sir Randolph Crewe ; Sir 
 Thomas Crewe ; Sir John Cust ; Sir William Gregory ; 
 Sir John Mitford ; Sir Thomas More ; Richard Onslow ; 
 Sir Richard Onslow ; Sir John Trevor ; Sir Edward 
 Tumour; and Sir William Williams. 
 
 There is also a portrait of the last-named, by Kneller, 
 in the Members' Dining-room of the House, where a 
 collection of paintings of English statesmen is in process 
 of formation. 
 
 In addition to the above, the collection contains the 
 following, which have not been used for the reasons that 
 some were fixtures, and in a position where it was im-
 
 NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxi 
 
 possible to obtain satisfactory results for reproduction, 
 whilst others, it will be seen, have been reproduced from 
 other sources : Charles Abbot, by Lawrence ; James 
 Abercromby ; Henry Addington, by Phillips ; Henry 
 Brand, by Frank Holl ; William Bromley ; Sir Edward 
 Coke ; Sir Spencer Compton, by Lely ; John Evelyn 
 Denison, by Sir F. Grant ; Sir John Finch ; Sir John 
 Glanville ; William Wyndham Grenville ; Sir Harbottle 
 Grimston ; William Court Gully, by Sir George Reid ; 
 Sir Thomas Hanmer ; Robert Harley ; Charles Shaw- 
 Lefevre, by Sir Martin Archer Shee ; William Lenthall, 
 by Van Dyck or his pupil, Henry Peart ; Arthur 
 Onslow ; Arthur Wellesley Peel, by Orchardson ; Sir 
 Edward Phelips ; Francis Rous ; Sir Edward Seymour ; 
 John Smith ; Charles Manners-Sutton ; and Sir Christopher 
 Wray. 
 
 Since the time of Mr. Speaker Addington it has become 
 a rule that each Speaker's portrait should be added to the 
 collection on his retirement. It is a national loss that 
 this rule has not been longer in operation. The most 
 effectual manner to gauge that loss is to compare this 
 collection with that great historical collection across the 
 river at Lambeth. I shall always remember being shown 
 after lunch one day, by Archbishop Benson, the portraits 
 in Lambeth Palace. The Archbishop told me that Lam- 
 beth was the only official residence known to him where 
 could be found the portraits of all the successive occupiers, 
 at any rate for any considerable length of time. During 
 our tour through the various rooms I well remember the
 
 xxxii NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Archbishop stopping in front of the portrait of Laud, and 
 impressively informing me that this identical portrait 
 fell with a terrible crash from its position a few days 
 before Laud was beheaded, and that the incident caused 
 the gravest apprehension, for it was held by Laud's 
 friends to be a bad omen. As we passed from this gallery 
 into another room I was shown a large engraving (some 
 sixteen feet long) of Rome, before which the Archbishop 
 stood, and told me that some time previously he had had 
 an old Oxford friend to lunch with him there, Father 
 Edward Purbrick, the head of the Jesuit College, to 
 whom he repeated the Laud story. As they passed out 
 of the room into the corridor they heard a tremendous 
 thud on the floor, and on re-entering the room the huge 
 engraving of Rome had fallen to the ground. The Jesuit 
 Father stood by, placing his hand over it, and cried out, 
 " Oh, that I should live to see the fall of my beloved 
 Rome ! " and straightway left the Palace. I hope I may 
 be pardoned for dragging in this story, but I do not 
 remember having seen it in print. It was certainly not 
 in the Life, and it occurs to me that it may not be in- 
 appropriate to record it here. 
 
 In addition to the eighty -one portraits of Speakers 
 it has been decided to add three other portraits, not 
 of Speakers, to the series. But perhaps no apology 
 is here necessary. The first is that of John, Earl of 
 Worcester, and the son of the redoubtable Speaker of the 
 same name. The magnificent portrait of this wonderful 
 face is from the cenotaph in Ely Cathedral. He was a great
 
 NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxiii 
 
 patron of learning and art. Indeed, Caxton says of him : 
 " he floured in vertue and cunnyng ; to whom he knew 
 none lyke, among the lordes of the temporalitie in science 
 and moral vertue," and Fuller exclaims of his beheadal, 
 " The axe did at one blow cut off more learning than 
 was left in the heads of the surviving nobility." The 
 Dukes of Rutland are descended from the Tiptofts. 
 
 The next character is that of John Rushworth, Clerk- 
 Assistant of the House of Commons, who on that memo- 
 rable day, January 3rd, 1641-2, embalmed for all time 
 the kingly speech, and the never-to-be-forgotten, if 
 equivocal, and certainly epigrammatic reply of Speaker 
 Lenthall. 
 
 The third portrait is that of Jeremiah Dyson, after 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds, the original picture being now 
 in the possession of his great-granddaughter, Mrs. 
 Myddleton, of Chirk Castle. Dyson was Clerk and after- 
 wards a member of the House. 
 
 In the course of my researches I have discovered 
 the whereabouts of several portraits and monumental 
 effigies of Speakers, which have not been used in this 
 work for various reasons. As some of these may be 
 useful to students, it is proposed to place them on record. 
 
 In Westminster Abbey there is the fine bronze bust 
 of Sir Thomas Richardson, by Le Sueur, whose 
 equestrian statue of Charles I still stands at Charing 
 Cross. There is a painting of Sir Thomas Audley, by 
 Holbein, in the possession of Lord Braybrooke, and Lord 
 Onslow has portraits of his three Speaker ancestors in
 
 xxxiv NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 the Speaker's Parlour at Clandon. He has also the well- 
 known picture of Sir Robert Walpole as Prime Minister, 
 with Arthur Onslow in the chair. This is partly painted 
 by Hogarth, and partly by his father-in-law, Sir James 
 Thornhill, who was a member of Parliament, and painted 
 the faces. Lord Redesdale possesses a fine portrait of 
 Sir John Mitford by Sir Thomas Lawrence. At Barrow 
 Church, Bury St. Edmunds, there is the effigy of Sir 
 Clement Heigham. In Felstead Church, Essex, there is a 
 monumental effigy of Lord Rich ; in Claverley Church, 
 near Wolverhampton, one of Sir Robert Brooke ; and at 
 Checkenden, Bucks, where Sir Walter Beauchamp was 
 buried, there is an allegorical brass, his coat of arms, 
 and the following inscription : " Hie jacet Walterus 
 Beauchamp films Willi : Beauchamp Militis cujus aie 
 ppiciet : Deus Amen." A monument was also erected 
 in St. Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, to Richard Onslow, 
 the Speaker of 1566. In Eastwell Church, Kent, where 
 Sir Thomas Moyle is buried, there is an altar tomb with 
 his coat of arms, and apparently it was intended to place 
 an effigy upon it, but none exists. There is also in the 
 same church a bust and mural tablet of Sir Heneage 
 Finch, who was a grandson of Sir Thomas Moyle, and 
 at Coverham Church, Yorkshire, where Sir Geoffrey le 
 Scrope's body was taken after his death at Ghent, there 
 is a coloured window with the arms of the Scropes. 
 At Wellington Church, Somerset, is a monumental effigy 
 of Sir John Popham. Mr. Harold St. Maur, M.P., is 
 the possessor of a painting of Sir Edward Seymour,
 
 NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxv 
 
 and there is a fine monumental effigy of him at 
 Maiden Bradley. Lord Crewe also possesses paintings 
 of Sir Randolph Crewe and Sir Thomas Crewe, and the 
 Right Hon. James Round has an oil painting of Sir 
 Harbottle Grimston at Birch Hall, Colchester. At Oxford 
 there are portraits of Sir Thomas More (in the Bodleian), 
 of Francis Rous, at Pembroke (the portrait engraved by 
 Faithorne, 1656), of Arthur Onslow at Wadham, by 
 Hysing (engraved by Faber in 1728), three of William 
 Wyndham Grenville, one at Oriel, by Owen, another at 
 Christ Church also by Owen, and a third in the Bodleian, 
 by Phillips. At Christ Church there is a portrait of 
 Charles Abbot, by Northcote (engraved by Picart, 
 1804), also one of William Bromley, by Dahl, at the 
 Bodleian. 
 
 The reproduction of the Broadside or List of Members, 
 in the possession of Sir Walter Spencer Stanhope, Bart., 
 is one of the earliest if not the earliest known representa- 
 tion of the House in session. It is dated March I7th, 
 1627-28, with Sir John Finch in the chair. It is greatly 
 to be regretted that no earlier authentic illustration of 
 a sitting of " The Mother of Parliaments " is available, 
 for such must surely exist either from early wood- 
 blocks or from still earlier miniatures. It is hoped, 
 however, that this Note may prove to be the means of 
 bringing others to light. 
 
 Mr. Dasent has placed on record some hundred and 
 thirty Speakers, and there are doubtless others whose 
 names, when verified, will some day be added to the
 
 xxxvi NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 list, when the State Papers shall have been exhaust- 
 ively examined and carefully calendared, possibly by 
 Americans. 
 
 When we reflect on our rough island story as portrayed 
 by Mr. Dasent from the Parliamentary or Speakers' 
 point of view for the past six and a half centuries, we 
 discover that, in addition to the beheading of Lord Wor- 
 cester, no less than nine Speakers have lost their lives 
 for performing what they considered to be their public 
 duty, and in most cases their estates were sequestrated 
 and their wealth confiscated. Thus life and property 
 were less secure than in these democratic days. For 
 the Speaker of our time is known as " the first 
 Commoner in England," with a salary of 5000 per 
 annum, a palatial residence, picturesque privileges, 
 and a retiring pension of 4000. Surely this ought 
 to be some consolation, even to the most Conservative 
 minds. The names of the Speakers who suffered death 
 were : Sir John Bussy, Thomas Thorpe, William Tresham, 
 Sir John Wenlock, Sir Thomas Tresham, William Catesby, 
 Sir Richard Empson, Edmond Dudley, and Sir Thomas 
 More. 
 
 Unfortunately I have not been able to discover any 
 portraits of the following Speakers, though it is almost 
 certain that many of these exist in the shape of paintings, 
 miniatures, stained-glass windows, memorial brasses, and 
 monumental effigies. 
 
 William Alington (1429), William Alington (1472), 
 Thomas Bampfylde (1659), Sir Walter Beauchamp
 
 NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxvii 
 
 (1416), Sir John Bussy (1393-8), Henry Beaumont 
 (1331-2), William Burley (1437). John Bowes (1435), 
 Richard Baynard (1421), Sir Thomas Charlton (1453-4), 
 Sir John Cheyne (1399), John Dorewood (1399), Sir 
 Thomas Englefield (1496-7), Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam 
 (1488-9), Roger Flower (1416), Sir John Guildesborough 
 (1379-80), Henry Green (1362-3), John Green (1460), 
 Sir Nicholas Hare (1539), Sir Lislebone Long (1659), 
 Sir Peter de la Mare (1377), Peter de Montfort (1258), 
 Sir Thomas Moyle (1542), Sir William Oldhall (1450), 
 Sir James Pickering (1378), Sir John Pollard (1553), 
 Sir John Popham (1449), Sir Henry Redford (1402), 
 Richard Redman (1415), Sir John Russell (1423), William 
 Say (1659-60), Sir Geoffrey le Scrope (1332), William 
 de Shareshull (1350-1), William Stourton (1413), Sir 
 James Strangeways (1461), Sir William Sturmy (1404), 
 Thomas Thorpe (1452-3), William de Thorpe (1347), 
 Sir John Tiptoft (1405-6), William Tresham (1439), Sir 
 Thomas Tresham (1459), William Trussell (1326-7), 
 Sir John Tyrrell (1427), Sir Richard Waldegrave (1381), 
 Sir Thomas Walton or Wauton (1425), Sir John Wenlock 
 (1455). John Wood (1482-3). 
 
 After the names of the Speakers I have added the 
 year of election to the Chair, so as to make it easier to 
 identify the various holders of the office, and I hope that 
 correspondents will continue to help me towards the com- 
 pletion of the list. 
 
 In response to a letter recently published by the editors 
 of The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Standard, The
 
 xxxviii NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Athenceum, and Notes and Queries, asking for information 
 on the subject of Speaker Portraits, I was fortunate 
 enough to obtain valuable information from the readers 
 of each paper. It would be extremely useful too if 
 readers would help to locate other portraits than those 
 already reproduced or recorded in this work, espe- 
 cially of Speakers down to the end of the eighteenth 
 century. 
 
 The topographical illustrations require little notice 
 here, as they are, for the most part, fully explained in 
 the text. The views of the interior of the Jewel Tower 
 are from photographs kindly supplied by Sir Benjamin 
 Stone. Hollar's view of New Palace Yard has not often 
 been reproduced in so perfect a state. The one herein 
 inserted is taken from the late Sir Francis Seymour 
 Haden's own copy, now in Mr. Dasent's possession. 
 
 The view of the House of Commons in session is 
 interesting from the idea it gives of St. Stephen's Chapel 
 in the reign of Charles I. It will be noticed that there are 
 two Clerks at the table, thus disproving the usually 
 accepted belief that Rushworth was the first Clerk-Assis- 
 tant. Speaker Onslow said, on the authority of Hatsell, 
 that he had seen a print of the House in 1620 in which 
 two Clerks were shown sitting at the table ; if his state- 
 ment is correct, this is probably a re-issue of the same 
 view. 
 
 The illustration of the Jewel Tower is from a drawing 
 specially made by Mr. L. Hussell Conway. The map of 
 Westminster in 1740, which Mr. Dasent discovered in the
 
 NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxix 
 
 British Museum, is valuable as showing streets projected 
 as well as actually completed. Parliament Street was 
 not built until many years later, nor did Abingdon Street 
 come into existence before 1750. 
 
 The caricatures of Gillray and H. B. explain them- 
 selves, and the views of Montacute, Burford, and Stoke 
 Edith are from photographs supplied by the present 
 owners. 
 
 The illustration of the Mace is from a photograph 
 kindly lent by the Serjeant-at-Arms (Mr. H. D. Erskine). 
 The Mace dates from the Restoration. Although there 
 is no decipherable mark upon it, in all probability it 
 originally bore both date and hall-mark. The wear and 
 tear have, however, been so great that these may have 
 been obliterated, for the Mace has lost in weight, since it 
 left the silversmith's, no less than 23 ounces. Originally 
 it weighed 251 ounces, now it scales only 228 ounces. 
 
 Arthur Onslow's house in Soho Square is an especially 
 interesting London view, as it stands on the site of Old 
 Falconbergh House, once the residence of Cromwell's 
 daughter. The author regrets that an illustration of 
 the house in which Coke was born, still standing at 
 Mileham, near Swaffham, has not been included, but the 
 information only reached him at the last moment when 
 the book was in the hands of the binders. If it should 
 be so fortunate as to reach a second edition the omission 
 shall be repaired. 
 
 It now only remains for me to express my thanks 
 to : Earl Beauchamp, Earl and Countess Cairns, The Earl
 
 xl NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 of Crewe, The Earl of Iddesleigh, The Earl of Onslow, The 
 Earl of Radnor, Earl Waldegrave, Viscount Peel, Vis- 
 count Powerscourt, Lord Barnard, Lord Hylton, Lord 
 Redesdale, Lady Poltimore, Lady Victoria Manners, Mrs. 
 Stanley Lane Poole, The Rev. Charles H. Coe, The Rev. 
 H. H. B. Ayles, D.D., The Rev. C. T. Eland, The Rev. 
 J. A. Halloran, The Rev. C. W. Holland, The Rev. E. 
 Hutton-Hall, The Rev. John T. Steele, The Rev. C. B. 
 Hulton, The Rev. R. Wall, The Serjeant-at-Arms, Mr. 
 C. J. Holmes and Mr. J. D. Milner, of the National 
 Portrait Gallery, Mr. R. P. Chope, Mr. J. G. Earle, F.S.A., 
 Mr. Henry Greensted, Mr. A. L. Humphreys, Mr. Geo. 
 Robinson, Mr. J. Horace Round, LL.D., Mr. J. L. Rutley, 
 Mr. Henry Yates Thompson, for much valuable aid, and 
 to Mr. Dasent himself for his kindness in permitting me 
 to append this note to his exhaustive researches. 
 
 JOHN LANE. 
 THE BODLEY HEAD.
 
 '. : THE SPEAKERS OF ! ! 
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
 
 
 v 

 
 
 THE SPEAKERS OF 
 
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 WESTMINSTER IN THE REIGN OF HENRY III THE ISLE OF 
 THORNS THE PALACE AND THE ABBEY PREFERENCE 
 OF HENRY FOR WESTMINSTER DAWN OF THE ENGLISH 
 CONSTITUTION WESTMINSTER THE EARLIEST MEETING 
 PLACE OF THE COMPLETE PARLIAMENT 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING the inevitable ten- 
 dency of the age to disparage the past, the 
 opinion is still widely held that the House of 
 Commons is amongst the greatest of human 
 institutions. The primary object of the following pages 
 has been to present a fuller and more accurate account 
 than has previously been attempted of the presiding 
 officers of this great instrument of popular liberty. 
 At the same time it has been the author's aim to de- 
 scribe how the Lower House of Parliament came into 
 existence ; the place where it first held its deliberations 
 (with a topographical and architectural description of 
 Westminster at various epochs) ; the circumstances under 
 which Parliament assembled, with a brief retrospect of
 
 4 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 its principal legislative and administrative achievements. 
 An attempt has also been made to trace throughout the 
 history of the House of Commons the close connection 
 which formerly existed between the Abbey and the seat 
 of government. These points are severally of importance 
 not only to the student of constitutional history, but to 
 all who value the conditions under which modern England 
 is governed. 
 
 The cities of Oxford and Lincoln are entitled to take 
 precedence of London as the places in the kingdom 
 selected for the holding of the earliest known Parlia- 
 ments; but to Westminster undoubtedly belongs the 
 distinction of having witnessed the dawn of the English 
 Constitution. King John frequently visited Oxford, and 
 in 1204 he held a colloquium there for the purpose of 
 procuring a grant in aid. In November, 1213, writs were 
 addressed to the Sheriffs requiring them to send all 
 knights in arms in their bailiwicks, and four knights from 
 each county, " ad loquendum nobiscum de negotiis regni 
 nostri " ; and two years later the same king again came 
 to Oxford in the vain hope that his nobles would meet 
 him there. 
 
 Lincoln was the city chosen by Henry III in 1226, 
 whilst he was still a minor, as the rendezvous of four 
 knights elected by the milites et probi homines of the 
 bailiwicks of eight specified counties, in order to settle 
 long-standing disputes with the Sheriffs as to certain 
 articles of their Charter of Liberty. But of the proceed- 
 ings of these embryo Parliaments no record has been 
 preserved. 
 
 No returns to these tentative and restricted assemblies 
 have been discovered, and the earliest germ of popular
 
 representation is to be found in connection with the Isle 
 of Thorns. The history of that traditionally sacred spot, 
 revered by Edward the Confessor above all other parts 
 of his dominions, is inextricably associated with the 
 second founder of the Abbey. 
 
 Born at Winchester, Henry III was the first of the 
 Plantagenet line to identify himself with Westminster. 
 Distrusting the city of London, he felt himself secure 
 within the sheltering walls of the great Benedictine 
 Abbey, the re-edifying and beautifying of which was 
 to be the darling project of his later years. Between 
 1245 and his death in the place of his adoption Henry 
 is believed to have spent more than half a million 
 of money on the rebuilding of the Confessor's church, 
 and, according to the somewhat exaggerated view of the 
 late Dean Stanley, his enormous exactions have left 
 their lasting trace on the English Constitution in no 
 less a monument than the House of Commons, which 
 rose into existence as a protest against the lavish 
 expenditure on the mighty Abbey which it con- 
 fronts. 1 
 
 As if to point the moral, the only contemporary 
 memorial of Simon de Montfort is to be seen to this day, 
 carved with the arms of other benefactors, upon the 
 Abbey walls. 2 The tendency of modern historical re- 
 search has been rather to deprive De Montfort of his 
 
 1 Stanley's Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey, 1896 edition, 
 p. no. At the same time a large amount of money was raised by sub- 
 scriptions which entitled the donors to indulgence in purgatory, and 
 much of the money spent in the rebuilding of the church was derived 
 from the King's private income. 
 
 a Simon de Montfort's shield, a double-tailed lion, is reproduced 
 on the outer cover of this volume.
 
 6 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 claim to be the originator of the representative system, 1 
 but there can be no manner of doubt that, in the closing 
 years of his strenuous Parliamentary life, his efforts in 
 the cause of popular government caused his name to be 
 regarded as a talisman among the English people. 
 
 Henry III was the first of the English kings who could 
 properly be called a great patron of the arts. Though, 
 in his remodelling of the Abbey, his conception of archi- 
 tectural effect was derived from foreign sources, yet it 
 is to his encouragement of native art that London 
 and the nation owe that triumph of the Early English 
 style (happily little altered internally since the thirteenth 
 century), the choir and transepts which replaced the 
 church of the Confessor. Some doubt exists as to 
 how far westward Henry carried the rebuilding of the 
 nave, but Dean Stanley was of opinion that the beautiful 
 diaper pattern upon the walls marked the limits of his 
 work, leaving only the remaining bays to the westward 
 to be completed by his successors on the throne. The vault- 
 ing of the nave was not finished till a much later date, but 
 the junction of the thirteenth- and fourteenth-century 
 work, where the diaper pattern ceases, is still readily dis- 
 cernible in the altered level of the triforium string courses. 2 
 The delay in the completion of the nave, as it now stands, 
 was probably due to the fact that the first three Edwards 
 cared less for the Abbey than did Henry III, and pre- 
 
 1 The representative principle in England may be said to date from 
 the introduction of the jury system for purposes of inquests, etc., by 
 William I and its further development under Henry II. 
 
 * Since Dean Stanley wrote, the researches of Messrs. Micklethwaite, 
 Lethaby, Bond and, more recently, the Rev. R. B. Rackham, have 
 added enormously to our knowledge of the fabric of the Abbey and 
 the exertions made by individual abbots to complete the original 
 design of Henry III.
 
 THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 7 
 
 ferred to concentrate their attention on the rebuilding 
 of St. Stephen's Chapel in the palace, the building 
 which, as we shall show later on, was destined in after 
 years to become the home of the Commons, and so to 
 continue for well-nigh three centuries. The influence of 
 Amiens and Rheims, which Henry III knew and loved, is 
 apparent in the apse of Westminster Abbey, in the am- 
 bulatory, and in the nest of chapels radiating from the 
 central shrine, yet, to their lasting credit be it spoken, 
 the erection and adornment of almost the whole of the 
 great church was due to native craftsmen. 
 
 It was customary for the Kings of England to wear 
 their crowns at least once a year at Winchester, and 
 preferably at Eastertide. In the case of Henry III 
 this symbol of sovereignty was a mere circlet of gold, 
 for his father had lost the ancient crown with the other 
 regalia in the Wash. And at Winchester, the place of 
 his birth, Henry continued to keep his money and 
 his treasure. The office of the Exchequer at West- 
 minster, where the money was in the first instance 
 paid in, has been frequently confused with the Winchester 
 Treasury, where it was permanently stored. Gradually 
 the Winchester storehouse was superseded for all pur- 
 poses by that at Westminster, and from Plantagenet 
 times both Treasury and Jewel House formed part of the 
 appurtenances of the Palace. But little known, owing 
 to its remote situation, in a quiet mews off Great College 
 Street, the venerable Jewel Tower still stands much as 
 it left the builder's hands not later than the reign of 
 Richard II. To a chamber in this historic building 
 Charles I and Rushworth, the Clerk Assistant of the 
 House of Commons, retired to compare their respective
 
 8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 notes of the proceedings on the occasion of the attempted 
 arrest of the Five Members in 1642. 
 
 An illustration of this interesting relic of old West- 
 minster will be found reproduced in this volume. In 
 it are now stored the standard weights and measures 
 in the custody of the Board of Trade. Surrounded 
 as it is on nearly every side by high modem buildings, 
 it is difficult to obtain a good view of the exterior. The 
 view here given is taken from the leads at the back 
 of the house lately in the occupation of Mr. Henry 
 Labouchere, and tradition says that under it have 
 been discovered the traces of an underground passage 
 leading from the Palace to the Abbey. It is perhaps not 
 known to many of those who frequent the Palace at the 
 present day that a portion of the outer surface of the 
 western wall of Westminster Hall has been preserved 
 precisely as it left the hands of its Norman builders, 
 and with their masons' marks still intact on many of 
 the stones. 1 
 
 The lower storey of the cloister, 2 added to the Hall 
 by Mr. Pearson in 1888 on the demolition of Sir John 
 Soane's Law Courts, replaces, according to the views 
 of that capable architect, an earlier lean-to structure 
 on the same site. For some 800 years the outer air 
 has been excluded from the Norman masonry, and to 
 the protecting influence of this cloister and its prede- 
 cessors is due the preservation of this relic of the Palace 
 of Rufus. Even after the great fire of 1834, one of the 
 
 1 I give this information on the authority of Mr. Pearson, though 
 good judges have also been of opinion that no part of the ashlar work 
 of the Hall is of earlier date than Richard II. 
 * * Now used as the Journal office and Private Bill office.
 
 THE JEWEL TOWER 
 drawing l>y A. llitsscll Conway
 
 THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 9 
 
 original Norman windows remained at the south end of 
 the eastern side of the Hall, immediately above the string- 
 course added by Richard II, and a good illustration 
 of it will be found in Brayley and Britton's Palace of 
 Westminster * but it was most unnecessarily destroyed 
 in the course of some repairs to the Hall in the reign of 
 William IV. 
 
 By an ingenious contrivance Mr. Pearson filled the 
 spaces between the buttresses (added by Richard II to 
 support the great thrust of the incomparable roof) with 
 a two-storeyed gallery, which, though much criticised 
 at the time of its erection, should preserve for centuries 
 to come the only genuine fragments of Norman work 
 remaining in and about the Hall. If, when Mr. Pearson's 
 additions were made, the sills of the windows on the 
 west side had been lowered to correspond with those 
 on the east, the symmetry of this noble building would 
 have been enhanced, but unfortunately the opportunity 
 was missed. 
 
 The same architect desired to rebuild the principal, 
 or northern, fa?ade, the towers of which have a spurious 
 air, but a parsimonious Treasury withheld the necessary 
 funds, as it withheld them from Sir Charles Barry when 
 he proposed to cover the roof of the Hall with copper 
 and to carry his Victoria Tower up a hundred feet 
 higher than it is now. On entering the gates of New 
 Palace Yard the least observant will notice that the 
 ground falls rapidly towards the great door of the Hall. 
 In the course of centuries the level of the soil has been 
 raised many feet in the vicinity of the Abbey, but were 
 the ground to be excavated to the same depth as in 
 
 1 Plate VIII.
 
 io SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 the ornamental garden between St. Margaret's Church 
 and the Hall, it would at once be apparent to the most 
 casual observer that the Abbey as originally designed stood 
 on considerably higher ground than the ancient residence 
 of the Saxon and Norman kings. Thus its commanding 
 situation in the centre of Thorney Island caused it to 
 dominate the surrounding buildings, producing a grand 
 architectural effect which is now, unhappily, lost. Both 
 Palace and Abbey were surrounded, not only by strong 
 walls of defence, but by running water on every side. 
 
 A considerable stream, having its source in the 
 wooded northern heights, ran through what is now the 
 Green Park to join the estuary of the Thames. This 
 was the Aye bourne, from which Hay [Aye] Hill, Tyburn, 
 and Ebury derive their names. Eye Cross, an oft- 
 quoted boundary in the precincts of the Abbey, stood 
 on the same stream. Successive alterations of the 
 surface have obliterated many of its channels, but, by 
 carefully comparing the terrain with the most trust- 
 worthy maps, the limits of Thorney Island can even 
 now be traced. A stream ran from near Storey's Gate 
 to De La Hay Street, through Gardeners Lane, and 
 emptied itself into the Thames near Cannon, or, as some 
 have called it, Channel, Row. This waterway in its turn 
 was connected with a long ditch or moat occupying the 
 site of Princes Street, whilst another brook flowed by 
 Great Smith Street and Great College Street to the river 
 near Millbank. Westward of this again lay a great marsh 
 known to the Anglo-Saxons as Bulinga Fen. 1 
 
 It must be remembered that in Norman, and probably 
 
 1 The name has been wisely revived by the London County Council 
 in forming a new street by the Tate Gallery of British Art.
 
 STAIRCA>E AND ANCIKNT DOORWAY IN THE .1 KAVKI. TOWKR 
 Front n photograph l>y Sir Renjatnin Stone
 
 THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER u 
 
 much later, times the whole site of St. James's Park 
 and Tothill Fields was a tidal swamp, and that where 
 Buckingham Palace now stands bitterns boomed and 
 snipe drummed. St. James's Park is said to have been 
 formed by Henry VIII to gratify Anne Boleyn after 
 the Court had removed from Westminster to White- 
 hall. To this day there is water in the cellars of the 
 houses in Birdcage Walk at certain states of the tide, 
 and when the new building for the Office of Works 
 at Storey's Gate was in course of erection, a few years 
 ago, the greatest difficulty was experienced in procuring 
 a solid foundation, owing to the boggy nature of the sub- 
 soil at this spot. Whenever an old house on the site 
 of the Long Ditch is rebuilt similar difficulties are en- 
 countered, and the fact that the soil underlying the 
 Abbey and the Palace is composed of pure water-worn 
 sand is the probable explanation of there being no crypt 
 under the church, and no subterranean chamber under 
 the great Hall. The gardens and orchards, and even 
 the vineyards, of Westminster were famous for centuries 
 before the atmosphere of London became laden with 
 soot, and foul from the smoke of innumerable chimneys ; 
 and in a place called the Herbary, " between the King's 
 Chamber and the Church," Henry III ordered pear 
 trees to be planted, so that he might see the Abbey 
 rising in all its fairness, in the springtime, above a wealth 
 of white blossom. 
 
 Before the destruction of Gardeners Lane simul- 
 taneously with King Street for centuries the only 
 approach to Westminster from the north, for Parlia- 
 ment Street is, as it were, a thing of yesterday it was 
 easy to trace in its bends and curves the tortuous course
 
 12 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 of the bed of the stream which once divided the Isle 
 of Thorns from what we now call Whitehall. 
 
 The King Street avenue to Westminster only came 
 into existence when the Empress Maud, at her own 
 charge, threw a bridge across the stream at this point, 
 additional proof, if such were needed, of the detachment 
 of the city of London from the residence of the Norman 
 kings. When the river was yet unembanked, the usual 
 mode of approach to Westminster was by water, and, 
 shifting the scene to Great College Street, it requires 
 no great effort of imagination to picture in the mind's 
 eye the clear, cool water flowing alongside the wall of 
 the Infirmary garden, and the Abbot issuing from his 
 water-gate to take barge upon the Thames. Archi- 
 tecturally, London may have gained by the formal align- 
 ment of the Embankment, but much that was picturesque 
 was destroyed when, on the destruction of the foreshore, 
 a great natural force was hemmed in between solid walls 
 of stone, and a mighty river reduced to the commonplace 
 proportions of the Liffey or the Seine. Before the 
 Thames was urbanised, so to speak, Thorney Island was 
 subject to periodical inundations, and Matthew Paris 
 relates how the untrammelled waters swept into West- 
 minster Hall and boats floated within its gates. 1 
 
 The space enclosed in the thirteenth century by these 
 various streams, of which the Gardeners Lane channel 
 formed the northern boundary of the island, the Thames 
 the eastern, the Long Ditch the western, and the College 
 Street brook the southern, measured rather less than 
 five hundred yards from north to south, and less than 
 
 1 Only within the last decade a violent thunderstorm which burst 
 over Westminster once more flooded the Hall, so that the water stood 
 a foot deep at its principal entrance.
 
 VAn.TEI) CHAMKKR IN THE JKtt'EI. T<nVER 
 l-'roiii a photograph !<y Sir naijaiuin Stom'
 
 THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 13 
 
 three hundred from east to west. Yet this circumscribed 
 area is believed to have supported a population of many 
 thousands, if there be taken into account, in addition 
 to all the King's dependents, those of the Abbot. Every- 
 thing required for the Court was produced within the 
 walls, and such was the profusion of the Plantagenets, 
 that they maintained within the verge of the palace 
 a small army of artificers. 
 
 When we remember that, hi addition to the multitude 
 of servants and men-at-arms (Richard the Second never 
 moved without an escort of four thousand archers), 
 the great officers of state many of whom were in con- 
 stant attendance on the Sovereign were all housed 
 within the Palace, and when, further, we take into 
 account the vast establishment of the adjoining Abbey, 
 it is probable that the total population of Thorney, 
 at the period when it first became the meeting-place 
 of Parliament, amounted to some twenty-five thousand 
 souls. 
 
 The difficulty of reaching Westminster in the Middle 
 Ages is brought home to us by numerous recorded in- 
 stances of failure on the part of the Commons to comply 
 with the royal summons. In most cases the delay 
 was attributed to the state of the roads. Never good 
 at the best of times, in rainy seasons and severe winters 
 the main highways became almost impassable. The 
 long and expensive journey to London from the northern 
 parts of the country could only be accomplished after 
 many halts by the way. Leaving Furness, for example, 
 the Abbot would cross the sands at Morecambe Bay on 
 his way to York to join the Archbishop. Five-and- 
 twenty miles would be as much as he would accomplish
 
 14 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 in his first day's progress, and, after putting up at a rest 
 house on the line of route, he would cross the moors 
 separating Lancashire from Yorkshire on the next day. 
 One or more of these ancient rest houses are still stand- 
 ing. There is one at Halt on and another near Clitheroe. 
 From York to London the Abbot would enjoy the 
 protection of the Archbishop's retinue on the road. 
 The Abbots of Abingdon and other great ecclesiastics 
 had town houses in Westminster from a very early 
 period. Many of the episcopal sees owned mansions in 
 the Strand with gardens sloping to the waterside, and 
 the Archbishops of York only lost their hold on White- 
 hall with the fall of Wolsey. 
 
 Some of those who came from the home counties, and 
 who dwelt within reach of the Thames, were able to make 
 a portion of the journey to London by water. Archbishop 
 Wake, who died in 1737, is said to have been the last 
 Primate who habitually came from Lambeth to West- 
 minster in his state barge. But the hardships cheerfully 
 endured by the Knigh f s of the Shire and the burgesses 
 whose homes lay in remote districts must have been 
 considerable in the thirteenth century. Such was the 
 habitual insecurity of the roads that the faithful Com- 
 mons, in their efforts to reach Westminster, were 
 accustomed to travel in large bodies ; the knights on 
 horseback, each with his retinue of men-at-arms, whilst 
 the humbler burgesses in a straggling cavalcade formed 
 their own body-guard. Wheeled vehicles were seldom, if 
 ever, used on long journeys, and for the all-sufficient 
 reason that there was no conveyance to be had between 
 the clumsy waggons employed by the Sovereign on his 
 royal progresses and the two- wheeled agricultural carts,
 
 THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 15 
 
 which were as yet little better than square boxes of 
 rudely-fashioned planks. 
 
 The luxury of private coaches dated from a much 
 later period, and their use only became practicable 
 when the condition of the main roads had been materially 
 improved. An illustration of the almost universal prac- 
 tice of making long journeys on horseback is afforded 
 by a letter written by Dame Margaret Paston to her 
 husband, who was lying ill of " a great dysese " in London 
 in the fifteenth century. She begged him to return to 
 Norfolk as soon as he could bestride his horse. Though 
 the Fastens were rich people as the times went, the idea 
 of his returning home in a carriage seems never to have 
 occurred to either of the pair. 
 
 Peers and prelates did not start on a journey without 
 a great train following in their wake. On such occasions 
 they took with them a number of body servants of 
 different degrees, like kings in miniature. Attended 
 by their squires, their men-at-arms, their jesters, and 
 their menial servants, they descended like locusts on the 
 reluctant inhabitants of the region through which they 
 desired to pass. 
 
 Purveyance was in the main a royal prerogative, 
 yet the demands of lesser men often weighed heavily 
 on the rural population. At sundown the traveller 
 of high degree, and likewise his retainers, sought shelter 
 for the night. 1 In the monastery hospitality was held to 
 be a religious duty, and as most of the greater ecclesi- 
 astical houses had been, in part at least, endowed by the 
 nobility, its members felt no compunction in asking for 
 the accommodation so freely accorded. But only people 
 
 1 Compare Jusserand, English Wayfaring Life in the Middle Ages.
 
 16 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 of exalted rank were entertained in the monastery itself. 
 The great mass of their dependents fared less sumptuously 
 in the guest-house. 
 
 The habits of courtesy prevailing in mediaeval England 
 ensured the knight the asylum of the guest-chamber 
 in the house of his equal in rank. Thus, whilst the monks 
 received the poor from charity and the rich from necessity, 
 the country gentleman upon his travels quartered him- 
 self upon his like. The common inns were only used 
 by the lower middle class, and they as a rule did not 
 move far from their homes. Too expensive for the poor 
 and too miserable in their appointments for the better 
 class of traveller, these inns did not emerge from the 
 chrysalis stage until the advent of the public coach in 
 the seventeenth century. What kind of accommodation 
 the Knights of the Shire found at Westminster it is difficult 
 to say. Probably the evils of overcrowding were thus 
 early in evidence. Sanitation was so far unknown 
 that the cleansing of the streets was left to that volunteer 
 army of scavengers the kites. Soaring in mid-air 
 around the Abbey they fell, like bolts from the blue, on 
 the offal and carrion with which the narrow streets were 
 strewn, to bear it away to their nesting-places in the 
 wooded northern heights. 
 
 The condition of the main thoroughfares in London 
 was not much better than that of the country roads. 
 In 1314 several members of the Court petitioned 
 Edward II to have the road from Temple Bar to the 
 Palace Gate at Westminster repaired. It was said 
 to be so dangerous that rich and poor alike, whether 
 on horseback or on foot, were impeded in their passage 
 to and fro. Those who were compelled to use it " en
 
 THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 17 
 
 mauvais tempz " were " desturbez de lor busoignes suire 
 par profoundesce del dit chemyn." Nothing was done 
 for some years, but Edward III ordered the road to be 
 paved from end to end, and the expense defrayed by a 
 tax on all merchandise going to the Staple at Westmin- 
 ster. At the same time the Staple was defined to extend 
 from Temple Bar to Tothill. 1 But all journeys, whether 
 by sea or land, must have an ending, and at last the 
 faithful Commons, with a perseverance only equalled 
 by that of the Canterbury pilgrims, came in sight of the 
 massive towers and frowning walls of Westminster, and 
 passed, awestruck at the novelty and magnificence of 
 the scene, within the portals of the Palace. There 
 in the heart of the ancient buildings stood, until the 
 disastrous fire of 1834, the actual room in which the 
 Confessor died the painted chamber of European 
 renown the very hub and centre of the governance 
 of England since Anglo-Saxon times. 
 
 The names of several other buildings in the old Palace 
 have been preserved. Marculph's Tower stood on the 
 river bank and overhung the water. In one of its 
 chambers the triers of Petitions, the precursors of legis- 
 lation by Bill, met for centuries. There was the Little 
 Hall, in which the Commons were ordered to assemble 
 in the reign of Edward III. 2 The chamber of the Chaun- 
 tour 3 was near the Palace Gate, and here the triers 
 of Petitions for Gascony met. 
 
 The Star Chamber is mentioned in the Rolls for 1427, 
 and the Council Chamber " pres la grande Chambre du 
 Parlement " in 1436, but both of them were probably 
 
 1 Rot. Par!., Vol. I, p. 302. * Ibid., Vol. II, p. 294. 
 
 3 Of St. Stephen's Chapel. 
 C
 
 
 i8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 in existence long before. The green chamber was an- 
 other apartment, the exact position of which it is not 
 now possible to identify. In it a miscreant secreted 
 himself at the bidding of the Bishop of Winchester, with 
 the intention of murdering Henry VI, when Prince of 
 Wales, after which no more is heard of it. The Chamber 
 of the Cross was the scene of the meeting of the first 
 Parliament of Henry VII, and the White Hall, which 
 must not be confused with the later palace of that 
 name, was the usual meeting-place of the House of 
 Lords. 
 
 Many of these time-honoured halls remained till the 
 close of the eighteenth century, when the all-destroying 
 Wyatt was unfortunately appointed Superintendent of 
 the Works. What escaped his iconoclastic hand, with 
 the exception of Westminster Hall and the crypt of 
 St. Stephen's Chapel, perished in the great fire of 1834, 
 to which further allusion will be made in these pages. 
 The great bell tower which forms such a conspicuous 
 object in Hollar's View of Westminster was not in existence 
 in the thirteenth century, nor had the chapel of St. 
 Stephen, afterwards the home of the Commons of 
 England, thus early assumed the shape it bore for five 
 hundred years. 
 
 What must have been the feelings of the Knight of 
 the Shire when, having never perhaps been absent from 
 his broad acres before, he entered Thorney, the shrine 
 of the Confessor, and found himself for the first time 
 in the presence of his sovereign lord the King ! A visit 
 to the Confessor's tomb in the adjoining Abbey would 
 undoubtedly be paid during his sojourn in London, 
 and if, by chance, any of his friends or neighbours were
 
 THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 19 
 
 at legal variance, was not justice administered from 
 the fountain head within the same precincts ? 
 
 One of the greatest changes which have taken place 
 in the Palace of Westminster since Henry III took up 
 his abode there has been the formation of the compara- 
 tively modern thoroughfare between the Abbey and 
 the Houses of Parliament which leads to Millbank and 
 on to Pimlico. In the Middle Ages there was no road 
 at all through Old Palace Yard. This open space repre- 
 sents the Inner Bailly, whilst New Palace Yard to the 
 northward formed the Outer Bailly of the original 
 structure. Access to City, Palace, or Abbey could only 
 be obtained by one or other of the strongly fortified 
 gates in the high wall of defence which girt alike the 
 residence of King and Abbot. Of these there were four, 
 and one at least the High Gate towards London was 
 held to be of surpassing beauty. Nor was there then 
 any road leading up from the river-side, along the line 
 of the modern Great George Street, towards St. James's 
 Park and the agricultural lands of the great Benedictine 
 house. Until the Thames, the fluvius maximus piscosus 
 of Fitz-Stephen, was bridged at Westminster the course 
 of trafnc north and south adhered to the horse ferry 
 at Lambeth and avoided the populous suburb on the 
 river bank. 1 
 
 Thorney in the thirteenth century we know to have 
 been a fortress, a prison, a palace, and a great religious 
 house. Defended from the outer world by lofty walls 
 and formidable battlements, upon which the royal archers 
 
 1 The late Sir Walter Besant thought otherwise, and maintained 
 that Thorney was a thickly populated spot long before the building 
 of the Abbey, but unfortunately he failed to adduce any convincing 
 evidence of his contention.
 
 20 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 kept watch and ward night and day, the extent and 
 magnificence of ancient Westminster must have been 
 an impressive sight for provincial eyes. Surrounded by 
 its great and lesser sanctuaries, its almonries, its bell 
 towers, its chapels, gate-houses, and prisons, Thorney 
 stood for all that was most inspiring to the average 
 English subject, whether of high or low degree. 
 
 Mention of its prisons recalls the grim fact that the 
 Abbots of Westminster possessed amongst their many 
 privileges the franchise of " furca et fossa," a gallows for 
 male offenders, and a pit filled with water for the women. 
 In the vicinity of Dean's Yard, to call it by its modern 
 name, the Abbot set up his tree of death on a spot known 
 as " the Elms," whilst Old Palace Yard was for centuries 
 the place of execution for malefactors confined in the 
 King's prison. And, even after it ceased to be so used, 
 the practice of exposing the heads of felons on the fa9ade 
 of Westminster Hall carried on the sinister traditions 
 of the place. 
 
 In contradistinction to these sombre associations, 
 an age of chivalry provided for the King's loyal subjects 
 an ever-changing feast for the eye. It was, on the whole, 
 a merry England which ushered in the dawn of the 
 Constitution. The warmth and colour of the Middle 
 Ages, the tramp of armed men in the Palace, the stately 
 processions, and the gorgeous ritual of the Catholic 
 Church in an age of almost universal piety, are gone 
 from us, with a corresponding loss of reverence in the 
 minds of the people, never more to be regained amidst 
 the dull conventionalism of the twentieth century. 
 Beauty, if perceived at all, must be felt, and the manhood 
 of England gained enormously by the teachings of
 
 THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 21 
 
 chivalry, loyalty, and honour so abundantly manifested 
 in the period under review. 
 
 Coronation feasts, solemn jousts and tournaments in 
 Tothill Fields held amidst the pageantry which the times 
 produced, allegories, mystery plays, tiltings at the ring ; 
 all these were part and parcel of the life of a Londoner 
 in the Middle Ages. Though there were as yet no theatres, 
 the Bankside in Southwark offered more questionable 
 attractions to the profligate, who took boat at Stew Lane 
 and landed on the Surrey side at Cardinal Cap Alley. The 
 great fairs granted to the Abbots by Henry III, to the 
 annoyance and the lasting detriment of the City of 
 London, were another joyous feature of mediaeval West- 
 minster. There, too, could be witnessed, until it was finally 
 superseded by Trial by Jury, the moving spectacle of 
 the ordeal by battle. 
 
 When life's task is done, it has ever been the summit 
 of an Englishman's ambition to sleep within the hallowed 
 walls of St. Peter's. And, here at Westminster, within 
 one encompassing rampart, were congregated the resi- 
 dence of the Sovereign, the Courts of Law, the greatest 
 of Benedictine monasteries, and the accustomed meeting- 
 place of the Council of the nation. Well may Thorney 
 be called, when our purview opens, the seed-plot of 
 sovereignty, liberty, justice, and piety !
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS 
 (Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries) 
 
 THE EARLY SPEAKERS AND THEIR PRECURSORS 
 
 Peter de Montfori . 
 William Trussell 
 Henry Beaumont 
 Geoffrey Le Scrope (Chief 
 
 Justice) 
 William de Thorpe (Chief 
 
 Justice) 
 William de Shareshulle 
 
 (Chief Justice) 
 
 I 
 
 Henry Green (Chief 
 
 Justice) 
 
 Thomas Hungerford 
 Peter de la Mare 
 James Pickering 
 John Guildesborough 
 Richard Waldegrave 
 John Bussy 
 
 Knights of the Shire, the backbone of 
 the English representative system, were the 
 logical outcome of the severance of the barones 
 minores, or lesser tenants in chief, from the 
 House of Lords, a body lineally descended from the feudal 
 Norman Curia, and consisting of the greater tenants in 
 chief or barones majores. These derived their Parliament- 
 ary existence mainly, if not wholly, from the principle of 
 primogeniture. Sitting in the first instance by virtue 
 of tenure, a very important modification, designed in the 
 first instance to secure sufficient attendance on the King 
 in Council, was in course of time introduced, which led to 
 developments more far-reaching in their effect than their 
 authors perhaps foresaw. This epoch-making innovation 
 was the issue of a writ of summons, without which none 
 
 22
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 23 
 
 could attend. Viewed by its recipients in the earliest 
 days of its employment as an inalienable right, it gradu- 
 ally came to be regarded as a privilege, and especially 
 when it was found that it could be used on occasion to 
 exclude possible opponents as well as to include known 
 supporters of the Crown. By a master-stroke, amount- 
 ing to positive genius, Simon de Montfort so utilised 
 this method of selection as to cause attendance on the 
 King in Council to be regarded as a privilege by one 
 class the magnates of the realm and as a burden, 
 haply to be evaded by the other. 1 
 
 The precise date at which the lesser tenants-in-chief 
 ceased to attend at Westminster, in company with 
 the greater barons, and became merged in the body 
 of the Knights of the Shire cannot now be determined, 
 but, once the control of the Crown over the summons 
 was tacitly admitted, it only remained to provide for the 
 separate representation of the under tenants and free- 
 holders in Parliament, and the transition from tenure to 
 selection was in all essentials complete. 2 From the ranks 
 of the Knights of the Shire the Speakers were invariably 
 drawn until the reign of Henry VIII, when a burgess 
 was first selected for that honour. 3 The aristocracy of 
 
 1 Peerage and Pedigree, by J. Horace Round, 1910, Vol. I, p. 357, 
 where the origin of the House of Lords is dealt with by a master hand. 
 
 8 For the early history of the House of Lords, the first Report of 
 the Lords Committee on the Dignity of the Peerage, presented to the 
 House 12 July, 1819, and further Reports printed in 1820, 1822, and 
 1825, are especially valuable. This Committee was presided over by 
 the Earl of Shaftesbury, and its several voluminous Reports have been 
 freely used, often without acknowledgment, by almost every writer 
 on the British Constitution since the date of issue. 
 
 3 The rural population far outnumbering the sum total of the 
 towns, the Knights were able to control the House, while the 
 burgesses, in many instances, were content to petition Parliament 
 without attending it in person.
 
 24 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 the Lower House of Parliament, they were first sum- 
 moned to Westminster during Henry the Third's absence 
 in Gascony in 1254 by Eleanor of Provence and Richard, 
 Earl of Cornwall, the King's brother. 1 
 
 There is no evidence that the summons was ever 
 obeyed, yet it stands as a landmark in our Parliamentary 
 annals from its embodying the principle of popular 
 representation. The industrious Prynne, 2 writing in 
 the seventeenth century, cited the terms of the writ 
 commanding the sheriffs to cause two knights to be 
 elected in every county by the counties themselves, to 
 appear before the King in Council to report what volun- 
 tary aid each county would grant towards the defence of 
 Gascony. " Praecipimus," the writ ran, " quod praeter 
 omnes praedictos venire faciatis coram consilio nostro, 
 apud Westmonasterium, in quindena Pasche prox 
 futur, quatuor legales et discretes milites de Comitatibus 
 praedictis, quos iidem Comitatus ad hoc eligerint vice 
 omnium et singulorum eorundem, videlicet duos de 
 uno Comitatu et duos de alio." Thus the financial 
 exigencies of the Sovereign were the primary and deter- 
 mining cause of a resort to popular election. 
 
 The gradual decline of the feudal aristocracy of the 
 Norman Conquest and the expulsion of foreigners 
 enabled the great Simon de Montfort to realise his 
 dream of England for the English, and to stamp his 
 name for all time upon the Constitution, by setting up 
 a representative assembly to which the writ of summons 
 
 1 Regent or Joint Guardian of England 1253-54; King of the 
 Romans 1256-71. Died 1272. 
 
 1 The much-persecuted Prynne, the stormy petrel of debate and 
 the arch-enemy of the stage, succeeded Selden as Custodian of the 
 Public Records in the Tower of London.
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 25 
 
 was to be a right, instead of, as in the case of the House 
 of Lords, a privilege, to be issued or withheld at the will 
 of the Sovereign. The loss of Normandy and other 
 French possessions of the Crown had the important 
 result of rendering the Baronage essentially English, a 
 fact which must not be lost sight of in estimating the 
 patriotic action of De Montfort. 
 
 A further stage in the growth of Parliamentary in- 
 stitutions was reached in 1264-65, when, for the first time, 
 De Montfort caused the summons to be extended to the 
 burgesses as well as to the Knights of the Shire : 
 
 " Item mandatum est singulis Vice Com per Angl, 
 quod venire faciant Duos milites de legalioribus, pro- 
 bioribus et discretioribus militibus singulorum Comitatum 
 ad Regem London in Octob praedict in forma praedicta. 
 Item in forma praedicta scribitur civibus Eborum, civibus 
 Lincoln et creteris Burgis Angl quod mittant in forma 
 praedicta Duos de discretioribus, legalioribus, et pro- 
 bioribus tarn civibus quam Burgensibus suis. Item in 
 forma praedicta mandatum est Baronibus et probis 
 hominibus Quinque Portuum prout Continetur hi Brevi 
 inrotulato inferius." 
 
 The Cinque Ports, it will be observed, were specially 
 directed to send representatives to Parliament, an in- 
 stance of the importance already attaching to the 
 question of maritime defence. 1 
 
 It would appear that the writs then issued to knights, 
 citizens, and burgesses were identical in form and sub- 
 stance with those addressed to the spiritual and temporal 
 lords. None were issued to the citizens of London, as 
 their liberties had been seized by the King, many of 
 
 1 Quoted by Prynne in the second part of A Register and Survey of 
 the Several Kinds and Forms of Parliamentary Writs, 1660, p. 29.
 
 26 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 them imprisoned, and their estates confiscated, for having 
 sided with the Barons. York and Lincoln were the 
 only cities specially mentioned, and throughout the 
 long reign of Henry III distrust of the City of London 
 and a preference for Westminster were shown by the 
 reluctant conceder of Parliaments. On the one occasion 
 upon which he called a Parliament to assemble in the 
 Tower of London the Barons refused to attend except at 
 Westminster. 
 
 The transactions of these early Parliaments, all of 
 them of brief duration, consisted for the most part of 
 petitions to the Crown for redress of grievances, and the 
 principal function of their presiding officers was to 
 collect the views of the majority and to report to the 
 King what amount of aid the assembly was willing to 
 grant. Little or nothing in the nature of articulate 
 protest by the minority is entered on the Rolls, nor is 
 it definitely known at what date the practice of dividing 
 the House and recording the names of those who dissented 
 from the majority was instituted. In 1258 Henry III 
 was in such pressing need of money that he announced 
 that he must have a third of all property. In return 
 the Barons were powerful enough to extort from him 1 
 a promise of direct control over the executive. 
 
 Even whilst these pages were passing through the 
 press, portions of three writs, addressed to the sheriffs 
 of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Sussex, 
 and Wiltshire, summoning both Knights of the Shire 
 and burgesses to a Parliament to be held at West- 
 minster at Easter, 1275, were accidentally found in the 
 dust at the bottom of a chest transferred to the Public 
 
 1 In the " Mad Parliament " of Oxford.
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 27 
 
 Record Office when the Chapel of the Pyx in the Abbey 
 precincts was being cleared out, preparatory to its 
 being thrown open to the public. This valuable historical 
 discovery, foreshadowing to some extent the " Model 
 Parliament," l included the names of the members re- 
 turned for the above-mentioned counties, for Middlesex, 
 Somerset, and Dorset, and also for Warwickshire and 
 Leicestershire. 
 
 It is true that in 1275 the wording of the sheriffs' 
 instructions was " Venire facias," leaving the all-im- 
 portant condition of election unspecified, but it must 
 be remembered that from the time of King John until 
 the various features of our complex Parliamentary 
 system were, so to speak, stereotyped in 1295, novelties 
 and experiments were frequently being introduced in 
 the form of the directions issued by the King to the 
 returning officers. Sometimes the Knights of the Shire 
 and the burgesses were required to be elected, sometimes 
 the vaguer form of " venire facias " was employed, and 
 on more than one occasion the summoning of clerical 
 proctors was dispensed with. 
 
 The important fact revealed by these documents, 
 unexpectedly brought to light after lying unheeded for 
 centuries within a stone's-throw of the chamber to which 
 they refer, is that, so early as 1275, Edward I, when he 
 had only been on the throne for three years, had im- 
 proved upon De Montfort's original idea of a summons 
 to each borough through its mayor ; that is to say, that 
 in the form which Parliament finally assumed the repre- 
 sentatives of the town were summoned through the 
 sheriff of the shire. 
 
 The Parliament of 1295, which has been called the 
 " Model Parliament," marked the end of the experimental 
 
 1 Of 1295.
 
 28 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 stage and the definite and permanent establishment 
 of an assembly comprising the three estates of the realm. 
 For while in the reign of King John, and at the accession 
 of Henry III, the legislative assembly of the kingdom 
 convened for the purpose of granting aids to the Crown 
 may be deemed to have been wholly constituted by 
 tenure, in and after 1295 it is clear that tenure did not 
 constitute the qualification by which members of the 
 Commons sat. Their qualification was henceforth con- 
 stituted by election, and the earlier constitution of a 
 legislature wholly by tenure was superseded. Besides 
 the Lords and Prelates were now regularly included the 
 proctors of each cathedral diocese, two knights from 
 each shire, two citizens from each city, and two 
 burgesses from each borough. 
 
 At the present day, when the powers and constitution 
 of the House of Lords are being closely scrutinised, it 
 is well to remember that in those far-off Plantagenet 
 times the non-hereditary element in the Upper House 
 amounted to nearly a moiety of the whole body, a con- 
 dition which continued until the reign of Henry VIII. 
 The composition of the House of Commons which 
 met at Westminster in November, 1295, though pre- 
 sumably based upon the distribution of the existing 
 population, was remarkable (with certain exceptions, 
 to be noted hereafter) for the preponderance of repre- 
 sentatives from the southern and western shires. It 
 numbered 292 members. Of these no less than 219 
 represented the towns, whilst only 73 Knights of the 
 Shire were returned. 1 
 
 1 In the Parliament of 1298 appear for the first time in the official 
 returns the names of the two members for the City of London. West- 
 minster did not obtain separate representation until the first year of 
 Edward VI.
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 29 
 
 Cornwall, the county which in after years enjoyed 
 the unenviable reputation of possessing the greatest 
 number of rotten boroughs within its borders, had thus 
 early five representative towns, Bodmin, Launceston, 
 Liskeard, Tregony, and Truro. Dorset had four, Somerset 
 five, Devonshire and Sussex six each, Hampshire nine, 
 and Wiltshire, where no doubt the influence of the great 
 territorial family of Hungerford was paramount, no less 
 than thirteen ! North of the Trent, the part of the 
 kingdom which returned the greatest number of borough 
 members was, as might have been expected, the county 
 of York, which had eleven representatives, Worcester 
 coming next to it with seven. It has, unfortunately, 
 been impossible to discover the name of the Procurator, 
 for such was the title given by contemporary chroniclers 
 to the earliest leaders of the Commons, who presided over 
 the deliberations of this Mother of Parliaments. 1 
 
 The transactions of the important constitutional 
 assembly which met at Westminster in February, 1304-5, 
 have been analysed by the late Professor Maitland in his 
 masterly introduction to the Memoranda de Parliament*}. 2 
 The representatives of the people then dealt with 
 many subjects, and amongst others the impending 
 subjugation of Scotland. They even concerned them- 
 selves with the internal affairs of Ireland ; two natives of 
 the sister isle actually petitioning the King to be placed 
 under English rule. 
 
 No presiding officer can be positively identified as 
 having been chosen in 1304-5, but from the list of names 
 
 1 The title of Procurator, one still retained by Convocation, was 
 applied to Trussell, who exercised many of the functions associated 
 with the Speaker's office, in the reign of Edward II. 
 
 2 Published in the Rolls Series in 1893.
 
 30 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 preserved in the Public Records we gather that a Lowther 
 sat as Knight of the Shire for Westmorland exactly 
 six hundred years before a member of the same ancient 
 Northern family was raised to the Chair. l The deficiencies 
 of the printed Rolls of Parliament, the work in the first 
 instance of the Clerks in Chancery, are both numerous 
 and regrettable. Chiefly concerned as they are with 
 Petitions, to the exclusion of debate, there is some 
 reason to believe that many interesting details of the 
 ordinary routine of Parliament in the days of its youth 
 remain unedited and undigested in the national archives. 
 
 Valuable as are the six folio volumes printed between 
 1767 and 1777, their editors only made selections from 
 a mass of available material. Historical research at the 
 close of the eighteenth century had not attained to the 
 high level reached in our own day by Professor Maitland 
 and other labourers in the same field, and it is much to be 
 desired that the entire series of Chancery Rolls should be 
 edited afresh and printed in extenso in English, after the 
 thorough manner adopted in the case of the Registers of 
 the Privy Council. To these should be added a transcript 
 of the various forms of Parliamentary Writs and a precis 
 of all such documents in the Public Record Office as relate 
 to the early history of both branches of the legislature. 
 
 Much divergence of opinion prevails amongst consti- 
 tutional writers as to the actual date of the separa- 
 tion of the two Houses. Hakewil, who wrote in 1641, 
 possibly had access to documentary evidence no longer 
 extant, and he maintained that they deliberated apart, 
 or that at all events they gave their assents separately, 
 
 1 The Right Hon. James William Lowther was first elected Speaker 
 in 1905.
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 31 
 
 so early as 1260, and Sir Edward Coke asserted that he 
 had seen contemporary evidence which proved that the 
 separation of the two bodies took place at the desire of 
 the Commons. 1 But as there is no evidence in existence 
 to show that the Parliaments held before 1264-65 included 
 a more popular element than the Barons and Prelates, 
 it seems safer to assume that the division into two Houses 
 did not actually take place until early in the reign of 
 Edward III. 2 
 
 Throughout this reign the Rolls record regulations for 
 the maintenance of order within the Palace of West- 
 minster during the sitting of Parliament. In 1331-32 it 
 was declared that " Our Lord the King forbids, on pain 
 of imprisonment, any child or other person from playing 
 at bars 3 or other games, the taking off of men's caps, 
 laying hands on them, or otherwise preventing them from 
 peacefully following their occupations in any part of the 
 Palace of Westminster during the sitting of Parliament." 4 
 
 1 See HowelTs State Trials, Vol. XIII, p. 1410, in which a report 
 of Coke's of XII James I (1614) is quoted. 
 
 * In 1332, and again in 1339, the Lords and Commons undoubtedly 
 made separate grants. These distinct grants imply separate grantors, 
 and it is safe to assume that after 1332 a permanent union of knights 
 and burgesses was effected. See Rolls of Parliament, Vol. II, pp. 66 and 
 104. An ingenious view, supported by a considerable section of well- 
 informed opinion, is that although the Lords and the Commons met 
 together in Westminster Hall, or some other apartment in the Palace, 
 on the opening day of a new Parliament, it has not been conclusively 
 proved that they, at any time, deliberated in the same chamber. 
 
 8 Bares. 
 
 4 Rot. Parl., VI Edward III, p. 64. The words of the original 
 Norman- French are worth quoting : " N re Seigneur le Roi defend sur 
 peyne d'emprisonement que nul enfaunt ne autres ne jue en ul lieu du 
 Paleys de Westminster, durant le Parlement q y est somons, a bares 
 ne as autres jues, ne a ouster Chaperouns des gentz, ne mettre mayn 
 en eux, ne autre empeschement fais p qoi chescun ne puisse peysible- 
 ment sure ses basoignes.
 
 32 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 The precise nature of the game of " bares," to which 
 the youth of Westminster were addicted, cannot now be 
 stated, but it was probably some form of a game known 
 in later times as French and English or prisoner's base. 
 The snatching of men's caps, and other forms of rough 
 horse-play were the traditional recreations of the idle 
 apprentice. Nearly six hundred years later the police are 
 directed, at the beginning of each session, to secure free 
 access to members repairing to the Palace of Westminster, 
 though it is no longer necessary to issue regulations as to 
 the playing of games within the precincts of Parliament. 
 
 When the Knights of the Shire first obtained repre- 
 sentation at Westminster they acted with the Barons 
 rather than with the citizens and burgesses, and it was 
 not until the country gentry were fused with the new 
 blood imported by the inclusion of the burgesses that an 
 estate of the realm which, in the fullness of time, was 
 destined to become the predominant partner in the 
 Constitution, became an established fact. 
 
 Though there is conclusive proof of the Commons 
 being thanked by the King for their services in I3O4-5, 1 
 this does not necessarily imply that they had finally 
 separated from the Lords, and when in 1315 one William 
 de Ayremine, a Clerk in Chancery, was deputed by the 
 Crown to note the business in Parliament he probably 
 recorded the doings of both Lords and Commons. Another 
 of this name was secretary to Edward II in 1325-26. 
 
 The Parliament held at York in May, 1322, obtained 
 from Edward II an acknowledgment of the supremacy 
 of a complete representative assembly. This declara- 
 tion, entered on the Rolls, virtually amounted to a 
 
 1 Rot. Part., Vol. I, p. 159.
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 33 
 
 written Constitution, and made it abundantly clear that, 
 for the future, "all matters to be established for the 
 estate of our Lord the King and his heirs, and for the 
 estate of the realm and of the people " should require 
 the consent of the prelates, the earls and barons, and 
 the Commonalty of the realm. No mention is made at 
 this time of the Knights of the Shire, who probably 
 continued to act with the Barons until after 1332. 1 
 
 In 1330 the Upper House had its own clerk. 2 Sire 
 Henry de Edenestowe was the first to be appointed to 
 the honourable position of Clerk of the Parliaments. 
 Apparently it was from the first an office of profit 
 under the Crown, for hi 1346 the King required a 
 loan of 100 from him ! 3 Not until 1388, when 
 John de Scardesburgh was chosen, does history record 
 the appointment of a similar officer for the Commons, 
 yet as he was established in office at that date it is 
 reasonable to infer that his post existed previously. 
 
 Turning aside from the conditions under which the 
 Lower House first met at Westminster, its earliest pre- 
 siding officers claim attention at our hands. The great 
 names of Montfort, Trussell, Beaumont, Scrope, De la 
 Mare, and Hungerford, six of the very flower of England, 
 are associated with the popular assembly in the first years 
 of its existence, and those, scarcely less considerable, of 
 Pickering, Guildesborough, Waldegrave, and Bussy, com- 
 pleting the catalogue of Plantagenet Speakers, are all 
 known to have played some part in the history of the 
 country. The memory of others who filled the Chair in 
 the turbulent times of the fourteenth century has been 
 
 1 Rot. Part., Vol. I, p. 456. Ibid., Vol. II, p. 52. 
 3 Ibid., Vol. II, p. 454.
 
 34 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 obliterated in the course of the centuries which have 
 elapsed since they voiced the opinion of the representa- 
 tives of the people in free Parliament assembled. Eng- 
 land then, as now, was governed by opinion rather 
 than by acts of despotism, as Sir Robert Peel was wont to 
 remark. Peter de Montfort is said 1 to have consented " vice 
 totius communitatis " to the banishment of Aymer de 
 Valence, Bishop-Elect of Winchester and half-brother 
 to Henry the Third. These were the identical words 
 made use of by Speaker Tiptoft in 1405-6, when he 
 signed and sealed the entail to the Crown, 2 and yet the 
 word communttas as applied by Peter de Montfort may 
 only have been intended to convey a collective body of 
 Crown vassals, whereas, in the latter instance, the 
 Speaker undoubtedly referred to the House of Commons 
 as a separate entity. 
 
 The sole authority for Hakewil's statement is the 
 Register Book of St. Alban's Abbey, formerly in the 
 Cottonian Library, and, as he refers to the actual page, 3 
 it appears that both he and Sir Symonds D'Ewes, who 
 also quotes the Register, saw it with their own eyes. But 
 it cannot now be traced in the British Museum, and it is 
 to be feared that this valuable manuscript must have 
 perished in the fire which destroyed 100 volumes of the 
 Cottonian Collection in 1731, and rendered a like number 
 illegible. In 1259 Pope Alexander IV was striving with 
 all his might to procure the recall of Aymer de Valence 
 from exile, but the answer which Peter de Montfort trans- 
 mitted to Rome was couched in these uncompromising 
 terms : 
 
 1 Again on the authority of Hakewil. 
 
 VII and VIII Henry IV. 3 Folio 207. 

 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 35 
 
 " Si Dominus Rex et Regni majores hoc vellent, 
 communitas tamen, ipsius ingressorum in Anglia, jam 
 nullatenus sustineret." x 
 
 From the date given by Hakewil, 2 it seems not unlikely 
 that Peter de Montfort may have acted as presiding 
 officer of the so-called " Mad Parliament " of 1258, when 
 he was undoubtedly one of the twelve nominees of the 
 Baronial, as opposed to the Court, party, entrusted with 
 the duty of carrying out the great work of reform known 
 to our forefathers as the " Provisions of Oxford." But, 
 as has already been pointed out, the Knights of the Shire 
 and the burgesses were not represented in the Parliament 
 of 1258, therefore Peter de Montfort can only have acted 
 as the spokesman of a restricted assembly of Barons and 
 Prelates, nor was there any Parliament actually in session 
 at the time of his protest against the recall of Aymer de 
 Valence. To the Provisions of Oxford Henry III published 
 his adhesion in the first known English Proclamation, 
 and a copy of it still exists at Oxford. It is written 
 chiefly hi the Midland dialect and there is not a single 
 French word in it. Probably Simon de Montfort felt 
 the need of appealing to the nation at large, and 
 this English confirmation of the royal acquiescence was 
 duplicated by his orders in the Latin and French 
 tongues. 
 
 One would naturally like to connect the name of the 
 first Parliamentary spokesman with that of the great 
 Simon, the originator of the principle of the House of Com- 
 
 1 For an account of the whole circumstances attending Aymer de 
 Valence's banishment, see Gasquet's Henry III and the Church, 1905, 
 pp. 320-3. 
 
 1 The forty-fourth year of Henry III.
 
 36 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 mons, if not its actual inventor ; and some writers have 
 gone so far as to assert that Peter was his son, and that, 
 like his better-known father, he was killed at the battle 
 of Evesham. But, unfortunately for the holders of this 
 theory, it does not anywhere appear that Simon had a son 
 called Peter. He was, in greater likelihood, Baron of 
 Beaudesert, and of Henley in Arden, in the county of 
 Warwick, and of a family not known to have been nearly 
 related to the great Earl of Leicester. One of the same 
 name, a possible relative of Simon, fought and fell at 
 Evesham, but if, as seems certain, the earliest Parliamen- 
 tary spokesman on record came of the Warwickshire stock, 
 his death did not take place till twenty years later. 1 
 
 We have no certain knowledge of the individuals who 
 acted as Procurator in any of the sessions known to 
 have been held between 1261 and 1325, yet in all 
 of them there must have been some presiding officer, 
 some intermediary between Parliament and the Crown. 
 But when the last Parliament summoned by Edward 
 the Second is reached there is documentary evidence of 
 a Parliamentary leader who achieved sufficient notoriety 
 to be honoured at his death by burial in Westminster 
 Abbey, a distinction, by the way, which has been con- 
 ferred on but very few of his successors in the Chair. 
 This was William Trussell, 2 who acted as "Procurator 
 totius Parliament! " 3 on the deposition of Edward the 
 
 1 See G. E. C.'s Complete Peerage under the title Mont fort, where the 
 date of his death is given as 1284. 
 
 1 Trussell's name is not to be found in the Return of Members' 
 Names in 1 326-27, though he had been a Knight of the Shire for Leicester 
 in 1314. Like Peter de Montfort, he probably attended Parliament in 
 the capacity of a Minor Baron. 
 
 * Henry of Knighton's Chronicle, contained in Twysden's Decent 
 Scriptores, 1652, p. 2549.
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 37 
 
 Second at Kenilworth, and the same man whom Marlowe 
 refers to in his play of Edward II : l 
 
 " My Lord, the Parliament must have present news, 
 and therefore say, will you resign or not ? " 
 
 Apparently Trussell acted in a similar capacity in the 
 reign of Edward the Third, for in 1340 he announced a 
 naval victory to the House, 2 and was specially mentioned 
 in the Rolls as undertaking to raise wools for the King's 
 aid. 
 
 The Parliament which assembled at Westminster, " a 
 la quinzeine de la Seint Michel," in I339, 3 whether it 
 was presided over or not by Trussell, was one of excep- 
 tional interest and importance, although its proceedings 
 have received very scant attention at the hands of con- 
 stitutional writers. John Stratford, the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, came from overseas with a message from 
 the King to his Parliament; the Proclamation calling 
 the Lords and Commons together was made in the 
 Great Hall, and the cause of summons made no secret 
 of the fact that the King was in urgent need of a great 
 sum of money for the defence of the realm. 
 
 The Abbot of Westminster, Thomas Henley, Monsieur 
 Hugh le Despencer, Monsieur Gilbert Talbot, Monsieur 
 Robert de 1'Isle, and Monsieur William de la Pole are 
 amongst those specially named in the Rolls as assenting 
 forthwith to the granting of a sum sufficient to meet the 
 King's necessities, " ou autrement il serroit honiz [shamed] 
 & deshonurez et lui et son poeple destruyt a tous jours." 
 But when Parliament came to consider the method of 
 
 1 Act V, scene 17. 
 
 - Rot. Par/., Vol. II, p. 118. 
 
 3 XIII Edward III.
 
 38 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 raising the necessary supplies, there occurred one of 
 those marked divergences of opinion between the two 
 Houses which occasionally agitate the public mind in 
 the twentieth as in the fourteenth century. 
 
 In 1339 the Lords consented to grant the King the 
 tenth sheaf of all the corn in their demesnes, except of 
 their bound tenants, the tenth fleece of the wool, and the 
 tenth lamb of their own store, to be paid within two 
 years. To this they attached a proviso to the effect that 
 the great burden proposed to be laid upon wool ought 
 to be revoked at no distant date, and that the grant 
 should not be turned into a custom. But the Commons, 
 when asked for an equivalent levy, made answer 
 that before they were prepared to assent to this 
 novel taxation they desired to consult their con- 
 stituents, and, in effect, they prayed the King to dissolve 
 the Parliament and call another to decide the question. 
 Mutatis mutandis, the impasse in 1339 was not dissimilar 
 to the deadlock of 1909, though, whereas in the former 
 year the Commons desired to take the opinion of the 
 country before agreeing to a new form of taxation, in 
 1909 it was the Upper House which refused to pass the 
 Budget of the year without first referring it to the judg- 
 ment of the people. The whole record on the Rolls is 
 of such historical importance that no apology is needed 
 for reproducing in extenso the answer of the Commons : 
 
 " Et ceux de la Commune donnerent lour respons en 
 un autre cedule, contenante la fourme souuzescrite. 
 
 " Seignurs, les gentz q sount cy a ce Parlement pur la 
 Commune ount bien entendu 1'estat nre Seignur le Roi, 
 et la graunt necessite q'il ad d'estre aide de son poeple ; 
 et molt sount leez de cuer, & grantment confortez de ce
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 39 
 
 q'il est tant alez avant en les busoignes queles il ad em- 
 pris, a 1'honur de lui, & salvacion de son poeple ; et 
 prient a Dieu q'il lui doigne grace de bien continue! & 
 victorie de ses enemys a 1'honur de lui, & salvacion de 
 sa terre. Et quant a la necessite q'il ad d'estre aide de 
 son poeple, les gentz de la Commune qi sount cy scievent 
 bien q'il covient estre aidez grauntement, et sount en 
 bone volente de la faire, si come ils ount este touz jours 
 devant ces houres. Mes pur ceo q'il covient q 1'aide soit 
 graunt, en ce cas ils n'osoront assentir tant q'ils eussent 
 conseillez & avysez les Communes de lour pais. Parquoi 
 prient les ditz gentz q cy sount pur les Communes a 
 Monseigneur le Due, & as austres Seign q cy sount, q'il 
 lui pleise somondre un autre Parlement au certein jour 
 covenable, et en le meen temps chescun se trerra vers son 
 pais, & promettent loiaument, en la ligeance q'ils dey- 
 vent a nre Seignur le Roi, q'ils mettront tut la peine 
 q'ils purront chescun devers son pais pur aver aide bon 
 et covenable pur nre Seignur le Roi, et quident, od 1'aide 
 de Dieu, bien exploiter. Et prient outre, qe Brief soit 
 mande a chescun Viscont d'Engleterre, q deux de mielx 
 vanez Chivalers des Contez soient esluz & enviez at 
 preschein Parlement pur la Commune, si qe nul de eux 
 soit Viscomt ne autre ministre." 1 
 
 It would seem that the request of the Commons was 
 granted, for the King called a new Parliament to assemble 
 at Westminster only three months later. On this occa- 
 sion the infant Black Prince was the nominal guardian 
 of the kingdom in his father's absence, while the 
 administration of the country really lay in the hands of 
 the Council. 
 
 Three years later, in 1343, the Rolls relate : " Et puis 
 vindrent les Chivalers de Counteez et les Communes et 
 
 1 Rot. Parl., Vol. II. p. 104, 1339, XIII Edward III.
 
 40 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 repondirent par Mons r William Trussell en la dite Cham- 
 bre blanche " to a communication from the Pope. Dean 
 Stanley says that he was buried in the Abbey in 1364, 
 but, if the statement in G. E. C.'s Peerage that he died 
 before 1346 is correct, Stanley's note is in all proba- 
 bility a misprinted date. Trussell's tomb was in St. 
 Michael's Chapel under the image of St. George. A 
 foliated cross remaining in the pavement may be his 
 memorial, for, though the slab has long been supposed to 
 mark the resting-place of one of the Abbots, a herald's 
 roll of the reign of Edward III records that : " Monsire 
 William Trussell port d 'argent une crois de gules les bouts 
 floretes," l which accords with the blazon on the stone 
 at Westminster. The Rolls record the names of one or 
 two more Parliamentary spokesmen of early date, 
 though the constituencies they represented are not now 
 in all cases to be ascertained. 
 
 Of the Parliament which met at Westminster 16 March, 
 1331-32, we read : " Lesqueux Contes Barons et autres 
 Grantz puis revindrent et repondirent touz au Roi par 
 la bouche [de] Mons r Henri de Beaumont." And in the 
 next Parliament Sir Geoffrey Le Scrope, the King's Chief 
 Justice, is mentioned as acting in the same capacity. 
 Both Beaumont and Scrope, and probably others, were, 
 
 1 Though summoned to a Council in 1341-42, Trussell was never 
 a Peer of Parliament, as has been supposed by Burke and other 
 genealogical writers. The family owned property in the county of 
 Stafford, and other large estates in the neighbourhood of Windsor 
 formerly belonging to Oliver of Bordeaux. Their armorial bearings 
 are still to be seen in a south window of the beautiful Decorated 
 chancel of Warfield Church, an old forest parish in Berkshire. 
 Though styled " Monsieur " in the Rolls, Trussell was made a Knight 
 of the Bath on 22 May, 1306, unless this was another man of the same 
 name. Shottesbrooke Church, also in Windsor Forest, was built by one 
 of the same family.
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 41 
 
 however, almost certainly the mouthpieces of both Houses 
 rather than the especial servants of the Commons. 
 It now became customary for the Chief Justice to de- 
 clare the cause of summons at the opening of a new 
 Parliament, and instances are cited by Elsynge of this 
 being done by William Thorpe, Sir William Shareshull, 
 and Henry Green. Occasionally the King's Chamberlain 
 acted as his deputy. 1 Elsynge, however, misconceived 
 the true functions of the individual selected by the 
 Crown to declare the cause of summons, and he was 
 quite wrong in assuming that the Chief Justice per- 
 formed duties analogous to those of the modern Speaker. 
 All the evidence which exists goes to prove that the 
 Commons had not as yet acquired the right of electing 
 the Speaker of their free choice. 
 
 It has often been stated in print that the Commons, 
 from the time when they began to deliberate apart, 
 were in the habit of assembling in the Chapter House of 
 Westminster Abbey. This building was begun about 
 1250, but it was certainly not finished in 1256, when 
 Dean Stanley states that the Commons met in it. He 
 also stated that the " Commons of London," a rather 
 
 1 XXV Edward III, 135 1-52. " The cause of summons was declared 
 by William de Shareshull, Chief Justice, and receivers and triers of 
 petitions being read, he willed the Commons to put their advice in 
 writing, and deliver it to the King, so that he was Speaker." 
 
 XXIX Edward III. " The Chief Justice declared that the King's 
 pleasure was that the cause of summons should be declared by Mon- 
 sieur Walter de Manny, and so it was. Yet the Chief Justice managed 
 the Parliament business as Speaker, for presently after Mons r Manny 
 his discourse, he willed the Commons to advise thereof. Here you 
 see the Chief Justice ranked first above the Lords in delivering their 
 votes, so that it is plain the Chief Justice managed the Parliament 
 business as Speaker appointed by the King, and that he did execute 
 the office (not supply the place) of the Chancellor therein." Elsynge's 
 Manner of Holding Parliaments in England, 1768 edition, pp. 138-46.
 
 42 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 vague term, assembled in the cloisters in 1263, yet in 
 neither of these years was there a Parliament summoned. 
 Other writers give 1282, when Ware was Abbot, as the 
 year in which the Chapter House was first so used ; but, 
 unfortunately for the holders of this theory, no Parlia- 
 ment is known to have been summoned to meet at West- 
 minster between 1275 and 1290, though an informal 
 assembly of ecclesiastical and civil magnates was held 
 there on 23 April, 1286. 
 
 A careful study of the Rolls will show that these 
 several assumptions are based upon a misapprehension 
 of the facts. The Commons' first known place of assembly 
 apart from the Lords was the Painted Chamber, and they 
 met in it at least as early as the Easter Parliament of 
 I 343- 1 This apartment was in close proximity to the 
 White Hall, or Chambre Blanche, in which the Peers and 
 Prelates were accustomed to meet. Moreover, at the 
 beginning of the fourteenth century relations between 
 the King and the Abbot were very strained, and after a 
 robbery of the Royal Treasury, to be mentioned here- 
 after, the Abbot of Westminster and many of his monks 
 were committed to the Tower of London. In 1348 came 
 the Black Death, which reduced the income of the 
 monastery almost to vanishing point. 
 
 Not until 1351-52 is there any mention in the Rolls 
 of the Commons deliberating in the Chapter House. 
 But in that year Simon Langham was Abbot of West- 
 minster, and it is conceivable that, owing to his interest 
 with the King, they were then induced to forsake the 
 Palace for a building not originally intended for lay pur- 
 poses, and which lay under the iron rule of the most 
 
 1 Rot. Parl., Vol. II, pp. 136, 2370. 

 
 is 
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 43 
 
 powerful ecclesiastic whom Westminster had yet known. 
 From his great wealth (liberally expended on the fabric, 
 both in his lifetime and after his decease), and his com- 
 manding personality, Simon Langham, Cardinal and 
 Archbishop, came to be known as the third Founder 
 of the Monastery on the Isle of Thorns. 1 
 
 Like the earlier Simon, the still greater De Montfort, 
 the Abbot of Westminster had his share in the develop- 
 ment of Parliamentary institutions. Only a little while 
 before the first definite association of the Commons with 
 the Chapter House the representatives of the people 
 had shown an inclination to find fault with the existing 
 land laws, and Edward III may have thought the 
 moment an opportune one for bringing the knights, 
 citizens, and burgesses more directly under the influence 
 of the Church. Yet in 1368, the forty-second year of 
 Edward III, the Commons were back in the Palace, 
 meeting in the Petite Salle, and the Lords in the Chambre 
 Blanche. 2 
 
 Abbot Langham, from his unique position at the head 
 of a monastery with vast territorial possessions, was a 
 most competent adviser of the Crown on all questions 
 relating to the ownership of the soil, and, once within 
 the sheltering walls of the sacred building, the earlier 
 note of discontent amongst the Commons was hushed, at 
 any rate for a time. Becoming Treasurer of England 
 in 1360, Langham was Chancellor three years later, and 
 in that capacity he declared the cause of summons (in 
 the English language) at the opening of more than one 
 
 1 Langham 's benefactions rendered possible the completion of the 
 cloisters and the nave, according to the unfinished designs of Henry III, 
 and amounted to nearly a quarter of a million of money at the present 
 computation of value. 2 Rot. Parl., Vol. II, p. 294.
 
 44 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament. When, in 1366, he was promoted to the 
 Archbishopric of Canterbury, he received the pallium 
 from the Pope in the Royal Chapel of St. Stephen ; nor 
 was this his last connection with the scene of his up- 
 bringing. From far-off Avignon, where the closing years 
 of his life were spent, his heart always turned to the Isle 
 of Thorns beside the Thames, and his body was brought 
 back to be buried in the Chapel of St. Benedict, the 
 especial resting-place of his Order, where to this day 
 his stately monument, happily uninjured by the acci- 
 dents of time, is conspicuous among the older eccle- 
 siastical tombs in the Abbey over which he formerly 
 ruled. The fact that Trussell was buried there at a 
 time when the right of interment at Westminster was 
 confined, almost without exception, to members of the 
 Royal Family and to ecclesiastics of high degree is 
 an additional proof, if any were needed, of the bond of 
 union which existed between Church and State in the 
 days of the Plantagenets. Moreover, Simon Langham, 
 though not yet Abbot, was a prominent member of the 
 great Benedictine Monastery at least as early as 1346, 
 in which year Trussell is believed to have died, and it 
 may have been owing to his intervention that a new 
 precedent was set when a Parliamentary leader's bones 
 were laid to rest at Westminster. 
 
 Amongst the Abbey MSS. there is an entry on the 
 Sacrists' Roll of the year 1377-78, at which date Langham 
 was dead and had been succeeded by Abbot Litlington, 
 which refers to certain floor coverings which had been 
 worn out by the fretful feet of the knights and burgesses 
 in the course of a recent session. The monks, with the 
 care which characterised all their doings, then took
 
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 45 
 
 note of " Mattis pro choro & Capitulo empt 16/8 
 quia tempore Parliament! Mattae erant destructae." 
 And, as there appears to be no earlier mention in the 
 archives remaining in the custody of the Dean and 
 Chapter of similar purchases for the use of the Commons, 
 it seems reasonable to assume that the incomparable 
 Chapter House, as it was called by Matthew Paris, was 
 not habitually used for Parliamentary purposes before 
 the middle of the fourteenth century. 
 
 There may have been isolated instances, owing to the 
 close connection which existed between Henry III and 
 the Abbey of his foundation, in which the Lords and Com- 
 mons sitting together as one body assembled somewhere 
 within the walls of St. Peter's at the earliest dawn of 
 the English Constitution, but all the evidence goes to 
 show that the Commons did not finally separate from the 
 Lords until Langham sat in the Abbot's seat. 
 
 The removal of the representative Chamber from the 
 disturbing influences of the Court to the austerer serenity 
 of the Cloister having been found in practice to conduce 
 to good order hi debate, the Abbey became the usual 
 home of the Commons during Litlington's beneficent rule 
 in the Isle of Thorns, and entries in the Rolls show that 
 they assembled hi the Chapter House in 1376, 1377, 1384, 
 and 1394-95. But the great statute of Praemunire, 1 
 which restrained the papal authority in England, was 
 not, as supposed by Dean Stanley, enacted at West- 
 minster, but at Winchester in the Parliament of 1393. 
 
 In the picturesque language of Sir Walter Besant, there 
 lay on the other side of the wall which formed the 
 eastern boundary of the Abbey : 
 
 1 XVI Richard II, c. 5.
 
 46 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 ' The Palace, the Court and Camp of the King, a place 
 filled with noisy, racketing, even uproarious life. There 
 were taverns without the Palace precincts where the 
 noise of singing never ceased. There was the clashing of 
 weapons ; there were the profane oaths of the soldiers ; 
 there was the blare of trumpets ; there were the pipe 
 and tabor of the minstrels and the jesters. . . . Only a 
 low wall between a world of action and the world of 
 prayer." l 
 
 Besant emphasises the gloomy side of monastic life 
 in the Isle of Thorns, but he might have added, with 
 equal truth, that, within the jurisdiction of the Abbot, 
 scenes of violence and disorder were of such frequent 
 occurrence that for a man "to take Westminster" 
 became hi after years synonymous with his flight from 
 justice. 
 
 It is one of the boasted advantages of our Parliamentary 
 system that the Legislature is powerless to bind its suc- 
 cessors, yet William of Colchester, who ruled over the 
 Abbey in 1393, could hardly have foreseen that, within 
 fifty years of the Commons accepting the shelter of the 
 Church, measures limiting the power of its acknowledged 
 head, though not within the walls of St. Peter's Monas- 
 tery, would be debated and placed on the Statute Book. 
 
 The Chapter House can never have been a very 
 suitable place for the sittings of Parliament. It was 
 inconveniently situated for the purpose of rapid com- 
 munication between the two Houses ; it was required by 
 the monks themselves every day of the week, and it is 
 probable that the actual number of times when it was used 
 by the Commons was much smaller than has been gene- 
 
 1 Westminster, by Sir Walter Besant, 1897 edition, p. 88.
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 47 
 
 rally supposed. The use of this particular building may 
 only have been extended to the Lower House by Abbots 
 Langham, Litlington, and William of Colchester. 
 
 The Speaker would, no doubt, occupy the Abbot's 
 stall facing the entrance door ; whilst the knights and 
 burgesses seated themselves, as best they could, in the 
 eighty stalls of the monks. Late-comers would have to 
 be contented with standing-room, though, as the attend- 
 ance of the burgesses in the fourteenth century was never 
 large and the sessions were of brief duration, no great 
 inconvenience may have been caused. To the central 
 pillar supporting the roof were attached placards having 
 reference to the business to be discussed, though there 
 were occasions on which mischievous hands affixed libel- 
 lous documents in the same conspicuous position. 1 
 
 But there was another, and even nobler, apartment 
 in the monastery in which the Commons of England 
 are known to have assembled. This was the great 
 Refectory beyond the south cloister walk. Originally of 
 Norman construction, it was consumed by fire in 1298, 
 but promptly rebuilt, together with other domestic 
 offices, under Abbot Langham and his successor. It 
 was a rectangular hall of great magnificence, 130 feet 
 long, nearly double the length of the existing House 
 of Commons, and 38 feet broad. If Parliament is 
 desirous of commemorating its former association with 
 the Abbey, it would do well to restore, as far as possible, 
 the ruined glories of Litlington's work. Its north wall 
 still stands, together with some of the windows and the 
 corbels of the roof ; and on its inner face a portion of 
 the Norman arcading of the earlier building may still 
 
 1 Archaologia, Vol. XVI, 1812, pp. 80-83.
 
 48 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 be seen. As rebuilt in the fourteenth century, it had a fine 
 timber roof, from which hung a crown of lights the fall 
 of which is mentioned by Caxton. Over the high table 
 was a painting of Christ in majesty, an inspiring symbol 
 of the union subsisting between Church and State. 
 
 The actual date at which it became ruinous is not 
 known, but though the Commons assembled in it in 
 1397, 1403-4, l 1414, 1415, and 1416, during the whole 
 of which period William of Colchester was Abbot of 
 Westminster, the Rolls are silent as to the actual place 
 of meeting after the last-mentioned date. It is almost 
 certain that until the dissolution of the monasteries 
 they occupied either the Little Hall or the Painted 
 Chamber. They removed to St. Stephen's Chapel on its 
 becoming vacant in 1547, never again to desert it except 
 when directed to assemble at Oxford in the seventeenth 
 century. 
 
 It would seem that too much importance has hitherto 
 been attached to an entry in the Rolls of the year 1376, 
 which speaks of the Chapter House as the " ancient 
 place " of meeting for the Commons. All that the phrase 
 was intended to convey was that, although earlier meet- 
 ings had taken place within the Abbey precincts (one of 
 them, as has been seen, in the Chapter House during the 
 session of 1351-52), a return to the Palace had been 
 made in 1368. Therefore, when in 1376 the year in 
 which De la Mare first held an office practically indistin- 
 guishable from that of the later Speakers, though there is 
 no mention in the Rolls of his having been then elected 
 
 1 In 1413 the knights, citizens, and burgesses were only commanded 
 to meet " en lour lieu accustume dens 1'Abbeie de Westm" at sept del 
 clokke a matyn pour eslier lour Commune Parlour, & de luy presenter 
 au Roy a sept del clokke mesme le jour." Rot. Par/., Vol. IV, p. 3.
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 49 
 
 to the Chair by his fellow-members the King directed 
 the Commons to repair once more to the Chapter House, 
 the officials whose duty it was to record the proceedings 
 of Parliament were only desirous of showing that a pre- 
 cedent existed for the alteration in the rendezvous. 
 
 The Rolls do not specify the Chapter House as having 
 been used for Parliamentary purposes after 1394-95. 
 The Refectory was probably used in its stead until it fell 
 into disrepair ; but after the great fire in the Palace, 
 which occurred in 1512, the chamber used by the Com- 
 mons was found to be so inconvenient as to necessitate 
 a temporary removal to Black Friars, and it was there, 
 and not at Westminster, that Sir Thomas More was 
 chosen Speaker in 15 23.* 
 
 Whilst the Lords adhered to one of the chambers in 
 the King's Palace, there may have been occasions when 
 both Houses assembled in Westminster Hall in obedi- 
 ence to the King's summons. But there can be no doubt 
 that after the middle of the fourteenth century the usual 
 practice was for both bodies to deliberate apart and to 
 transact business separately with each other and with 
 the King. In 1362 the opening speech was for the first 
 time delivered in English, though for long after the 
 records continued to be kept in Norman-French. 
 
 In the " Good Parliament," which met at Westminster 
 28 April, 1376, the names of 117 members are known, of 
 whom 73 sat for counties, and 44 for boroughs and cities. 
 The foremost man returned to it was Sir Peter de la 
 
 1 The Rolls in 1351-52 have an interesting note on the hour of 
 meeting of the Commons in Plantagenet times. They were then 
 directed to assemble in the Painted Chamber, " toust apres le soleil 
 lever," a custom which it is sincerely to be hoped will not be revived 
 in the twentieth century. 
 
 E
 
 50 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Mare, Knight of the Shire for Hereford, and Seneschal to 
 Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, a connection which 
 intensified the animosity of his relations to the House 
 of Lancaster. 1 
 
 Edward III, when well stricken in years, had fallen 
 under the baneful influence of Alice Ferrers, a squire's 
 daughter whose rapacity and shamelessness as the King's 
 mistress-in-chief is only paralleled by some of the especial 
 favourites of Charles II and George IV. In one year the 
 King, in his senile infatuation, spent many thousands 
 of the public money in settling her jeweller's bill, besides 
 making her large grants of land and constituting her the 
 guardian of several rich orphans. 2 It became expedient 
 for ambitious nobles to stand well with her, and even 
 John of Gaunt took up her cause against the Black 
 Prince. The financial exigencies of the Sovereign were 
 now great, and the public dissatisfaction increased rapidly 
 after the loss of all England's French possessions with 
 the exception of Calais, Bordeaux, and Bayonne. The 
 Commons grew uneasy concerning Alice's influence with 
 the King, and when, emboldened by the success of her 
 political intrigues, she appeared in Westminster Hall, 
 and presumed to lecture the presiding judge on the 
 duties of his office, the patience of the House was ex- 
 hausted. In a long game of give-and-take between 
 De la Mare and the King's mistress the former scored 
 the first point when he discovered that Alice was married 
 
 1 De la Mare was a man " fearless of consequences in an age of 
 violence, one whose spirit imprisonment could not bend nor threats 
 overpower." Trevelyan's England in the Age of Wycliffe, 1899. 
 
 1 It is said that this insatiable traviata was with Edward III in his 
 last moments, and that she even stole the rings from his fingers when 
 he lay at the point of death.
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 51 
 
 and bore the legal title of Baroness of Windsor. The 
 King swore that he knew nothing of the marriage, and 
 Alice was expelled from Court. Moreover, in order to 
 humour the Commons he gave his assent to an Ordinance 
 whereby any woman thenceforward, and especially Alice 
 Ferrers, was forbidden to prosecute the suits of others in 
 Courts of Justice, by way of maintenance. 1 
 
 After protracted debates, both by themselves and in 
 conjunction with the Lords, the Commons appeared in 
 full Parliament with De la Mare at their head. His 
 first duty was to answer the usual demand for money, 
 made to the Lower House on this occasion by the Chan- 
 cellor, Sir John Knyvet. Not only did De la Mare take 
 upon himself to refuse supplies until the grievances of the 
 nation were redressed, but he adopted the financial posi- 
 tion as the text for a sermon on the required reforms. 
 
 Edward the Black Prince now lay a-dying at the Abbot 
 of Westminster's manor-house of Neyte, in what is now 
 Pimlico, and it was known that it was John of Gaunt's 
 intention to secure for himself the succession to the 
 throne. In the subsequent proceedings of the House, 
 perhaps the most interesting to that date, De la Mare 
 voiced the opinion of a nation more than he represented 
 the views of any one party. He was, in fact, more of 
 a Parliamentary autocrat, combining in his personality 
 many of the attributes of Pym and Lenthall, than the 
 mouthpiece of the Commons, and the Parliament which 
 he dominated resembled, more perhaps than any of its 
 successors down to the Revolution of 1688, the Parlia- 
 ment of to-day in the extent of its powers. In 1376 
 the Commons proceeded to impeach Lord Latimer, thus 
 
 1 Hallam's Middle Ages, edition of 1834, Vol. III. p. 83.
 
 52 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 affording the earliest recorded instance of a Minister of 
 the Crown being arraigned by the Lower House. 
 
 For a time the fortunes of the contest inclined to the 
 side of the reforming party in the Commons. But with 
 the death of the Black Prince the supreme power once 
 more fell into the hands of John of Gaunt, and a change 
 quickly came over the scene. Alice Perrers reappeared 
 openly at Court, De la Mare was imprisoned, without 
 trial, in Nottingham Castle, and would have been put 
 to death if the King's mistress could have had her way. 
 Wykeham was deprived of his temporalities on a frivolous 
 charge and banished from the precincts of the palace. 
 
 The new Parliament was controlled by John of Gaunt, 
 who, by putting pressure upon the sheriffs, was able prac- 
 tically to pack the House with men of his own choosing. 
 Yet some of De la Mare's old fellow-members managed 
 to secure re-election, and though they promptly peti- 
 tioned for his release, counter influences were too strong 
 for them. One of the first acts of the reactionary 
 assembly of 1376-77, usually known as the " Bad 
 Parliament," was to reverse the sentence against Alice 
 Perrers. 
 
 From the point of view of the Constitutional historian 
 the Parliament is a memorable one, since in it the Speaker's 
 office first emerged from the twilight which shrouds its 
 origin into the full light of day. Summoned at the close 
 of a year in which a King of England celebrated the 
 jubilee of his reign, the House of Commons, for the 
 first time in its history, is known to have been repre- 
 sented at Westminster by a presiding officer of its own 
 choice. Sir Thomas Hungerford, specified in the Rolls 
 as having " les paroles pour les Communes d'Engleterre
 
 SIR THOMAS HUNGERFORD 
 
 1376-7 
 l-'rotn a ifrawifig in the National Portrait <.,allery
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 53 
 
 en cest Parlement," made a daring speech to the throne 
 at the close of the session, calling the King's attention 
 to various grievances and alleged infringements of the 
 liberties of his subjects, both male and female. 
 
 This, the first recorded utterance of the House of 
 Commons to find public expression through the mouth 
 of its responsible president, has been strangely over- 
 looked by Parliamentary historians, as has also the 
 interesting fact that Hungerford, on the same occasion, 
 delivered seven " Billes " to the Clerk of the Parliament, 
 to which, alas for the budding hopes of the representa- 
 tives of the people, the Lords vouchsafed no reply, 
 " a cause q le dit Parlement s'estoit departiz & finiz 
 a mesme le jour devant q rienz y fust plus fait a 
 ycelles." 
 
 Sir Thomas Hungerford was the head of the powerful 
 Wiltshire family which owned Farleigh Castle. Like 
 Chaucer's Frankleyn, " full oft tyme he was a Knight 
 of the Schire," for his career at Westminster extended 
 over thirty-six years. He died hi 1398, and was buried 
 at Farleigh Hungerford, in Somerset, where his tomb 
 and a portrait in a stained-glass window are still to be 
 
 seen. 1 
 
 On the death of the King, a new Parliament was called 
 by Richard II, in October, and De la Mare, again the 
 most prominent figure in the popular assembly, was 
 voted to the Chair. The sentence of the Good Parlia- 
 ment against Alice Perrers was re-enacted and the power 
 of John of Gaunt was finally broken. 2 
 
 De la Mare again represented Herefordshire in 1379-80, 
 
 1 See frontispiece to this volume. 
 
 2 Rot. PavL, Vol. Ill, p. 5.
 
 54 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 1382, and 1383, after which date his name disappears 
 from the page of history, nor has the year of his death 
 been ascertained. 
 
 Sir James Pickering, the head of a great Westmorland 
 family, became Speaker in 1378. l His speech, asserting 
 the right of free speech and declaring the loyalty of the 
 House to the throne, remains upon the Rolls and is the first 
 of its kind on record. It is interesting at the present day 
 to recall the fact that Speaker Pickering's wife was a 
 Lowther. To him succeeded Sir John Guildesborough, 
 Knight of the Shire for Essex, in the Parliament which 
 met at Northampton on 5 November, 1380. This Speaker 
 set an important precedent which, to a certain extent, 
 foreshadowed the modern procedure in Committee of 
 Supply. He demanded of the Crown that a schedule of 
 the exact sums needed, and the purposes for which they 
 were required, should be laid before the Commons. Thus 
 the annually recurring phrase in the King's speech 
 " estimates for the expenditure of the year will in due 
 course be laid before you," is the logical outcome of a 
 procedure adopted more than five hundred years ago. 
 
 The Eastern Counties also supplied the next Speaker, 
 Sir Richard Waldegrave of Smallbridge, Suffolk, ancestor 
 of the present Earl Waldegrave. He begged to be 
 excused from accepting the post, but the King charged 
 him on his allegiance that since he was already chosen by 
 his colleagues he should execute the office. His is the 
 first instance of a Speaker declining appointment, and 
 for generations after his day a similar formal excuse 
 was put forward, only to be refused, nor was the pre- 
 
 1 " Monsieur James de Pekeryng Chivaler, q'avoit les paroles de 
 la coe faisant sa Protestation si bien pur lui mesmes come pur toute 
 la Co c d'Engl illoeq's assemble." Rot. Parl., Vol. Ill, p. 34.
 
 SIR THOMAS HUNGKRI-'ORI) 
 
 1376-7 
 
 From a drawing bv Stanley North of tin 
 monumental effigy in thcchafcl at J-'arliiyti 
 Castle
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 55 
 
 cedent set in 1381 broken until the reign of Charles II, 
 when Sir Edward Seymour, who had been chosen 
 against the King's wish, merely said, on presenting 
 himself for approval in the House of Lords : " The House 
 of Commons have unanimously elected me their Speaker, 
 and now I come hither for Your Majesty's approbation, 
 which if Your Majesty will please to grant, I shall do 
 them and you the best service I can." The Chancellor 
 had been instructed to express the King's acceptance of 
 the customary excuse, but the Speaker's unexpected 
 utterance took him so aback that he could only falter out 
 that the King wished to reserve him for other services and 
 desired that the Commons would make another choice. 
 After a heated discussion and a prorogation a compromise 
 was arrived at, but the important principle was estab- 
 lished that the Crown has a right to veto, but not to 
 dictate, the Commons' choice. 
 
 Sir Richard Waldegrave's motive, as far as it is possible 
 to analyse it, appears to have been a prudential one. Grave 
 disputes were likely to arise between Parliament and the 
 people respecting the enfranchisement of the villeins to 
 whom Richard II had lately granted charters of freedom. 
 But as the King contended that these charters had been 
 extorted from him when he was not seized of his full 
 kingly power, he ultimately revoked them. Waldegrave 
 may have been apprehensive of the consequences likely 
 to result from this evasion,. hence his desire to be relieved 
 of the post. 1 
 
 From 1383, when Pickering was called to the Chair for 
 the second time, the Rolls of Parliament are defective for 
 
 1 See the Scrape and Grosvenor Roll, Vol. II, p. 374, and Rot. Pail., 
 Vol. Ill, p. ioo.
 
 56 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 about ten years, though it is highly probable that he 
 again acted as Speaker in one or other of the Parliaments 
 held in 1384, 1388, 1389-90, 1390, and 1397-98, hi all of 
 which he is known to have sat for Yorkshire. 
 
 The last, and in some respects the most notorious of 
 Plantagenet Speakers was Sir John Bussy, or Bushey, the 
 first man to be twice elected to the Chair, and also the 
 first to be alluded to by Shakespeare. 1 He represented 
 Lincolnshire (where his family owned land at a place 
 called Grentewell, at Domesday), between 1383 and 1397- 
 98. He was first chosen Speaker in 1393-94, re-elected in 
 January, 1396-97, and again in September, 1397. 2 During 
 his second term of office occurred the important case of 
 Privilege arising out of the trial of Sir Thomas Haxey, 
 a prebendary of Southwell and proctor of the Clergy 
 attending Parliament. Haxey introduced a Bill or rather 
 an article in a Bill complaining of maladministration, and 
 making specific charges of extravagance against the King. 
 Richard II, when he heard of it, called upon the 
 Speaker to give up the name of the person responsible for 
 the introduction of the obnoxious measure. The Commons 
 were alarmed and made a scapegoat of Haxey. He was 
 adjudged a traitor and condemned to death, his trial 
 taking place in the Salle Blanche of the Palace. He was 
 eventually pardoned, and in Henry IV's first Parliament 
 the judgment was formally reversed. Haxey, who was 
 an ecclesiastical pluralist of an extreme type, became 
 Treasurer of York and was a benefactor to the Cathedral, 
 in which he was buried in 1425. 
 
 1 He is styled " Commune Parlour" in the Rolls. 
 1 He was probably Speaker also in the twenty-third Parliament of 
 Richard II, 1394-95 ; but the Rolls are defective at that period.
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 57 
 
 Hakewil calls Bussy " a special minion to the King," 
 but this appears to have been a prejudiced opinion. On 
 the landing of Henry, Duke of Lancaster, at Ravenspur, 
 where the whole countryside greeted him with acclama- 
 tion, Bussy took possession of the Castle at Bristol with 
 others of Richard's ministers. 
 
 " To Bristol Castle, which they say is held by Bussy, 
 Bagot and their complices." l 
 
 A little later in the same play Shakespeare writes 
 slightingly of him as 
 
 " A caterpillar of this Commonwealth which 1 2 have 
 sworn to weed and pluck away." 
 
 On the surrender of Bristol to the invader, Bussy, with 
 the Lord Treasurer (William Le Scrope, Earl of Wiltshire), 
 and Sir Henry Green were executed without trial, 3 as the 
 first act of the new dynasty. Thus, with the possible 
 exception of Peter de Montfort, whose end is somewhat 
 of a mystery, the last of the Plantagenet Speakers was 
 also the first to die a violent death, a fate which, as subse- 
 quent chapters will show, was to befall many of his suc- 
 cessors hi the Chair of the Commons. Within six weeks 
 of Bussy's murder Henry reached London, bringing 
 Richard with him captive, and took up his abode in 
 St. John's Priory in Clerkenwell. 
 
 On 29 September, the day before the intended meeting 
 of Parliament, he had an interview with his cousin in the 
 Tower. Having obtained from him the crown and 
 sceptre, the outward symbols of kingship which counted 
 for so much with the populace, he hurriedly deposited 
 
 1 Shakespeare, Richard II, act n, scene 3, line 164. 
 * Bolingbroke. 3 29 July, 1399.
 
 58 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 them in the treasury of Westminster Abbey, now usually 
 known as the Chapel of the Pyx. 
 
 This ancient building, which should not be confused 
 with the Royal Jewel House of which there is an illus- 
 tration in this book, undoubtedly formed part of the 
 Confessor's foundation. It makes the proud claim, in 
 common with an adjoining apartment long used as the 
 gymnasium of Westminster School, to be the oldest 
 building in London. Henry III spared it when he pulled 
 down the Confessor's Church, and in it, or in the under- 
 croft of the Chapter House hard by, the kings of England 
 kept the regalia and other treasures, of which a list is 
 given by Dean Stanley. The advantage of having more 
 than one such treasure-house and if the Jewel Tower 
 is reckoned there were three in close proximity to one 
 another is obvious ; because an intending thief would 
 be unaware in which, for the moment, the royal 
 wealth lay hid. But the utmost secrecy will not avail 
 against treachery from within, and in 1303 the Chapel 
 of the Pyx, or, as some think, the undercroft, was 
 the scene of a great robbery. The sacristan of the Abbey 
 and two monks were involved in the rifling of the treasury 
 by one Richard Podlicote, who contrived by their help to 
 force an entrance and to carry off articles of priceless 
 value. A jury empanelled to investigate the crime found 
 that Master William Torel, the famous English sculptor 
 who made the effigies of Henry III and Eleanor which 
 are still to be seen in the Abbey, bought two ruby rings in 
 good faith from the thief, and the sacristan was found to 
 have in his possession a bowl of unknown value which he 
 could not account for. The manner of Podlicote's 
 punishment is not certainly known, though it was long
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 59 
 
 believed that he was flayed alive. Some fragments of 
 human skin adhering to one of the doors leading out of 
 the east cloister walk have been thought to be his, though 
 within the recollection of the present writer these remains, 
 if human, indeed, they be, were confidently stated to have 
 been portions of the skin of a Dane, executed as a terror to 
 evil-doers at an even earlier date. The probability is that 
 both stories are apocryphal. Towards the close of his ill- 
 starred reign Richard II, who throughout his life had a 
 graceful passion for extravagance, practically rebuilt 
 Westminster Hall in the shape in which it now stands. 
 Even the names of the royal craftsmen employed upon 
 it are known. Robert Brassington made the shield- 
 bearing angels of the incomparable roof. William Burgh 
 filled the great window with " flourished glass " would 
 that it had escaped the ravages of time and William 
 Cleuderre sculptured some of the images of " grave 
 kings" which still stand at the upper end of the hall. 1 
 By the irony of fate, no sooner was the vast building 
 finished than it became the scene of Richard's deposition. 
 For in Westminster Hall Henry of Lancaster, aided by 
 the dignitaries of the Church, including the Abbot of 
 Westminster, came forward to " challenge the realm of 
 England " on the last day of September, I399. 2 Amongst 
 the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum, 3 the collection of 
 which England owes to a Speaker to be mentioned here- 
 after, is a representation by a Frenchman named Creton 
 (who accompanied Richard on his last journey to Ireland), 
 of the great hall as it appeared on this momentous day. 
 
 1 The south porch was added by Sir Charles Barry after the great 
 fire of 1834. 
 
 1 Rot. Parl., Vol. Ill, p. 422. No. 1319, p. 57.
 
 60 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 It shows the throne at the upper end unoccupied 
 " sede regali cum pannis Auri solempnitur praeposita 
 tune vacua." l 
 
 Nearest to the throne stands Henry of Lancaster wear- 
 ing a high-crowned cap of fur. On the right of the picture 
 are grouped the spiritual, and, on the left, the temporal 
 Lords and the Knights. All appear to be actual portraits, 
 while the figures of two men in the foreground would 
 seem from their dress to be officials. Neither of them can 
 have been intended to represent the Speaker, for with 
 Bussy dead, no presiding officer of the Commons existed. 
 For two hundred years until that September day the 
 doctrine of hereditary right to the throne had been 
 preserved without interruption, but now in Richard's 
 newly finished hall, far surpassing Rufus' original building 
 and adorned from end to end with the white hart, the 
 badge of his adoption, amidst a shout of acclamation 
 which made the rafters ring, the Plantagenet dynasty 
 passed away and a new era opened for England and for 
 Parliament. 2 
 
 1 See reproduction of this curious painting in this volume. 
 
 1 William Rufus and Henry I had obtained the throne in prejudice 
 of the claims of their elder brother, Robert. Stephen had been advanced 
 to the same dignity, contrary to every opinion of hereditary succession. 
 John had been crowned in opposition to the claims of Arthur (the son 
 of his elder brother) ; but from that time till the usurpation of Henry 
 IV the principle of heredity had been strictly observed.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE 
 WARS OF THE ROSES UPON PARLIAMENTARY INSTITU- 
 TIONS 
 
 (I399-I46I) 
 
 THIRTY SPEAKERS 
 
 John Cheyne 
 John Dorewood 
 Arnold Savage 
 Henry Redford 
 William Esturmy 
 John Tiptoft 
 Thomas Chaucer 
 William Stourton 
 Walter Hungerford 
 Richard Redman 
 Walter Beauchamp 
 Roger Flower 
 Roger Hunt 
 Richard Baynard 
 John Russell 
 
 Thomas Walton 
 Richard Vernon 
 John Tyrrell 
 William Alington 
 John Bowes 
 William Burley 
 William Tresham 
 John Say 
 John Popham 
 William Oldhall 
 Thomas Thorpe 
 Thomas Charlton 
 John Wenlock 
 Thomas Tresham 
 John Green 
 
 WITH almost indecent haste Henry of Lan- 
 caster, after usurping the throne, pro- 
 ceeded to consolidate his position. The 
 Parliament of Richard had come to an end 
 with the abdication of the King, and within a week 
 Henry issued writs for a new one returnable in six 
 
 61
 
 62 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 days. These were not, and indeed could not be, com- 
 plied with ; but the same members who had deposed 
 Richard met on 6 October and fixed the date of the 
 usurper's coronation for eight days later. 1 Henry dis- 
 tributed the great offices of State amongst his personal 
 friends, though little or no change seems to have been 
 made in the composition of the judicial bench. 
 
 Proceeding from the Tower, where Richard was detained 
 in close custody, on a triumphal progress through London, 
 Henry slept for the first time in the Palace of West- 
 minster on the night of 12 October, 1399. 2 On the 
 following day he was crowned in the Abbey, with all 
 the ancient ceremonial proper to the occasion, and 
 exactly one year after he had fled the country in exile. 
 During the Coronation banquet in Westminster Hall 
 a fountain in Palace Yard ran continually with red and 
 white wine ; and Dymoke, the King's champion, who 
 had acted the same part at Richard's accession, rode into 
 the Hall and challenged any man to appear who dared 
 maintain that Henry was not a lawful Sovereign. 
 
 The choice of the Commons for their Speaker fell upon 
 Sir John Cheyne, or Cheney, Knight of the Shire for 
 Gloucester, and on the morrow of the Coronation his 
 nomination was approved by the King. But at once a 
 hitch arose. For Cheyne was a renegade cleric, more 
 than suspected of Lollardy by Archbishop Arundel, the 
 new King's principal adviser at this juncture, and the 
 
 1 13 October. 
 
 1 According to Froissart Henry of Lancaster was escorted by a 
 cavalcade of 6000 horsemen as he rode bareheaded through the 
 crowded streets. Having arrived at Westminster he bathed himself, 
 and, on the morrow, confessed, as he had good need to do, hearing 
 three masses.
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 63 
 
 man who more than any other had been instrumental 
 in placing him on the throne. Cheyne only filled the 
 chair for two days; and, on his making a convenient 
 excuse of infirmity, the Commons elected John Dore- 
 wood, Knight of the Shire for Essex, in his stead. 
 
 Little or nothing is known of this Speaker or his 
 family beyond the fact that his father had represented 
 the same county in the reign of Edward III ; but it is 
 a singular coincidence that on the two occasions on which 
 the son was called to the Chair for he was again Speaker 
 in the first Parliament of Henry V he owed his election 
 to the illness of the presiding officer first chosen by the 
 Commons. In 1413 he replaced William Stourton, 
 Knight of the Shire for Dorset, " being sick in his bed " 
 and unable to execute the duties of the office. 
 
 To the despotic incapacity of Richard in his later 
 years succeeded the energetic rule of a Sovereign 
 driven by necessity to depend at least, outwardly 
 upon constitutional methods. That this was the oppor- 
 tunity of the Commons, and one fully recognised by 
 them, events soon showed. But the peculiar circum- 
 stances of the time also favoured the consolidation of 
 the Peerage, inasmuch as the inheritable right of sum- 
 mons was now for the first time conceded in lieu of a 
 mere summons by custom. If henceforth there could be 
 no taxation without consent, legislation was in future to 
 be based upon a mutual recognition of the rights of both 
 Houses ; and while a remarkable unanimity between 
 Lords and Commons prevailed at this period, the right 
 of the latter to vote subsidies and to co-operate in legisla- 
 tion coincided with the establishment of a permanent 
 hereditary chamber acting in civil cases as an ultimate
 
 64 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Court of Appeal. Whereas Richard had succeeded in 
 obtaining the subsidy on wool and a tax on movables 
 for life, the first Parliament of Henry IV would not 
 grant a subsidy for more than three years. The Parlia- 
 ment which assembled at Westminster in January, 1400-1, 
 proved more complaisant, and the utmost harmony pre- 
 vailed between the two Houses. At the end of the 
 session the Commons, addressing the King through the 
 mouth of their Speaker, Sir Arnold Savage, sought to 
 draw a parallel, more curious than convincing, between 
 the achievements of a loyal and united Parliament and 
 the observance of the Mass. 1 
 
 Henry IV set an entirely new precedent, and one 
 which has never been repeated, when, in 1402, he in- 
 vited the Commons to dine with him at the close of the 
 session. 2 Sir Henry Redford, Knight of the Shire for 
 Lincoln, was Speaker when this novel bid for popularity 
 was made. The Earl of Northumberland, in the absence 
 of the King's Seneschal, begged the whole of the Lords 
 spiritual and temporal, as well as the Commons, to 
 assemble on Sunday, 26 November, the business of Parlia- 
 ment having come to an end on the previous day, in 
 order to enjoy the King's hospitality. The place of meet- 
 ing, though not specified in the Rolls, must almost 
 certainly have been Westminster Hall, as no other apart- 
 
 1 " Au fyn de chescun messe y Covient de dire : ' Ite missa est ' 
 & 'Deo gratias.' " Semblablement les Communes, Coment ils feurent 
 Venuz al fyn del messe pur dire : " Ite missa est." Et qu'ils, & tout 
 le Roialme, feurent espalement tenuz de dire eel parol : " Deo gratias." 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. Ill, p. 466. 
 
 * In this session also occurred an early instance of the thanks of 
 Parliament being awarded to a general (the Earl of Northumberland) 
 for his military achievements (Rot. Parl., 16 October, 1402).
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 65 
 
 ment in the Palace could have accommodated so large a 
 number at a banquet. 1 
 
 Advocates of a single Chamber system will note with 
 approval this reunion of the two Houses " en pleine 
 Parlement," although in 1402 it was contrived for a 
 purely social purpose. It has been thought that by 
 somewhat similar means a Government, unsympathetic 
 to the hereditary principle, but commanding, as in 1833 
 and again in 1906, an overwhelming majority in the Lower 
 House, might despite the existing veto of the House of 
 Lords ensure the passage of its legislative and financial 
 proposals, were the two Chambers or a committee elected 
 by both Peers and Commoners to meet as one delibera- 
 tive body, in cases where a deadlock has arisen. It 
 may strike the impartial student of constitutional 
 practice as somewhat surprising that a proposal to 
 revert to conditions known to have prevailed under 
 the Plantagenets should be seriously entertained in the 
 twentieth century, but the fact remains that a return 
 to such a method of amicably settling disputes between 
 the two Houses has recently found considerable sup- 
 port in the country, and that a section of moderate 
 opinion inclines to the belief that by some such means 
 a final solution of an admitted difficulty may be within 
 measurable distance. 
 
 In 1404, when Sir Arnold Savage, Knight of the Shire 
 for Kent, and the strongest man who had filled the Chair 
 since De la Mare, was again Speaker, the subsidies granted, 
 
 1 " Le Cont de Northumberland, en absence du Seneschall de 
 1'ostiel du Roi, pria as toutz les Seigneurs Espirituels & Temporelx, 
 & as toutz les Communes suis ditz, d'estre le Dymenge ensuant a 
 mangier ovesq le Roi n?e Seigneur." Unfortunately no description of 
 this unique gathering seems to have been preserved. 
 F
 
 66 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 liberal though they were, were voted subject to the novel 
 condition that the money raised should be received by 
 Treasurers by whose appointment Parliament could feel 
 confidence that the supplies should not be misappro- 
 priated. Savage, who has been called " the great com- 
 prehensive symbol of the English people," made, on his 
 elevation to the Chair, a more elaborate complimentary 
 address to the King than any of his predecessors, yet in 
 the first of the two Parliaments which Henry called 
 in 1404 * he formulated petitions to the effect that 
 redress of grievances should precede the granting of 
 supplies. 
 
 This uncompromising attitude was due to the fact 
 that a modified income-tax was sought to be imposed 
 on all owners of land and house property, and a con- 
 temporary historian spoke of the tax as a novel one, 
 " galling to the people and highly oppressive." So 
 long as the incidence of taxation was designed to 
 fall on commodities, it could be cheerfully borne, but 
 when it was applied to individuals a new grievance was 
 created. 
 
 After a delay of six weeks the Commons consented to 
 levy a tax of a shilling in the pound on land value, but 
 only on the understanding that it should not be con- 
 strued into a precedent, and that no official record of it 
 should be preserved. It reads almost like the twentieth 
 century to find this subsidy described by one chroni- 
 cler as taxa nova et exquisita, and by another as 
 taxa insolita et incolis tricabilis et valde gravis. Not- 
 withstanding the unpopularity of land taxation, it 
 
 1 It met at Westminster, 14 January, 1404, and remained in 
 session till the second week in April.
 
 I40O-I 
 Front a krass in S. Chain 
 
 ARNOLD SAVAC.B 
 
 1403-4 
 o/BMinfl.
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 67 
 
 was again imposed in a later Parliament at the 
 rate of 6s. 8^. on every 20 of income from land. 
 A valuation list for the City of London and the suburbs 
 was prepared by a Commission over which the Lord 
 Mayor presided. It was found that the gross rental 
 amounted to 4220 divided amongst 1132 individuals or 
 institutions, while the actual yield was only 70 6s. 8d. 
 
 Walter Savage Landor, who believed himself to be a 
 lineal descendant of Sir Arnold, introduced an ingenious 
 duologue between the Speaker and the King on the 
 subject of this tax into his Imaginary Conversations : 
 
 " Henry IV to the Speaker : This morning in another 
 place thou declaredst that no subsidy should be 
 granted me until every cause of public grievance 
 was removed." 
 
 To which Savage diplomatically made answer : 
 
 " I am now in the house of the greatest man upon 
 earth. I was then in the house of the greatest 
 nation." 
 
 Henry then went on to say : 
 
 " I raised up the House of Commons four years ago, 
 and placed it in opposition to my barons, with 
 trust and confidence that I might be less hampered 
 in my complete conquest of France. . . . Parlia- 
 ment speaks too plainly and steps too stoutly for 
 a creature of four years' growth." 
 
 Savage : 
 
 " God forbid that any King of England should 
 achieve the conquest of all France ! "
 
 68 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 A little later he advises the King " to keep the hearts 
 of his subjects. ..." 
 
 " Wars are requisite to diminish the power of your 
 barons by keeping them long and widely separate 
 from the main body of retainers." 
 
 " In general they 1 are the worthless exalted by the 
 weak, and dangerous from wealth ill acquired and 
 worse expended." 
 
 " The whole people is a good King's household, 
 quiet and orderly when well treated, and ever in 
 readiness to defend him against the malice of the 
 disappointed, the perfidy of the ungrateful, and 
 the usurpation of the familiar. Act in such guise, 
 and I will promise you the enjoyment of a blessing 
 to which the conquest of France in comparison is 
 as a broken flagstaff self-approbation in govern- 
 ment and security in power." 
 
 On which the King declared that he wished he could 
 make the Speaker a peer. 2 Savage was a party to 
 the passing of the famous enactment, " De haeretico 
 comburendo," which first made religious error an 
 offence against the statute law. It had been a punish- 
 able offence before, since a renegade clerk was con- 
 demned by the Church court in 1222, and then handed 
 over to the secular arm to be burnt. Even Sawtre 
 was burnt in 1401, before "De haeretico comburendo" 
 was passed. 
 
 This was the statute which Gardiner and Bonner 
 found so convenient during the Marian persecution of 
 150 years later. In his second Speakership Savage 
 
 1 The Barons. 
 
 Walter Savage Lander's Imaginary Conversations, 1826, Vol. I, 
 p. 41.
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 69 
 
 demanded from the King the dismissal of several officers 
 of the household and many of the Queen's retinue. 1 
 
 Henry's sixth Parliament, summoned to meet at 
 Coventry, 6 October, 1404, was presided over by Sir 
 William Esturmy, of Wolf Hall, near Maiden Bradley, 
 Wilts, now the property of the Duke of Somerset. 
 Esturmy 's family -intermarried with that of St. Maur, and 
 the Dukes of Somerset quarter his coat of arms to this 
 day. The main work of the Coventry Parliament was 
 the attempted spoliation of the Church, and it fell to 
 Esturmy's lot to carry a proposal to the King that the 
 clergy should contribute largely to the expenses of the 
 realm. As a compromise they granted the King a tenth 
 and a half of their revenues. 
 
 The next Speaker on the roll, Sir John Tiptoft, whose 
 tenure of the Chair was marked by a perceptible increase 
 in the power of the Commons, and by repressive measures 
 against the Lollards, was the first to enter what Pulteney, 
 in the eighteenth century, called " that hospital for 
 invalids," the House of Peers. " My Lord Bath," said 
 Walpole, on meeting his old opponent in the Upper 
 House, "you and I have now become two of the 
 most insignificant fellows in England ! " Summoned 
 as Baron Tiptoft in 1426, his son was created Earl 
 of Worcester in 1449 ; but the precedent of conferring 
 a peerage upon the Speaker was not renewed for many 
 years. Tiptoft spoke more boldly to the King and to 
 the Peers than any of his predecessors in the Chair 
 of the Commons. He even told the King that, though 
 
 1 Savage was also a considerable landowner in Cheshire, where he 
 owned Frodsham Castle, and his name is perpetuated in one of the 
 minor titles of the Marquesses of Cholmoncleley.
 
 70 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 his title to the crown was less worthy of respect, his 
 household expenses were in excess of any previous 
 sovereign. 
 
 The Speaker's eldest son, another John Tiptoft, has 
 been confused by Hakewil with his father. The Earl of 
 Worcester, who earned the lasting hatred of his country- 
 men for the ruthless severity with which he repressed 
 the opponents of Edward IV, deserves separate mention at 
 our hands. A willing instrument of the usurper's scheme 
 of revenge, the younger Tiptoft was destined to be far 
 more powerful under the White Rose than ever his 
 father had been under the Red. On the outbreak 
 of the Civil Wars he had betaken himself to the 
 Holy Land, only returning to England after the 
 battle of Towton had secured the crown for his patron. 
 The flower of the English nobility had poured out 
 their blood at Towton to. an extent altogether unpre- 
 cedented; but, when the semblance of peace had been 
 restored to a distracted country, Worcester found con- 
 genial work awaiting him. 
 
 Proceeding on the Machiavellian principle of extirpating 
 the King's foes as the only effective means of rendering 
 them harmless, he tried and condemned in his Con- 
 stable's Court within the Palace of Westminster so many 
 of the Lancastrian party as gained him the odious sobri- 
 quet of the "Butcher of England." 1 When the head- 
 man's axe had been blunted by constant use during his 
 reign of terror, he ordered some of Warwick's followers 
 who fell into his power at Southampton in March, 1470, 
 
 1 In the I Henry IV (1399) the Constable of England had apart- 
 ments assigned to him in the " Inner Palace " of Westminster (Rot. 
 Part., Ill, p. 452).
 
 JOHN TII'TOI'T, KAKI. OF WORC'KSTKR 
 From a monumental effigy at Ely Cathedral
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 71 
 
 to be impaled, contrary to any known law of England. 
 But the day of retribution was near. In October of the 
 same year Edward was dispossessed and Henry tempo- 
 rarily restored. Thenceforth there could be little hope 
 or chance of life for the Jeffreys of the fifteenth century. 
 Arraigned in the White Hall of the Palace before the 
 Earl of Oxford, who had been appointed Constable for 
 the purpose, the Speaker's son, who in that same court 
 had sent his Judge's father and brother to the block, 
 was now condemned to die a traitor's death on Tower 
 Hill. 
 
 The last Speaker of the reign was the bearer of a famous 
 name. Had Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English 
 poetry, lived only a few more years than he did, he 
 would have seen his son chosen Speaker of the House of 
 Commons, hi which he had himself served as Knight 
 of the Shire for Kent. Thomas Chaucer, Geoffrey's 
 son, was a Westminster man in the fullest sense 
 of the word, for his father lived in Old Palace Yard 
 in a house demolished to make room for Henry VII 's 
 Chapel. A man of great wealth, 1 which his father 
 certainly was not, he owned considerable landed pro- 
 perty at Ewelme, in Oxfordshire, where he was buried 
 in 1434 in a tomb of great magnificence described by 
 Leland in his Itinerary. 
 
 His only daughter and heiress, Alice, married, as her 
 third husband, William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, a 
 politician as ambitious as he was incompetent, who, 
 after being virtually Prime Minister of England, was 
 
 1 His wealth was derived in part from the office of Chief Butler to 
 the King, which he held for many years. His predecessor, Tiptoft, 
 enjoyed the same lucrative post.
 
 72 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 impeached, and subsequently murdered, in 1450. The 
 fact that the Duchess of Suffolk is described on her 
 tombstone as " Serenissima Principessa " has led to a 
 belief that Thomas Chaucer was an illegitimate son of 
 John of Gaunt, and not Geoffrey's son, but, in the 
 opinion of many competent authorities, the inscription 
 on the Duchess' tomb is a forgery of later date. 
 
 Thomas Chaucer was Speaker on no less than five 
 separate occasions, 1 in 1407, 1409-10, 1411, 1414, and in 
 the next reign, in 1421. During his first tenure of 
 the Chair the Commons gained the inalienable right of 
 initiating money grants, though not without a struggle. 
 In the Parliament held at Gloucester 2 they were re- 
 quired to send twelve of their number to report on the 
 questions propounded to them for a huge increase of 
 taxation, and to give in their answer by deputation. 
 
 Protesting as they did against this procedure as being 
 an infringement of their privileges, the Declaration of 
 Gloucester, entered on the Rolls, laid down once and for 
 all that money grants, proceeding as they do from the 
 free will of Parliament, must not be hampered by the 
 personal intervention of the Crown in Council, whilst the 
 Commons claimed a precedence in finance in so far as the 
 Lords were required to assent to the money grants of the 
 representatives of the people, instead of the process being 
 reversed. But this was not tantamount to saying that 
 it was beyond the power of the Lords to refuse their assent 
 or to revise the methods by which the money was to be 
 raised. 
 
 The King, who was nothing if not a diplomatist, knew 
 
 1 Manning, in his Lives of the Speakers, 1851, p. 50, says, in 
 error, that he was only chosen four times. * October, 1407.
 
 THOMAS CH ATI l.K 
 
 140". I4O9-IO. I4II. 1414. 1421 
 
 //<>;;/ a print of /// M tutorial Hrnss i> 
 
 Incline Church, Oxfordshire
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 73 
 
 exactly when to give way, and in 1407 he succeeded in 
 pleasing both parties to the dispute : the Lords by his 
 permission to deliberate, even in his absence, on the 
 state of the realm and the appropriate remedies ; the 
 Commons by conceding the principle that no report of a 
 money grant should henceforth be made to the Crown 
 until both Houses were agreed on its terms, such report 
 then to be delivered only by the mouth of their Speaker. 1 
 
 In this connection it should be borne in mind that all 
 Bills granting supplies to the Crown are, after third 
 reading in the Lords, returned to the custody of the 
 Commons (unlike other Bills, which are retained by the 
 Lords pending the Royal Assent), and are taken up by 
 the Speaker when the Commons are summoned to the 
 Lords to hear the Royal Assent given. If, on such 
 an occasion, the King should be present in person, 
 the Speaker addresses the Sovereign on the principal 
 measures awaiting his assent, not forgetting to mention 
 the supplies which have been granted by the Lower 
 branch of the legislature. 
 
 Having obtained all the money he wanted, the King did 
 not call Parliament together again until January, 1409-10. 
 By this time Archbishop Arundel, the greatest enemy 
 the Lollards ever had, had retired from the Chancellor- 
 ship, and the reformers must have secured a majority 
 in the new House, for the first act of the Commons was 
 
 1 The original words of this famous Declaration are worth quoting : 
 " Purveux toutes foitz qe les Seigneurs de lour part, ne les Communes 
 de la leur, ne facent ascun report a fire dit S r le Roy d'ascunt grant p r 
 les Communes grantez, & p r les Seigneurs assentuz, ne de les Com- 
 munications du dit Graunt, aviunt ce qe mesme les Seigneurs & 
 Communes soient d'un assent & d'un accord en celle partie & adouges 
 en manore & forme com il est accustomez, c'est assever p r bouche de 
 Purparlour de la dite Commune par le temps estant."
 
 74 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 to reverse their former attitude of hostility towards the 
 Anti-Clerical movement. They now recommended to 
 the King the wholesale confiscation of Church lands, but 
 this revolutionary proposal was not destined to receive 
 the Royal Assent. Though the Houses continued in 
 session until May, no great constitutional change marked 
 their labours. 1 
 
 Shortly before his death, the last subsidy voted to him 
 having nearly expired, Henry called another Parliament ; 
 but in consequence of his serious illness no formal 
 opening took place, and therefore no choice of a Speaker. 
 On 20 March, 1413, the King died in the Jerusalem 
 Chamber at Westminster, whither he had been carried 
 by the monks after he had fallen down in a swoon before 
 the shrine of the Confessor. 
 
 The short reign of Henry V, the greatest soldier of his 
 age, was also the shortest since the Norman Conquest. 
 Yet in nine years of, for the most part, glorious strife, 
 Parliamentary institutions saw considerable development. 
 This period has usually been associated with military 
 achievement rather than with Constitutional progress. 
 Yet, in 1414, when a Hungerford was again called to 
 the Chair 2 and the Lower House met in the " Fermerie " 
 at Leicester, the King granted to his Commons a boon 
 which they had long desired. This was to the effect that 
 their petitions, which now, for the first time, were be- 
 
 1 Or those of the succeeding Parliament of 1411, in which Chaucer 
 was Speaker for the third time. 
 
 1 Sir Walter (son of the Speaker of 1377), created Lord Hungerford 
 in 1425-26 and buried in Salisbury Cathedral in 1449, where his 
 mutilated brass is still to be seen with its stone slab powdered with 
 sickles, the favourite device of this family before crests came into 
 general use.
 
 .\</iiirtitie/ie, drlt. J. liasitt, .S'< ;<///. 
 
 SIR \VA1.TKR HUXC.KRKORI), AKTKRNVARDS I.ORI) IIUNCERKORl)
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 75 
 
 ginning to be replaced by bills, 1 should in future be 
 engrossed as statutes, without garbling or alteration of 
 any kind by way of addition or diminution, after passing 
 from their control. And whilst the King maintained 
 unimpaired the prerogative of refusing the Commons 
 petitions outright, he could henceforward only accept 
 them in the shape in which they were presented by 
 the Speaker for the royal approval. 2 
 
 Sir Walter Hungerford, apart from his Parliamentary 
 career, fought bravely against the French, and, as if 
 something of the military ardour of the King had ani- 
 mated his faithful Commons, the bold spectacle is next 
 presented of a Speaker 3 buckling on his sword and 
 armour, accompanying his Sovereign to the war, and 
 fighting by his side at Agincourt. In domestic politics 
 Henry's chief aim was to reassert the authority of the 
 Church, and in his determination to crush the Lollards 
 he was assisted once more by Archbishop Arundel, to 
 whom repression of the reformers was a congenial task. 
 Oldcastle, the most conspicuous of the anti-clerical party, 
 was excommunicated, and after evading capture for four 
 years, was dragged before Parliament as an outlaw, and 
 summarily drawn, hanged, and burned at the New 
 Gallows beyond the Temple Gate. Roger Flower of 
 Oakham, Knight of the Shire for Rutland, was Speaker 
 when the Commons petitioned for his execution. 
 
 1 Langland, indeed, in "Piers Plowman," written in 1362, makes 
 use of the word "bill," though scarcely in the strict Parliamentary 
 sense. 
 
 2 Rot. ParL, Vol. IV, p. 22, where the Commons are described in an 
 interesting passage as "Assentirs as well as Peticioners," as being 
 desirous of " Axkynge remedie of any mischief by the mouthe of their 
 Speaker," and as having ever been a " membre of your Parlement." 
 
 Once again Thomas Chaucer.
 
 76 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Sir Walter Beauchamp, who sat for Wiltshire, had been 
 Flower's predecessor. Little is known of him beyond the 
 fact of his being the first lawyer to be chosen by the Com- 
 mons themselves for this high office. But having once 
 chosen a lawyer for their President, the Commons soon re- 
 newed their preference for the long robe. In Henry V's 
 ninth Parliament, 1 Roger Hunt of Chalverston, Beds, 
 Knight of the Shire for the County, an eminent lawyer, 
 and in 1438 Baron of the Exchequer, was called to the 
 Chair. To him succeeded Thomas Chaucer, for the fifth 
 time, in 1421. 
 
 One further Parliament was called by Henry V before 
 his early death. It was summoned solely to provide the 
 money necessary for the prosecution of the war with 
 France, and, in the King's absence, the Duke of Glou- 
 cester, as regent, issued the summons for it to meet at 
 Westminster. 2 The length of the session has not been 
 definitely ascertained, but it is known that the new 
 Speaker was Richard Baynard, a member of an old 
 East Anglian family who had intermarried with the 
 Dore woods. 3 
 
 The last of the Lancastrian kings was also the weakest. 
 Henry VI, an amiable imbecile with a saving sense of piety, 
 as testified by the foundation of his " holy shade " at Eton, 
 was completely overshadowed by the superior force of cha- 
 racter of his wife. 4 Whenhe came to be of legal agein I442, 6 
 
 1 December, 1420. 
 1 December, 1421. 
 
 8 Baynard represented Essex from 1405-6 until 1433. For a 
 pedigree of his family see Morant's Essex, Vol. II, pp. 176, 404. 
 
 4 Margaret of Anjou. 
 
 5 During his minority the Dukes of Bedford and Gloucester carried 
 on the government.
 
 KOI IKK II TNT 
 
 I42O 
 /'rant a memorial brass in Great I.inford Church, Ruck*
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 77 
 
 it was evident to thoughtful men that all the advantages 
 gained by his illustrious father were in danger of being 
 lost. During the early years of the King's minority, the 
 Chair of the Commons was filled by Sir John Russell, a 
 member of a family which has played a prominent part 
 in the political history of this country, especially since 
 the acquisition of the Woburn property at the dissolution 
 of the monasteries. The Russells had no connection 
 with the county of Bedford in the fifteenth century, and 
 the Speaker of 1423 and 1432 sat for Herefordshire. 
 Attempts have been made to derive the descent of the 
 first Earl of Bedford 1 from the Speaker of Henry VI, 
 but it seems probable that the pedigrees contained in the 
 earlier editions of Sir Bernard Burke's Peerage are fabulous. 
 The rise of the younger branch of the Russell family was 
 really due to the successful commercial operations of a 
 fishmonger at Poole, in the county of Dorset. One of 
 the junior branch of this ancient race became Knight of 
 the Shire in 1472, but the fortunes of the family were 
 accidentally consolidated when Joanna of Castille landed 
 at Weymouth in 1506, and was entertained at Wolfeton, 
 near Dorchester, by Sir Thomas Trenchard, until the 
 Earl of Arundel, who had been sent by Henry VII to 
 escort her to Windsor, arrived. Sir Thomas summoned 
 his kinsman, Mr. Russell, to help him to entertain his 
 royal visitor, because he was the only gentleman of his 
 acquaintance in the county who could speak Spanish. 
 This Mr. Russell, having been introduced to Henry VII, 
 who quickly discerned his merits and promise of future 
 usefulness, became the first Earl of Bedford, and was the 
 direct ancestor of the present Duke. 
 
 1 So created in 1550.
 
 78 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 The Dictionary of National Biography states that Sir 
 John Russell was again chosen Speaker in 1450, but this 
 is not accurate, as Sir William Oldhall was then called 
 to the Chair. During Sir John's second term of office 
 in 1432, an important concession was obtained by 
 the Commons. The King, we read, " released the 
 subsidy granted in the last Parliament on lands and 
 tenements, so as it should never be mentioned again." 
 The imposition of a land tax on the subject was then 
 not only regarded by all parties as a thing too monstrous 
 and unjust ever to be reimposed, but the work of one 
 Parliament was deliberately reversed by its successor. 
 
 The Parliament which met in 1425 was presided over 
 by Sir Thomas Walton, who had sat in the House of 
 Commons for nearly thirty years, sometimes for Hunting- 
 donshire and sometimes for Bedfordshire. 1 The greater 
 part of the session was taken up with what seems at 
 first sight to have been an irregular matter to occupy 
 the attention of the Lower House the settlement of a 
 quarrel between John Mowbray, Earl Marshal of England, 
 and Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, on a ques- 
 tion of their relative precedence in the House of Lords. 2 
 Roger Hunt, whom we have already noticed as Speaker, 
 now appeared as counsel for Mowbray, and that forensic 
 warrior, Sir Walter Beauchamp, another former Speaker, 
 represented his kinsman. The fact of their being so 
 engaged as counsel may have been the reason for the 
 contest being fought in the Commons. Walton was him- 
 self a lawyer, but the legal questions involved were 
 rendered nugatory by the forfeited Dukedom of Norfolk 
 
 1 Sir Thomas Walton, or Wauton as the name is sometimes spelt, 
 was connected by marriage with the Tiptoft family, which may in 
 part account for his advancement to the Chair. 
 
 * See Rot. Par/., Vol. IV, pp. 267-8.
 
 trt ll'av, Jell. 
 KFFIGY OF SIR RICHARD VKRXON 
 
 I42.S-6 
 In the Church of Tong, Shropshire
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 79 
 
 being restored to the Earl Marshal, whereupon Warwick's 
 pretensions fell to the ground. 
 
 Passing over one or two Speakers, whose names and 
 periods of office will be found in the catalogue at the end 
 of this volume, the Parliament of 1429-30, presided over 
 by William Alington, Knight of the Shire for Cambridge, 
 witnessed a great change in the county electorate by which 
 the right to vote at the election of Knights of the Shire 
 formerly possessed by the miscellaneous body that con- 
 stituted the county-court (there is nothing in the writs 
 of the thirteenth century to suggest that the franchise 
 was limited to " free " men to the exclusion of villeins), 
 was limited to the possessors of a freehold of forty 
 shillings annual value, 1 a qualification which continued 
 to be the basis of the English county franchise for the 
 next four centuries. 
 
 Shortly before the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses 
 the Chair was filled by William Tresham, who sat for his 
 native county of Northants during a long series of years. 
 He was Speaker on four separate occasions hi 1439, 
 1441-42, 1446-47, and 1449. 2 Tresham, as a prominent 
 Yorkist, took an active part in the impeachment of 
 William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk. The House 
 was in session when, on the I7th of March, 1449, 
 Suffolk was hauled before the King and sentenced 
 to five years' exile. Accused of having betrayed England 
 to the French, he was done to death in 1450 ; and the 
 Speaker, who by this time had become an object of sus- 
 picion to the Lancastrian party, was also murdered, at 
 
 1 VIII Henry VI, c. 7. 
 
 2 The Dictionary of National Biography says that Tresham was 
 again Speaker in 1448-49, but this was not the case, as the Chair was 
 filled by Sir John Say in that Parliament.
 
 8o SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Thorpland, in his native county, whither he had gone 
 to meet the Duke of York. l The son of William Tresham, 
 Sir Thomas Tresham, who was brought up in Henry 
 VFs household, was also Speaker in the packed Lan- 
 castrian Parliament of 1459. Like his father, he met 
 with a violent death. He fought on the side of the 
 Lancastrians at St. Albans, was proclaimed a traitor 
 after Edward IV's return, and was beheaded at Tewkes- 
 bury, having been, in all, three times attainted. 
 
 Sir John Say, Knight of the Shire for Herts, also filled 
 the Chair in turbulent times. During Jack Cade's in- 
 surrection 2 the rioters threatened his life, and he was 
 indicted for treason at the Guildhall. Jack Cade, the 
 first Radical in the history of English politics, 3 de- 
 clared that the freedom of election for Knights of the 
 Shire had been wrested from the people by the great 
 men of the land, who directed their tenants to 
 choose men of whom they tacitly disapproved. Cade 
 had probably seen and read Langland's " Richard 
 the Redeless," a poem written as a remonstrance to 
 Richard II, for there is a passage in it positively affirming 
 that the Knights of the Shire were the nominees of the 
 Court. Though Sir John Say began political life as a 
 Lancastrian, he threw in his lot later with the Yorkists. 
 
 1 Lord Grey de Ruthyn, a member of Queen Margaret's faction, 
 is said to have been responsible for his death (see Paston Letters, 
 5 May, 1450, No. 93, Vol. I, p. 124). Leland, in his Itinerary, gives a 
 circumstantial account of the murder. 
 
 * HSO. 
 
 * This proud title should, perhaps, be conferred on John Ball, who 
 was hanged in 1381. Adopting as his text 
 
 " When Adam delved and Eve span, 
 
 Who was then the gentleman ? " 
 
 he incited the villeins to murder all the lords and all the lawyers in 
 the land. 
 
 f-
 
 Kc produced from \\'lU-r's " Monuiitfittal Rrasses,
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 81 
 
 Dying in 1478, he was buried in Broxbourne Church, 
 Herts, where his memorial brass, one of the few remain- 
 ing in England showing traces of colour, is still to be seen. 
 The William Say who was Speaker -pro tern, during 
 LenthalTs absence from the Chair in 1659 was probably 
 a collateral descendant. 
 
 The later Parliaments of Henry's ill-starred reign, 1 
 presided over respectively by Sir William Oldhall, 
 Thomas Thorpe and his successor Sir Thomas Charlton, 
 Sir John Wenlock, Sir Thomas Tresham, and John Green, 
 were so overshadowed, first by Jack Cade's rebellion, and 
 then by the Wars of the Roses, that little or no legislation 
 was attempted, and the course of constitutional progress 
 was arrested. As the fortunes of the faction fight between 
 the Red Rose and the White inclined to either party, the 
 time of the House was mainly occupied in the prosecution 
 and attainder of the more prominent political leaders who 
 chanced, for the moment, to be on the losing side. 
 
 It would be outside the scope of the present work to 
 enter at any length into the causes which led to the 
 outbreak of hostilities, but it should be borne in mind 
 that the evils of livery and maintenance were once 
 more rife, and when, after forty years of strife, 
 the French wars ceased to afford occupation to the 
 English soldiery, bands of military retainers habituated 
 to the practice of arms were at the absolute disposal 
 of the great landowning class, only awaiting the 
 signal of their leaders to re-engage in acts of violence. 
 Whilst the greater nobility for the most part ranged 
 themselves on the Lancastrian side, a constitutional 
 opposition, with the Duke of York at its head, com- 
 
 1 1450, 1453, 1455, 1459, and 1460. 
 G
 
 82 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 manded the sympathies of the City of London and the 
 bulk of the provincial municipalities. 
 
 Sir William Oldhall, a Hertfordshire magnate, had for 
 his country home a castellated mansion, in part incor- 
 porated in Hunsdon House, the property in after years 
 of the Calvert family ; and he was chosen Knight of the 
 Shire for Herts on his first entry into Parliament in 1450. 
 He had been Chamberlain to the Duke of York, and it 
 was therefore only to be expected that he would take a 
 strong line against the feeble occupant of the throne. 
 Even more remarkable than Speaker Tiptoft's cele- 
 brated demand of the Sovereign was that which 
 Oldhall now made on behalf of the Commons. He 
 claimed the immediate dismissal of no less than 
 twenty-eight officers of the Court, including a duke and 
 duchess, a bishop, three barons, four knights, and one 
 abbot. All were banished for a year, " to see," as the 
 King said, "if in the meantime any man could truly 
 lay anything to their charge." Being himself implicated 
 in some way in Cade's rebellion, though the evidence 
 against him was not very conclusive, the Speaker 
 was attainted by the next Parliament. He took sanc- 
 tuary in St. Martin's-le-Grand, for Westminster would 
 have been too dangerous an asylum for a man of his 
 position, and he only emerged from hiding after the 
 first battle of St. Albans had again placed his party 
 in power. Fortune inclining once more, after Ludlow, 
 to the Red Rose, his name was again included in a Bill of 
 Attainder, and though, on the accession of Edward IV, 
 his sentence was promptly reversed, OldhalTs public career 
 was at an end, nor did he seek to re-enter Parliament. 
 
 Dame Agnes Paston was anxious to bring about a
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 83 
 
 match between the ex-Speaker and her husband's sister 
 Elizabeth, " if ye can think that his land standeth clear." 
 This was in 1455, but nothing came of the project. A 
 few years later the young lady wedded Robert Poynings, 
 who was sword-bearer to Jack Cade. He was killed in 
 the second battle of St. Albans, and his widow re- 
 married Sir George Browne, of Betchworth, Surrey. 
 
 The adherents of the Red Rose once more predominated 
 in the Parliament of 1453, and the choice of the Commons 
 for their Speaker fell upon Thomas Thorpe, the repre- 
 sentative of the county of Essex, who had been 
 brought up from his childhood in the royal service. 
 But in August Henry VI became insane, and during 
 his incapacity the Yorkists singled out the Speaker for 
 attack. He became a marked man when it transpired 
 that he had taken possession of some arms belonging to 
 the Duke of York, and, notwithstanding the flagrant 
 breach of privilege which his arrest involved, Thorpe was 
 committed to the Fleet prison and fined 1000 before he 
 was released. 1 
 
 Dismissed from his offices of Remembrancer and Baron 
 of the Exchequer by the " Butcher of England," Thorpe 
 recovered his position at the next revolution of fortune's 
 wheel, so that he was enabled to draw up Yorkist at- 
 tainders hi the Parliament which met at Coventry in 
 November, 1459. But when the Yorkists came to town 
 in 1460 he took refuge hi the Tower. He was soon 
 taken prisoner again, and, after attempting to escape in 
 the disguise of a monk, he was recognised and beheaded 
 by the mob at Haringay on 17 February, 1460-61. 
 
 1 Sir Thomas Charlton was chosen Speaker in his stead on the 
 1 6th of February, 1453-54.
 
 84 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Nor was Sir John Wenlock, the Speaker of the 1455 
 Parliament, more fortunate in his end. A Knight of the 
 Shire for Beds and a dependent of Warwick the " King 
 Maker," he was at first a Lancastrian, only to change 
 sides in 1455. After being wounded at the first battle 
 of St. Albans, he was killed at Tewkesbury, fighting once 
 again on the Lancastrian side. The manner of his death 
 was sufficiently shocking even in this age of violence, for 
 he was struck down and his skull cleft in two with a 
 battle-axe by the Duke of Somerset for not coming up 
 in time, whereby the fortunes of the day were alleged to 
 have been lost. His murderer was beheaded on the 
 same day. 
 
 Wenlock's life had been one of activity in the field 
 throughout the whole period of the Civil Wars, nor 
 does history record a more martial career than his in the 
 annals of the Chair. After taking part, as has been seen, 
 in the battle of St. Albans, he captured Sandwich in 
 1460, and entered London with Edward IV, after fighting 
 for him at Towton. He held Calais for the usurper, but 
 rejoined his first love at Tewkesbury, the last engage- 
 ment of his chequered military career. 
 
 A Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, he was 
 raised to the Peerage as Baron Wenlock after the corona- 
 tion of Edward IV. He owned property at Sommaries, 
 at Luton, and at Houghton Conquest, all in the county 
 of Bedford ; and he built the Wenlock mortuary chapel 
 in Luton Church, though his bones were not destined to 
 lie in it. His second wife, Agnes Danvers, remarried 
 Sir John Say, the Speaker of 1449, 1463, and 1467, and 
 a neighbour of Wenlock in the adjoining county of 
 Herts.
 
 THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 85 
 
 The last of the Speakers of Henry VI was to witness 
 even more stirring scenes at Westminster than any of his 
 immediate predecessors. John Green, whose homely 
 name is not to be found in the Dictionary of National 
 Biography, was voted to the Chair in 1460, and though 
 this Parliament only sat for about ten days, it found 
 time to repeal all the Acts passed at Coventry in the pre- 
 vious year and to annul the attainders of the Yorkist 
 Lords. 
 
 After the battle of Wakefield the Wars of the Roses, 
 which began by an attempt to vindicate constitutional 
 liberty, degenerated into a savage blood feud between 
 two desperate and reckless factions, in which no quarter 
 was either given or expected. John Green, though not 
 himself known to fame, was probably an eye-witness, 
 in the momentous month of October, 1460, of a startling 
 scene enacted in the Palace of Westminster, when 
 Richard, Duke of York, the victor at St. Albans, burst 
 into the great hall at the head of five hundred armed 
 men, as if about to seize the vacant throne, declaring 
 that he " challenged and claimed the crown of England," 
 as heir of Richard II. He proposed to an astonished 
 audience, much after the manner of Henry IV in 1399, 
 that his coronation should take place in the Abbey on 
 All-hallows Day following. 1 But, though the final 
 triumph of the White Rose was near at hand and the old 
 hall of Rufus and of Richard was once more to witness 
 the death knell of a dynasty, a compromise was arrived 
 
 1 Parliament had met on 7 October, and the Duke of York's 
 invasion of the Palace was three days later. The Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, Thomas Bourchier, asked the intruder if he desired to 
 see the King, to which York made answer that he knew of no one in 
 the kingdom who ought not rather to wait on him.
 
 86 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 at, whereby Henry was to retain the crown for life and 
 Duke Richard was to be recognised as his heir. 1 
 
 Soon news reached London that the valiant Queen 
 Margaret had succeeded in collecting a fresh army in the 
 north, and Richard, hastening from the Council Chamber 
 to the camp, marched to meet her at Wakefield, only to 
 lose his life and to defer the imminent success of his cause, 
 in a battle unprecedented for the savagery with which it 
 was contested. Margaret caused York's head to be cut off 
 after death, and, adorned in cruel mockery with a paper 
 crown, it was stuck on one of the gates of the city from 
 which his title was derived. 2 
 
 After Wakefield, the leadership of the Yorkists fell into 
 the hands of the " King Maker," the greatest aristocrat in 
 England since John of Gaunt. But not until he too had 
 fallen at Barnet, and the triumph of the White Rose was 
 assured at Tewkesbury, was young Edward 3 able to 
 plant himself firmly on the throne, to restore something 
 like peace to an exhausted and distracted England, and 
 o open a new constitutional era for its people. 
 
 1 During the negotiations the King retreated to his wife's apart- 
 ments, and York remained in the Palace till he had gained his point. 
 He then withdrew to Baynard's Castle, his own mansion in the city. 
 * See Shakespeare, third part of King Henry VI : 
 
 " So York may overlook the town of York " 
 
 (Act ii, scene 4, line 180). 
 8 Like Henry IV, fresh from his landing at Ravenspur.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS UNDER THE HOUSE OF YORK, 
 
 A PERIOD, FOR THE MOST PART, OF SUBSERVIENCY 
 
 TO THE CROWN 
 
 (1461-1485) 
 
 FOUR SPEAKERS 
 
 James Strangeways John Wood 
 
 William Alington William Catesby 
 
 ON the cessation of the Wars of the Roses the 
 exhaustion of the English nobility coincided 
 with an increased desire amongst the upper 
 middle class to obtain a seat in the House 
 of Commons. A number of new boroughs sprang into 
 existence, and men of good birth were selected to re- 
 present them at Westminster. 
 
 It is true that early in the history of the Mother of 
 Parliaments some of the more powerful territorial fami- 
 lies had monopolised the borough representation in the 
 neighbourhood of the castles and mansions in which 
 dwelt the Knights of the Shire. Thus in East Anglia the 
 Fastolfs and the Pastons had swooped down upon the 
 smaller boroughs as early as the beginning of the four- 
 teenth century, when a member of the first-named family 
 sat for Great Yarmouth, 1 and one of the latter for 
 Grimsby. 2 
 
 1 In 1300-1. 2 In 1325. 
 
 87
 
 88 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 In the north country a Lowther sat for Appleby in 
 1318, and a Pickering for Carlisle in 1334 ; but these were 
 exceptions to the general rule, whereby the burgesses, 
 for the most part, were men of mean estate and humble 
 calling. In 1382-83 the City of London elected Sir 
 Nicholas Brembre, an ex-Lord Mayor, the head of the 
 grocers, and a staunch supporter of the King. The 
 victualling trades, the grocers and fishmongers, as a rule 
 supported the Court ; whereas the clothing trades, the 
 drapers and the mercers, mostly ranged themselves in 
 opposition. Brembre came to an untimely end, being 
 murdered in 1388. 
 
 Between the date of his election and the year 1467 
 exactly fifty burgesses are described in the official returns 
 as being either " miles," " armiger," or " gentleman," and 
 the appearance of one or other of these magic words after 
 their names probably indicates the gradual relinquish- 
 ment of an obligation on the part of the constituencies to 
 pay wages to their representatives. While the pay of 
 the burgesses was only two shillings a day, the Knights of 
 the Shire were remunerated at double rates. The change 
 in the status of the borough member, though gradual, 
 was progressive, for whereas in the first Parliament of 
 Henry VI not one burgess is described as " armiger," 
 and only one in his last, 1 no less than six Sussex borough 
 representatives are described in 1472 as " armiger." 
 One hundred years later, as the old class distinctions 
 were swept away, the esquires predominated over the 
 tradesmen and merchants. 
 
 In 1472 Sir John Paston was anxious to be chosen a 
 Knight of the Shire for Norfolk, which he had already 
 
 1 1460.
 
 THE HOUSE OF YORK 89 
 
 represented in 1467 ; but the Dukes of Suffolk and Nor- 
 folk having come to an agreement, Sir Robert Wingfield 
 and Sir Richard Howard were returned. Paston's 
 brother advised Sir John to try for the borough of Maldon, 
 if he could arrange matters with the Sheriff, but in the 
 end he was returned for Great Yarmouth in 1477-78. 
 When in London he lodged at the " George," by Paul's 
 Wharf, and, no doubt, proceeded to Westminster by 
 water in the performance of his Parliamentary duties. 1 
 
 The first Parliament of Edward IV chose for its Speaker 
 a Yorkshire knight, Sir James Strangeways, of Whorlton. 2 
 A new precedent was introduced on his presentation. 
 Not only did he make the customary " excuse " and a 
 demand for the continuance of the privileges of the 
 House, but he offered a formal address to the Crown, 
 reviewing the political situation and the events of the 
 recent Civil War. 
 
 " PRESENTATIO PRELOCUTORIS 
 
 " Item, die Veneris tune prox sequent, videlicet Tertio 
 die Parliamenti, prefati Goes coram Domino Rege in 
 Parliamento praedicto comparentes, presentaverunt Do- 
 mino Regi quendam Jacobum Strangways militem, pro 
 coi Prelocutore suo, de quo idem Dominus Rex se bene 
 contentavit. Qui quiden Jacobus, post excusationem 
 suam coram Domino Rege factam, pro eo qd ipsa sua 
 excusatio ex parto Dicti Domini Regis admitti non 
 potuit, eidem Domino Rege humillime supplicavit, qua- 
 tinus omnia & singula per ipsum in Parliamento praedicto, 
 nomine dicte Communitatis proferend' & declarand', sub 
 tali posset Protestatione proferre & declarare, qd si ipse 
 aliqua sibi per prefatos Socios suos injuncta, aliter quam 
 ipsi concordat! fuerint, aut in addendo vel omittendo 
 
 1 See Paston Letters, 21 September, 1472. a 5 November, 1461.
 
 90 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 declaraverit, ea sic declarata per predictos Socios suos 
 corrigere posset & emendare ; et qd Protestatio sua 
 hujusmodi in Rotulo Parliament! praedicti inactitaretur. 
 Cui per prefatum Dominum cancellarium de mandate 
 Domini Regis extitit responsum, qd idem Jacobus tali 
 Protestatione frueretur & gauderet, quali alii Prelocu- 
 tores hujusmodi antea hac tempora uti & gaudere con- 
 sue verunt." 1 
 
 The precedent set by Speaker Strangeways in 1461 is 
 the origin of the existing custom which enables young 
 members of the House, exchanging for this occasion only 
 the dull conventionality of morning dress for uniformed 
 splendour, to move and second the Address to the 
 Throne. Strangeways received a grant from Henry VII 
 in 1485, from which it appears that he lost no time in 
 espousing the Tudor cause. He left a family of no less than 
 seventeen children, and at his death, in 1516, he was 
 buried in St. Mary Overy's, in Southwark, the cathedral 
 of South London, in a tomb not now to be identified. 
 
 At the close of the session the young King thanked 
 the Commons for their support, and in so doing assured 
 them of his determination to protect them to the utmost 
 of his power. 2 The greater part of the session, following 
 closely the precedent of 1459, had been devoted to at- 
 tainting the followers of Henry VI, alive or dead, and 
 providing for the confiscation of their lands and posses- 
 sions ; the Act of Attainder not being drawn up by the 
 House of Commons, but presented to it ready-made. It 
 was a far more sweeping proscription than the Coventry 
 
 1 Rot. Par/., Vol. V, p. 462. 
 
 * Dr. S. R. Gardiner regarded this fresh departure as the beginning 
 of a new constitutional era in which the wishes of the middle classes, 
 both in town and country, were to prevail over those of the nobility, 
 simultaneously with the strengthening of the kingship.
 
 THE HOUSE OF YORK 91 
 
 one, for it implicated no less than 133 persons, of whom 
 14 were peers of the realm, 7 dead and 7 living, and 100 
 knights, squires, and men of lesser degree. 
 
 The young King, being at this time completely under 
 the influence of his cousin, reigned only in name while 
 Warwick ruled. The humiliation of Henry VI was com- 
 plete, and of all his former strongholds he only retained 
 one castle, that at Harlech. When Henry again became 
 temporarily dominant in 1470, a Parliament, the fifth of 
 Edward's reign, was summoned to meet at Westminster 
 in the month of November ; but if any records of it 
 were kept, it is believed that they were destroyed by 
 Edward's orders after Henry's deposition and subsequent 
 murder. William Alington, son of the Speaker of the 
 1429 Parliament, and, like his father, Knight of the 
 Shire for Cambridge, became Speaker in October, 1472, 
 and held the office until March, 1474-75, the longest 
 Parliament which England had hitherto known. 
 
 In the intervals between the summoning of his various 
 Parliaments the King lived on confiscations and gifts 
 extorted from opponents whose lives he had spared, 
 and it has been estimated that nearly one-fifth of the 
 kingdom came into his hands by forfeiture. The vast 
 estates of Warwick, the King Maker, and of the Arch- 
 bishop of York, to give but two instances out of many, 
 should have furnished ample wealth for a ruler less 
 extravagant and pleasure-loving than Edward proved 
 himself to be. But Jane Shore 1 and others of her pro- 
 
 1 According to Sir Thomas More, Jane Shore was a woman of a 
 kindly disposition, possessed of a never failing wit and good humour, 
 and as her influence was uniformly exerted in the direction of clemency 
 and gentleness, she was generally regarded with kindly feelings by the 
 King's subjects.
 
 92 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 fession exerted the same evil influence over him as had 
 Alice Ferrers over Edward III, and Fair Rosamund over 
 Henry II in an even earlier age, and it soon became 
 necessary to devise fresh methods of taxation. 
 
 The Commons were invited to consider favourably a 
 project for an inquisitorial assessment of private incomes. 
 This, not unnaturally, proved to be highly unpopular, 
 and a growing spirit of independence in the Lower House 
 is revealed in its refusal to grant money for the invasion 
 of France unless it received assurances that the army 
 would start at a given date. 1 Parliament was summoned 
 to meet again in January, 1477-78, and the session is 
 believed to have lasted about five weeks, during which 
 time the sole business under consideration was the trial 
 of the Duke of Clarence. No grants were asked for, no 
 legislation was attempted, and in the course of the month 
 of February it was announced that Clarence was dead, 
 having perished in the Tower no man knew how. After 
 this date no Parliament was called until 1483, the King 
 having obtained an assured income for life from earlier 
 Parliamentary grants, supplemented by the " benevo- 
 lences " which became so odious to the nation at large. 
 
 The eighth and last Parliament of the reign was called 
 together in January, 1482-83, and the cause of summons 
 stated that it was convened to hear Edward's complaints 
 against the French King. The new Speaker was John 
 
 1 " The new method of raising funds by income tax necessitated an 
 assessment of lands at their real value. It had been found, by experi- 
 ence, that to allow owners to return their own valuations, resulted in a 
 sum considerably below what was right. The King's financial agents 
 accordingly began an assessment. The King took great interest in the 
 process, and wrote that the progress of collection was 'one of the 
 things earthly that we most desire to know.' " Edward the Fourth, by 
 Laurence Stratford, 1910, p. 217.
 
 THE HOUSE OF YORK 93 
 
 Wood, Knight of the Shire for Sussex, and one of the 
 least distinguished in the long catalogue. It was in 
 the main a humdrum session. The King graciously 
 consented to accept the comparatively modest sum of 
 11,000 for the annual expenses of his household, 
 and, in return for their liberality, the Commons were 
 permitted to pass Acts dealing with the trade of the 
 country, with the grievances of " livery and maintenance " 
 which had long vexed the minds of the people, and to 
 spend their energies on unambitious measures designed 
 for the preservation of domestic peace. But of real 
 redress of grievances there was none, owing, perhaps, to 
 the fact that throughout his reign Edward acted as the 
 head of a triumphant political party, rather than as the 
 ruler of a contented and united nation. 
 
 On 9 April, 1483, he died in the Palace of Westminster, 
 prematurely worn out by a life of debauchery. For a 
 week his remains lay in St. Stephen's Chapel before 
 being removed to Windsor for interment. Naked to the 
 waist, in order that the civic authorities might be assured 
 of his death, the lying-in-state of Edward IV at West- 
 minster presents a striking contrast to the dignified 
 ceremonial observed on the occasion of the recent death 
 of King Edward VII, when, for the first time in its long 
 history, the great hall was utilised for a similar purpose. 
 In May, 1910, the two branches of the Legislature, 
 headed by the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker in their 
 robes of state, forgot their differences in the presence of 
 a common sorrow, and united in honouring their departed 
 Sovereign lying in the hall of Rufus re-edified and em- 
 bellished by the last of the Plantagenet race. Edward 
 IV was the first of the Kings of England to be buried,
 
 94 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 of his own free will, in the Royal Chapel of St. George, 
 though to it the body of his unhappy predecessor and 
 rival is said to have been removed by Richard III from 
 its first resting-place, Chertsey. 
 
 The severance of the House of York from the traditional 
 burial place of the Kings of England marks the dawn 
 of a sentiment which led eventually to the substitution 
 of Windsor for Westminster as the last resting-place 
 of the Sovereign, until the Coronation remains the only 
 indissoluble link between the Abbey and the throne. 
 
 The Kings of England, unlike their brothers of France, 
 seem never to have feared to be reminded of death. In 
 Anglo-Saxon times they were buried at Winchester 
 where they lived, and where they were crowned. When 
 they became truly English they were crowned, as they 
 lived, at Westminster. And when they died, they were 
 buried, almost as a matter of course, in the Abbey, and 
 as close as possible to the shrine of the Confessor. " Their 
 graves, like their thrones, were in the midst of their own 
 life, and of the life of their people." * 
 
 In the sixteenth century the Palace of Westminster 
 ceased to be the accustomed home of the Sovereign, 
 from causes to be alluded to hereafter, and though the first 
 of the Tudors was interred in the magnificent chapel 
 originally intended as a mausoleum for the last of the 
 Lancastrian kings, Henry VIII, turning in aversion from 
 a spot connected in his mind with the hated marriage 
 of his youth, directed that his bones should be laid at 
 Windsor beside his best-loved wife Jane Seymour. 
 
 A reaction in favour of Westminster set in with the 
 accession of Mary, and it was by her direction that the 
 
 1 Stanley's Memorials of Westminster.
 
 THE HOUSE OF YORK 95 
 
 body of Edward VI, the last male child of the Tudor 
 line, was interred in the Abbey. Elizabeth was the last 
 of the royal race to whom a monument was erected 
 there, and since her death, neither the gratitude of a 
 successor nor the affection of a nation has gone so far as 
 to provide either sumptuous tomb or recumbent effigy 
 for James I, Charles II, William and Mary, Anne, or the 
 second monarch of the House of Hanover. They all lie 
 in the Abbey without any such memorial. While it is 
 significant that the custom of royal interment at West- 
 minster should scarcely have survived the Reformation, 
 from the sixteenth century onwards the figures of other 
 than kings meet the eye in ever-increasing numbers. 
 Warriors, statesmen, and leaders of Parliament were 
 freely accorded the honour of burial in the Abbey, and 
 before Elizabeth's death the bones of a Speaker were 
 laid to rest there, for the first time since the reign of 
 Edward III. 
 
 Edward V was a true son of Westminster, for he was 
 born in the Sanctuary and educated in the Abbot's 
 school. On the flight of Edward IV from London the 
 Queen took refuge in Westminster and accepted the 
 hospitality of Thomas Millyng, who was Abbot from 
 1469 till 1474. He was one of the most capable rulers 
 the monastery ever had, and a great benefactor to the 
 fabric. In gratitude for his timely help, and for his 
 having stood godfather to the infant prince, the Queen 
 founded, after Tewkesbury, the chantry and chapel of 
 St. Erasmus in the Abbey. It was, however, destroyed 
 by Henry VII during the building of his own noble mau- 
 soleum. Edward and his younger brother were murdered 
 in the Tower by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, only about
 
 96 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 six weeks after the death of Edward IV. After being 
 proclaimed Protector by the Council, Gloucester removed 
 from Crosby Hall, or Crosby Place, as it was then called, 
 to Westminster, and ascended the throne as Richard III 
 on 25 June. His first and only Parliament met at 
 Westminster in the Painted Chamber on 23 January, 
 1483-84. It chose for its Speaker William Catesby, a 
 lawyer, and the devoted adherent of Richard from the 
 moment when he urged his master to assume the crown 
 till he died for a lost cause only two years later. 1 
 " The Cat, the Rat, and Lovell the Dog," to quote a 
 popular distich, which cost its author his life, governed 
 all England " under the hog " for a little over a year. 
 
 There seems to be little or no evidence that Catesby was 
 personally unpopular with the House of Commons, and 
 it is, no doubt, largely due to the odium cast upon both 
 him and Richard by Shakespeare that his name has 
 acquired such a sinister reputation in after ages. In 
 the Parliament over which he presided, short though it 
 was, time was found to pass an Act for the abolition of 
 those " benevolences " which had made Edward IV so 
 unpopular at the close of his reign. The statutes of the 
 realm were now, for the first time, printed in English 
 that all men might read them, and no measures of 
 repression or severity towards opponents were introduced 
 to the House. Richard kept Christmas at Westminster 
 in 1484 with great state, but it was destined to be his 
 and Catesby 's last. Both met their doom in the fateful 
 thirteenth encounter between the Houses of Lancaster 
 
 1 One of the Catesby family was Keeper of the Royal Palace at 
 Westminster and also of the Fleet Prison, and Robert Catesby, the 
 projector of the Gunpowder Plot, was a descendant of the Speaker.
 
 WII.UAM CATESBY 
 
 1483-4 
 From a Memorial Brass at Aslily -SV. Ledgers, \ortliants
 
 THE HOUSE OF YORK 97 
 
 and York, the battle of Bosworth being the closing scene 
 in a struggle which had cost 100,000 lives. At the time 
 of his death Richard had not completed his thirty-fifth 
 year, nor was Catesby much older. The ex-Speaker was 
 beheaded without form or semblance of a trial, three 
 days after the fighting was over, time, however, being 
 given him to make his will. 
 
 The dynasty of York had only endured for twenty- 
 four years, yet this short space was not without impor- 
 tance for the House of Commons. With the close of 
 mediaeval monarchy, and the advent of a more personal 
 element in the relations of the throne towards Parliament, 
 disappeared, at all events for a time, much of the sturdy 
 independence which had animated the earlier occupants 
 of the Chair. Patriots like De la Mare, who used their 
 position in the House to call attention to the pressing 
 necessity of maritime defence ; l independent leaders like 
 Savage and Tiptoft, who did not shrink on occasion from 
 admonishing the Sovereign on his shortcomings, compare 
 very favourably with the servile tribe of lawyers who 
 monopolised the Chair in the Tudor period. 
 
 The Dudleys and Empsons of Henry VII, the Riches 
 and Audleys of his successor on the throne, and the 
 Snagges and Puckerings of Elizabethan memory, would 
 have been impossible under the Plantagenets, and it is a 
 curious fact that the Speakers of the Irish House of 
 Commons, down to nearly the close of the eighteenth 
 century, were regarded as Parliamentary leaders far more 
 than were their English prototypes at the same period. 
 Edmond Sexten Pery, Speaker of the Irish Commons 
 from 1772-85, used his great political power in the best 
 
 1 Rot. Par/., Vol. II, p. 307. 
 H
 
 98 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 interests of his country to an extent unapproached by 
 any of his predecessors in office. 
 
 Though there are great names to be found in the Tudor 
 catalogue of Speakers, as will be shown hereafter, the fame 
 of the two greatest amongst them was won in spheres 
 other than Parliamentary. The tenure of the Chair by 
 Sir Thomas More and Sir Edward Coke was in each 
 case a mere passing incident in the life of a man who 
 played a leading part in the history of his country. 
 With the decay of chivalry and the growth of a more 
 commercial spirit in England went hand in hand a 
 lessening of the importance of the Commons. Yet the 
 spirit of liberty was never wholly dead. It only awaited 
 the coming of the seventeenth century, and the final 
 struggle of the Commons with the Crown to reassert 
 itself with added force.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 WESTMINSTER AND PARLIAMENT IN TUDOR TIMES. RE- 
 STRICTION OF THE POWERS OF THE HOUSE OF COM- 
 MONS AND INCREASED POWER OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL 
 
 THIRTY-THREE 
 Henry VII 
 Thomas Lovell 
 John Mordaunt 
 Thomas Fitzwilliam 
 Richard Empson 
 Robert Drury 
 Reginald Bray (doubtful) 
 Thomas Englefield 
 Edmond Dudley 
 
 Henry VIII- 
 Robert Sheffield 
 Thomas Nevill 
 Thomas More 
 Thomas Audley 
 Humphrey Wingfield 
 Richard Rich 
 Nicholas Hare 
 Thomas Moyle 
 John Baker 
 
 SPEAKERS 
 Edward VI 
 James Dyer 
 
 Mary 
 
 John Pollard 
 Robert Brooke 
 Clement Heigham 
 William Cordell 
 
 Elizabeth 
 
 Thomas Gargrave 
 Thomas Williams 
 Richard Onslow 
 Christopher Wray 
 Robert BeU 
 John Popham 
 John Puckering 
 Thomas Snagge 
 Edward Coke 
 Christopher Yelverton 
 John Croke 
 
 A the accession of Henry VII the House of 
 Commons acquired an immediate, if tempo- 
 rary, importance as the working Chamber, 
 from the depletion of the numbers of the 
 House of Lords. Forfeiture, confiscation and attainder 
 
 99
 
 ioo SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 had so decimated the Upper House that only twenty- 
 nine temporal peers were entitled to sit in it. The 
 old feudal nobility had been weakened and reduced in 
 the Wars of the Roses, though without any violent 
 dislocation of the Constitution ; and until the peerages 
 created in the sixteenth century laid the foundations 
 of an aristocracy which could never again be a serious 
 menace to the Crown, the House of Lords, as a 
 legislative body, virtually ceased to exist. 
 
 In the first Parliament of Henry VII sat the head of 
 the great family of Nevill the Earl of Westmorland. 
 Allied in blood to the King Maker, and owning vast 
 estates in the north, south, and midland districts, the 
 first earl of this creation, a Lancastrian to the backbone, 
 left four sons, all of whom were raised to the Peerage, 
 whilst his five sons-in-law were the Dukes of Bucking- 
 ham, Norfolk, and York, the Earl of Northumberland, 
 the head of the ancient house of Percy, and Lord 
 Dacre. 
 
 Whilst the Nevills had been for centuries an acknow- 
 ledged force in English political life, the Upper House, in 
 spite of the grievous losses it had sustained, still numbered 
 amongst its surviving members the Berkeleys, the 
 Courtenays, the Stanleys, the Greys, and the Veres, 
 to mention but a few of the more notable names of the 
 English aristocracy. The Herberts and the Howards 
 were but newly ennobled. The hour of the Seymours, 
 the Cavendishes, and the Cecils had not struck. 
 
 That it was Henry VII's deliberate intention to relegate 
 the Lords to a position of legislative impotence is shown 
 by the fact that in the whole course of his reign he created 
 scarcely any new peers, though some few were restored
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 101 
 
 to their former rank on the reversal of their attainders. 1 
 In addition to crippling the hereditary branch of the 
 legislature, the Tudors desired to be as far as possible 
 independent of the House of Commons. Tonnage and 
 poundage had been granted to the Crown for life since 
 the reign of Henry VI, and although Henry VII sum- 
 moned seven Parliaments in all, their attention, with the 
 exception of some salutary changes in the law relating 
 to trade and navigation, whereby a powerful stimulus was 
 given to English shipping, both national and mercantile, 
 was in the main devoted to the raising of subsidies. 
 The ruling passion of Henry's life was the accumulation 
 of wealth, not so much from an innate love of money 
 for money's sake, as from a desire to secure a large reserve 
 to be used as a guarantee for the national peace. 
 
 Henry enlarged the powers of the Privy Council in the 
 new Court of Star Chamber, an assembly whose pro- 
 ceedings were never regulated by statute. At first a 
 court of summary jurisdiction, it was destined to become 
 in after years the favourite instrument of the Sovereign 
 in the illegal collection of compulsory loans. The actual 
 room in the Palace of Westminster in which this much- 
 dreaded tribunal held its sittings remained standing until 
 the great fire of 1834, soon after which it was taken down. 
 Its exact site is indicated at the present day by a brass 
 plate affixed to the former official residence of the Chief 
 Clerk of the House, the greater part of which has 
 now been annexed by the Prime Minister and other 
 members of the Cabinet, and used by them as a place of 
 retreat from the storm and strain of the actual chamber. 
 
 1 Only once during the whole Tudor period did the number of the 
 temporal lords amount to sixty. 
 
 UBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 RIVERSIDE
 
 102 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Another innovation affecting the independence of the 
 House of Commons was the direct nomination of the 
 Speaker in all cases by the Crown. No less an authority 
 than Sir Edward Coke candidly admitted that this open 
 interference of the Sovereign was designed to avoid loss 
 of time in disputing. 1 In spite of the increasing powers 
 of the royal prerogative, it remained theoretically im- 
 possible for the Crown to levy any new tax without 
 the assent of both Houses, and it became the business 
 of the chiefs of Henry's secret service so to manage 
 Parliament that the outward forms of the Constitution 
 might at least be observed. Assuming Coke to be 
 correct, it will be of interest to consider what manner of 
 men Henry VII selected to preside over the House of 
 Commons, and it will be seen that they were drawn 
 both from the landed gentry and from the legal pro- 
 fession. 
 
 At Bosworth there had fought by his side Sir Thomas 
 Lovell, of ancient lineage in Norfolk, and a kinsman of 
 Francis, Viscount Lovell of Tichmarsh, Northants, an ad- 
 herent of Richard III, whose ancestors had fought for the 
 Conqueror at Senlac. When Thomas Lovell first entered 
 Parliament it was as Knight of the Shire for Northants. 
 A man of great and varied attainments, the King showed 
 his appreciation of his services by making him Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer for life, in which capacity he seems to 
 have had a share, in conjunction with Morton, in the 
 fiscal policy of Dudley and Empson. This connection 
 may in part account for his having died enormously 
 rich. In addition to the offices already mentioned, Lovell 
 became President of the Council, Constable of the Tower 
 
 1 Coke, Institutes, Vol. IV, p. 8.
 
 .rv
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 103 
 
 (under Henry VIII), and High Steward of both Oxford 
 and Cambridge. 
 
 A Bencher also of Lincoln's Inn, he deserves to be 
 remembered as the builder of the gate-house in Chancery 
 Lane. Though often threatened with demolition, this 
 interesting specimen of sixteenth-century brickwork, 
 having many points of resemblance to the gate-towers of 
 Eton and St. James's Palace, still guards the entrance to 
 the Law and preserves on its outer face the Lovell arms. 
 Its appearance is, however, much spoilt by the insertion of 
 modern sash-windows in its venerable face. Previous to its 
 erection in 1518, Lincoln's Inn had only been entered 
 from Holborn. In quite recent days the Inn has suffered 
 many indignities at the hands of an ill-informed if well- 
 meaning body of Benchers. To modernise their Chapel 
 and to undo the work of Inigo Jones, they called in a 
 lawyer masquerading as an architect the late Lord 
 Grimthorpe, whose outrageous vandalism at St. Albans 
 stands universally condemned as the most deplorable 
 architectural failure of modern times. His iconoclastic 
 hand, sweeping all before it and disfiguring all that it 
 touched, fortunately stopped just short of LovelTs gate- 
 way, and it is to be hoped that this, the oldest building 
 in any of the Inns of Court, is now safe from the un- 
 welcome attentions of the restorer and the] amateur 
 architect. 
 
 At Westminster Lord Grimthorpe's energies were 
 happily confined to the erection of "Big Ben." 1 This, 
 the largest chiming clock in the world, was completed 
 in 1860, but the hour bell was unfortunately cracked 
 
 1 So called from Sir Benjamin Hall, First Commissioner of Works, 
 1855-58.
 
 soon after it was placed in position. Its predecessor, 
 " Great Tom of Westminster," which hung for centu- 
 ries in a detached clochard dating from Plantagenet 
 times, was given by William III to St. Paul's Cathedral 
 when the tower was taken down after it had become 
 ruinous. It is a conspicuous feature in Hollar's view 
 of New Palace Yard. 1 When tolled Great Tom was said 
 to have soured all the milk in Westminster. 
 
 Sir Thomas Lovell, soldier, statesman, and lawyer, was 
 chosen Speaker of the Parliament which met on 7 Novem- 
 ber, 1485, " in Camera communiter dicta Crucis infra 
 Palacium Westmonasterium," and one of his first official 
 acts must have been to put the question to the House on 
 the Bill for the reversal of his own attainder by Richard 
 III. This, the first Tudor Parliament, was probably dis- 
 solved in March, 1486, after granting the King a liberal 
 subsidy and attainting many of King Richard's followers. 
 In the same year the Speaker's kinsman, Francis, Lord 
 Lovell, headed an abortive rising in the north, but this 
 does not seem to have impaired Sir Thomas's influence 
 and intimacy with his Sovereign, as he continued to 
 shower favours upon him, and selected him to be one of 
 the executors of his will. 
 
 It is said that Lord Lovell's widow, fearing that 
 Henry's vengeance would extend to her, retired after her 
 husband's attainder to a lodge in Whittlebury Forest, 
 where she lived for a time under the protection of gipsies. 
 One of her sons is believed to have married a Romany 
 bride and to have become their king, whence the common 
 occurrence of the name of Lovell amongst the tribe. There 
 are yeomen Lovells in Northamptonshire to this day, but 
 
 1 Reproduced in this volume.
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 105 
 
 the direct line of the Speaker appears to be extinct. 
 In Henry VII's Chapel there has recently been placed, 
 owing to the generosity of Sir J. C. Robinson, a fine 
 bronze medallion of Sir Thomas, by Torregiano. It was 
 brought from his manor-house at East Harling, Norfolk, 
 and it is the earliest pictorial representation of a 
 Speaker of the House of Commons, other than a monu- 
 mental effigy or a brass, discovered up to the present 
 time. 1 Lovell died at Elsing, in Middlesex, and was 
 buried with great magnificence in a chantry chapel which 
 he had built at the Nunnery of Holy well, in Shoreditch. 
 As the last of the martial Speakers it is fitting that he 
 should be worthily commemorated at Westminster, and 
 in the magnificent mausoleum built by the first of the 
 Tudor line. 
 
 Sir John Mordaunt, Knight of the Shire for Beds, 
 was Speaker in the Parliament which created the Court 
 of Star Chamber, and Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam, of Ald- 
 wark, Yorkshire, an ancestor of Earl Fitzwilliam, in 
 Henry's third Parliament. A new House of Commons 
 was summoned to meet on 17 October, 1491, and it chose 
 for its Speaker, or rather it had forced upon it, Sir 
 Richard Empson, Knight of the Shire for Northants, and, 
 by repute, the son of a sievemaker at Towcester in that 
 county. Parliament opened with alarums and excursions 
 of war. The King announced his intention of heading an 
 army to recover the ancient rights of England in France, 
 and though after the fall of Sluys he crossed the Channel, 
 the peace of Etaples was signed 2 without any further 
 
 1 A reproduction of this beautiful work of mediaeval art will be 
 found in this volume. 
 
 2 3 November, 1492.
 
 106 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 fighting. Empson and his fidus achates, Dudley, par 
 ignobile fratrum, lived in adjoining houses in Walbrook, 
 and, according to Stow, they had a " door of intercourse " 
 from the garden which now belongs to Salters' Hall. 
 
 It would almost seem as if there was something in the 
 atmosphere of this corner of the City peculiarly favourable 
 to the accumulation of colossal wealth, for within a 
 stone's-throw of Dudley and Empson's garden, and on 
 a site adjoining Salters' Hall, stand Messrs. Rothschild's 
 famous London offices. But here the parallel ceases. 
 The royal extortioners never devoted any of their ill- 
 gotten gains to relieving the necessities of the poor, 
 whereas St. Swithin's Lane has been for more than a 
 century, not only the chosen home of the true aristocracy 
 of finance, but a business centre rightly associated in the 
 public mind with unbounded charity, freely and un- 
 ceasingly dispensed without regard to class or creed. 
 
 The next Parliament of the reign met at Westminster, 
 14 October, 1495, and chose for its Speaker Sir Robert 
 Drury, a member of a Suffolk family long seated at 
 Hawstead and Horningsheath in that county, a property 
 now merged in the estates of the Marquis of Bristol. 
 Drury is the first Speaker definitely known to have 
 received a University education, and in this respect 
 Cambridge takes the pride of place. Possibly the 
 reversion to a Speaker of knightly degree and un- 
 connected with the law was due to the fact that no 
 sanction was required for any war tax. Parliament 
 dealt instead with such domestic matters as vagabondage, 
 gaming, the licensing of ale-houses, and other non-con- 
 troversial matters, for even licensing Bills were strictly 
 uncontentious in the fifteenth century.
 
 \, 1491, AND EDMOXn DUDLEY, 1503-4 
 
 l-'roin a painting in the possession of the Duke of Rutland
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 107 
 
 In an unostentatious way some of the earlier Tudor Par- 
 liaments accomplished a fair amount of useful legislation. 
 They passed laws against usury, generally, it is to be 
 feared, a dead letter from the day they received the Royal 
 Assent ; they attempted to fix the labourer's wages ; 
 and, in their solicitude for his welfare, they even settled 
 the hours at which he was to rise, and the time he was to 
 spend at his meals. From this Speaker's family Drury 
 Lane, where their town house was situated, derives its 
 name, and it will also be familiar to many old Etonians 
 from the well-known dame's house, founded by the Rev. 
 Benjamin Drury, an assistant master under the redoubt- 
 able Keate. Sir Thomas Englefield, of Englefield, a 
 Berkshire knight with a pedigree of fabulous antiquity, 
 presided over Henry's sixth Parliament; 1 and, by way 
 of contrast, the notorious Dudley, a Gray's Inn lawyer 
 with an Oxford education and an assumed name, filled 
 the Chair in his seventh and last. Empson was Chancellor 
 of the Duchy at the same time, and these " two ravening 
 wolves," as they have been called by an old chronicler, 
 acting in concert, practised extortion and intimidation 
 to an extent hitherto unknown in England. By brow- 
 beating the sheriffs they were able to nominate 
 whom they pleased at elections ; every infraction of the 
 law, however antiquated, was punished by a heavy fine, 
 verdicts were dictated to judges by men who were 
 not judges themselves, but who seem to have acted 
 as a committee of the Privy Council. The unscrupu- 
 lous policy pursued by Dudley and Empson between 
 1504 and the King's death brought an immense sum of 
 money into the royal treasury, whilst the " wolves " and 
 
 1 Held in January, 1496-97.
 
 io8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 their friends reaped no inconsiderable share of the spoil. 
 From Dudley's Tree of Commonwealth, written during his 
 imprisonment in 1510, it would seem that some scheme 
 for the appropriation of ecclesiastical revenues had already 
 engaged the attention of the Privy Council, and owing 
 to his denunciations of abuses in the Church, the idea 
 of the Reformation may have suggested itself to 
 Henry VIII. 
 
 In connection with the House of Commons under 
 the first of the Tudors, there only remains to be noticed 
 Sir Reginald Bray, of Steyne, Co. Northants (a fruitful soil 
 for the Speakership at this period), who has been assumed 
 by many historical writers to have presided over the House 
 of Commons. Bray's name, however, is nowhere to be 
 found in the Rolls as having filled that high office, and such 
 evidence as exists favours the presumption that he acted 
 as President of a great Council, and not a fully equipped 
 Parliament, which assembled at Westminster on 24 
 October, 1496. As it was attended by the Lords spiritual 
 and temporal, the serjeants-at-law and burgesses and 
 merchants from the principal cities and boroughs, and as 
 it pledged itself to an expenditure of 120,000 to be used 
 in the invasion of Scotland, it had many of the attributes 
 of a regular Parliament, and for that reason it has seemed 
 desirable to include Bray's name in this catalogue of 
 honour. Like Speaker Lovell, he had fought at Bosworth, 
 where he plucked Richard's crown out of a hawthorn bush, 
 into which it had been cast in the moment of defeat. 
 The Brays adopted the hawthorn as their badge, and 
 it was formerly to be seen in one of the painted windows 
 of the manor house at Steyne. 1 
 
 1 It also reappears amongst the fragments of contemporary stained 
 glass in Henry VII's Chapel.
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 109 
 
 The biographical dictionaries, without exception, con- 
 fidently state that Sir Reginald Bray was the architect 
 of Henry VII's Chapel, and that he put the finishing 
 touches to St. George's in Windsor Castle, in which 
 latter building he lies buried without a monument. 
 But this statement requires examination, and has too 
 hastily been accepted as correct. Bray was undoubtedly 
 a patron of architecture, but he was certainly not the 
 architect, in the modern sense of the word, of the royal 
 mausoleum at Westminster. To Robert Vertue, the 
 greatest of a distinguished family of builders, belongs 
 the honour of having designed that noble work. 1 All 
 that Bray did at Windsor was to buy the materials the 
 stone, timber, lead, glass, etc. and to pay the archi- 
 tect's salary and the wages of the men. He seems to have 
 done the same at the royal palaces of Richmond and 
 Greenwich, where Vertue again worked under him. 
 Moreover, Bray died in 1503, when the great chapel at 
 Westminster was only just beginning to rise from its 
 foundations, nor was it fully finished at the King's 
 death in 1509. He had been associated with the 
 fiscal abuses of Morton, Fox, and Empson, and he ap- 
 pointed the last-named to be an executor of his will. 
 Sir Reginald was a man of great wealth. He " had the 
 greatest freedom of any councillor with the King," who 
 granted to him, amongst others, the forfeited estates of 
 Francis, Lord Lovell, but his claim to be considered a 
 great master of design is unfounded. The mind is 
 insensibly drawn from his supposed share in the beauti- 
 
 1 See Professor Lethaby's Westminster Abbey, 1906, p. 225. 
 Vertue's name has been strangely overlooked by the Dictionary of 
 National Biography, and the omission is the more to be regretted as 
 he was essentially a master of the English school.
 
 no SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 fying of the Abbey to what was actually accomplished 
 at Westminster by the King's craftsmen. 
 
 In private life Henry VII was a pious man and a 
 frugal liver, but his love of art and architecture caused 
 him to be lavish in the prosecution of his building schemes. 
 He had amassed a fortune estimated at sixteen millions 
 of the present value of money, and he spared no ex- 
 pense in the erection of the royal tomb-house, with 
 the result that he has stamped his personality upon West- 
 minster more than any King of England since Henry III. 
 The last of all the great works of the Benedictine Abbey, 
 for Wren's additions were in the nature of repairs and 
 restorations, the magnificent chapel erected between 1502 
 and 1509 was originally intended as a mausoleum for the 
 remains of Henry VI. Its exterior has been much spoilt 
 by injudicious restoration early in the nineteenth century, 1 
 but the interior ranks amongst the highest achievements 
 of Gothic art in this country. 
 
 " Far in advance," to quote the words of the Abbey's 
 latest historian, Mr. Francis Bond, " of anything of con- 
 temporary date in England, or France, or Italy, or Spain, 
 it shows us Gothic architecture not sinking into senile 
 decay, as some have idly taught, but bursting forth, 
 Phcenix-like, into new life, instinct with the freshness, 
 originality and inventiveness of youth." The fan- 
 vaulting of its matchless roof, pieced together with the 
 accuracy and precision of an astronomical instrument, 
 is, by common consent, the most wonderful achievement 
 of masonry ever wrought by the hand of man. Its 
 
 1 In the words of William Morris : " Wyatt managed to take all 
 the romance out of the exterior of this most romantic work of the late 
 Middle Ages."
 
 SIR RKC.INAI.I) BRAY 
 
 1496 
 the fiossi-sswn of Mr. lattice fimv of , 
 
 '.</,>l/' in the rriorv Church,
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR in 
 
 pendants, seeming to rest on unsubstantial air, look 
 down upon the finest piece of embellished metal-work 
 in all England the gilt bronze railing, or " grate " as 
 it is called in contemporary writings which surrounds 
 the tombs of Henry and Elizabeth of York. Their 
 recumbent effigies, on which Torregiano was engaged for 
 many years, are admitted to be among the greatest of their 
 kind. Novel as was Robert Vertue's system of vaulting 
 in England, his scheme of exterior abutment is even 
 more strikingly original. By substituting octagonal 
 domed turrets for the flying buttresses of an earlier 
 age, the architect not only economised space, but 
 introduced into his scheme of fenestration a new and 
 attractive feature. The windows, no longer mere flat 
 insertions, are here made to follow the curved lines of 
 the exterior walls, with the happiest results of light and 
 shade. 
 
 The beauty of Henry VII's Chapel induced Barry to 
 adopt the Tudor style for the new Houses of Parliament. 
 With all their imperfections, of which not the least was the 
 selection of a stone which has proved incapable of resisting 
 the destructive effect of the London atmosphere, they 
 stand out by themselves as the most picturesque Gothic 
 building, on a large scale, added to the metropolis in the 
 nineteenth century. The daring combination of gilding 
 and masonry exhibited in both the Victoria and the 
 Clock Towers has elicited nothing but commendation 
 from qualified critics, while the design of the members' 
 private staircase is held to equal that at Christ Church, 
 Oxford, in lightness and elegance, than which no higher 
 praise can be given. 
 
 The mistake of employing a Gothic architect to design
 
 H2 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 a classical building, which Lord Palmerston made when 
 Sir Gilbert Scott was selected to build the Home and 
 Foreign Offices, is only too apparent in Whitehall. That 
 artistic failure should have taught a lesson to successive 
 Commissioners of Works, but not much can be said in 
 praise of the more recently erected Public Offices, mostly 
 of a machine-made type, which line what ought to be 
 the finest thoroughfare in London the approach from 
 Trafalgar Square to Westminster. 
 
 At the present time London happens to want a digni- 
 fied and adequate memorial to King Edward VII. 
 What an opportunity for a First Commissioner of 
 Works to immortalise himself by reconstructing Trafalgar 
 Square and the main approach to the Houses of Parlia- 
 ment on an heroic scale ! If he could obtain the neces- 
 sary funds there is actually a vacant pedestal awaiting 
 him in the finest site in Europe, whereon he might, 
 in course of time, be exhibited to a grateful posterity 
 as a pendant in extravagance to George IV. 
 
 The formation of a Via Regia from the Forum to the 
 Senate, such as would have delighted ancient Rome, would 
 present no insuperable difficulty to Paris, or even to 
 Berlin. Yet the example of the New Processional Road 
 through the Mall, which, whilst it opens up a clearer view 
 of the hideous front of Buckingham Palace, destroyed 
 a genuine relic of seventeenth-century London, almost 
 makes one despair of the artistic future of metropolitan 
 improvements. Leaving St. James's Park by a well-pro- 
 portioned triple arch the scheme of the architect has been 
 choked and strangled at its birth for want of the funds 
 required to demolish a few insignificant business premises. 
 To buy out the banks, clubs, hotels, and shops which dis-
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 113 
 
 figure three sides of Trafalgar Square would cost a large 
 sum, but a beginning might be made by sweeping away the 
 paltry fountains feebly spurting from amidst a waste of 
 sombre asphalte. And although the public sentiment 
 would probably not approve of any material alteration 
 in the central feature of the nation's memorial to Nelson, 
 our sympathy is rather with the survivor of the Victory's 
 crew who exclaimed, on being invited to admire the 
 gigantic column : " Well, I'm blessed if they haven't 
 mast-headed the Admiral ! " 
 
 At the accession of Henry VIII continuous Parlia- 
 mentary government was neither expected nor desired 
 by the constituencies, and the burden of paying their 
 representatives at Westminster would account for no 
 public indignation being evoked, when nearly six years 
 elapsed x before a new Parliament was called. When at 
 last it did meet it sat for less than a month, and, though 
 at its opening the Chancellor, Archbishop Warham, 
 expatiated on the necessity of making good laws and 
 spoke of the constitutional assembly as " the stomach of 
 the nation," the legislative output of the session was 
 infinitesimal, and when, after the Houses had granted 
 the King a liberal subsidy, the dissolution was reached, 2 
 the only concession made to popular opinion was the 
 condemnation of Dudley and Empson, who expiated 
 their crimes on Tower Hill in the following August. 3 
 
 Assuredly, this was the only occasion hi Parliamentary 
 history when two former Speakers died on the same day. 
 Yet in the seventeenth century the situation was nearly 
 
 1 Between 1504 and January, 1509-10. 
 
 * On 23 February. 
 
 * This stop-gap Parliament was presided over by Sir Thomas 
 Englefield, who had preceded Dudley in the Chair during the last reign. 
 
 I
 
 H4 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 paralleled, when Chaloner Chute and Lislebone Long died 
 within a month of one another, and in the eighteenth, 
 when Mr. Speaker Cornwall expired within twenty-four 
 hours of his old antagonist Fletcher Norton. It would be 
 interesting to know, remembering his former intimacy 
 with the twin extortioners, what were Speaker Lovell's 
 feelings when he heard that Dudley and Empson were 
 to be brought to the block. As it was, he lived just long 
 enough to see the profession of the law once more pre- 
 ferred to the Chair in the person of Sir Thomas More, 
 the gifted author of Utopia that happy land which he 
 described as having few laws and no lawyers. 
 
 The temporary eclipse of the House of Lords as 
 a legislative body enabled Henry VIII to introduce 
 Bills into the Upper House which had previously been 
 prepared by the Privy Council, in concert with the law 
 officers of the Crown ; to pass them rapidly through that 
 complacent assembly ; and to present them cut and dried 
 to a packed House of Commons. The practice of referring 
 Government measures to the consideration of a committee 
 of both Houses was also initiated by the Tudors. At the 
 same time the power of the Crown over the legislature 
 was much increased by so manipulating the elections as 
 to ensure the return of the King's Household officers. 
 And while Henry was careful to lay stress upon the 
 independence of Parliament in his communications 
 with the Pope, there is abundant evidence to the effect 
 that, aided as the King was by Thomas Cromwell, the 
 constituencies had little or no free choice in the election 
 of their representatives. 
 
 The earliest and crudest form of intimidating voters 
 was to beat them off by armed force on the day of the
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 115 
 
 poll, as related in the Paston letters, and even where no 
 coercion was employed the preliminaries to election were 
 often accompanied by strange and novel conditions. 
 Some amusing instances of payment in kind for Parlia- 
 mentary service occur in the fifteenth century, as when 
 John Strange entered into an agreement with the bailiffs 
 of Dunwich to give his attendance at Westminster " for 
 a cade of full herring " whether the House " holds long 
 time or short," while the borough of Weymouth at the 
 same period was able to secure a member to watch over 
 its interests at the even cheaper rate of five hundred 
 mackerel. Five shillings a week was all that Ipswich was 
 willing to pay for the services of William Worsop in 1472, 
 whilst John Walworth, the junior member, covenanted 
 to serve for as little as three shillings and four pence ! 
 
 Though little is heard of direct bribery in the sixteenth 
 century, instances occurred of members compounding 
 with their constituents by agreeing to accept less than 
 the statutory allowance for travelling expenses. Some 
 even went so far as to offer to serve altogether without 
 pay. This negative form of bribery became increasingly 
 common in the reign of Henry VIII, and the city of 
 Canterbury, overjoyed, on one occasion, at having saved 
 the wages of one of its members who stayed away from 
 Westminster on account of the plague, actually rewarded 
 him for his abstention. There is this much to be said 
 for bribery as understood and practised in olden days. 
 The briber did at least pay the money out of his own 
 pocket, therefore the revenues of the State did not 
 suffer. Nowadays the would-be briber offers the money 
 of the State in order to corrupt voters, and whilst party 
 leaders talk grandiloquently of the great constitutional
 
 n6 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 issues involved in a general election, the actual canvas- 
 sing for votes in many constituencies turns mainly on 
 the granting of pecuniary rewards by the State. 
 
 The seventeenth century brought with it increased 
 cost to candidates, but bribery was not translated into a 
 fine art until the division of the House of Commons into 
 parties, each anxious to turn the other out and obtain 
 the spoils of office, became an accomplished fact. 
 Wasteful expenditure at contested elections attained 
 its height towards the end of the eighteenth century, 
 but since 1832 bribery in an acute form has tended 
 steadily to decline. Traces of the old leaven occasion- 
 ally manifested themselves far on into the nineteenth 
 century, but under an extended franchise, and a pure 
 and beneficent system which substitutes cheerfully paid 
 subscriptions and charitable donations for the whole- 
 sale treating and degrading corruption of the electorate 
 prevailing within the memory of many still living the 
 cost of entering the House of Commons, and, what is 
 often more difficult, of securing re-election at the second 
 attempt, is now appreciably less than it was before the 
 passing of the Corrupt Practices Act of 1883. 
 
 Although it has not been possible to discover that 
 the measures adopted by Thomas Cromwell to secure 
 a compliant House of Commons included anything 
 in the nature of wholesale pecuniary corruption, the 
 constant pressure put upon the sheriffs and mayors 
 by the Privy Council was so stringent and so far-reaching 
 that throughout the period of the Reformation the 
 popular assembly was almost entirely subservient to the 
 Sovereign, from the Speaker in his Chair to the humblest 
 burgess. To a House so constituted was assigned the
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 117 
 
 spade work of severing England from Rome and despoiling 
 the Church, and, owing to the spirit of independence 
 being almost wholly absent from its deliberations, it 
 became possible for the real rulers of the country, under 
 the thin disguise of a constitutional movement which was 
 in reality a hollow sham, to rob the English people of a 
 faith which, of their own free will, they had never 
 deliberately rejected. 
 
 Henry's second Parliament, a " War Parliament " as 
 it has been called, was presided over by Sir Robert 
 Sheffield, of Butterwick, near Boston, in Lincolnshire, 
 an ancestor of the Dukes of Buckingham of that family. 1 
 The ancient seat of the Sheffields had been at a place 
 called Hemmeswelle, but a fortunate match with the 
 heiress of Delves enabled the Speaker to build extensively 
 at Butterwick, in the Isle of Axeholme. 
 
 It has been supposed that the Speakers had no official 
 residence at Westminster until a much later period, but 
 from the journal of a Venetian traveller, who visited 
 England in 1512, it appears that not only did the Speaker 
 thus early live within the precincts of the Palace, but that 
 a certain amount of ceremonial hospitality was expected 
 of him by the general body of members : 
 
 " The Parliament has begun, that is to say all the 
 gentlemen of the Kingdom have come, and are making a 
 Parliament in the Palace of the King called Vasmonestier, 
 distant from London less than two miles ; and all the 
 gentlemen who come have houses in London, and it 
 
 1 Speaker Sheffield was buried in 1518 in the church of the 
 Augustinian Friars. This, which has been since 1550 the meeting- 
 place of the Dutch Communion in London, was for centuries a 
 favourite burying-place with the greater nobility and the wealthier 
 City merchants.
 
 n8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 behoves them to pass before the door of the House of the 
 Worshipful Speaker, as well those who go by land as those 
 who go by water ; for there is a river called the Tamixa, 
 whereon they can go in 100 boats, made after their 
 fashion, from London to the said Vasmonestier. And they 
 are bound to pass before the said worshipful house ; and 
 having reached the said door, these gentlemen, for the love 
 they bear to the magnificent and worshipful speaker, 
 visit him with 16 and more or less servants ; some come 
 to dinner and some to breakfast (eolation), for^this is the 
 custom of the country : they have breakfast every 
 morning. . . . Every morning he goes to Mass with some 
 of these gentlemen, who hold him by the arms and walk 
 up and down with him for an hour ; then they go to the 
 Council and he to his house." 1 
 
 During Sheffield's tenure of the Chair 2 a disastrous 
 fire broke out in the Palace of Westminster, and many 
 old buildings between the Great Hall and the Abbey were 
 destroyed. Details of the calamity, which occurred in 
 1512, are scanty. The Hall itself, the Painted Chamber, 
 St. Stephen's Chapel, the Star Chamber, and the Clock 
 Tower escaped injury, but many of the King's private 
 apartments were burnt. This fire, by no means the first 
 in which the Palace had been involved, was the primary 
 cause of the removal of the Court, first to Bridewell and 
 thence, after the fall of Wolsey, to Whitehall. 
 
 Apparently the Cloister Court of St. Stephen's, dating 
 
 1 This delightful bit of Parliamentary anecdote will be found in 
 Gentlemen Errant, by Mrs. Henry Cust, 1909, p. 512, note. 
 
 1 The Dictionary of National Biography, following Manning, says 
 that Sheffield had also been Speaker in 1510, but the Rolls conclu- 
 sively prove that Englefield was Speaker from 23 January, 1509-10, 
 until 23 February. And as under the old style the year was reckoned 
 to begin on 25 March, Parliament was not actually in session at any 
 time in 1510.
 
 ; 
 
 fe^:: 7f 
 iX: -i -So/, . 
 
 SIR ROBERT SIIKKFI KI.I) 
 
 I5II-2 
 '
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 119 
 
 from the middle of the fourteenth century, was involved 
 in the conflagration, for it is known to have been rebuilt 
 in 1526 by Dr. John Chambers, the last Dean of the 
 Saint Chapdle of the Palace. A bell tower rising on the 
 east side of Westminster Hall escaped the flames in 
 1512, and was heightened when the Cloister Court was 
 rebuilt, only to be once more practically destroyed in the 
 still greater fire of 1834. 
 
 Its subsequent restoration by Sir Charles Barry ranks 
 as one of the most successful achievements of that 
 architect at Westminster. 
 
 In the library of Hatfield House are two interesting 
 plans, drawn by John Symonds in 1593, showing in 
 detail the various buildings between the Great Hall and 
 the Receipt of the Exchequer as they existed when Coke 
 sat in the Speaker's Chair. 
 
 The Palace of Bridewell was only divided from the 
 Blackfriars by the Fleet Ditch, and in consequence of 
 the damage caused by the fire at Westminster, the sittings 
 of Parliament were temporarily held in the Priory. 
 
 The next Speaker after Sheffield was Sir Thomas Nevill, 
 fifth son of the second Baron Bergavenny. He was voted 
 to the Chair on 6 February, 1514-15, and held office till 
 the dissolution, on 22 December. When he was pre- 
 sented for the royal approval in the House of Lords 
 he had the honour of knighthood conferred upon him 
 in the presence of the assembled Lords and Commons, 
 "the like whereof was never known before." During 
 the session an Act was passed which laid down that 
 no knight, citizen, or burgess " do depart until Parlia- 
 ment be fully finished except he have licence of the 
 Speaker and the same be entered in the book of the
 
 clerk," upon pain of losing his wages. An earlier statute 
 of Richard II had dealt with the subject of absenting 
 members and the penalties to be inflicted for non- 
 attendance at Westminster. 
 
 In the reign of Elizabeth, and probably earlier, the 
 House was called over at the opening of every session, 
 and members in their places answered to their names. 
 But in spite of all attempts to ensure regular attend- 
 ance, there were frequent complaints of scanty houses 
 in Tudor times, and even such expedients as locking the 
 doors and forcibly preventing members who were present 
 from leaving until the business of the day was concluded 
 proved ineffectual ; nor has it ever been possible to devise 
 any effective machinery for securing a full attendance of 
 members throughout the lifetime of a Parliament, or 
 even during a single session. The accurate reporting of 
 debates, the publication of the division lists, and the 
 fierce light which now beats upon the doings of private 
 members, to say nothing of ministers of the Crown, has 
 done more to ensure constant attendance than any 
 penal resolutions passed by the House in order to meet 
 individual cases. 
 
 After an interval of over seven years a new Parlia- 
 ment met, not at Westminster, but again in the Great 
 Chamber of the Priory at Blackfriars, where now stands 
 the Times office. It chose for its Speaker a man in 
 the prime of life, the member for Middlesex, no other 
 than the great Sir Thomas More, the first layman, 
 with one exception, to be Chancellor of England. It 
 was not his first appearance in the House, for in the 
 previous reign he had successfully resisted a grant to the 
 King, for which temerity, as it would have been a violation
 
 SIR THOMAS XEVILL 
 
 ISH-IS 
 from a Memorial Brass in Mereworth Church, Kent
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 121 
 
 of the Constitution to punish a member for his vote, More's 
 aged father was imprisoned and fined. This truly great 
 man may be said to have only flitted across the stage of 
 the House of Commons, for the session of 1523 lasted less 
 than four months. Short as it was, it is memorable for 
 the wholly unconstitutional irruption of Wolsey into the 
 Chamber to demand a grant of 800,000 1 in order to 
 carry on the war with France. 2 
 
 The proposed tax, which was in the nature of a graduated 
 toll upon income and property amounting to four shillings 
 in the pound upon land and goods, was unparalleled in 
 amount, and was stoutly resisted, though More, who 
 seems to have considered it justified under the circum- 
 stances, urged the House to comply with the royal 
 demands. But when the Cardinal entered, after the 
 question of his being admitted at all had been debated at 
 length, he was met by a chilling and preconcerted silence. 
 "Masters," cried Wolsey, "unless it be the manner of 
 your House, as in likelihood it is, by the mouth of your 
 Speaker whom you have chosen for trusty and wise (as 
 
 1 About 12,000,000 at the present computation of money. 
 
 * In Fiddes' Life of Wolsey, 1724, there is a representation, at page 
 302, of Henry VIII sitting in Parliament (? at Blackfriars) with the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury (War ham), Cardinal Wolsey, the mitred 
 Abbots, the Prior of St. John of Jerusalem, and the temporal peers. 
 The Clerk of the Parliaments and his assistant are shown kneeling 
 behind one of the woolsacks, and the Speaker of the House of Com- 
 mons with several members of the Lower House are standing at 
 the bar. 
 
 This print, which was communicated to Fiddes by John Anstis, 
 Garter, in 1722, bears a striking resemblance to a plate printed in 
 Pinkerton's Iconographica Scotica from a drawing formerly in the 
 Heralds' College, but not now to be found there, supposed to represent 
 Edward I with the King of Scotland, and Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, 
 in Parliament assembled. It is probably, however, of much later 
 date and of little or no historical value.
 
 122 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 indeed he is) in such cases to utter your mind, 
 here is, without doubt, a marvellous obstinate silence." 
 Falling upon his knees, More replied that though the 
 Commons might entertain communications from with- 
 out, it was not according to precedent to enter into debate 
 with outsiders. 
 
 Thomas Cromwell, the man who, a few years later, 
 was more than any other responsible for the spoliation 
 of the Church and the degradation of the House of 
 Commons, sat in this Parliament for the first time. 
 Combining the unpopular profession of a solicitor with 
 the disreputable one of a money-lender, by the double 
 experience so gained he made himself the master of the 
 secrets of half the aristocracy, including many members 
 of both Houses. On the present occasion he was not 
 acting under Henry's orders, and he delivered a telling 
 speech against the war. Not till 13 May did the House 
 consent to grant any portion of the land tax, and then 
 only a much lesser sum than Wolsey would be satisfied 
 with. 
 
 The burgesses, who declared that the tax was only in- 
 tended to affect the squires and the land, declined to vote 
 at all. A few days later the House adjourned for Whit- 
 suntide ; but on its reassembling a proposal that, in 
 addition to the sum derived from landed estate, one 
 shilling in the pound should be levied on goods was 
 supported by the squires, and vehemently opposed by the 
 borough members. It was only by the personal interven- 
 tion of the Speaker that the differences of the country 
 party and the burgesses were composed and the tax 
 finally voted. At the close of the session Cromwell 
 wrote to a friend : "Ye shall understand that I,
 
 SIR THOMAS MOKE 
 
 1523 
 a painting at the Speaker's Ho
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 123 
 
 amongst others, have endured a Parliament which 
 continued by the space of seventeen whole weeks 
 where we communed of war, peace, strife, contention, 
 debate, murmur, grudge, riches, poverty, trouble, false- 
 hood, justice and equity. . . . Howbeit we have done 
 as well as we might and left off where we began." 
 
 After the Great Hall of Blackfriars, the scene of 
 Katherine of Arragon's trial before Cardinal Campeggio, 
 ceased to be used for Parliamentary purposes, the site 
 of the Priory was devoted to various secular uses, and 
 many famous names are found in connection with it. 
 
 A theatre, in which no less a man than Shakespeare 
 trod the boards, flourished in the old home of the monks 
 from the reign of Elizabeth until all theatrical enterprise 
 was stifled under the Commonwealth. 1 
 
 Vandyck, on his first coming to London, took a house 
 in the precincts, where he had been preceded by Isaac 
 Oliver and other painters. Towards the close of the 
 eighteenth century the first John Walter set up his 
 logographic press in Printing House Square, and laid the 
 foundations of a gigantic instrument of popular enlighten- 
 ment the greatest newspaper the world has ever seen. 
 Here, almost on the identical spot where More con- 
 fronted Wolsey, Delane sat in the editorial chair of 
 The Times for thirty-six arduous years. 
 
 It would be superfluous, if not impertinent, to dwell 
 in these pages upon More's subsequent career and tragic 
 fate. There is in the Speaker's house a recently ac- 
 quired portrait of the great Chancellor in the Holbein 
 manner, but it is at best a contemporary copy. Another 
 
 1 Play House Yard preserves the association of the drama with 
 Blackfriars to this day.
 
 124 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Sir Thomas, cast in a very different mould, succeeded More 
 as Speaker, and also on the Woolsack. This was Thomas 
 Audley, a " sordid slave," according to Lord Campbell, 
 whose promotion coincided with Wolsey's disgrace. The 
 " Black " or Reformation Parliament, an epoch in our 
 national history, met at Westminster in November, 1529, 
 and was not dissolved until 1536, so that it was easily the 
 longest known to that time. If not actually packed 
 with the nominees of the Crown, as far as it was 
 possible to control the elections, only candidates hostile 
 to the Church were held to be eligible. " With the 
 Commons it is nothing but down with the Church," 
 said the Bishop of Rochester from his place in 
 the House of Lords in the course of the first session. 
 While Audley was in the Chair only the outworks of the 
 Church were laid siege to, and not till after his transfer 
 to the Woolsack, when Sir Humphrey Wingfield became 
 Speaker, did the actual severance from Rome take place. 1 
 Audley left no male heir, but his grandson Thomas, 
 Earl of Suffolk, ultimately inherited his vast wealth, and 
 built Audley End in Essex between 1603 and 1616. It is 
 said to be the largest private house in England, and to 
 have cost 200,000. The Chancellor died in 1544, and was 
 buried in a chapel which he had built at Saffron Walden 
 in his native county. An elaborate monument was 
 
 1 The Acts contrived by Cromwell in 1533-34 in order to ensure the 
 final breach with Rome were four in number : " An Act for the sub- 
 mission of the Clergy to the King's Majesty," " An Act restraining the 
 payment of annates," " An Act concerning the exoneration of the 
 King's subjects from exactions and impositions heretofore paid to the 
 see of Rome, and for having Licences and Dispensations within this 
 Realm without suing further for the same," and " An Act declaring 
 the establishment of succession of the King's most Royal Majesty in 
 the Imperial Crown of this Realm."
 
 {'mm a painting at the Speaker's Jhnis
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 125 
 
 erected to his memory. His portrait in official robes 
 with gold-laced sleeves is in the Speaker's house. With 
 the exception of that of Sir Thomas More it is the earliest 
 in point of date hi the collection, but the painting is 
 not earlier than the eighteenth century, having prob- 
 ably been painted to order with several others of the 
 series. 
 
 Wingfield, in early life a protege of Wolsey, though not 
 otherwise remarkable, deserves mention for his having 
 been the first Speaker to sit for a borough constituency. 
 Sir Robert Brooke, temp. Mary I, is said by Hakewil and 
 others to have been the first burgess so honoured, but 
 this is inaccurate. Wingfield represented Great Yarmouth 
 in 1529, and Sir John Say, who was Speaker in 1448-49, 
 had represented the borough of Cambridge before he 
 became a Knight of the Shire. The salary received by 
 Wingfield was 100 a year. Sprung from an old East 
 Anglian family of Brantham Hall, in the county of 
 Suffolk, he was educated at Gray's Inn, where his coat 
 of arms is still to be seen in a north window of the 
 hall. 
 
 The precedent set in Wingfield's case was soon followed, 
 for Sir Richard Rich, of Leigh's Priory, Co. Essex, sat for 
 Colchester when elected to the Chair in 1536. Hypocrite, 
 perjurer, oppressor, and time-server, he is without manner 
 of doubt the most despicable man who ever sat in the 
 Chair of the Commons. Shrinking from no infamy so 
 long as he was on the winning side, he had a part in 
 the fall of Wolsey, the deaths of More (whose con- 
 viction was only obtained on Rich's perjured evidence), 
 of Fisher, Cromwell, Wriothesley, the Protector 
 Somerset, and his brother Lord Seymour of Sudeley
 
 126 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 and of Northumberland. A monster in human shape, 
 Rich stretched the rack with his own hands when 
 Anne Askew was put to torture in the Tower. 1 
 During the short session of 1536 for it sat little more 
 than a month Parliament passed an Act by which 
 Elizabeth as well as Mary was declared illegitimate, the 
 King having married Jane Seymour shortly before the 
 Houses met. 
 
 Before another Parliament was summoned Edward the 
 Confessor's golden shrine had been hacked down by 
 sacrilegious hands, and the Abbey despoiled of its 
 treasures, an irreparable loss to the nation as well as to 
 the Church. At the same time the priceless jewelled 
 shrine of Becket at Canterbury was totally destroyed, 
 and the spoils, which are said to have filled six-and-twenty 
 carts, were swept into the royal treasury. The " Regale of 
 France," a large diamond which was considered to be one 
 of its chief glories, was long worn by Henry as a ring, 
 and it is shown on his enormous thumb in some of his 
 later portraits. It reappeared in the inventory of Queen 
 Mary's jewels, after which date its history cannot be 
 traced. Rich was one of the principal gainers through 
 the disposition of the monastic lands. Henry VIII gave 
 him St. Bartholomew's, Smithfield, as his share of the 
 spoils of the Reformation, and he made his town house 
 in Cloth Fair. Long known as Warwick House, it was 
 standing in quite recent years. 
 
 In the list of Speakers in the library of the House of 
 Commons, the date of Rich's advancement to the Chair 
 
 1 Rich was then Chancellor of the Augmentations, and Wriothesley, 
 who was associated with him in the torture of this unfortunate woman, 
 was Chancellor.
 
 SIK IU Ml'HRKY \\ INCI'IKI.Ii
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 127 
 
 is given as 1537, but this is an obvious error, as no Parlia- 
 ment was summoned in that year. He resigned the 
 Great Seal in 1551, and died in 1567 or 1568. 1 There is a 
 recumbent effigy of him in Felstead Church, but the 
 inscription on the tomb has been destroyed. 
 
 Sir Nicholas Hare, another compliant tool of Henry 
 VIII, was Speaker hi 1539-40 in the Parliament 
 which passed the atrocious Act known as the " Whip 
 with six strings." Hare was also Keeper of the 
 Great Seal, though only for fourteen days. There 
 is some doubt as to the constituency he represented 
 whilst he was Speaker. One of the name sat for 
 Downton in 1529, and Hare is supposed to have 
 been Knight of the Shire for Norfolk in 1539, though 
 the official returns for that year are wanting. He 
 was the ancestor of the Hares of Stow Hall in that 
 county, having bought the hundred of Clackhouse 
 (which included Stow Bardolph) from Lord North in 
 I 553- Appointed Master of the Rolls in that year, he 
 died in Chancery Lane and was buried in the Temple 
 Church. 
 
 It should be mentioned that he was absent during 
 part of the session of 1539-40, having been committed 
 to the Tower for advising Sir John Skelton how to 
 evade the Statute of Uses in his will. This was deemed 
 to be an infringement of the royal prerogative. He was 
 released in Easter Term, 1540, and, strange to say, his 
 imprisonment does not seem to have been considered a 
 
 1 The Dictionary of National Biography gives the earlier and the 
 Complete Peerage the later date, and they are also at variance as to 
 the year of his birth. The Earls of Warwick and Holland were de- 
 scended from him, hence the name of Warwick House, Smithfield.
 
 128 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 breach of privilege. To such a degree of subserviency 
 was the House reduced that even the imprisonment of 
 its Speaker passed without remonstrance. 
 
 The next Parliament, which passed the Act for the 
 Reformation of Religion, chose for its Speaker Sir Thomas 
 Moyle. Originally a Cornish family, the Moyles migrated 
 to Kent in the fifteenth century. In Queen Mary's reign 
 Sir Thomas posed as a true friend of the Reformation, 
 and vacated his seat rather than support the policy of 
 Rome. He died at Eastwell, near Ashford, in 1560, and 
 his youngest daughter married Sir Thomas Finch, the 
 progenitor of the Earls of Winchilsea and Nottingham, 
 thus carrying the estate into a family which gave two 
 subsequent Speakers to the House of Commons. During 
 Moyle's Speakership occurs an early use of the well-known 
 term " Member of Parliament." Henry VIII, writing 
 to the Deputy and Council of Ireland, apropos of O'Brien, 
 Earl of Thomond, said : " But you must remember that 
 the heir of the Earl of Thomond from henceforth must 
 abide his time to be admitted as a Member of our Parlia- 
 ment till his father or parent shall be deceased, and to 
 be only a hearer standing bareheaded at the bar beside 
 the Cloth of Estate as the young Lords do here in our 
 realm of England." l 
 
 It has been thought that Rich again filled the Chair in 
 Henry's ninth and last Parliament, but from an entry 
 which the present writer found in the Registers of the 
 Privy Council, it appears that Sir John Baker, whom 
 previous writers have not noticed in this connection until 
 the reign of Edward VI, was the next to hold the 
 office. February 7, 1546-47. " Also Sir John Baker had 
 
 1 State Papers, III, 395.
 
 Hans Holbein, rielt
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 129 
 
 warrant to the Treasurer and Chamberlains of the 
 Exchequer for 100 to be given to him in considera- 
 tion of his service in the room of Speaker in the last 
 session of the Parliament as hath been heretofore ac- 
 customed." It was also customary for the Speaker to 
 receive an allowance for his diet, five pounds for every 
 private Bill passed by both Houses, and five pounds 
 for every name in any Bill for denizens, unless he 
 agreed to accept less. [Harleian Miscellany, Vol. IV, 
 page 561.] On Christmas Eve, 1545, Henry made the 
 last of his many speeches to Parliament, urging the 
 nation to religious unity, and on 31 January, 1546-47, 
 the day that Wriothesley announced the King's death, 
 only just in time to save the Duke of Norfolk from a 
 traitor's death, Parliament was dissolved. 
 
 Sir John Baker, who was re-elected Speaker in 
 Edward VI 's first Parliament, was the head of an old 
 Kentish family seated at Sissinghurst, near Cranbrook. 
 He erected a castle, long since dismantled, on a com- 
 manding site overlooking the Weald. Originally a 
 quadrangular edifice of great extent and profusely 
 ornamented in the Tudor style, it has fallen by gradual 
 stages from its former high estate until little remains of 
 Speaker Baker's building with the exception of one 
 wing, now converted into cottages and stabling, and a 
 lofty tower, of somewhat unusual design, capped by two 
 conical turrets. 
 
 After being bred to the Law, Baker was sent Am- 
 bassador to Denmark by Henry VIII, and, in the same 
 year in which he was called to the Chair, 1 he became 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer, a post which he continued 
 
 1 1545- 
 
 K
 
 130 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 to fill until the death of Queen Mary in 1558. His zeal 
 for the Roman faith coinciding with a ruthless persecu- 
 tion of Kentish Protestants caused him to be known and 
 execrated throughout the Weald as " Bloody Baker." 
 Some of his hapless neighbours, after being arraigned 
 before him, were burnt at Maidstone for their religious 
 convictions, and it is said that, having procured an order 
 from the Privy Council for sending yet two more to the 
 stake, it was only at the last moment that their lives were 
 miraculously spared. The ex-Speaker was riding towards 
 Cranbrook with full intent to carry his sinister purpose 
 into effect, when, at a spot where three roads meet, known 
 to this day as Baker's Cross, the bells of the parish church 
 intimated to him that Elizabeth had ascended the throne. 
 
 Sir John Baker died in London in 1558, but his body 
 was brought down to Cranbrook and buried with great 
 ceremony in the church there. A monument erected to 
 his memory was accidentally destroyed in 1725 when, 
 on opening the family vault, a portion of the middle aisle 
 fell down owing to the loosening of one of the supporting 
 arches. 
 
 The Bakers ceased to be connected with Sissinghurst 
 in the eighteenth century, and the dilapidated castle 
 came into the possession of Horace Walpole's correspon- 
 dent, Sir Horace Mann. During the Seven Years' War 
 it was used as a place of confinement for French prisoners, 
 as many as three thousand being horded together in it 
 at one time. After their withdrawal in 1763 it was un- 
 inhabited for about twenty years, and in 1784 the paro- 
 chial authorities hired the premises from Sir Horace Mann 
 for the purpose of a poor-house. 
 
 With the dissolution of the ecclesiastical houses the
 
 l-'ivin a drawing in t/te \ational t'oi'trait C.allo-
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 131 
 
 long and intimate connection between the Abbey and 
 the House of Commons came to an end. It ceased to 
 meet in the precincts of St. Peter's and took possession 
 of the disused Chapel of St. Stephen in the Palace of 
 Westminster. It met there for the first time on 4 Novem- 
 ber, 1547, and by a singular coincidence the city of 
 Westminster now first obtained separate representation 
 in the House. 1 
 
 The posthumous generosity of Henry VIII involved a 
 heavy charge on the Exchequer, and, Somerset's ambitious 
 policy entailing great expense, such old devices as tamper- 
 ing with the coinage were once more resorted to, and 
 endeavours were made to persuade Parliament to grant 
 the King the lands held by guilds and fraternities, and 
 to sell them hi order to supply the pressing necessities of 
 the Government. 
 
 But the new House of Commons was not quite so 
 subservient as some of its predecessors, and it became 
 necessary for the State to come to terms with the most 
 determined opponents of the measure in the House. 
 From entries in the Registers of the Privy Council we 
 gather that systematic obstruction and many of the 
 devices of modern Parliamentary tactics were not un- 
 known. Lynn and Coventry were two boroughs princi- 
 pally affected, and the Council came to the conclusion 
 that " the article for the guildable lands should be dashed" 
 (this being the current phraseology for the rejection of a 
 Bill or one of its articles or clauses), since " the time of the 
 
 1 The Journals of the House begin with this Parliament ; on the 
 first page Baker's election to the Chair is recorded, but the appoint 
 ments of several subsequent Speakers are unnoticed in their pages, 
 and the earlier Journals are, in many respects, of a fragmentary 
 character.
 
 132 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 prorogation being hard at hand the whole body of the 
 Act might sustain peril unless by some good policy the 
 principal speakers against the passing of that article 
 might be stayed." 1 History has a habit of repeating 
 itself, and three hundred years later than Protector 
 Somerset, ministers of the Crown have often had occasion 
 to resort to very similar measures in "staying" loqua- 
 cious members, so that unpopular " articles " in Govern- 
 ment Bills should not be " dashed." 
 
 Early in 1549 the Act of Uniformity passed through 
 both Houses and the celebration of the Mass in England 
 was prohibited after the month of May. At the dissolution 
 in 1552 the Privy Council directed the payment of fifty 
 marks to John Seymour, " Clerk of the Lower House of 
 Parliament," for his pains (and in 1554 he received the 
 same sum), but it is not stated that the Speaker received 
 any reward for his services. 2 
 
 The second and last Parliament of Edward VI, like so 
 many of its predecessors, was a packed assembly. Sir 
 James Dyer, 3 who appears to have been the willing 
 tool of Northumberland, then at the zenith of his 
 power, was its Speaker. The House only sat for a 
 month, and almost the only Act of importance which it 
 passed was one for the suppression of the Bishopric of 
 Durham. Speaker Dyer's portrait in judge's robes, for 
 he became Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in 1560, 
 in which capacity he was noted for an incorruptible 
 integrity, has recently been added to the National Portrait 
 Gallery. 
 
 1 Acts of the Privy Council, 6 May, 1548. 
 1 Ibid.. 15 May, 1552. 
 
 8 Youngest son of Richard Dyer, of Wincanton and Roundhill, Co. 
 Somerset.
 
 Rtproiluccd fro 
 
 SIR JAMES HVKR 
 
 1552-3 
 
 an original painting in the possession 
 l-'arlcv 
 
 of Canon Mav
 
 SIR ROBKRT BROOKK 
 
 1554 
 From a draining at the National Portrait Gallery
 
 .SIR CI.KMENT HK1GHAM 
 
 1554 
 t-'ront a. lira-ring in the Xntional rortrait Gallery
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 133 
 
 Just as the country seemed to be settling down into 
 Protestantism, a state of affairs which coincided with the 
 apportionment of the remaining lands of the Church 
 amongst the members of the Privy Council, Edward VI, 
 whose health had long been precarious, grew suddenly 
 worse, and on 6 July, 1553, he died. The Council, 
 controlled by the Duke of Northumberland, who wished 
 to place his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, on the 
 throne, were anxious to keep Mary misinformed as to 
 her brother's death. But from Kenninghall, whither 
 she had summoned Sir Clement Heigham, a staunch 
 Catholic and a subsequent Speaker of the House of 
 Commons, Mary sent a spirited message to the Council 
 in London asserting her rights, and from that moment 
 the tide of public opinion turned in her favour. She 
 set up her standard at Framlingham, was proclaimed 
 Queen at Norwich, and within a month she entered 
 London in triumph. 
 
 On i October she was crowned at Westminster amidst 
 every sign of popular rejoicing. Five days later her first 
 Parliament met and at once proceeded to repeal the laws 
 concerning religion passed under her predecessor and to 
 declare the Queen legitimate. The new Speaker was Sir 
 John Pollard, the second son of Walter Pollard, of Ply- 
 mouth, by Avice, daughter of Richard Pollard of Way, 
 Co. Devon. Parliament was dissolved early in December, 
 after requesting the Queen to marry, and suggesting that 
 she should choose her husband from amongst the English 
 nobility, for the possibility of union with Philip of Spain 
 was strongly resented. Mary returned a diplomatic 
 answer, denying the right of the House to influence her 
 choice, but declaring that her sole wish was to secure her
 
 134 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 people's happiness as well as her own. Immediately 
 afterwards she entered upon the final negotiations for her 
 marriage to Philip. 
 
 Pollard was re-elected Speaker in October, 1555, and 
 during the session an Act was passed to restore some at 
 least of the Church property alienated by Henry VIII. It 
 was only carried in the Lower House by 193 to 126, but 
 in the Lords only two peers voted against it. Machyn 
 records the burial of Sir John Pollard on 25 August, 
 1557, but he omits to mention the place of interment. 
 Sir Robert Brooke was Speaker of Mary's second Par- 
 liament, summoned to ratify the Queen's contract of 
 marriage. Of a Shropshire family, he was the first Speaker 
 to sit for the City of London. He died in 1558, and in 
 the chancel of Claverley Church near Wolverhampton a 
 stately monument to his memory was erected. Sir Clement 
 Heigham, an intimate friend of the Queen, was Speaker 
 of her third Parliament (the first of Philip and Mary). 
 It was opened in great state by Mary and her consort 
 in person, who rode on horseback from Whitehall to 
 Westminster. Two days later, his attainder having been 
 reversed, Cardinal Pole arrived at Westminster in his 
 state barge, bearing the Legatine emblem of a silver cross 
 at the prow. Between the dissolution of this Parliament 
 and the end of the reign three hundred heretics were burnt 
 at Smithfield and other places. 
 
 Much the same precautions were taken to secure the 
 return of members acceptable to the Court as had been 
 taken by Henry VIII. The sheriffs were enjoined only 
 to return such as were resident in the constituencies, a 
 regulation well worthy of imitation at the present day, 
 and " men given to good order, Catholic, and discreet."
 
 SIR WILLIAM COKDKLI. 
 
 1557-8 
 front a portrait at St. John's College, O.vfan/
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 135 
 
 In the year in which Calais was lost, Queen Mary, sick at 
 heart at Philip's desertion, met her last Parliament. She 
 opened it in person after attending Mass in the Abbey. 
 Sir William Cordell, of Long Melford, Suffolk, member for 
 the county, was chosen Speaker. The session was not in 
 any way remarkable, and, after granting a subsidy, the 
 Houses were prorogued from March till November. The 
 Commons on their reassembly were about to consider a 
 Bill for the limitation of the powers of the Press, a new 
 subject to engage the attention of the legislature, when 
 the Queen's fatal illness brought the sittings to an abrupt 
 termination. Cordell became Master of the Rolls, and 
 held that lucrative office for nearly a quarter of a century. 
 From that time forward the Speakership came to be re- 
 garded by ambitious lawyers as a stepping-stone to high 
 legal preferment. The spacious days of Queen Elizabeth 
 saw ten Parliaments and eleven Speakers ; all of them 
 without exception were lawyers. 1 
 
 The tenure of the Chair, even for a single session, served 
 as a bridge to higher legal honours. Nor is the reason far 
 to seek. Whilst the majority were men in good practice 
 at the Bar, the emoluments of the Chair at the close of the 
 sixteenth century were so small that the natural trend of 
 their ambition was towards the better-paid offices of the 
 profession. Including the great Sir Thomas More, five 
 Speakers have risen to the Woolsack either as Chancellor 
 or Keeper of the Great Seal : Audley, Rich, Puckering, and 
 Heneage Finch, whilst Hare, Lenthall, and Whitelocke 
 were Commissioners during vacancy. Seven became 
 Masters of the Rolls : Hare, Cordell, Phelips, Lenthall, 
 Grimston, Trevor, and Powle. More numerous still have 
 
 1 The same was the case in the two succeeding reigns.
 
 136 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 been the instances in which the post of Chief Justice of the 
 King's Bench or the Common Pleas has been conferred on 
 a former Speaker. Sir James Dyer, Sir Robert Brooke, 
 Sir Christopher Wray, Sir John Popham, Sir Edward 
 Coke, Sir John Croke, Sir Randolph Crewe, Sir Thomas 
 Richardson, and Sir Job Charlton filled one or other of 
 these coveted places, whilst Barons of the Exchequer and 
 Recorders of London are to be found in plenty in the 
 catalogue. For 170 years the Speakership was farmed 
 by the Law, and that during the least glorious period of 
 its history. When Sir John Trevor was expelled the 
 House hi 1695 for taking bribes he was allowed to re- 
 main Master of the Rolls. 
 
 So many Speakers had lived in Chancery Lane that 
 in the seventeenth century the Rolls House came to be 
 looked upon as the official residence of the presiding 
 officer of the Commons sooner or later in his career. 
 This house, which was pulled down to make way for 
 an extension of the Public Record Office, was designed 
 by Colin Campbell in the reign of George I to replace 
 an earlier structure on the same site. It was a 
 comfortable, rambling building large enough to accom- 
 modate a big family. A good story is told of Sir 
 William Grant in connection with it. When his successor 
 arrived, the great Judge personally conducted him over 
 the ground floor. " Here are two or three good rooms : 
 this is my sitting-room ; my library and bedroom are 
 beyond ; and I am told there are some good rooms 
 upstairs, but I never was there myself." 
 
 The illegal system of State monopolies, l which originated 
 
 1 A monopoly conferred the right of selling articles at a higher price 
 than could have been obtained under a system of competition.
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 137 
 
 under the Tudors, was perpetuated and extended by the 
 Stuarts. These encroachments on the liberty of the 
 subject provided a convenient means of raising money 
 without the consent of Parliament, and tended, as much 
 as anything, to produce that rooted antagonism to the 
 misuse of the royal prerogative which characterised the 
 House of Commons in the first half of the seventeenth 
 century. The valuable collections of Sir Symonds 
 D'Ewes, supplemented by the Registers of the Privy 
 Council, throw a lurid light on the proceedings of 
 Parliament in the reign of Elizabeth. 
 
 As a rule, the Speaker was elected by the unanimous 
 vote of the House, but the appointment of Richard 
 Onslow is an early instance, perhaps the earliest, of a 
 contested election to the Chair. On I October, 1566, he 
 was chosen by eighty-two votes to sixty, and though he 
 pleaded as an excuse for serving the necessity of his 
 attendance in the House of Lords as Solicitor-General, 
 the House decided that he might fill the two offices 
 concurrently. Onslow, the first of three Speakers of his 
 name and family, married Katherine Hardinge in 1559, 
 whose father lived at Knowle, Cranley, Surrey, and from 
 him the Earls of Onslow are descended. 
 
 His brother Fulk was Clerk of the House at the time 
 of Richard's election, and in that capacity it fell to his 
 lot to record the result of the division. Richard Onslow's 
 town house was in Blackfriars, so that he was doubtless 
 in the habit of proceeding to Westminster in his state 
 barge, as the roads leading to the House were still un- 
 suited to the passage of a heavy coach in bad weather. 
 
 An interesting account of the arrangement of the House 
 of Commons as Richard Onslow knew it was prepared in
 
 138 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 1568 by Hooker, a well-known antiquarian writer of the 
 day, for the use of the then Speaker of the Irish Parlia- 
 ment. " The Lower House, as it is called, is a place 
 distinct from the other : it is more of length than of 
 breadth ; it is made like a theatre, having four rows 
 of seats one above another round about the same. 
 At the higher end, in the middle of the lower row, is 
 a seat made for the Speaker, in which he always sitteth ; 
 before it is a table board, at which sitteth the Clerk of 
 the House, and thereupon layeth his books, and writeth 
 his records. Upon the lower row, on both sides the 
 Speaker, sit such personages as be of the King's Privy 
 Council, or of his chief officers ; l but as for any other, 
 none claimeth nor can claim any place, but sitteth as he 
 cometh, saving that on the right hand of the Speaker, 
 next beneath the said counsels, the Londoners and the 
 citizens of York do sit, and so in order should sit all the 
 citizens accordingly ; without this House is one other, 
 in which the under clerks do sit, as also such as be suitors 
 and attendant to that House. And whensoever the House 
 is divided upon any Bill, then the room is voided, and 
 the one part of the House cometh down into this place to 
 be numbered." Here is indicated the origin of the outer 
 lobby, and the primitive manner of taking divisions 
 under the Tudors. 
 
 St. Stephen's Chapel, in addition to its still-existing 
 crypt, had also an attic storey in which were kept the 
 manuscript records of Parliament. A great clearance of 
 these was made in the time of the Commonwealth, when 
 Scobell, the then Clerk of the House, was found to have 
 carried many of them away to his own house. 
 
 1 An early mention of the front Government and Opposition 
 benches.
 
 SIR CHRISTOPHER \VRAY 
 
 1571 
 From a painting in the A ational Portrait Gallery
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 139 
 
 Richard Onslow died of a pestilent fever in 1571, and 
 was buried at St. Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, where a 
 monument with the effigies of himself and his wife was 
 erected. Sir Robert Bell, a Norfolk gentleman, who was 
 Speaker from 1572 to 1575-76, met with a somewhat 
 similar end. Having been made Chief Baron of the 
 Exchequer, in succession to Sir Edward Saunders, he 
 died, at the Oxford summer assizes, of gaol fever, con- 
 tracted whilst presiding at the trial of a bookseller for 
 slandering the Queen. 
 
 Of Sir John Popham, Speaker from 1580-81 to 1583, 
 the first Balliol man to fill the Chair, a witty saying is 
 recorded by Bacon. The Commons had sat a long 
 time without achieving much in the way of legislation, 
 and when the Queen asked him : " What hath passed 
 in the House, Mr. Speaker ? " he made answer : " May 
 it please Your Majesty, seven weeks ! " He acted as 
 Prosecutor for the Crown at the trial of Mary, Queen 
 of Scots, and only in this present year, 1910, the 
 original document signed by Elizabeth prescribing the 
 payment of 100 as "blood money" for his services 
 on that occasion was sold by auction in London. 
 
 In his oration on his elevation to the Chair, Popham 
 advised his fellow-members " to use reverent and dis- 
 creet speeches, to leave curiosity of form, and to 
 speak to the matter." Further, as the Parliament was 
 likely to be a short one, to avoid superfluous argu- 
 ment. 
 
 Increased respect was now beginning to be paid to the 
 Chair, and a motion was made by the Comptroller of the 
 Household and universally approved by which the 
 residue of the House " of the better sort of calling "
 
 140 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 were enjoined, at the conclusion of each day's sitting, 
 " to depart and come forth in comely and civil sort," 
 curtseying to the Speaker on leaving, and not thrusting 
 and thronging "as of late time hath been disorderly 
 used." Members were further required to keep their 
 servants, pages, and lacqueys attending on them in good 
 order. 1 
 
 In the course of the same session D'Ewes makes 
 mention of a concession by the House at large to the 
 Serjeant-at-Arms, who was infirm, but without specify- 
 ing the occasion. " The House being moved did grant 
 that the Serjeant, who was to go before the Speaker, 
 being weak and somewhat pained in his limbs, might ride 
 upon a foot-cloth nag." Although he appears to have 
 ruled the House wisely, Popham's attitude in the Chair 
 was occasionally unfavourably commented upon, a 
 Mr. Cope complaining, on one occasion, that Mr. Speaker 
 " in some such matters as he hath favoured, but without 
 licence of this House, hath spoken to a Bill, and in some 
 other cases which he did not favour and like of, he 
 would prejudice the speeches of other members." 
 
 Probably a descendant of the Popham who was 
 Speaker in 1449, his legal knowledge is embodied in his 
 well-known volume of " Reports and Cases." His por- 
 trait, by an unknown artist, in the National Portrait 
 Gallery, represents him as a benevolent-looking old man 
 of sixty-eight. 
 
 Sir John Puckering, Speaker from 1584-86, and again 
 from 1586-87, is not mentioned in the official Commons 
 Journals (which indeed contain no record of the proceed- 
 ings of any of the later Parliaments of Elizabeth), but 
 
 1 D'Ewes, Journals of Elizabeth, 1682 edition, p. 282.
 
 RICHARD ONSI.O\V 
 
 1566 
 Front a /tainting in the Speaker s House
 
 3H, lUSBKPvT 
 
 ;:: :. 
 
 SIR K01JKKT HKI.I. 
 
 1572 
 l-'rain it print
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 141 
 
 deserves more than passing notice here. When he was 
 voted to the Chair for the second time Parliament had 
 been especially convened to consider the verdict in the trial 
 of Mary, Queen of Scots. -Elizabeth sent an order to the 
 Commons by her Vice-Chamberlain 1 requiring that no 
 laws should be made in the course of the session, " there 
 being many more already than could be well executed." 
 A compliant House was only too willing to endorse the 
 views of the advisers of the Crown, and after the prelimi- 
 naries of meeting had been disposed of, Puckering put the 
 House in remembrance of its duty to deal forthwith with 
 what he hypocritically described as " The Great Cause," 
 recommended to its consideration by the Queen. In the 
 debate which followed, Francis Bacon made his maiden 
 speech and the Speaker was unanimously directed to 
 wait upon Elizabeth and to urge her to comply with the 
 findings of the House against her prisoner. 
 
 The Queen received Puckering in audience at Rich- 
 mond, 2 when he submitted a petition calling for Mary's 
 speedy execution, using many " excellent and solid 
 reasons," in a memorial written with his own hand, why 
 her life should be taken. Of these reasons the one 
 which weighed most with Elizabeth was that which 
 declared that Mary was " greedy for her death," and 
 preferred it before her own life or safety. The House 
 adjourned over Christmas, and before it could meet 
 again 3 the last act in the long-drawn tragedy of Fotherin- 
 gay had taken place. In after days Puckering was 
 rewarded for his complaisant servility by being made 
 Keeper of the Great Seal. In the Upper House he 
 
 1 Sir Christopher Hatton. * 1 3 November. 
 
 * On 15 February.
 
 142 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 deserted the Commons' cause when hi his reply to Coke's 
 demand for the ancient privileges of the House he replied 
 hi overbearing terms, " Your right of free speech is not to 
 say anything that pleaseth you and come out with what- 
 soever may be your thought. Your right of free speech is 
 the right of Aye or No." 
 
 Puckering lived at Kew, where he entertained the 
 Queen, who was graciously pleased to take away a knife 
 and fork as a memento of her visit. When in town he 
 lived at Russell House, near Ivy Bridge, on the south 
 side of the Strand. The Hotel Cecil now covers the site. 
 He was buried in Westminster Abbey, the second in 
 the long catalogue of Speakers to be so honoured. A 
 ponderous monument, erected by his widow in the 
 Chapel of St. Paul, with effigies of both husband and 
 wife, may still be seen. 
 
 Rather less than justice has been done by Parlia- 
 mentary historians to Serjeant Thomas Snagge, who was 
 Speaker in 1588-89, in the Parliament summoned by 
 Elizabeth, after the defeat of the Armada, to place the 
 country in a state of security in the event of a renewal 
 of Spanish aggression. Coming as he did after Puckering, 
 who became Keeper of the Great Seal, and immediately 
 before Coke, whose effulgence overshadowed his more 
 modest attainments, Snagge, though he never reached 
 the judicial bench, seems to have been an excellent 
 public servant and a man in advance of his time in advo- 
 cating the simplification of legal phraseology in the 
 drafting of Acts of Parliament. Though a staunch 
 supporter of the royal prerogative, he was less subser- 
 vient to the Court than the majority of his predecessors, 
 which may account for his having been passed over,
 
 SIR JOHN POl'HAM 
 
 I58O-I 
 Front a painting in tkf Xational Portrait Gallery
 
 SIK JOHN ITCKKRING 
 
 1584, I 5 86 
 
 frroiti lus tomb in M'estminster Abbey 
 From ti ftrin t 
 
 F. Ctle, sculpt.
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 143 
 
 whilst less scrupulous members of his profession were 
 raised to hereditary honours. His speech to the throne, 
 on presentation as Speaker for the royal approval, 
 compares very favourably with the bombastic language 
 employed by Coke on a similar occasion. 
 
 The son of Thomas Snagge, of Letchworth the "garden 
 city " of the twentieth century a gentleman bearing arms 
 at the Heralds' Visitation of Hertfordshire in 1572, he 
 acquired a large landed estate by his marriage with 
 Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Thomas Decons, of 
 Marston-Morteyne, in the county of Bedford, and became 
 a wealthy man independently of his professional emolu- 
 ments. He was bred to the law at Gray's Inn, where he 
 formed the acquaintance of Walsingham, and the first 
 mention to be found of his Parliamentary services is on 
 7 April, 1571, when he was appointed to serve on a 
 Committee which met in the Star Chamber to consider 
 the subsidy to be granted to the Queen. At this time 
 he sat for Bedfordshire, though at the time of his 
 promotion to the Chair he represented the borough, 
 while his eldest son, also Thomas Snagge, sat for the 
 county. His brother, Robert Snagge, had also been a 
 member of the House in 1571. 
 
 In the course of the session he made speeches advocating 
 the use of simpler language in the making of laws, " where- 
 by all entrapments should be shunned and avoided," an 
 enlightened view, coming from the source which it did. 
 He also spoke at some length on the difficult question 
 of Simony. 1 Probably through Walsingham' s influence 
 he was made Attorney-General for Ireland in 1577. 
 The Lord Deputy, Henry Sidney, had written to the 
 
 1 D'Ewes, Journals of Elizabeth, pp. 163 and 165.
 
 144 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Privy Council in England to say that there were no 
 lawyers in that country capable of filling the post, with 
 the exception of Sir Lucas Dillon, the Chief Baron. 
 
 The Queen's choice fell upon Thomas Snagge, and in a 
 letter, dated from Oatlands in September, 1577, she wrote 
 that she was " sufficiently persuaded of his learning and 
 judgment," and that he was to have 100 a year in addi- 
 tion to his fees, and the wages of two horsemen and three 
 footmen. Moreover, " forasmuch as for an infirmity 
 taken by an extreme cold he hath once in the year used 
 his body to the baynes in England, the continuance 
 whereof was requisite to his health," he was to be at 
 liberty to repair to Bath once a year for six weeks " at 
 such time of vacation as may best agree with his cure 
 and be least hindrance to the public service." 
 
 In sending Snagge's Patent of Appointment to Sidney, 
 Walsingham wrote as follows : " The Dutye that he 
 oweth to Her Majestic and his Countrye doth make him 
 leave all other Respects and willinglie to dedicate him- 
 self to that Service, for the which I find him a Man 
 so chosen both for Judgement and bould Spirit ... as 
 hardly all the Howses of Court could yield his like." 1 
 
 Snagge's first letter to Walsingham is dated from 
 Holyhead, to which he had been driven back by stress 
 of weather. In it he mentions that his journey had 
 already cost him forty-eight pounds, and he feared that 
 it would cost him eight pounds more. But on 7 Novem- 
 ber he wrote from Dublin, saying that " he had seen 
 what there is to be seen concerning the course of law 
 in Ireland, which I find to be but a bare shadowe of 
 Westminster Hall." A little later he is found com- 
 
 1 Collins, Letters and Memorials of State, i. 228.
 
 SPEAKER SNAr.GF/S MONt'MKNT 
 
 1588-9 
 
 At Marston-Morteyne, Bi'ifs. 
 From a drawing
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 145 
 
 plaining of the conduct of the Master of the Rolls in 
 Ireland, whom he found to be " very negligent in his 
 office, which greatly hindereth Her Majesty. I can get 
 nothing of him but fayre words, and he hath not delivered 
 into the Exchequer these 3 yeares past any estreates for 
 things which passed the scale." He also told Walsing- 
 ham that the same official would, in his opinion, " do 
 more hurt in this Commonwealth than all the rest 
 of the counseyle can do good." 
 
 The Lord Deputy, who was then engaged in the con- 
 genial task of crushing Desmond's rebellion, appears to 
 have thought highly of Snagge's capacity, and he wrote 
 to the Privy Council from Dublin Castle i 1 "I find him 
 a man well learned, sufficient stoute and well-spoken, 
 an instrument of good service for Her Majesty, and such 
 as is carefull to redresse by wisdome and good discretion 
 such errors as he findeth in H.M.'s courts here, so that 
 by his presence I find myself well assisted, and I humbly 
 thank your Lordships for the sending of him unto me," 
 adding, significantly enough, that more of his sort were 
 then needed in Ireland. 
 
 In 1578 Snagge was still complaining of the dis- 
 service done to the Queen's Government by the ineffi- 
 ciency of the officials of Dublin Castle, and the Chief 
 Remembrancer in particular, whose office he described 
 as being the key of all the services touching the revenue, 
 " the wrong turning whereof hath greatly hindered the 
 good I would have done in my service, and, to be plain, 
 if the place is not filled with a special man it is in vain 
 to send over any in my place to serve here." On his 
 return to England Snagge was rewarded by being 
 
 1 On November 26, 1577. 
 L
 
 146 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 made one of Her Majesty's Serjeants - at - Law, and 
 resumed his attendance in Parliament. Nor were Wal- 
 singham and Sidney the only ministers of the Crown 
 whose confidence he enjoyed. 
 
 Lord Treasurer Burghley, another celebrity hailing 
 from Gray's Inn in its most glorious days, signed himself 
 " Your loving friend " in a letter which he addressed to 
 the Speaker shortly after his elevation to the Chair. 
 This document, which is preserved in the Public Record 
 Office, is reproduced in facsimile on the adjoining page, 
 and deserves to be inserted here, as it contains an early 
 allusion to the state of public business in the House of 
 Commons, and reveals the anxiety of the Government 
 of the day to secure the passage of the measures referred 
 to in an accompanying schedule : 
 
 " Mr. Speaker, 
 
 " I praie you consider of this note which I had of 
 my Lord Chancellor, 1 and to cause the Clerk of the 
 Lower House to sett down how theie stande at this daie 
 in their Readinge, etc. 
 
 " Your loving friend, 
 " W. Burghley, xv Martii, i588-[89]." 
 
 Fulk Onslow, brother of the Speaker of 1566, was the 
 person referred to by the Lord Treasurer. 
 
 Speaker Snagge died in 1593, and was buried in a 
 sumptuous alabaster tomb at Marston-Morteyne adorned 
 with the recumbent effigies of himself and his wife. 
 Manning, writing in 1851, erroneously supposed that 
 the male line of the family was extinct ; but the present 
 Sir Thomas Snagge, Judge of County Courts, is the 
 
 1 Sir Christopher Hatton.
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 147 
 
 representative head of this ancient family and tenth in 
 descent from the Speaker of 1588-89. l 
 
 Sir Edward Coke, like Sir Thomas More, now crossed 
 the stage of Parliament. He was Speaker for less than 
 two months, and it was not until the evening of his days, 
 and after he had been out of the House for twenty-seven 
 years, that he re-entered it, as an independent member, to 
 become the foremost champion of the liberties of the 
 subject. His Parliamentary fame therefore belongs 
 rather to the Stuart period and will be treated of in the 
 next chapter. What little is known of Coke's attitude 
 in the Chair during the few weeks in which he was 
 Speaker is mainly due to the collections of the inde- 
 fatigable Sir Symonds D'Ewes. His speech (or speeches, 
 for he made two), on presentation for the royal approval, 
 differed in no material degree from the language of 
 extravagant metaphor employed by most of his prede- 
 cessors, and showed little of the independence and 
 courage which marked the later years of his career. 
 Although anxious to pose as the faithful servant of the 
 House, he seems to have misconceived the true function 
 of the Speaker's office, and never to have been able to 
 forget that he was also the Queen's Solicitor-General. 
 Likening himself with mock humility to untimely fruit 
 " not yet ripe, but a bud scarcely blossomed," 2 he 
 expressed the fear that Her Majesty " amongst so many 
 fair fruit had plucked in him a shaking leaf." 
 
 The Lord Keeper, Puckering, answered him in similar 
 
 1 The illustration of Speaker's Snagge's monument was kindly sup- 
 plied to the author, together with much interesting genealogical infor- 
 mation, by Sir Thomas Snagge, from a drawing by G. Wilson, of 
 Messrs. Farmer and Brindley, Lambeth. 
 
 1 Coke was now in his forty-second year.
 
 148 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 strain, and in his second oration, the new Speaker, after 
 a complimentary reference to Elizabeth's late successes 
 over her enemies the Pope and the King of Spain, passed 
 in rapid review the legislative achievements of every reign 
 since that of Henry III. But, as Coke was notoriously 
 careless in verifying his references, even his great and 
 acknowledged erudition could hardly have prevented 
 him from making many mistakes in attempting such an 
 epitome of Parliamentary history. He also spoke of 
 there being already so many laws that they might properly 
 be termed Elephantince Leges, saying that to make more 
 would seem superfluous were it not that the malice of 
 " our arch-enemy the Devil " required the passing of 
 measures designed to counteract his evil influence. He 
 concluded with the usual formal requests for liberty of 
 speech, freedom from arrest, and access to the Sovereign. 
 To which Puckering, an even greater sycophant, 
 having received fresh instructions from the Queen, made 
 the singular reply already mentioned 1 in which he denned 
 his latest interpretation of the right of free speech. 
 
 Two days later Coke was suddenly taken ill and could 
 not attend the sittings of the House. " On Saturday 
 24 February the House being set, and a great number 
 of the members of the same assembled, Mr. Speaker not 
 then as yet being come to the House, some said to one 
 another, . they heard he was sick ; and one affirmed 
 it to be so indeed, showing that he had been with him 
 this morning himself, and left him sick in his bed, 2 and 
 his physician and his wife with him ; and some others 
 
 1 At page 142 of this volume. 
 
 1 At his house in Serjeant's Inn, Fleet Street, for he did not remove 
 to Holbornjuntiljhis second marriage.
 
 SIR KDWARI) CORK 
 
 '592-3 
 // n fainting at llolkka
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 149 
 
 supposing that he would shortly signify unto this House 
 the cause of that his absence, moved that the Clerk 1 might 
 in the meantime proceed to saying of the Litany and 
 Prayers. Which being so done accordingly the Serjeant 
 of this House, presently after the said prayers finished, 
 brought word from Mr. Speaker unto the Rt. Hon. Sir 
 John Woolley, Kt., one of H.M.'s most honourable 
 Privy Council, and a member of this House and then 
 present, that he had been this last night and also was this 
 present forenoon so extremely pained with a wind in 
 his stomach and looseness of body, that he could not as 
 yet without his further great peril and danger adventure 
 into the air at this time, which otherwise most willingly 
 he would have done." Whereon : " all the said members 
 of this House being very sorry for Mr. Speaker, his sick- 
 ness, rested well satisfied. And so the House did rise, 
 and every man departed away." 2 
 
 His recovery must have been as rapid as his indis- 
 position was sudden. On the 27th of the same month, 
 when he returned to the Chair, he dealt a blow against 
 the advocates of complete religious liberty by ensur- 
 ing the postponement of an inconvenient debate which 
 had been sprung upon the House in connection with 
 the abuses prevailing in the Ecclesiastical Courts. An 
 unequal contest was in progress between the Crown 
 and a numerous section of the House which sought to 
 prevent the Bishops and Ecclesiastical Judges from 
 applying the penal laws originally directed against the 
 Papists to the Puritan Clergy. The subtlety which he 
 had acquired in the practice of the law enabled Coke, 
 
 1 Fulk Onslow. 
 
 * Sir Symonds D'Ewes, Journals of Queen Elizabeth's Reign, p. 470.
 
 150 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 knowing as he did the Queen's wishes, so to utilise and 
 amplify the forms of the House as to serve what he 
 conceived to be the royal interests without, at the same 
 time, alienating from himself the confidence of the 
 assembly over which he presided. 
 
 A Mr. Morris, Attorney of the Court of Wards, brought 
 forward a Bill to protect the Puritans from harsh eccle- 
 siastical jurisdiction, and its reception by the House 
 was not unfavourable. Sir Francis Knollys, the Treasurer 
 of the Household, and Oliver St. John l supported it, 
 whilst Sir Robert Cecil 2 and Doctor William Lewin, 
 M.P. for Rochester and a judge of the Prerogative Court 
 of Canterbury, inveighed against it. Coke, who owed 
 much of his early advancement to the Cecil family 
 and to Lord Burghley in particular, dexterously pre- 
 vented the House from coming to an immediate 
 decision, by stating that the Bill was too complex for 
 him to comprehend its full meaning on such short 
 notice, and by asking leave to consider its provisions 
 in private on the understanding that he would keep them 
 secret. The Bill was accordingly left in his hands for 
 perusal. But the House at large had not foreseen the 
 dangers of procrastination so adroitly recommended to it 
 by an expert in the manipulation of precedent. The 
 Queen forthwith sent for the Speaker to St. James's 
 Palace and commanded him to deliver a message to the 
 Body of the Realm, as she was pleased to describe the 
 House of Commons, peremptorily forbidding its Members 
 
 1 Afterwards first Viscount Grandison and Lord High Treasurer of 
 Ireland in 1625. 
 
 Raised to the Peerage in the next reign as Viscount Cranborne 
 and Earl of Salisbury, the well-known builder of Hatneld House.
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 151 
 
 to meddle in matters of State policy or in ecclesiastical 
 causes. 
 
 That the Coke of 1593 was a wholly different man from 
 the fearless champion of liberty which his many admirers 
 assert that he became after his final estrangement from 
 the atmosphere of the Court, is apparent from the speech 
 which he made to the House in commendation of the 
 royal message. In it he stands revealed as the docile 
 servant of the Crown, whilst endeavouring, with scant 
 success, to justify himself to the House for having dis- 
 closed the contents of the Bill to the Queen. 
 
 " I must be short, for Her Majesty's words were not 
 many, and I may, perhaps, fail in the delivery of them. 
 For though my auditors be great, yet who is so impudent 
 whom the presence of such a Majesty could not appal ? 
 Her Majesty did not require the Bill of me, this only she 
 required of me, what were the things in the Bill spoken 
 of by the House ? Which points I only delivered as they 
 that heard me can tell. . . . Her Majesty's express 
 commandment is that no Bill touching the said matters 
 of State or Reformation in causes ecclesiastical be ex- 
 hibited. And, upon my allegiance, I am commanded, if 
 any such Bill be exhibited, not to read it." 
 
 Not only was the Bill quashed, but Mr. Morris, the 
 unfortunate sponsor of it, was sent for to the Court, and 
 committed to the custody of the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer. 1 Later in the same session there was a 
 serious disagreement, perhaps the most remarkable 
 since 1407, between the two Houses as to the amount 
 of the subsidy to be granted to the Crown, and the 
 means to be taken to expedite it. In a periodically 
 
 1 Cobbett's Parliamentary History, Vol. I, p. 889.
 
 152 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 recurring controversy, wherein, thirty-five years later, 
 Coke was destined to play the foremost part in deter- 
 mining the questions at issue in favour of the repre- 
 sentative Chamber, the Speaker acted once more as 
 the instrument of the Sovereign rather than as the 
 jealous protector of the privileges of the Commons. 
 An animated and, from the constitutional point of view, 
 a highly instructive debate continued for several days, 
 touching the right of the Lords to intervene in the matter 
 of finance. On I March their Lordships sent down a 
 message to the Commons requiring them to expedite the 
 passing of an increased supply and desiring a conference 
 on the subject. 
 
 The great Sir Francis Bacon, Coke's lifelong rival, was 
 foremost in opposing the adoption of such a course, declar- 
 ing that it was contrary to the privileges of the Commons 
 to join with the Lords in the granting of a subsidy : " For 
 the custom and privilege of this House hath always been," 
 he said, " first to make offer of the subsidies from hence, 
 then to the Upper House. . . . And reason it is, that we 
 should stand upon our privilege, seeing the burthen resteth 
 upon us as the greatest number, nor is it reason the thanks 
 should be theirs. And in joining with them in this 
 motion, we shall derogate from ours ; for the thanks will 
 be theirs and the blame ours, they being the first movers. 
 Wherefore I wish that in this action we should proceed, 
 as heretofore we have done, apart by ourselves, and not 
 join with their Lordships." He argued further that 
 though the Lords might give notice to the Commons 
 what need or danger there was, they ought not to prescribe 
 the sum to be given. It will be noted that he based his 
 argument for the supremacy of the Commons in finance,
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 153 
 
 not upon their representative character, but upon their 
 numerical superiority. Sir Walter Raleigh spoke in favour 
 of an increased subsidy without alluding to the consti- 
 tutional aspect of the question, but Robert Beale, the 
 representative of the Borough of Lostwithiel, an old 
 member of the House and a well-known diplomatist and 
 antiquarian writer, vehemently insisted on the preser- 
 vation and maintenance of the ancient liberties of the 
 House, citing the inevitable precedent of the reign of 
 Henry IV, in the Parliament held at Gloucester in 1407, 
 whereat it was asserted that a conference between the 
 two Houses in the sphere of finance would be a derogation 
 of the privileges of the representatives of the people. 1 
 
 Sir Robert Cecil used his great influence in favour 
 of holding the conference, but on a division being 
 taken only 128 voted for it and 217 against it. But 
 the matter was not even then finally disposed of. A 
 message was sent to the Lords to acquaint them that 
 the Commons could not join with them in cases of benevo- 
 lence or contribution, but, on a later day, Mr. Beale, who 
 seems to have been but a pinchbeck Hampden after all, 
 receded from his former uncompromising attitude, and 
 humbly asked leave of the House to make a personal 
 explanation. This was to the effect that he had mistaken 
 the precise significance of the question already put from 
 the Chair and decided by the House, and that he now 
 thought that if the Lords desired a conference it ought to 
 be accorded. 
 
 "Mr. Beale desired to satisfy the House, by reason it 
 was conceived by the Lords the other day, that upon his 
 
 1 For his share in the dispute and his attitude towards the mal- 
 practices of the Ecclesiastical Courts referred to above, Beale was 
 banished from Court and Parliament.
 
 154 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 motion, and by his precedent showed, the House was led 
 to deny a conference with the Lords, acknowledged he 
 had mistaken the question propounded. For there being 
 but a conference desired by the Lords, and no confirming 
 of any thing they had done, he thought we might, and it 
 was fit we should confer. And to this end only he showed 
 the Precedent. That hi the ninth year of Henry IV the 
 Commons havingjgranted a subsidy,! which the Lords 
 thought too little,J[and they agreed to a greater and would 
 have the Commons to confirm that which they had done ; 
 this the Commons thought they could not do without 
 prejudice to this House. Wherefore he acknowledged 
 himself mistaken inline question, and desired if any were 
 led by him, to be satisfied, for that he would have been of 
 another opinion if he had conceived the matter as it was 
 meant." 1 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh, quick to see the advantage to be 
 gained through this change of front, then proposed and 
 carried, without a dissentient voice, a motion for a general 
 conference with the Lords, " touching the great imminent 
 dangers of the Realm and State, and the present necessary 
 supply of Treasure to be provided speedily for the same 
 according to the proportion of the necessity." 
 
 At these Conferences the Lords sat covered whilst the 
 members of the Lower House stood uncovered. This 
 curious Parliamentary survival lingered well into the 
 nineteenth century, and the late Mr. Evelyn Philip 
 Shirley, of Ettington, who died so recently as 1882, 
 not only remembered the observance of this custom, 
 but to have seen the carpet spread, not on the floor of the 
 Conference room, but on the table. This usage is believed 
 to have given rise to the phrase " on the tapis." 
 
 1 D'Ewes, Journals, p. 487.
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 155 
 
 Macaulay attended one of these Conferences, 1 and 
 made an interesting comment on the relations of the 
 Lords and Commons in this connection. 
 
 " The two Houses had a conference on the subject 
 in an old Gothic room called the Painted Chamber. 
 The painting consists in a mildewed daub of a woman 
 in the niche of one of the windows. The Lords sat hi 
 little cocked hats along a table, and we stood uncovered 
 on the other side, and delivered in our Resolutions. I 
 thought that before long it may be our turn to sit, and 
 theirs to stand." 2 
 
 The last time the Painted Chamber was ever used 
 was on 13 August, 1834, when a Conference between the 
 two Houses was held in it on the County Coroners Bill. 
 In October of the same year it was destroyed by fire. 
 
 The Conference of 1593 was held in due course in the 
 " chamber next to the Upper House of Parliament," and 
 from that moment victory rested with the Lords. For, 
 notwithstanding a sharp wrangle as to the wording of 
 the preamble of the Bill of Supply, it was drawn up 
 and finally assented to in the following terms : " We 
 the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the Commons 
 of this present Parliament assembled, do by our 
 like assent, and authority of this Parliament, give and 
 grant to your Highness," etc. etc. Thus, hi 1593, the Com- 
 mons yielded to the Lords the very point which Coke, 
 when the question of the wording of the preamble of 
 Bills of Supply came up for settlement in 1628, was 
 foremost in insisting upon, namely, the right of the Com- 
 mons to be exclusively named in the granting of supplies. 
 
 1 On Indian Resolutions, June 17, 1833. 
 
 1 Trevelyan's Life and Letters of Macaulay, Vol. I, p. 302.
 
 156 
 
 Sir Symonds D'Ewes, whose collections are especially 
 valuable for this period, further states that the Bill of 
 1593 was only passed with much difficulty, and after many 
 days' agitation, " by reason of the greatness thereof," 
 owing to the Speaker " over-reaching the House in the subtle 
 putting of the question, by which means it had only been 
 considered of in the Committee Chamber by eighteen 
 members of the House appointed in the beginning of this 
 forenoon, 1 though many of the House desired a longer 
 time for it to have been considered in Committee." It 
 had actually been under consideration on ten separate 
 occasions between 26 February and 22 March, when it 
 passed the third reading. 
 
 Some scraps of information concerning the more 
 personal aspect of the House of Commons at this period 
 are to be gleaned from contemporary sources. On the 
 occasion of the great debate on the financial relations of 
 the two Houses, it fell to Coke's lot to reprimand an 
 unfortunate stranger, 2 who had wandered into St. 
 Stephen's Chapel and sat there for the greater part of 
 the morning. He was committed to the custody of 
 the Serj can t-at- Arms and imprisoned for several days. 
 Matthew Jones, " gentleman," was charged with a 
 similar offence on 27 March, and appearing to the House 
 to be a simple ignorant old man, he was pardoned after 
 being admonished by the Speaker. 
 
 On another day Coke, perceiving some men to whisper 
 together, said that it was not the manner of the House 
 to talk secretly, for that only public speeches were to be 
 used there. 
 
 Purely legal Bills were committed to the Serjeants- 
 
 1 22 March. * John Legge, a servant of the Earl of Northumberland.
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 157 
 
 at-Law who were members of the House, and were con- 
 sidered not in the precincts of St. Stephen's, but at 
 Serjeant's Inn in Fleet Street, perhaps with the inten- 
 tion of keeping them under the direct surveillance and 
 control of the Speaker, who had his town house there. 
 
 Coke regularly asserted his right of speaking and 
 voting hi committee, and he appears to have inaugurated 
 a rule whereby the chairman was empowered, in the 
 case of two or more members rising at the same time, to 
 ask on which side they desired to speak, and to give pre- 
 cedence to a member who desired to oppose the arguments 
 of the last speaker. Members who, for any good reason 
 shown, desired leave of absence were required to leave a 
 small sum of money with the Serjeant to be distributed 
 amongst the poor. The amount varied from one shilling 
 to six, but Mr. Wilfrid Lawson, Knight of the Shire for 
 Cumberland, a direct ancestor of the late member for 
 Cockermouth, left town without making the customary 
 donation. In 1593 every member gave a shilling to the 
 Serjeant for his attendance on the House, and for the 
 cost of a clock which he had set up for the general con- 
 venience. Every Privy Councillor paid thirty shillings 
 as a charitable contribution to the relief of the poor, 
 every Knight of the Shire, and Serjeant or Doctor of 
 Law twenty shillings, and every burgess five shillings. 
 One poor burgess refused to pay more than half a 
 crown, whereupon Coke would have committed him to 
 the custody of the Serjeant for disobeying the order of 
 the House. But the general sense of the House being 
 against such harsh dealing he escaped. 
 
 The legislative harvest of the Session of 1592-93, a 
 remarkable Parliament, owing to its standing nearly
 
 158 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 midway between the earliest Plantagenet assemblies 
 and those of modern times, and from its having 
 been presided over by one of the greatest intellects 
 of his own or any age, was not a large one. It 
 comprised only fourteen public and thirteen private 
 Bills. In the former category, apart from the contro- 
 versial Subsidy Bill, two only were of any consequence. 
 Both of them, according to strict Tudor precedent, 
 originated in the House of Lords, and both were penal 
 measures, one directed against the Puritans and the other 
 to restrain papal recusants to some certain place of 
 abode. 
 
 On quitting the Chair, Coke apologised for the 
 unbecoming expressions into which his natural pro- 
 clivity to violent language had often led him. 1 When 
 Sir Walter Raleigh was being tried for his life in 1603, 
 Coke denounced him from the Bench as : " Traitor, 
 viper and spider of hell " ; nor was this the only occa- 
 sion when " one of the toughest men ever made," as 
 Carlyle described him, so far forgot himself as to descend 
 to vulgar abuse of his political opponents. 
 
 In the person of Sir Christopher Yelverton the House 
 once more chose a Northamptonshire man for its Speaker. 
 His family was of Easton Mauduit and is not yet extinct in 
 the county. In excusing himself to the House, Yelverton 
 is reported to have said : " Your Speaker ought to be 
 a man big and comely, stately and well-spoken, his 
 voice great, his carriage majestical, his nature haughty, 
 and his purse plentiful. But contrarily, the stature of 
 
 1 The Speaker's Chair, by E. Lumniis, 1900, a concise and useful 
 contribution to the literature of the subject, to which the present 
 author hereby acknowledges his frequent indebtedness.
 
 SIR CHRISTOPHER YELVERTON 
 
 1597 
 From a print
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 159 
 
 my body is small, myself not so well-spoken, my voice 
 low, my carriage of the common fashion, my nature soft 
 and bashful, my purse thin, light, and never plentiful." 
 Previous to the summoning of this Parliament the 
 Privy Council sent out no less than fifty-two cautionary 
 letters to the sheriffs directing them to use their utmost 
 endeavours to procure the election of " men of under- 
 standing and knowledge for the particular estate of the 
 places whereunto they ought to be chosen," and to 
 select, " without partiality as sometimes hath been used," 
 fit persons to serve, especially in the boroughs. No 
 doubt the Council, in looking so far ahead, anticipated 
 that by October, when the House was appointed to meet, 
 Essex would have returned in triumph from his ex- 
 pedition against Spain. 
 
 Speaker Yelverton composed the prayer still in use in 
 the Commons, and a very beautiful piece of English it is. 
 The usual hour of assembling was then eight o'clock in the 
 morning, and, as now, the day's proceedings were opened 
 with prayer, but so early as 1558 it had been customary 
 for the Clerk of the House to repeat the Litany kneeling, 
 " answered by the whole House on their knees with divers 
 prayers." 1 In 1571 the hour of meeting was as early as 
 seven a.m., and the afternoon sittings of recent times had 
 their forerunners in May of the same year, when, as an 
 experiment, the House was appointed to meet on 
 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at three o'clock and 
 to sit till five. An instance of a still earlier meeting is 
 on record, for on 28 March, 1641, the House met at six 
 o'clock in the morning. Later in the seventeenth century 
 nine or ten was the usual hour for assembling, and Lord 
 
 1 Sir Symonds D'Ewes, p. 473.
 
 i6o SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Clarendon spoke of from eight till twelve as the old Par- 
 liamentary hours. To Sir Robert Walpole the House 
 owes its Saturday holiday, and to Sir Robert Peel the 
 short sitting on Wednesday, now altered to Friday in 
 each week. 
 
 The last of the Elizabethan Speakers was Sir John 
 Croke, Recorder of London, " a very black man by com- 
 plexion," thus resembling the "black funereal Finches" 
 of a later era. Fulk Onslow, the Clerk of the House, was 
 stricken with ague, and through the Speaker he petitioned 
 the House for one Cadwallader Tydder to be allowed to 
 execute the duties of his office until it should please God 
 to restore him to health. The House, which has always 
 been careful of its officers' interests, and jealous of their 
 privileges, at once granted Onslow's request, and Tydder 
 took the oath of supremacy. 
 
 An interesting question of Parliamentary procedure 
 was settled during Croke's tenure of the Chair. On a 
 division in which the Ayes were 105 and the Noes 106 
 (in the discussion on a Bill for compelling attendance at 
 church), the minority claimed the Speaker's vote to make 
 the numbers even and secure a casting vote in their 
 favour. Sir Walter Raleigh spoke in opposition to this 
 view, and ultimately the House decided that the only vote 
 a Speaker has is a casting vote between equal numbers. 
 This precedent still obtains, and the Speaker has no right 
 to enter the division lobby, except in committees of the 
 whole house, and even this right has not been exercised 
 since Speaker Denison 1 passed through the lobby in wig 
 and gown to record his vote. 2 
 
 1 Lord Ossington. 
 
 2 When the question of the Speaker's casting vote was debated 
 Secretary Cecil said : " The Speaker hath no voice ; and, though I am 
 sorry for it, the Bill is lost, and farewell to it."
 
 SIR JOHN CROKE 
 
 1601 
 
 J''rom a drawing in the \ational Portrait Gallery
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 161 
 
 In an address to the throne Speaker Croke was al- 
 luding to the defeat of Essex's insurrection, " by the 
 mighty arm of our dread and sacred Queen," when 
 Elizabeth caught him up, and interposed, " No, 
 by the mighty hand of God, Mr. Speaker." Croke 
 was responsible for the introduction of sundry orders 
 tending to the general convenience of members. They 
 were forbidden to come into the House with spurs, and 
 a similar restriction was sought to be imposed on rapiers. 1 
 This Speaker was fifth in descent from Nicholas Le 
 Blount, who changed his name to Croke in consequence 
 of his cousin, Sir Thomas Blount, having been engaged 
 in a conspiracy to restore Richard II to the throne. 
 
 At a dinner given by the Abbot of Westminster in 
 December, 1399, it was agreed to surprise Henry IV at a 
 tournament to be held at Windsor on the following 
 Twelfth Night. But the plot was revealed within a few 
 hours of its being carried into execution, and Sir Thomas 
 Blount was put to death under circumstances of excep- 
 tional barbarity. Having been partially hanged, he was 
 slowly roasted before a blazing fire, his bowels were cut 
 out, and he was then beheaded, exclaiming, shortly 
 before he expired, " Blessed be this day, for I shall 
 die in the service of my sovereign lord, the noble King 
 Richard ! " 
 
 Their estates having been forfeited to the Crown, the 
 family fled abroad and entered the service of the Duke 
 of Milan. Having acquired fresh wealth in foreign 
 parts, they returned to England after the death of 
 Henry IV, when they could appear in public in safety. 
 They bought lands in Buckinghamshire, and on the 
 
 1 Sir Symonds D'Ewes, p. 623. 
 M
 
 162 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 marriage of Speaker Croke to the daughter of Sir Michael 
 Blount, of Maple Durham, the name of Blount 
 was altogether omitted by the branch of the family 
 which had previously styled itself Croke, alias Blount. 
 The direct line of the Crokes is now extinct, and their 
 property at Studley, in Oxfordshire, where the Speaker's 
 portrait was formerly preserved, has passed into the 
 possession of the Henderson family. 
 
 The deep-rooted antagonism of the English people to 
 Spain, which reached its culminating point with the 
 coming of the Armada, resulted in the return to the 
 House of Commons of a permanent Protestant majority, 
 whereas, at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, the 
 adherents of the old faith were a preponderating element 
 both in Parliament and hi the country. The Parliament 
 of 1571, in which Sir Christopher Wray was Speaker, was 
 in the mam a Puritan assembly. It bestowed the authority 
 of the legislature upon the thirty-nine articles drawn up 
 by convocation nearly ten years earlier, but, as it 
 evinced a strong desire to amend the Prayer Book and to 
 impose new penalties upon the Catholics, it was hastily 
 dismissed. 
 
 The next House of Commons included many followers 
 of Thomas Cartwright, the chief exponent of Calvinism in 
 England, and when in 1581 the teachings of the Jesuit, 
 Edmund Campion, inflamed the public mind against Rome, 
 no great indignation was shown when the penal laws 
 against the Catholics were revived. Though the fires of 
 Smithfield were not relighted, recourse was once more had 
 to torture, and the rack was again set up in the Tower in 
 order to extract confessions from prisoners as in the 
 darkest days of the Marian persecution.
 
 THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 163 
 
 Notwithstanding the sharp contrasts of Elizabeth's 
 civil and religious legislation and her determination to 
 regard the two Houses as mere instruments of taxation, 
 convened for the express purpose of replenishing the 
 royal purse, a growing spirit of self-reliance manifested 
 itself in the House of Commons towards the close of a 
 reign in which England became great, not so much because 
 of, as in spite of, the popular assembly. 
 
 The fact that the responsible ministers of the Crown, 
 Hatton and Cecil amongst the number, now sat in the 
 House of Commons and took part in its debates on equal 
 terms with the general body of members is conclusive 
 proof that the right of argument was beginning to be 
 recognised as an essential feature of a Constitution 
 hitherto mainly controlled by prerogative. 1 
 
 1 Portraits of Elizabethan Speakers are not numerous. There is 
 one of Sir Thomas Gargrave at Hardwick House, Bury St. Edmunds, 
 the property of Mr. Gery Cullum, who has kindly allowed it to be re- 
 produced in this volume. Of Richard Onslow and Sir John Popham 
 there are likenesses in the Speaker's collection ; and of Sir Christopher 
 Wray there are portraits both at Westminister and in the National 
 Portrait Gallery. Sir Edward Coke is also doubly represented, but 
 of Thomas Williams, Sir John Puckering, and Thomas Snagge, no 
 portraits have been traced.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE LIBERTIES OF THE PEOPLE 
 
 THIRTY-TWO 
 James I 
 
 Edward Phelips 
 Randolph Crewe 
 Thomas Richardson 
 Thomas Crewe 
 
 Charles I 
 
 Heneage Finch 
 John Finch 
 John Glanville 
 William Lenthall 
 
 Commonwealth 
 Henry Pelham 
 Francis Rous 
 Thomas Widdrington 
 Bulstrode Whitelocke 
 Chaloner Chute 
 Lislebone Long 
 Thomas Bampfylde 
 William Say 
 
 SPEAKERS 
 
 Charles II 
 
 Harbottle Grimston 
 Edward Tumour 
 Job Charlton 
 Edward Seymour 
 Robert Sawyer 
 William Gregory 
 William Williams 
 
 James II 
 
 John Trevor 
 
 William III- 
 Henry Powle 
 Paul Foley 
 Thomas Littleton 
 Robert Harley 
 
 Anne 
 
 John Smith 
 Richard Onslow 
 William Bromley 
 Thomas Hanmer 
 
 first of the Stuart line was an unkingly 
 pedant who entirely failed to understand 
 the temper of the nation over which he was 
 called upon to rule. The new and aggressive 
 spirit which showed itself in the House of Commons early 
 
 164 
 
 I
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 165 
 
 in the reign of James I was stimulated by the perverse 
 and persistent egotism of the " wisest fool in Europe " ; 
 and boded ill for the Crown in an age which was beginning 
 to value privilege more than prerogative. The efforts, 
 partial and incomplete though they were, which had been 
 made under Elizabeth to bring about some amelioration 
 of the hard lot of the lower classes, to promote education 
 and to relieve the necessities of the poor, were succeeded 
 by a period of retrogression during which Parliamentary 
 progress was first hindered and then rendered impossible. 
 A plague in London, which carried off 30,000 people, 
 caused the meeting of James's first Parliament to be 
 delayed until March 1603-4. Sir Edward Phelips, 
 a Somersetshire gentleman, was elected Speaker " by 
 general acclamation," after the names of Sir Henry 
 Nevill, Sir Francis Bacon, Sir Edward Hoby, Sir Henry 
 Montagu, and Sir Francis Hastings had been proposed. 
 The last of these was the colleague of Phelips in the 
 representation of the county of Somerset. The English 
 counties were very unequally represented in the new 
 Parliament, for whilst the official returns give the names 
 of 39 members for Cornwall, 34 for Wiltshire and 26 for 
 Hampshire, Lancashire had only 12, Kent 10, Cumberland 
 and Westmorland 4 each, and Northumberland only 2. 1 
 Speaker Phelips succeeded to the estate of Montacute 
 in 1598, and soon after that date he began to build the 
 
 1 The writs for the Parliament were issued under a Royal Proclama- 
 tion, which in its terms directly infringed the privileges of the House of 
 Commons. [N.B. Especially the order that the writs should be re- 
 turned to the Chancery.] It assumed entire control of the elections, 
 and threatened fines and imprisonment if its injunctions were traversed 
 (History of the English Parliament, by G. Barnett Smith, 1892. Vol. I. 
 p. 361).
 
 166 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 magnificent Renaissance mansion which remains to 
 this day one of the principal architectural glories of the 
 county of Somerset. His portrait here reproduced is 
 by permission of his lineal descendant the present owner 
 of Montacute, where, by the way, are preserved the 
 original minutes of the Gunpowder Plot inquiry. 
 
 As was customary at this period, the King's speech 
 abounded in metaphor, 1 nor was Speaker Phelips' reply, 
 in which he expressed the usual formal desire to be excused 
 from executing the office, less free from the extravagantly 
 flowery language then considered appropriate to the 
 occasion. Whilst he spoke of himself as " not tasting of 
 Parnassus' springs, nor of the honey left upon the lips of 
 Pluto and Pindarus by the bees," he defined the duties 
 of the Chair as being : " Managed by the absolute 
 perfection of experience, by the profoundness of litera- 
 ture, and by the fullness and grace of natural gifts, 
 which are the beauty and ornament of arts and actions." 
 Nevertheless, the Speaker of the Gunpowder Plot 
 Parliament deserves to be remembered for his energetic 
 vindication of the privileges of the House of Commons. 
 The important case of Sir Thomas Shirley, wherein the 
 amount of protection afforded by the House to its mem- 
 bers was carried a step further than in the well-known 
 instances of Haxey and Strode, was determined in the 
 opening session of James's first Parliament. 
 
 The member for Steyning, Sussex, a small borough 
 long consigned to oblivion, had been cast into prison, after 
 his return to, but before the meeting of Parliament, in 
 execution of a private debt. Instead of wasting time in 
 
 1 It occupies more than twelve closely printed double columns in 
 Cobbett's Parliamentary History.
 
 SIR EUWARU PHKLIPS 
 
 1603-4 
 From a painting at Montacute, Somerset
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 167 
 
 discussing abstract matters of law, the House focused 
 its attention on the means necessary to secure Shirley's 
 immediate release. The Warden of the Fleet was com- 
 manded to deliver up his prisoner, and six members 
 acting as a deputation of the whole body, to be accom- 
 panied by the Serjeant and the Mace, were empowered 
 to free him, if need be by force, and to bring him 
 in triumph to Westminster. The Warden of the Fleet, 
 however, proved obdurate, whereupon he was summoned 
 to the Bar and admonished by the Speaker in the follow- 
 ing terms : " That, as he did increase his contempt, so 
 the House thought fit to increase his punishment ; and 
 that their judgment was that he be committed to the 
 prison called Little Ease, within the Tower." 
 
 An ingeniously worded request to the King was sent 
 through the Vice-Chamberlain desiring him to command 
 the contumacious Warden to deliver Shirley " not as 
 petitioned for by the House, but as if himself thought it 
 fit out of his own gracious judgment." It was now the 
 Warden's turn to sue for release from durance vile, and, 
 on his making due submission for his dilatoriness in com- 
 plying with the original Order of the House, the Speaker 
 pronounced pardon, the Warden, on his knees at the Bar, 
 expressing unfeigned regret for his offence. To legalise 
 the position an Act was hastily passed whereby the 
 privileges of members in cases of arrest were, for the first 
 time, defined. A creditor was authorised to sue for a 
 new execution against any one delivered by virtue of his 
 Parliamentary privilege, and power was taken to discharge 
 from liability those out of whose custody such persons 
 should be released. 1 
 
 1 I James I, c. 13.
 
 
 168 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 The Journals at this time reveal a growing tendency 
 to make rules for the guidance of the House and its 
 presiding officer. On 26 March, 1604, a Mr. Hext moved 
 " against hissing to the interruption and hindrance of the 
 speech of any man in the House," and the clerk re- 
 corded that the motion was " well approved." l And 
 on 27 April it was agreed for a rule that " If any doubt 
 arise upon a Bill, the Speaker is to explain, but not sway 
 the House with argument or dispute." 
 
 Nor was the lighter side of Parliamentary life wholly 
 unrepresented at this period, for on 3 July, 1604, the 
 Merchant Taylors Company gave a solemn feast to the 
 Speaker and a great number of members of the House 
 of principal rate and quality to the number of one 
 hundred. The King sent a buck and a hogshead of wine, 
 and the Clerk of the House, not to be outdone in gener- 
 osity, presented the Company with a marchpane repre- 
 senting the Commons in session. 
 
 Phelips was taken ill in March, 1607, and, as there was 
 no precedent for choosing a temporary Speaker, a com- 
 mittee was ordered to search the records in order to avoid 
 a Parliamentary deadlock. But, as Phelips resumed the 
 Chair next day, nothing was done to meet the emergency, 
 and though temporary Speakers were occasionally chosen 
 in Commonwealth times, it was not until 1853 that the 
 Chairman of Ways and Means was empowered to act as 
 Deputy Speaker. Under more recent Standing Orders 
 the Speaker may call upon the Chairman to take the 
 Chair at any time. Phelips, who, in the opinion of Sir 
 Julius Caesar, was the most worthy and judicious Speaker 
 
 1 Commons Journals, Vol. I, p. 152.
 
 169 
 
 since Sir John Popham, became Master of the Rolls, and 
 in that capacity occupied the house in Chancery Lane 
 which so many Speakers have inhabited. He opened 
 the indictment of Guy Fawkes, at which the vener- 
 able Sir John Popham presided as Lord Chief Justice. 
 Fawkes was executed in Old Palace Yard on 31 Jan- 
 uary, 1606, and from an old print published at the time 
 some idea can be gathered of its appearance at this 
 date. 
 
 The Crewes of Crewe Hall are said, on the authority of 
 Ormerod, to have been a family of established position 
 in Cheshire as early as the thirteenth century, but more 
 discriminating genealogists have preferred to date the 
 fortunes of the family from one John Crewe, a tanner at 
 Nantwich in the sixteenth century. Cases of nepotism 
 may have occurred in connection with the Speaker's 
 office, but to John Crewe of Nantwich belongs the unique 
 honour of having had two sons, Randolph and Thomas, 
 both of whom sat in the Chair of the Commons. Both 
 were bred to the law, Randolph at Lincoln's Inn and 
 Thomas at Gray's. Both took the usual lawyer's road 
 to notoriety by standing for Parliament. Randolph, who 
 bought the estate of Crewe Hall from the heirs of Sir 
 Christopher Hatton in 1608, entered the House of Com- 
 mons as member for Brackley, Northants, in 1597. x On 
 5 April, 1614, he was chosen Speaker nemine contradicente, 
 though there is some doubt as to the constituency he then 
 represented. 
 
 The session opened with two separate speeches from 
 
 1 He is called Randal in the official return, but this variation in the 
 spelling of the Christian name has not been uncommon, especially in 
 Cheshire.
 
 170 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 the throne, one delivered at Westminster on the open- 
 ing day, and one, a few days later, in the Banqueting 
 House, Whitehall. The Speaker's reply has not been 
 preserved. Two months later the Houses were dis- 
 solved without having passed a single Bill, a prece- 
 dent in Parliamentary history which earned for this 
 assembly the name of the " Addled Parliament." It 
 is on record that Speaker Crewe's experiences in the 
 Chair " gave him a strong distaste for politics," and well 
 they may have done, for during his tenure of office were 
 heard the first mutterings of the storm which was soon 
 to break over England in the form of Civil War. 
 In 1625 he became Chief Justice of the King's Bench, 
 only to be dismissed a year later by Charles I for re- 
 fusing to acknowledge the legality of forced loans. Sir 
 Randolph Crewe, after his retirement from public life, 
 lived in Westminster, where, according to Fuller, he was 
 renowned for his hospitality ; and dying there in January, 
 1646, he was buried in a chapel which he built at Barthom- 
 ley on his Cheshire estate. The present Earl of Crewe is 
 descended from him. 
 
 It was some years before James summoned another 
 Parliament, and meanwhile he resorted to the old and 
 discredited system of raising money by means of be- 
 nevolences, a grievance as old as the days of Richard III, 
 by selling patents for peerages and baronetages, and 
 by the creation of monopolies. Before Crewe's younger 
 brother was preferred to the Chair, Sir Thomas 
 Richardson, the son of a country clergyman in 
 Norfolk, became Speaker in James's third Parliament. 
 In making his formal excuse to the House he " wept 
 outright," an incident which points to his well-known
 
 SIR RANDOLPH CREWK 
 
 1614 
 From a. painting in the Speaker s House
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 171 
 
 tenderness of heart. His refusal, when Chief Justice 
 of the Common Pleas, to allow Felton, the assassin of 
 the Duke of Buckingham, to be subjected to torture, 
 marks an epoch in the annals of the criminal law. 
 Richardson was faced in Parliament by the redoubtable 
 Coke, who, after an interval of twenty-seven years, now 
 re-entered the House as member for Liskeard. 
 
 Though Richardson's tenure of the Chair was marked 
 by many events of the highest constitutional importance, 
 he does not seem to have been what is called a strong 
 Speaker. The Parliament over which he presided soon 
 showed itself active against the holders of monopolies. It 
 impeached Sir Giles Mompesson, the chief delinquent in 
 this category ; it imprisoned a bishop who was implicated 
 in a charge of bribery; it degraded Lord Chancellor 
 Bacon, who was proved to have accepted money cor- 
 ruptly tendered, if without corrupt motive. And when 
 the hostility between King and Commons, which charac- 
 terised the entire reign, came to a crisis in December, 
 1621, the House addressed a Petition and Remonstrance 
 to the King recommending that he should declare war 
 against Spam, and that the Prince 1 " may be timely 
 and happily married to one of our religion." James, 
 in return, directed the Commons to forbear from 
 meddling " with anything concerning our government 
 and mysteries of State," warning them, at the same 
 time, that they derived their ancient liberty of freedom 
 of speech from " the grace and permission of his ancestors 
 and himself." 
 
 By the dim candlelight of a winter afternoon, 2 the 
 House forthwith resolved that " The Liberties, franchises, 
 
 1 Charles I. * 18 December, 1621.
 
 172 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 privileges and jurisdictions of Parliament, are the ancient 
 and undoubted birthright and inheritance of the subjects 
 of England ; and that the arduous and urgent affairs 
 concerning the King, State, and the defence of the Realm, 
 and of the Church of England, and the making and 
 maintenance of laws, and redress of mischiefs and griev- 
 ances, which daily happen within this Realm, are proper 
 subjects and matter of counsel and debate in Parliament ; 
 and that in the handling and proceeding of those businesses 
 every member of the House hath, and of right ought to 
 have, Freedom of Speech, to propound, treat, reason 
 and bring to conclusion the same ; and that the Commons 
 in Parliament have like liberty and freedom to treat of 
 those matters, in such order as in their judgments shall 
 seem fittest ; and that every such member of the said 
 House hath like freedom from all Impeachment, Imprison- 
 ment, and Molestation (other than by the censure of the 
 House itself), for, or concerning any speaking, reasoning 
 or declaring of any matter or matters, touching the 
 Parliament, or Parliament business : and that, if any 
 of the said members be complained of, and questioned 
 for any thing said or done in Parliament, the same is 
 to be shewed to the King, by the advice and assent 
 of all the Commons assembled in Parliament, before 
 the King give credence to any private information." 
 
 On learning of this emphatic pronouncement of its 
 liberties, James dispersed the House by a compulsory 
 adjournment; he sent for the Journal Book and tore 
 the protestation out of it with his own hand. 1 At 
 the same time Coke and Pym were committed to the 
 
 1 The Manuscript Journals of the House of Commons. Privately 
 printed by the late Sir Reginald Palgrave, Clerk of the House, 1897.
 
 SIR THOMAS RICHARDSON 
 
 I62O-2I 
 From a drawing in the Xational l\ri trait Gallery
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 173 
 
 Tower. Reflections were cast upon Richardson from 
 time to time for his conduct in the Chair. It was alleged 
 that he curtailed discussion at a moment opportune for 
 the King, and Sir H. Manners declared that " Mr. Speaker 
 is but a servant to the House, not a master, nor a master's 
 mate," while one Sir W. Herbert bade him " sit still." 
 This much -tried man, who witnessed the earliest rise 
 of the Court and country parties, which, in after years, 
 so sharply divided the House, died at his house in Chancery 
 Lane in 1635. He was accorded the honour, seldom 
 bestowed upon a Speaker, of burial in Westminster 
 Abbey. His monument is still to be seen in the south 
 choir aisle, 1 surmounted by a bronze portrait bust by 
 Le Sueur, the sculptor of King Charles I's statue at 
 Charing Cross. 
 
 Sir Thomas Crewe, Sir Randolph's younger brother, was 
 Speaker in James's last Parliament, which met in Feb- 
 ruary, 1623-24, and was dissolved, in consequence of the 
 death of the King, in May, 1625. Elsynge declared that 
 Sir Thomas, on presentation for the royal approval, made 
 the best speech, delivered on a similar occasion, since 
 Speaker Nevill's in the sixth year of Henry VIII, that it 
 did not consist of mere verbal praises but that it was, on 
 the contrary, real and fit for the times. Yet it certainly 
 was not free from the extravagant metaphor indulged in 
 by Phelips and most of the previous Speakers, whose ad- 
 dresses to the Crown have been preserved. Sir Thomas, 
 amongst other oratorical gems, likened himself to a lowly 
 shrub planted amongst many cedars of Lebanon. He went 
 on to express the hope that the King, "like Ahasuerus," 
 would extend to him his sceptre of grace " to sustain him 
 
 1 The Dictionary of National Biography says wrongly, " north aisle."
 
 174 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 in his fainting." After a passing allusion to the " hellish 
 inventions " of Guy Fawkes, he declared, in the most 
 uncompromising Protestant manner, that it was the wish 
 of every loyal subject of the Crown that the " generation 
 of locusts," the Jesuits and Seminary Priests, who were 
 wont to creep in holes and corners, but who now came 
 openly abroad, might, as with an east wind, be blown 
 away into the sea. He added that though the Pope cursed 
 Queen Elizabeth, God blessed her, and that the ark of true 
 religion would ultimately land James in Heaven, when 
 that "hopeful Prince" 1 would sway the sceptre of 
 England, the while his father wore a celestial crown. 2 
 
 It has been well said that from this time forth 
 the history of England was written at the Clerk's 
 table of the House of Commons. Elsynge, Scobell, 
 and Rushworth are the three best-remembered men 
 who filled the office of Clerk or Clerk- Assistant in the 
 seventeenth century, and the historical collections of the 
 last-named are the most valuable record of the doings 
 of the Long Parliament extant. It is sad to think that 
 this zealous public servant spent the closing years of 
 his life in straitened circumstances in the King's Bench 
 prison in Southwark. 
 
 The animated debates on the war with Spain (for which 
 the House voted 300,000) ; the impeachment of the Earl 
 of Middlesex for bribery, in which Coke took the lead, 
 whilst the prosecution ultimately devolved upon the 
 Speaker's brother acting as Attorney-General ; the im- 
 portant concession by the Crown whereby Parliament 
 
 1 Charles I. 
 
 1 Journals of the House of Lords, Vol. Ill, p. 211. When reappointed 
 in the next reign he made a somewhat similar oration, not forgetting 
 his old enemies the Jesuit locusts.
 
 SIR THOMAS CREWE 
 
 1623-4, 1625 
 From n fainting in the Speaker's House
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 175 
 
 won the right of appointing its own Commissioners for the 
 disbursement of supply : all these intricate questions 
 were so tactfully handled by the younger Crewe, that he 
 was once more voted to the Chair when Charles I ascended 
 the throne. He now sat for Gatton, in Surrey, a small 
 borough, as notorious in later times as even Old Sarum. 
 Its political history, prior to the passing of the great 
 Reform Bill, excited Lord Rosebery's scathing ridicule 
 in a recent speech in the House of Lords, though he did 
 not suggest that Gatton was corrupt when a Crewe sat 
 for it. 
 
 Charles's first Parliament, holding that the refusal of 
 supplies to the Crown was its most potent weapon 
 against the abuses of prerogative, would only grant a 
 beggarly 140,000, by way of subsidy. It was there- 
 fore dissolved after a session of less than three months. 
 To Thomas Crewe succeeded Sir Heneage Finch, son 
 of Sir Moyle Finch, of Eastwell, Kent, and member 
 for the City of London. 1 His brief term of office was 
 marked by an increasing boldness on the part of the 
 Commons, as instanced by the impeachment of Buck- 
 ingham, the King's prime favourite. It was managed by 
 that trio of patriots, Eliot, Pym, and Dudley Digges. 2 
 Sir John Eliot, writing in 1625, spoke of the Speaker- 
 ship as being then regarded by the general body of 
 members as "an office frequently filled by nullities, 
 men selected for mere Court convenience," nor was the 
 charge altogether an unjust one. 
 
 Eliot came into collision with the Chair when Sir John 
 
 1 Of which he was also Recorder. 
 
 * Eliot and Digges were arrested, but their imprisonment was held 
 by the Judicature to be a breach of privilege.
 
 176 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Finch, cousin to the Sir Heneage above mentioned, 
 filled the post in the third Parliament of this reign ; 
 the first, by the way, in which Oliver Cromwell, then 
 only twenty-nine years of age, had a. seat. Sir John 
 Eliot, desiring to raise a question on the subject of 
 tonnage and poundage, Finch, who was a very nervous 
 man, refused to put it on the ground that the King 
 had commanded the House to adjourn. Eliot then 
 read the remonstrance for himself, and on the Speaker 
 rising to adjourn the debate, he was forced back into the 
 Chair by Denzil Holies and some other members, Holies 
 exclaiming : " That by God's wounds he should sit there 
 till it pleased him to rise." J The Speaker then burst 
 into tears, saying : " I will not say I will not, but that I 
 dare not." Straightway the House adopted the substance 
 of Eliot's motion, and shortly afterwards Parliament was 
 dissolved, not to meet again for eleven years. 
 
 This was not the first occasion on which tears started 
 to this nervous Speaker's eyes. A royal message of 
 5 June, 1628, commanding the Commons not to 
 meddle with affairs of State or to asperse the King's 
 ministers, having been read in the House, Eliot rose 
 ostensibly to rebut the implied charge of implicating 
 ministers. The Speaker, apprehending that he in- 
 tended to make an attack upon the Duke of Buck- 
 ingham, cried whilst he faltered out : " There is a 
 command laid upon me to interrupt anyone that should 
 go about to lay aspersion on the Ministers of State." 
 Eliot then resumed his seat, and on the next day the 
 Speaker brought down a conciliatory message from the 
 King. 
 
 1 Parliamentary History, Vol. II, p. 487.
 
 SIR HENKAGK FINCH 
 
 1625-26 
 /'rout a painting at (.'tliildhall !>y J. 
 
 M. IV.
 
 From 
 
 SIR IOIIN FINCH 
 
 "l627-8 
 I'y I'an Dyck in the possession of Lord I>arnard
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 177 
 
 That Finch was the creature of the Crown appears 
 certain when it is remembered that he was mainly re- 
 sponsible for the judgment in the Ship Money case that 
 monstrous exaction never intended to be spent wholly on 
 ships. On the other hand, he was quite unable to stem the 
 rising tide of popular indignation, which found its ade- 
 quate expression in the right of free speech so forcibly 
 contended for by Pym, Hampden, and Coke until it 
 became a reality, and not the sham it had been under 
 the Tudors. But there is this much excuse to be made 
 for Finch, that no Speaker before his time had ever been 
 confronted with so many difficulties. 
 
 On 7 June, 1628, the very day on which Charles I 
 gave a reluctant assent to that bulwark of English 
 Constitutional liberty the Petition of Right a strong 
 Committee of the Commons was appointed to draw 
 up the preamble of the Bill of Supply. It numbered 
 thirty - two members, including an ex - Speaker and a' 
 future one in Coke and Glanville, Selden, the most famous 
 jurist in Europe, 1 Pym, Sir John Eliot, and Sir Dudley 
 
 1 The " great dictator of learning of the English nation " was the 
 title by which Selden was known, not only at home, but on the Conti- 
 nent. Some of his political opinions have been quoted in recent dis- 
 cussions of the great Constitutional question now agitating the public 
 mind. It will, therefore, not be inappropriate to recall the views 
 which he entertained on the relations of the two Houses. 
 
 "There be but two erroneous opinions in the House of Commons: 
 That the Lords sit only for themselves, when the truth is, they sit as 
 well for the Commonwealth. The second error is, that the House of 
 Commons are to begin to give subsidies, yet if the Lords dissent, they 
 can give no money." 
 
 In another remarkable passage, dealing with the composition of the 
 hereditary chamber, he said : 
 
 " The Lords that are ancient we honour, because we know not 
 whence they come ; but the new ones we slight, because we know 
 their beginning." (Selderis Table Talk, edited by S. W. Singer, 
 1847.)
 
 178 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Digges. Coke, then in his seventy-seventh year, but 
 in full possession of his remarkable powers, was 
 Chairman, and on the next sitting day he reported the 
 findings of the Committee to the House. The form of 
 words, omitting the assent of the Lords to a money grant, 
 and requiring only their assent to the Bill founded 
 upon such grant to clothe it with the form of law, 
 had been altered three years before and accepted 
 by the Upper House without demur ; while hi 1626 
 a Supply Bill, with a similarly worded preamble, was 
 only lost owing to the premature dissolution of Parlia- 
 ment. 
 
 In 1628 the popular indignation against the Duke of 
 Buckingham, who, rightly or wrongly, was believed by 
 the Commons to be the primary cause of all the recent 
 strainings of the Royal Prerogative, was at the flood-tide. 
 Coke denounced him by name as " the grievance of 
 grievances," and it was felt that the rights of the repre- 
 sentative Chamber in the matter of finance stood in need 
 of more explicit and emphatic assertion. A few days 
 later * a free conference between the two Houses was 
 appointed to be held in the Painted Chamber, at which 
 Coke, Glanville, and Hakewil, the latter a legal antiquary 
 deeply versed in the laws and customs of Parliament, 
 were to speak on behalf of the Commons. Unfortunately 
 the names of the Lords' representatives are, contrary 
 to custom, not given in their own journal. On 17 June 
 the conference took place, not in the place first appointed, 
 but in the Star Chamber, and at it the Lords made formal 
 complaint of the wording of the preamble, " Wherein 
 they were excluded, contrary to ancient precedents, though 
 
 1 On 13 June.
 
 T1IK KNICHTS, CITIZENS AND Bl'RC.ESSES OK THE COUNTIES, CITIES AND BoROI 
 IN PARLIAMENT, HOI. DEN AT WESTMINSTER THE I? OK MARCH, I627-X. IN 
 
 (SPKAKI-: 
 
 From a tiwi/fut in the fi'sn
 
 VNK.S OK KXOI.ANII AM) WALKS AND TIIK BARONIK OK TIIK PORTS NOW SITTINC. 
 IKI) YKAR f>K TIIK RAKiNK <>!' OCR SOVKRAIllNK I. OKU KINd CM A K I.KS, ]: I C. 
 "UN FINCH)
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 179 
 
 the last were not so." 1 They intimated their desire to have 
 the name of the Commons struck out of the preamble, 
 requesting the Lower House to show warrant for the 
 insertion, as they, on their part, were prepared to show 
 cause for the omission. Lord Keeper Coventry, whose 
 role in life seems to have been, though with indifferent 
 success, to mediate between the King and the popular 
 leaders, had previously been instructed by the Peers to 
 signify at the conference " the great care the Lords had 
 had, all this Parliament, to continue a good correspond- 
 ency between both Houses, which is best done where 
 nothing is intrenched upon either House ; to show them, 
 that in the front 2 of the Bill of Subsidies, which 
 they lately sent up, the Commons are only named ; 
 whereas in many precedents (but 3 only in the last Parlia- 
 ment) it is ; 4 neither naming the Lords nor yet the 
 Commons ; That the Lords conceived this rather to have 
 happened by some slip, than done of set purpose ; To 
 move them, that the word 5 may be struck out, for as 
 the Commons give their subsidies for themselves and for 
 the representative body of the Kingdom, so the Lords 
 have the disposition of their own." 
 
 The Journals of the Commons state expressly that 
 " this course was not liked, as being of a dangerous 
 example, in point of consequence " ; and a further mes- 
 sage was delivered to the Peers by Sir Edward Coke, 
 
 1 An allusion apparently intended to refer to the alterations which 
 had been made in 1625 and 1626. 
 
 2 Or preamble. 
 8 i.e. except. 
 
 4 We, Your Majesty's most humble and loyal subjects, in your 
 High Court of Parliament assembled, etc. 
 6 " Commons "
 
 i8o SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 the wording of which is so curious as to deserve quota- 
 tion in full : 
 
 " There is nothing more desired by that 1 House than 
 the good concurrence between the Lords and them, 
 which they esteem an Earthly Paradise. They have en- 
 tered into consideration of the proposition to omit the 
 words ' The Commons ' in the Subsidy Bill, which they 
 find to be a matter of greater consequence than can be 
 suddenly resolved on. But to-morrow morning they will 
 consider of it, and return an answer with all the con- 
 venient speed they can." 
 
 A dramatic surprise was in store. A deadlock be- 
 tween the two Houses was averted by the Lords passing 
 the Bill as it stood, 2 and as soon as the Commons learnt 
 of it they sent the following magnanimous message 
 to their late opponents : 
 
 " That, after the Conference yesterday touching the 
 amendment of the Subsidy Bill propounded by the Lords, 
 they took the same presently into their consideration, 
 with a full intent to have proceeded therein this morn- 
 ing ; but were prevented by a constant report that their 
 Lordships had passed and voted the said Bill of Subsidies. 
 Yet, nevertheless, the Commons have thought good to 
 signify unto their Lordships, that they will always en- 
 deavour to continue a good correspondency with their 
 Lordships, knowing well that the good concurrence be- 
 tween the two Houses is the very heartstring of the 
 Commonwealth, and they shall be ever as zealous of their 
 Lordships' Privileges as of their own rights." 
 
 Whilst the crisis was still undetermined the Duke of 
 Buckingham had called the attention of the Peers^to a 
 
 1 The Commons. 
 
 2 Journals of the House of Lords, 17 June, 1628, Vol. Ill, p. 860.
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 181 
 
 statement made by a member of the House of Commons, 1 
 who declared that he 2 had said at his own table : " Tush, 
 it makes no matter what the Commons or Parliament 
 doth ; for, without my leave and authority, they shall 
 not be able to touch the hair of a dog." The Duke 
 asked leave to move that the member in question 
 should be called upon to prove his words, as not only 
 had he never uttered them, but that they were never 
 so much as in his thoughts. 3 The next day he returned 
 to the charge, adding that Mr. Lewkenor had acknow- 
 ledged having made use of the words attributed to him, 
 though he refused to name his informant. 
 
 After the Conference was over, the Duke again ap- 
 pealed to the Peers to be allowed to make the same 
 protest before the Commons as he had made in the 
 House of Lords. Lord Keeper Coventry was instructed 
 to intimate his desire to the Lower House, but he does 
 not seem to have made any such dramatic appearance 
 as his entrance at the Bar would have given rise to. 4 
 The Duke's unpopularity seems to have been at its 
 summit all through the crisis of June, 1628, and, signifi- 
 cantly enough, on the same day that the deadlock be- 
 tween Lords and Commons was averted a protege of his, 
 Dr. John Lambe, was fatally injured by a mob of London 
 apprentices, and a couplet, illustrating the vindictive 
 feeling which prevailed against his patron, was hawked 
 about the town and passed from mouth to mouth : 
 
 " Let Charles and George do what they can, 
 The Duke shall die like Doctor Lambe." 
 
 1 Mr. Lewkenor. 2 The Duke. 3 Lords Journals, 18 June, 1628. 
 
 4 There were two members named Lewkenor in the House at this 
 time, Richard, Knight of the Shire for Sussex, and Christopher, member 
 for Midhurst.
 
 182 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 As all the world knows, Buckingham fell by an assassin's 
 knife, at Portsmouth, only two months later. 
 
 One further fact concerning this memorable dispute 
 between the two Houses must be placed on record. The 
 Speaker, Sir John Finch, was prevented, on the day of 
 the prorogation, from carrying up the Subsidy Bill to 
 the Lords for the Royal Assent, according to ancient 
 custom. He was thus debarred from making a speech 
 to the Throne and alluding to the victory won by the 
 Commons in the matter of finance. To which, the 
 Journal states, " much exception was taken." Finch's 
 last appearance in the House of Commons he had 
 succeeded Lord Coventry as Lord Keeper was when 
 he appeared at the Bar in 1640, after being im- 
 peached by the Long Parliament. Though he spoke in 
 his own defence, and spoke well, he did not await the 
 conclusion of the indictment, but fled to The Hague, 
 where he died in 1660. 1 
 
 The Speaker of the " Short Parliament " came of a 
 very ancient West of England family, and it is strange 
 that Sir John Glanville's election should have received 
 the royal approbation, for he was known to have been 
 opposed to the Court, and, in a former House, he 
 had prepared a protest against arbitrary dissolution. 
 Possibly during the period of personal government 
 his convictions had undergone modification. Great 
 changes in popular feeling had, indeed, taken place 
 in those eleven years in which Charles had essayed to 
 rule without Constitutional assistance. Hampden had 
 
 1 The first article in his impeachment was his arbitrary conduct 
 in the Chair on the occasion of Sir John Eliot's motion on tonnage 
 and poundage. He is buried in St. Martin's Church, near Canterbury, 
 under a stupendous marble monument.
 
 SIR JOHN GI.ANV1I.I.K 
 
 1640 
 I* rout a fainting at the National /'or h ait Cal/e>y
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 183 
 
 become a popular hero through his opposition to ship 
 money ; the abuse of justice by the Court of Star Chamber 
 had sunk deep into the public mind ; Strafford had been 
 recalled from Ireland to give the King counsel in his dire 
 necessity ; and, though Coke and Eliot were dead and 
 Holies was no longer a member, Hampden and Pym re- 
 mained the indomitable champions of English liberty 
 when Glanville succeeded to the Chair. 
 
 His tenure of it was too brief for fame ; but a very sin- 
 gular story of his private life deserves to be rescued from 
 oblivion. His elder brother, Francis, a profligate and a 
 spendthrift, had been cut off with the proverbial shilling 
 by his father, and when the will was read it had such an 
 effect upon the son's mind that he retired from society 
 and became a changed man. One day Sir John, seeing 
 the alteration in his brother's mode of life, invited him 
 to dine at his house, and placing a dish before him, re- 
 quested him to take off the cover and help himself to 
 the contents. To the surprise of all present, it was found 
 to contain the title deeds of the family estate of Kil- 
 worthy, with a formal conveyance from the Speaker to 
 his elder brother. Nor was this the only disinterested 
 action of Glanville's life, for he is said to have reclaimed 
 the celebrated Sir Matthew Hale from an idle and dis- 
 solute life to become a great pleader and a greater 
 judge. 1 
 
 When the Long Parliament was about to assemble, 
 
 1 Sir John Glanville's portrait is in the Speaker's collection, and 
 there is another likeness by an unknown artist in the National Portrait 
 Gallery, painted at the age of sixty-two. The ex-Speaker of the Short 
 Parliament was imprisoned in the Tower from 1645 to 1648. Some 
 of his speeches are contained in Rushworth's Collections. He was 
 buried at Broad-Hinton, Wilts.
 
 184 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Charles I designed the post of Speaker for Sir Thomas 
 Gardiner, but, as he failed to obtain a seat in the 
 House, William Lenthall, by the merest accident, was 
 chosen in his stead ; 504 members being returned to 
 serve at Westminster, of whom more than half had 
 sat in the previous Parliament. The remarkable man 
 who was called to the Chair in November, 1640, was 
 born in 1591, not at Henley-on-Thames as has been 
 generally supposed, but at Hasely in Oxfordshire, of 
 parents whose lineage in that county can be traced 
 to the fifteenth century, when a Lenthall married the 
 heiress of Pypard of Lachford. He received the early 
 part of his education at Thame grammar school under 
 Richard Bourchier, and before he was sixteen years old 
 he was entered at St. Alban Hall, Oxford, was called to 
 the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1616, and entered the House 
 of Commons as Member for Woodstock in the last Parlia- 
 ment of James I. He therefore sat for some years in the 
 House with the redoubtable Coke. 
 
 Having prospered at the Bar, he bought Besselsleigh, 
 in Berkshire, from the ancient family of Fettyplace, in 
 I 633, a property which is still enjoyed by his descendants. 
 In the course of the next year, he paid the Cavalier Lord 
 Falkland, it is believed under an assumed name, 7000 
 for Burford Priory, the house with which his name will 
 always be chiefly associated. His wife, Elizabeth Evans, 
 it will be remembered, was a cousin of Lord Falkland. 
 The statement that Burford was acquired for him by 
 the Parliament appears to be untrue. However that 
 may be, he was living in the town for some years before 
 he became the owner of the Priory. 
 
 Nearly every modern writer who has treated the sub-
 
 WILLIAM LENTHAI.I. 
 
 1640, 1647, 1654, 1659, 1659-60 
 
 h'roin a painting in the National Portrait Gallery
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 185 
 
 ject of Parliamentary history and control has lauded 
 Lenthall to the skies. Yet the opinion of many of 
 his contemporaries was decidedly unfavourable. Claren- 
 don thought him " in all respects very unequal to 
 the work ; and not knowing how to preserve his own 
 dignity, or to restrain the licence and exorbitance 
 of others, his weakness contributed as much to the 
 growing mischiefs as the malice of the principal con- 
 trivers." 
 
 D'Ewes, who sat under him from 1640 until ejected 
 from the House by Pride's Purge, was suspicious of his 
 honesty, and being himself a recognised authority on 
 questions of Parliamentary procedure and etiquette, he 
 was a vigilant and unsparing critic of his conduct 
 in the Chair, until it was more than hinted that the 
 Member for Sudbury, and not the Speaker, was the 
 right man to settle questions of order, and to com- 
 pose jarring discords in debate. On one occasion he 
 reminded Lenthall that it was his duty to read to the 
 House a message from the King, which he was about to 
 delegate to the Clerk. Alternately patronising and criti- 
 cising, D'Ewes would have been a thorn in any Speaker's 
 side, and during the early days of the Long Parliament 
 Lenthall must often have longed to be rid of him. 
 
 Sir H. Mildmay was another member who treated him 
 with scant courtesy. He dared to say in his place that 
 the Speaker should come down to the House in good 
 time. On which Lenthall, in a sudden access of passion, 
 threw down a shilling upon the table, this being the 
 customary fine imposed on members who came in late. 
 But if he was not exactly loved in the early days of his 
 career, he was cordially hated by the Cavaliers when he
 
 186 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 continued to sit at Westminster after the death of the 
 King. 
 
 There was, however, one responsible official of the 
 Long Parliament whose personal scruples proved, in 
 the hour of crisis, to be tenderer than those of its 
 presiding officer. This was Henry Elsynge, Clerk of 
 the House from 1640 to 1648, when he voluntarily 
 relinquished the service of the Commons to pass the 
 remainder of his days in grinding poverty, rather than 
 have it said that he even tacitly concurred with 
 Cromwell and the Army in the trial and condemnation 
 of his Sovereign. He appears to have been esteemed 
 by men of all shades of political opinion, and to have 
 consistently maintained the dignity of his office, despite 
 occasional differences of opinion with the irrepressible 
 D'Ewes, whose egregious vanity sometimes brought 
 him into collision with constituted authority. Such was 
 Elsynge 's acknowledged ability and discretion that in 
 the turbulent years preceding his withdrawal from 
 Westminster quite as much genuine respect was paid to 
 the impersonal Clerk at the table as to the Speaker 
 invested by the House at large with the traditional 
 authority of the Chair. 
 
 Lenthall, a consummate opportunist throughout his 
 career, made the utmost possible use of the tool he found 
 ready to his hand, and, in the early days of his power, 
 he was deeply indebted to Elsynge for guidance and 
 advice, habitually leaning upon him as a prop to sup- 
 port his own inexperience in questions of procedure 
 demanding an immediate decision from the Chair. 
 What he thought of his colleague's unfailing devotion 
 to duty and high character appears in the vindication
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 187 
 
 of his own conduct, which he issued at the Restoration, 
 when the changed circumstances of the time compelled 
 him to make tardy confession of his gains and losses in 
 the service of the State. 
 
 Almost the only unfavourable critics, in modern times, 
 known to the author are John Forster, who in his 
 Arrest of the Five Members calls him "weak and common- 
 place," and the late Mr. Charles Townsend, whose Memoirs 
 of the House of Commons still afford such good reading. 
 But Townsend somewhat overstates the case when he 
 calls Lenthall "a poor creature, the tame instrument of a 
 worse and more vulgar tyranny, the buffeted tool of the 
 Army and the Rump, subdued to sit or go, to remain 
 at home or return to find the doors of St. Stephen's 
 shut or open, according to the will of his masters, 
 the officers, and at the bidding of Cromwell." Rather 
 would we say, with Dr. Gardiner, that, if not a great 
 and heroic man, he knew what his duty was, and 
 defined it in words of singular force and dexterity. 
 Great historical crises have been determined one way 
 or the other, and will be determined hereafter, not so 
 much by men of heroic degree as by men who know what 
 duty is and are prepared to act upon the knowledge. 
 In the case of an office like the Speaker's there can be 
 no posthumous fame without contemporary appreciation. 
 And this, notwithstanding the adverse opinions quoted 
 above, was accorded to the presiding genius of the 
 Long Parliament to an extent unparalleled in the 
 previous history of the Chair. The Corporation of 
 Windsor voted him a gift of wine and a sugar-loaf 1 in 
 the early days of his Speakership, and similar presents 
 were showered upon him from time to time by the various 
 
 1 Tighe and Davis, Annals of Windsor, 1858, Vol. II, p. 154.
 
 i88 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 municipalities which espoused the Parliamentary cause. 
 The inscription on his portrait in the National Collec- 
 tion also shows that it was painted expressly to com- 
 memorate his action in the Chair at the time of the 
 attempted arrest of the Five Members. 
 
 Without any special gifts of oratory, Lenthall, at a 
 time of exceptional difficulty, impressed his personality 
 upon the House by his eminent common sense ; and, 
 although his honesty at the time of the breaking off of 
 negotiations with the King has been called in question, 
 there is no room to doubt that by sheer force of character 
 he preserved, during the twenty years in which he was 
 in and out of the Chair, the historic continuity of his 
 office, and this at a time when the monarchy itself 
 suffered an interruption. On the other hand, he was 
 avaricious ; obsessed by a desire for the accumula- 
 tion of wealth ; l greedy of power and rank ; and, 
 towards the close of his career, somewhat unduly 
 impressed with a sense of his own importance. One 
 fact emerges very clearly from his tenure of office : 
 he made rules, with the assistance of Elsynge, for the 
 preservation of order in debate, without which the pro- 
 ceedings of the Long Parliament would have been even 
 more turbulent than they sometimes were. 
 
 The quorum of the House of Commons was fixed at its 
 present number on 5 January, 1641, when Lenthall had 
 not been in the Chair more than two months. As late 
 as 1801 an attempt was made to raise the limit to sixty, 
 
 1 At one time he held the Mastership of the Rolls worth ^3000 a 
 year, the Speakership for which he received ^2000, a commissionership 
 of the Great Seal ^1500, the Chancellorship of the Duchy of Lancaster, 
 1500 ; and he was also Chamberlain of the City of Chester, a lucrative 
 sinecure coveted by many lawyers, before and since Lenthall's day.
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 189 
 
 but without avail, and at forty it remains to this day. 
 In the " Short Parliament " Lenthall was one of the 
 committee on ship money and chairman of the com- 
 mittee on grievances. Mr. Firth, in his admirable Life 
 in the Dictionary of National Biography, states that he 
 had occupied the Chair, in the absence of the real Speaker, 
 during one or more debates in the Short Parliament, but 
 the official Journals 1 show that it was as Chairman of the 
 Committee of the whole House that he so presided. 
 
 LenthalTs first complete session was an index to the 
 stormy times ahead of him. In one year the House of 
 Commons passed the Triennial Bill, a measure which it 
 almost immediately ignored; it impeached Strafford 
 and Laud ; it declared the levying of taxes without 
 consent to be illegal; it abolished the Star Chamber; 
 and, after a short recess, it sat for fifteen hours to pass 
 the Grand Remonstrance. 2 No wonder that the Speaker 
 complained in pathetic tones to the House of the unusual 
 length of their sittings. The unaccustomed strain of long 
 hours in the Chair told upon his strength ; he became 
 irritable and petulant, and after a little more than a year 
 of office he had serious thoughts of tendering his resig- 
 nation to the King. 
 
 Long sittings in the House itself were not the only 
 strain upon the Speaker's patience. On a fast day, 
 piously observed by Parliament in November, 1640, 
 Dr. Burgess and Master Marshall preached between them 
 before the unfortunate Commons for the space of seven 
 hours ! 3 and there were occasions when the protracted 
 
 1 Commons Journals, 23 April, 1640, Vol. II, p. 9.- 
 1 22 November, 1641. 
 
 8 Diurnal Occurrences of the Great and Happy Parliament, 1641, 
 P- 4-
 
 190 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 debates prevented the Speaker from going home to 
 dinner. 
 
 LenthalTs personal expenditure at this time was heavy, 
 as he entertained lavishly, amongst his guests being 
 many courtiers as well as members of the Lower House. 1 
 Early in his career he lived in a house on the site of 
 the Westminster Fire Office in King Street, Co vent 
 Garden ; but later on he took Goring House, on the site 
 of Buckingham Palace, then a perfect rus in urbe, and 
 it was there that most of his entertaining was done. 
 Sir John Lenthall, his son, also lived in the same house 
 and seems to have owned the freehold at one time. 
 
 On 3 January, 1641-42, that misguided monarch 
 Charles I desired to impeach the five most prominent 
 opponents of his government in the House of Commons, 2 
 and he sent a message, delivered at the Bar of the House 
 to the Speaker, requiring from him the five members, that 
 they might be arrested, in His Majesty's name, on a 
 charge of high treason. Lenthall, by command of the 
 House, enjoined them to give attendance in the House 
 de die in diem. On the next day the House met 
 early in the morning, and considered in committee 
 the charges which the King had brought against 
 five of its number. Notice was taken of the muster 
 of armed men at Whitehall and in the immediate 
 neighbourhood of the Houses of Parliament. At noon 
 the sitting was suspended " for an hour's space," 
 but before it had ended the King's design to seize the 
 accused was unfolded. 
 
 1 On 9 April, 1642, the House voted Lenthall a sum of 6000 in 
 consideration of his long and strict attendance to duty. 
 * Denzil Holies. Haselrig, Pym, Hampden, and Strode.
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 191 
 
 Lenthall returned to the Chair between one and two 
 o'clock, when the House resumed the discussion on the 
 gathering of armed men in the precincts of Westminster. 
 The five members were then in their places, uncertain 
 whether to remain or to depart, when news was brought 
 in hot haste to the Speaker by a Mr. Fiennes to the effect 
 that the King was nearing Westminster Hall at the head 
 of a large company of guards. Leave was given to the 
 accused to withdraw, but they had barely quitted the 
 House and reached the boats which lay on the river at 
 Westminster Stairs, when a loud knock on the door 
 announced the entrance of the only King of England who 
 has ever penetrated into a House of Commons in session. 
 
 According to Rushworth, the Clerk- Assistant, who was, 
 of course, an eye-witness of all the events of that memo- 
 rable day : " His Majesty entered the House, and as 
 he passed up towards the Chair, he cast his eye on the 
 right hand near the Bar of the House, where Mr. Pym 
 used to sit ; but His Majesty not seeing him there 
 (knowing him well) went up to the Chair, and said, ' By 
 your leave, Mr. Speaker, I must borrow your Chair, a 
 little ' ; whereupon the Speaker came out of the Chair, 
 and His Majesty stepped into it. After he had stood in 
 the Chair awhile, casting his eye upon the members as 
 they stood up uncovered, but could not discern any of 
 the five members to be there nor, indeed, were they 
 easy to be discerned (had they been there) among so 
 many bare faces all standing up together, 
 
 " Then His Majesty made this speech : 
 
 ' Gentlemen, 
 
 " ' I am sorry for this occasion of coming unto you. 
 Yesterday I sent a Serjeant-at-arms upon a very im-
 
 192 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 portant occasion, to apprehend some that by my com- 
 mand were accused of High Treason ; whereunto I did 
 expect obedience, and not a message. And I must de- 
 clare unto you here, that albeit no king that ever was 
 in England, shall be more careful of your privileges, to 
 maintain them to the utmost of his power, than I shall 
 be, yet you must know that in cases of treason, no person 
 hath a privilege. And therefore I am come to know if 
 any of these persons that were accused are here.' 
 
 " Then, casting his eyes upon all the members in the 
 House, he said, ' I do not see any of them ; I think I 
 should know them.' 
 
 " ' For I must tell you, gentlemen, that so long as 
 these persons that I have accused (for no slight crime, 
 but for treason) are here, I cannot expect that this 
 House will be in the right way that I do heartily 
 wish it. Therefore I am come to tell you, that I must 
 have them, wheresoever I find them.' 
 
 " Then His Majesty said, ' Is Mr. Pym here ? ' To 
 which nobody gave answer. ' Well, since I see all my 
 birds are flown, I do expect from you, that you shall 
 send them unto me, as soon as they return hither. But 
 I assure you, on the word of a king, I never did intend 
 any force, but shall proceed against them in a legal and 
 fair way, for I never meant any other. 
 
 " ' And now since I see I cannot do what I came for, 
 I think this no unfit occasion to repeat what I have said 
 formerly, That whatsoever I have done in favour, and to 
 the good of my subjects, I do mean to maintain it. 
 
 " ' I will trouble you no more, but tell you I do expect 
 as soon as they come to the House, you will send them 
 to me ; otherwise I must take my own course to find 
 them.' ' 
 
 When the King was looking about the House, the 
 Speaker standing below by the Chair, His Majesty asked
 
 JOHN KUSmVORTH, C I.ERK ASSISTANT OF THK HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 1640 
 I-'roin a painting at the Speakers House
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 193 
 
 him whether any of these persons were in the House ? 
 whether he saw any of them ? and where they were ? To 
 which the Speaker, falling on his knees, thus answered : 
 
 W> 
 " May it please your Majesty, 
 
 " I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak 
 in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me, 
 whose servant I am here ; and I humbly beg Your Ma- 
 jesty's pardon, that I cannot give any other answer than 
 this, to what Your Majesty is pleased to demand of me." 
 
 The King, having concluded his speech, went out of 
 the House, which by this time was in great disorder, 
 and many cried out, so that he might hear, " Privilege ! 
 Privilege ! " Fortunately for posterity, Rushworth, on 
 this occasion, disregarded the condition of his appoint- 
 ment on 25 April, 1640, namely : " That he shall not 
 take any notes here without the precedent directions 
 and command of this House, but only of the orders and 
 reports made to this House." On the contrary, whilst 
 the hand of Elsynge, his official superior, was stayed by 
 doubt, Rushworth took down the King's words in short- 
 hand, and also the memorable reply which he received from 
 Lenthall. The accuracy of his notes is unquestionable, as 
 the King, baffled and perplexed as he was when standing 
 on the step of the Speaker's chair, had noticed Rush- 
 worth's pen at work and sent for the report of the words 
 so noted down, returning it to him with corrections. 
 The incidents of this single day inspired John Forster, 
 the biographer of Dickens, with material for an entire 
 volume. Soon after this unique incident in the history 
 of the House of Commons Charles left Whitehall, 
 never to return to it till he came there to die; and
 
 194 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 on the final disruption between Crown and Parliament 
 the only course which remained was the arbitrament of 
 arms. 
 
 In June, 1642, the Speaker gave a horse and fifty 
 pounds in money in defence of the Parliament, a suffi- 
 cient indication of the trend of his political convictions, 
 and in direct contrast to the fulsome language in which 
 he had addressed the Throne at the conclusion of the 
 session of 1641. In that speech, reported in full in the 
 Journals of the House of Lords for 2 December, he said : 
 
 " Give me leave here, most gracious Sovereign, to sum 
 up the sense of eleven months' observation, without in- 
 termission (scarce) of a day, nay an hour in that day, 
 to the hazard of life and fortune, and to reduce all into 
 this conclusion : The endeavours of your Commons 
 assembled, guided by your pious and religious example, 
 is to preserve Religion in its purity, without mixture or 
 composition, against these subtle invaders ; and, with 
 our lives and fortunes, to establish these Thrones to your 
 sacred person, and those beams of Majesty your Royal 
 progeny, against treason and rebellion." 
 
 Lenthall probably participated in the spoliation of 
 Whitehall Palace, and he secured for his own collection a 
 portrait of the King, by Vandyck, 1 and a group, in the 
 manner of Holbein, of Sir Thomas More and his family. 
 This latter picture hung at Burford Priory for many 
 years, and after being sold in 1833, it reappeared at 
 Christie's during the present year, 2 when it fetched 950 
 guineas at auction. 
 
 Some of the Speaker's biographers have assumed, 
 quite erroneously, that he secured for the gallery at 
 
 1 Sometimes stated, however, to have been a gift to the Speaker 
 from the Sovereign. * 1910.
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 195 
 
 Burford some of the pictures removed from Hampton 
 Court at this period. In making this statement they 
 were probably unaware that Lenthall owned a large 
 landed property in Herefordshire, also called Hampton 
 Court, which had been in the possession of his family 
 since the reign of Henry IV. Sir Roland Lenthall, 
 Master of the Robes to that sovereign, and who fought at 
 Agincourt, had licence to embattle his manor-house and 
 to impark a thousand acres, and from his brother Walter, 
 whose will was dated in 1421, the Speaker was seventh 
 in direct descent. A curious portrait, painted on panel, 
 presented by Henry IV to Sir Roland, is still preserved 
 at Besselsleigh, together with the bulk of the pictures 
 from Burford, an interesting collection of Stuart relics, 
 including a glove of Charles I, the Speaker's walking- 
 stick, a portrait group of himself and his family by 
 Dobson, and a great number of rare Civil War tracts and 
 pamphlets. The canopy of the Chair which Lenthall 
 filled with such distinction was presented by him to 
 Radley Church, near his Berkshire estate, at the Resto- 
 ration. Though black with age, it is still in good pre- 
 servation, and is in all probability the oldest piece of 
 Parliamentary furniture in existence. 
 
 Lenthall continued to preside over the House until 
 26 July, 1647, when, the Army and the Parliament 
 having quarrelled, both Lords and Commons and the 
 City were placed at the mercy of the military party, 
 which had, by that time, become a highly organised 
 political association. The Speaker, acting on a hint 
 conveyed to him by Rushworth, abandoned his post and 
 left London, fearing the violence of the mob. On the 
 same day the Common Council appeared at Westminster
 
 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 and compelled the two Houses by threats to rescind their 
 late votes, Cromwell and the army being the absolute 
 masters of the situation. 
 
 " Several members having been desired by the House 
 to repair to the Speaker's house, 1 reported that Mr. 
 Speaker was not to be heard of, that he had not lodged 
 at his house that night, but was gone out of town yester- 
 day morning." 2 
 
 On 6 August the truants returned with the army 
 for escort, and Lenthall was back in the Chair he had so 
 recently deserted. An ordinance annulling all orders 
 " made or pretended to be made " in his absence was 
 promptly passed, and Pride's Purge, the real object of 
 which was to exclude the Presbyterians from the House 
 as being too favourable to the King, took place on Decem- 
 ber, 1648, apparently without articulate protest from the 
 Speaker. It has often been stated by unauthoritative 
 writers that in the previous August Lenthall gave his 
 casting vote in favour of breaking off negotiations with 
 the King in the Isle of Wight on the basis of the 
 Hampton Court proposals. Neither Dr. Gardiner, in his 
 exhaustive History of the Civil War, nor Professor Firth, in 
 the Dictionary of National Biography, makes any allusion 
 to this supposed discreditable incident in his career ; and 
 the present writer was at first disposed to regard both 
 debate and division as the phantom of some partisan 
 brain. However, on searching the official Journal for 
 the year in question, he found that on 28 July not in 
 the month of August the Speaker did give a cast- 
 ing vote, but only on a minor and immaterial issue 
 
 1 Goring House, in Pimlico, now Buckingham Palace. 
 1 Commons Journals, 29 July, 1647.
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 197 
 
 connected with a more important decision of the House. 
 On the question being put : " That a Treaty be had in 
 the Isle of Wight with the King in person, by a Com- 
 mittee appointed by both Houses upon all the proposi- 
 tions presented to him at Hampton Court, for the taking 
 away of Wards and Liveries, and for settling of a safe 
 and well-grounded Peace," a member, unnamed, moved 
 that the words " and not elsewhere " be added after the 
 words " Isle of Wight " to the question already proposed 
 from the Chair. On a division being taken, fifty-seven 
 were found to have voted for the inclusion of those 
 words, and fifty-six against. A Mr. Askew, who was in 
 the Gallery at the time, and who withdrew into the 
 Committee Chamber without having declared upon which 
 side he wished his vote to be recorded, was ordered by 
 the Speaker to make his choice, and having given his 
 vote with the Yeas, 1 the numbers became equal, fifty- 
 seven on either side. The Speaker then gave his casting 
 vote, but only against the addition of the words " and 
 not elsewhere " ; and on the Main Question being put, 
 it was unanimously resolved " that a Treaty be con- 
 cluded," etc. etc., in the terms of the original motion. 2 
 
 Whilst Lenthall must therefore be acquitted of the 
 charge of having influenced the decision of the House at 
 a critical moment in the King's fortunes, he cannot be 
 wholly exonerated from a suspicion of double dealing at 
 this period in the struggle between the Crown and the 
 Parliament, as there is evidence of his having been en- 
 gaged in secret correspondence with the Prince of Wales 
 at the very moment that the question of resuming nego- 
 
 1 Sic in the original Journal, but the sense requires the substitution 
 of the word " Noes," for " Yeas." 
 ' Commons Journals, Vol. V, p. 650.
 
 198 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 tiations with his royal father was hanging in the balance. 
 Manning, though he may be presumed to have con- 
 sulted the Journals of the House when he wrote his book 
 on the lives of the Speakers, gives an inaccurate version 
 of the facts related above, and treats Lenthall's vote as 
 if it had turned the scales in favour of the King, which, 
 it will be seen, it did not. 
 
 It was, however, Lenthall's casting vote which saved 
 the life of Lord Goring ; l and the humanity and courage 
 which he displayed in incurring the displeasure of the 
 more powerful party, which was in favour of sending 
 Norwich to the scaffold, probably induced him, on his 
 deathbed, to issue a public apology for his attitude at 
 the King's trial. After Goring's reprieve the Speaker 
 was invited to a banquet by the Lord Mayor, who re- 
 signed to him the civic sword, an honour usually paid to 
 Royalty alone. 
 
 After the establishment of the Commonwealth the 
 nation was not truly represented at Westminster, and 
 the rift between the Army and the Parliament broad- 
 ened in consequence. A Bill was brought in, with 
 Cromwell's approval, to fix a time for the dissolution 
 of the existing House, as many of his adherents were 
 beginning to chafe under the uncontrolled rule of a 
 single chamber. During the Dutch war the Army be- 
 came still more disaffected, until it was rumoured that 
 Cromwell was meditating the restoration of monarchical 
 government under another guise. " What if a man 
 should take upon himself to be King ! " he said to 
 Whitelocke, realising, as he did, that the rivalry between 
 the Army and the Parliament could not be indefinitely 
 prolonged without grave danger to the State. 
 
 1 Afterwards Earl of Norwich.
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 199 
 
 Continuous Parliamentary government is, in all 
 essentials, antagonistic to the supremacy of an army, 
 and this was the condition which Cromwell had to take 
 seriously into account when, in 1653, he determined to 
 get rid of the existing House of Commons, lest the Army, 
 which had made him what he was, should instal Lam- 
 bert, the second man in England and the darling of the 
 soldiery, in his place. After he had addressed a meeting 
 of officers at the Cockpit, in the month of April, urging 
 the reform of the realm, but not with the existing Parlia- 
 ment, news was brought to him at Whitehall that the 
 House was disposed to bring its existence to a close. The 
 rumour proved to be untrue, for the House was busily 
 engaged in passing a Bill designed to perpetuate its 
 authority. Once his mind was made up Cromwell acted 
 at once. He marched a file of musketeers down to the 
 House, and stationed them at the very spot where 
 Charles Fs guard had remained stationed on the occasion 
 of the attempted arrest of the five members. This time 
 they filed through the doorway, Cromwell shouting to the 
 House that he would put an end to " their prating." The 
 Speaker was pulled out of the Chair, the " bauble " mace 
 was taken away, the members were dispersed by force, 
 and Cromwell, with the keys in his pocket, returned to 
 Whitehall. " Make way for honester men ! " was the 
 cry which rang in LenthalTs ears as he was helped out 
 of the chair. 
 
 Scobell, the Clerk of the House, siding with the victor, 
 put the finishing touch to the work of the Lord General 
 by entering on the Journal page : " Wednesday, 2Oth 
 April, 1653. This day his Excellency the Lord General 
 dissolved this Parliament." He made a false entry in
 
 200 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 order to curry favour with Cromwell, well knowing that 
 the only authority which could effect a dissolution of 
 the House of Commons was the Crown. Though Crom- 
 well could and did disperse the House, he could not dis- 
 solve it. 
 
 With the expulsion of the Long Parliament fell Lenthall, 
 for a time, for he was not a member of the Barebones or 
 Little Parliament which elected Francis Rous as its 
 Speaker. This assembly, " the Reign of the Saints," 1 
 consisted of 140 nominees of Cromwell, which, after it 
 had served the purpose of its masters by preparing the 
 Instrument of Government, and paving the way for 
 Oliver's assumption of the title of Protector, was cajoled 
 by its Speaker into summary abdication. 
 
 In the first Parliament of Oliver, Protector, summoned 
 in September, 1654, the first name put forward was 
 that of the old Speaker. " Something was said to excuse 
 him, by reason of his former services, and something 
 objected as if he had served so long, that he had been 
 outworn " ; 2 but in the end his re-election to the Chair 
 was unanimous, " in regard of his great experience and 
 knowledge of the orders of the House and his dexterity 
 in the guidance of it." This Parliament came to an end 
 on 22 January, 1654-55 ; but in the next, the second 
 Parliament of the Protectorate, he was not re-elected 
 to the Chair. 
 
 Lenthall now hankered after a writ of summons to 
 Cromwell's House of Lords, and he complained that he, 
 who had been for some years the first man of the nation, 
 was denied to be a member of either House of Parliament ; 
 
 1 Oliver Cromwell, by John Morley, 1900, p. 358. 
 1 Burton's Diary.
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 201 
 
 for he was held to be incapable of sitting in the House of 
 Commons by his place as Master of the Rolls, whereby he 
 was obliged to attend merely as an assistant in the other. 
 Cromwell eventually sent him a writ, and in the carica- 
 ture of the Upper House, which met in January, 1658, 
 he took his place, in company with Fleetwood, Monk, 
 and Pride. Hazelrig, whom Cromwell had designed for 
 the same dignity, refused to be promoted, and became the 
 recognised leader of the Commons, and, after Cromwell's 
 death, one of the most powerful men in England. 
 
 On the fall of Richard Cromwell the Army desired to 
 restore the Long Parliament, and a deputation waited on 
 Lenthall to urge him to return to his seat. After many 
 excuses, 1 he consented to preside over the forty- two mem- 
 bers of the Rump, and on 7 May, 1659, he proceeded 
 once more to St. Stephen's Chapel with the mace in 
 front of him. His position was now greatly increased 
 in dignity, even commissions in the army were not valid 
 until countersigned by him, and no Speaker before him 
 was invested with such far-reaching authority. 
 
 " Cut out more work than can be done 
 In Pluto's year but finish none. 
 Unless it be the bulls of Lenthall, 
 That always pass'd for fundamental." 2 
 
 Once more the attenuated assembly was to be 
 violently dispersed. On 13 December Lambert drew up 
 his forces in Westminster, obstructing all passages to 
 the House both by land and water, setting guards at 
 all the doors, and interrupting the members from coming 
 to take their seats. When the Speaker appeared in his 
 
 1 Lenthall had previously declared that he was not altogether satis- 
 fied that the death of the King had not put an end to the Parliament. 
 
 2 Butler's Hudibras, and au obvious allusion to the " Rump."
 
 202 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 coach the horses were turned back. " Do you not know 
 me ? " he said. " If you had been with us at Winnington 
 Bridge, we should have known you," replied the soldiers. 1 
 Lenthall was unceremoniously conducted to his own 
 house, the mace was taken from him by Lambert, and 
 the Army recovered supreme authority. 
 
 On Christmas Eve, 1659, a new revolution took 
 place. The soldiery assembled in Lincoln's Inn Fields 
 and resolved to restore the Parliament. They halted in 
 Chancery Lane at the Speaker's door, for Lenthall was 
 in residence at the Rolls House, and there they hailed 
 him as their general and the father of their country. 
 Two days later he was again in the Chair, and the 
 remnants of the Long Parliament were once more restored. 
 Pepys noted in his diary that the Speaker hesitated to 
 sign the writs for the choice of new members in the place 
 of the excluded, but on Monk declaring for a free Parlia- 
 ment in February, 1659-60, the Restoration was in sight. 
 Military and Parliamentary rule had alike become distaste- 
 ful and obnoxious to the people, and the nation at large 
 was prepared to welcome the restoration of the Monarchy. 
 
 Lenthall, having decided to throw in his lot with 
 Monk, declared himself to be devotedly attached to 
 the monarchical principle, and he told a personal friend, 
 who was present at his deathbed, 2 that Monk was able 
 to assure Charles II that, had it not been for his secret 
 concurrence and assistance, the Restoration could never 
 have been brought about. 
 
 1 Sir George Booth headed a rising in Cheshire for Charles II. 
 Lambert marched against him and defeated him at Winnington (not 
 " Warrington," as the Dictionary of National Biography has it) Bridge. 
 
 1 Dr. Dickenson, a physician in St. Martin's Lane and a Fellow 
 of Merton.
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 203 
 
 Lenthall was a candidate for the University of Oxford 
 in the Convention Parliament, but, in spite of Monk's 
 influence being cast in his favour, he was not elected, 
 nor was he able to retain the Mastership of the Rolls at 
 the Restoration. He was excepted from the Act of 
 Indemnity, but, possibly on account of his having lent 
 Charles II 3000, a sum which has never been repaid to 
 this day, he subsequently obtained the King's pardon. 1 
 
 His son, Sir John Lenthall, was returned for Abingdon 
 in 1660, but his connection with Parliament on this 
 occasion was brief. Having made an incautious speech 
 on the Indemnity Bill, in which he said " that he that 
 drew his sword against the King committed as high an 
 offence as he that cut off the King's head," he was 
 severely reprimanded at the bar by the new Speaker, Sir 
 Harbottle Grimston, who had no great liking for the 
 presiding genius of the Long Parliament, and, perhaps, 
 rather welcomed the opportunity of administering a 
 reproof to his offspring. Two days later he was expelled 
 the House, soon after to be rewarded by the King with 
 the Governorship of Windsor Castle. 
 
 Lenthall seems to have thought it advisable to publish 
 a pamphlet, copies of which are now extremely rare, 
 purporting to give a full and accurate account of his 
 profits and gains in the public service from 1648 to 1660, 
 but deliberately excluding all mention of sums received 
 before the first-mentioned date. In it he declared that 
 before he became Speaker he had an assured income of 
 2500 from his practice at the Bar, that when he suc- 
 ceeded Sir Charles Caesar as Master of the Rolls the 
 
 1 The original document with the royal seal and signature is still 
 preserved by the family at Besselsleigh.
 
 204 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 emoluments of the office were less than in the time of 
 his predecessor by 2200, a sum equivalent to what he 
 received in respect of private Bills and Pardons. He 
 pointed out that as the Clerks of the House were also 
 paid by fees these could not have been excessive, since 
 one of the ablest men who ever executed that office l 
 died in such poor circumstances that he was buried 
 at the expense of his friends. He asserted that the 
 Chancellorship of the Duchy of Lancaster brought him 
 "only labour for his pains," that he was prepared to 
 state on oath that from 1648 he never received anything 
 from the Chair by way of fee or reward; and that, 
 having settled the bulk of his estate on his son, he 
 estimated his total annual income in 1660 at 800, and 
 his personal property (including, oddly enough, his 
 debts) at no more than 2000. The short remainder 
 of Lenthall's life was passed in retirement at his 
 Oxfordshire home. 
 
 In a remote situation in a fold of the Cotswold hills, 
 in the valley of the little river Windrush, and surrounded 
 by the most delightful sylvan scenery, Burford Priory 
 exhibits many interesting features of the domestic archi- 
 tecture of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth 
 centuries. After years of wanton neglect, which eventu- 
 ally led to its becoming a melancholy ruin the home 
 of bats and owls it has recently been thoroughly and 
 lovingly repaired, rather than restored, under the capable 
 supervision of its present owner, Colonel de Sales La 
 Terriere, acting as his own architect. 
 
 In 1808 the whole of the north wing was pulled 
 down, together with half of the eastern front. The 
 
 1 Elsynge.
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 205 
 
 south wing, which was built by the Speaker as was the 
 existing but disused chapel connected with the main 
 building by an external gallery fell into decay and was 
 demolished in order to provide material for new farm 
 buildings within the last fifty or sixty years. Neither 
 of the wings so ruthlessly destroyed has been rebuilt, but 
 the ballroom, or great chamber, on the first floor, with 
 a beautiful plaster ceiling and a chimney-piece enriched 
 with the armorial bearings of the Lenthalls, presents 
 much the same appearance as it must have done when 
 the Speaker of the Long Parliament hung the pictorial 
 spoils of Whitehall on its lofty walls. 
 
 An even more interesting feature of the Priory, as it 
 stands to-day, is the rediscovery of some of the original 
 pointed arches of the thirteenth-century religious house. 
 These, which were found embedded in the interior walls 
 during the repairs undertaken during the last two years, 
 appear to have been deliberately concealed from view in 
 the time of Henry VIII by the then owners, the Harmans, 
 whose heraldic supporters, with the Lenthall coat of 
 arms between them, are still to be seen over the 
 entrance door. These arches, the very existence of 
 which must have been quite unknown to the Speaker, 
 have been carefully re-erected within a few feet of where 
 they were found, and constitute, with their fine curves 
 and time-worn edges, an enduring link between the 
 monastic building and the Tudor dwelling-house. The 
 stone fire-place, now in the hall, though not occupying 
 its original site, may date from an even earlier period 
 than the ownership of the Harmans. 
 
 Since its conversion from ecclesiastical to lay uses 
 Burford has known many owners, most of them
 
 206 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 persons of distinction in their day, and nearly all of 
 whom have left their mark upon the old building. 
 After the Harmans it came into the possession of the 
 Duchess of Somerset, but, having passed to the Crown, 
 Queen Elizabeth sold it to Sir John Fortescue, Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer in 1589, who, in his turn, parted with 
 it to Sir Lawrence Tanfield, Chief Baron of the Exchequer 
 in 1625. He rebuilt the greater part of the house in 
 the reign of James I, and Lucius Cary, Lord Falk- 
 land, LenthalTs immediate predecessor here, was his 
 grandson. 
 
 King James and Anne of Denmark stayed with the 
 Tanfields at the Priory in 1603 ; Charles I refreshed him- 
 self and his troops at the Speaker's in 1644 on his way 
 from Oxford to Bourton-on-the- Water ; Charles II dined 
 here in 1681 with Sir John Lenthall, 1 and attended the 
 races held on the neighbouring downs, the King being 
 received by the Mayor and Corporation of Burford on 
 the occasion. These time-honoured races, which gave 
 birth to the Bibury Club of after days, were held on 
 an upland course between Burford and Bibury for 
 150 years before their removal, first to Danebury, 
 near Stockbridge, and, more recently, to Salisbury. 
 Nell Gwynne was also an occasional visitor to the 
 Priory in its roystering days, and it will be recollected 
 that one of the minor titles of her son, the Duke of St. 
 Albans, was Lord Burford. 
 
 William III slept at the Priory in 1695, when it was 
 in the occupation of the fifth Earl of Abercorn, who 
 married the widow of William Lenthall, only daughter 
 
 1 The Speaker's son and a well-known profligate at the Court of 
 Whitehall.
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 207 
 
 and heiress of James Hamilton, Lord Paisley, by his 
 wife Catherine, daughter of a brother of the Speaker. 
 Lord Abercorn seems to have carried on the dissipated 
 traditions of the Priory in the days of Charles II, for 
 he was tried at Oxford in 1697 for the murder of John 
 Prior of Burford, his wife's steward. It is only fair to 
 add that he was acquitted of the capital charge. Incident- 
 ally, justice was appeased by the hanging of a gardener in 
 his stead. Numerous alterations were made to the house 
 at the beginning of the nineteenth century, since which its 
 history has been one of sordid disfigurement at the 
 hands of its responsible owners until it was saved from 
 utter ruin and destruction by Colonel La Terriere in 
 1908. 
 
 When Lenthall was nearing his end his conscience so 
 troubled him that he sent to Witney to ask Dr. Ralph 
 Brideoak, afterwards Bishop of Chichester, to come over 
 to Burford and hear his dying confession and to 
 absolve him from his sins. It was then that he 
 apologised for his share in the trial and execution of 
 the King; and though it is usually unsafe to attach 
 much importance to deathbed confessions, admirers of 
 the independence which he displayed earlier in his 
 Parliamentary career can appreciate the remorse which 
 filled his soul and induced him to make such reparation 
 as he could when at the point of death. 
 
 Dr. Brideoak, having entreated the dying man to 
 relieve his conscience by a full confession, invited him 
 to say to what extent he considered that his public 
 career had transgressed the teaching of the Ten Com- 
 mandments. Laying stress upon the fact that dis- 
 obedience, rebellion, and schism were the greatest
 
 208 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 sins against the fifth of these precepts, Lenthall replied : 
 "Yes, sir, there is my trouble, my disobedience, not 
 against my natural parents, but against the Pater Patriae, 
 our deceased Sovereign. I confess, with Saul, I held their 
 clothes whilst they murdered him ; but herein I was not 
 so criminal as Saul was ; for God, Thou knowest ! I never 
 consented to his death ; I ever prayed and endeavoured 
 what I could against it ; but I did too much. Almighty 
 God, forgive me ! " 
 
 " I then desired him to deal freely and openly on 
 that business, and if he knew any of those villains that 
 plotted or contrived that horrid murder, who were not 
 yet detected, now to discover them. He answered that 
 ' he was a stranger to that business ; his soul never 
 entered into that secret, but what concerns myself I 
 will confess freely. Three things are especially laid to 
 my charge, wherein, indeed, I am too guilty : that I 
 went from the Parliament to the Army ; that I proposed 
 the bloody question for trying the King ; and that I 
 sat after the King's death. To the first I may give this 
 answer, that Cromwell and his agents deceived a wiser 
 man than myself, that excellent King, and they might 
 deceive me also, and so they did. I knew the Presby- 
 terians would never restore the King to his just rights ; 
 those men swore they would. For the second no excuse 
 can fce made, but I have the King's pardon, and I hope 
 Almighty God will show me His mercy also. Yet, sir,' 
 said he, ' even then, when I put the question, I hoped 
 the very putting the question would have cleared him, 
 because I believed four for one were against it ; but they 
 deceived me also. To the third I make this candid con- 
 fession, that it was my own baseness and cowardice and
 
 HKNRY I'KI.HAM 
 
 1647 
 Front a /Hunting in the possession oj tlie Karl o/
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 209 
 
 unworthy fear to submit my life and estate to the mercy 
 of those men that murdered the King, that hurried me 
 on, against my own conscience, to act with them, yet 
 then I thought also I might do some good and hinder 
 some ill. Something I did for the Church and Univer- 
 sities, something for the King, when I broke the Oath 
 of Abjuration, as Sir O. B. and yourself know ; some- 
 thing, also, too for his return, as my lord G., Mr. J. T., 
 and yourself know. But the ill I did overweighed the 
 little good I would have done. God forgive me for this 
 also/ ' Brideoak then allowed him the absolution of the 
 Church, and Lenthall received the Sacrament the next 
 day. Having repeated the substance of his confession to 
 Dr. Dickenson, of Merton College, who was at Burford 
 at the time, he spent the few remaining hours of his life 
 in devotion and penitential meditation. 1 In his will 
 he humbled himself to the dust, and ordered that 
 no monument should be raised to his memory other 
 than a plain stone with the legend " Vermis sum." 
 The original terms of the will are worth quoting : " As 
 to my body and burial I do leave it to the disposition 
 and discretion of my executors hereafter named. But 
 with this special charge : That it be done as privately 
 as may be without any pomp or state, acknowledging 
 myself to be unworthy of the least outward regard of 
 this world, and unworthy of any remembrance, that 
 have been so great a sinner. And I do further charge 
 and desire that no monument be made for me, but at 
 the utmost a plain stone with this superscription only : 
 
 1 This deathbed repentance and confession was twice printed in 
 1662, and reissued forty years later as an appendix to the Memoirs of 
 the Two Last Years of the Reign of King Charles I, by Sir Thomas 
 Herbert and others.
 
 210 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONb 
 
 ' Vermis sum.' ' The inscription was, however, placed on 
 his coffin plate, as was discovered when the vault in which 
 he was buried was opened to allow of another interment. 
 There is a portrait of Lenthall, attributed to Vandyck, 
 in the Speaker's House, but it is more probably the work 
 of Henry Peart, one of his many pupils. Rushworth, 
 whose name will always be associated with Lenthall, by 
 reason of his action on the attempted arrest of the five 
 members, is also commemorated in the Speaker's Portrait 
 Gallery. 
 
 Some mention should be made of the temporary Crom- 
 wellian Speakers, eight in number, who sat in the Chair 
 of the Commons between the date of Lenthall's first 
 leaving it in 1647 and the final dissolution of the Long 
 Parliament. Henry Pelham, of Belvoir, Lincolnshire, 
 though not mentioned by Manning, was chosen by the 
 Presbyterian section of the House by general approba- 
 tion on 30 July, 1647, on Lenthall's joining the Army, 
 and not long after Charles was taken prisoner. 1 The 
 member for Grantham (who sat for the same con- 
 stituency in the Short Parliament of 1640, and earlier 
 for Great Grimsby) was conducted to the Chair by Sir 
 Anthony Irby and Mr. Richard Lee, and there he re- 
 mained until replaced by Lenthall in the month of 
 August, when the Army and Cromwell had become the 
 real masters of the situation. As one of the leading 
 Presbyterians, he was secluded and imprisoned when 
 Pride's Purge took place in 1648, but was liberated six 
 days later. 
 
 In the " Barebones," or Little Parliament, the Chair 
 
 1 He was the third son of Sir William Pelham, of Brocklesby, by 
 Anne, daughter of Charles, second Lord Willoughby of Parham.
 
 /////./// ,?,/f jfr-i //// /\l;unjj Initioo >.< 
 
 J nil /., //;x ,in/,/ffi Hacc ///>/ /r //// ''i-'ffitf,. 
 
 .'in/ d.iij // Av.s- . //,'/// GDOS Face J/M// v/- . 
 
 FRANCIS RODS 
 
 1653 . 
 
 from a print
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 211 
 
 was filled by the Rev. Francis Rons, a Cornish gentleman 
 of good family and education. His career was a most sin- 
 gular one, even in an age of unexpected happenings. An 
 ordinance passed by the Lords on 10 February, 1643-44, 
 deprived Richard Steward, the Provost of Eton, of his post 
 and appointed Rous in his stead " for the term of his 
 natural life." He contrived to get Eton exempted from 
 the " Self-Denying Ordinance," in order that he might 
 retain his emoluments, and it was probably owing to 
 Rous's exertions that the College was also exempted 
 from the sale of the estates of religious corporations. 
 The Provost was rewarded for his subservience in the 
 Chair by a writ of summons to Cromwell's short-lived 
 House of Lords. He was buried in Lupton's Chapel 
 at Eton, and his portrait still hangs hi the Provost's 
 Lodge. 
 
 Sir Thomas Widdrington, of an old Northumbrian 
 family, many of whose members were Cavaliers, rilled the 
 Chair in Oliver's second Parliament, from 17 September, 
 1656, till it was dissolved on 4 February, 1657-58. He 
 then became Chief Baron of the Exchequer. He was 
 brother-in-law to Fairfax, and sat in the Commons Chair 
 when Cromwell declined the crown. At the Restoration 
 Widdrington was deprived of all his offices. Pepys 
 alludes to him as " My Lord Widdrington going to seal 
 the Patents for the Judges in January, 1659-60," he 
 having been a Commissioner of the Great Seal on three 
 separate occasions. Such evidence as exists as to his 
 demeanour hi the Chair shows him to have been any- 
 thing but a strong Speaker, but his incompetence was 
 perhaps partly due to his habitual ill-health. On 
 8 January, 1657, the adjournment of the House
 
 212 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 for a week was agreed to by reason of his indisposition. 
 On the 1 2th the Speaker was brought in a sedan chair 
 to the lobby door, and with much ado he was hoisted 
 into the Chair, but " looked most piteously." Being 
 asked to deal plainly with the House, he was invited to 
 declare the cause of his sufferings. " If you please to 
 go on," was his meek answer, " I shall sit till Twelve 
 o'clock." But his intentions were obviously beyond 
 his strength, and the House again adjourned for a 
 week. 
 
 In 1657 Cromwell was an inexorable master, and, as 
 Thurloe observes, he required " too much to have been 
 expected" of Parliament. The House confirmed more 
 than a hundred Bills and Ordinances in one day, nothing 
 being read but the titles. From 24 to 30 April members 
 were kept in attendance from eight in the morning till 
 nine o'clock at night, and the strain of sitting dinnerless 
 in the Chair told upon Speaker Widdrington's health. 
 On a division, in which the numbers were equal, he 
 rose and said, " I am a Yea, a No I should say." Amid 
 much ill-bred laughter another member claimed that he 
 too had been mistaken in giving his vote ; but it was 
 determined that, while some latitude might be extended 
 to a weary Speaker, other members were not at liberty 
 to recall their votes. Later in the same sitting Speaker 
 Widdrington blundered in putting a question to the 
 House for its decision, and, when the mistake was chal- 
 lenged, he appeared to be quite at a loss to explain his 
 meaning. The House thereupon " fell into great con- 
 fusion." During Widdrington's temporary absence from 
 indisposition, that great lawyer, Bulstrode Whitelocke, 
 well known from his Memorials of English Affairs, filled the
 
 SIR THOMAS WIDDRINGTON 
 
 1656 
 From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery
 
 BL'LSTRODE WHITELOCK 
 
 1656-7 
 From a painting in the Xational Portrait Gallery
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 213 
 
 Chair for a short time. 1 When a proposal came before 
 the House that lawyers should be precluded from prac- 
 tising their profession if elected to Parliament, he used 
 the following words : 
 
 " With respect to the proposal for compelling lawyers 
 to suspend their practice while they sit in Parliament, 
 I only insist that in the Act for that purpose it be pro- 
 vided that merchants should forbear their trading, phy- 
 sicians from visiting their patients, and country gentle- 
 men from selling their corn or wool while they are members 
 of this House." 
 
 In Richard Cromwell's only Parliament Chaloner Chute, 
 of the Vyne (a fine property which he bought in 1653 
 from the sixth Lord Sandys), " a worthy gentleman of 
 the long robe," was Speaker. He resigned from ill- 
 health on 9 March, and died on 14 April. He had a great 
 reputation as an advocate, and amongst other eminent 
 men whom he defended was Archbishop Laud. Sir 
 Lislebone Long, " by general consent of the House," was 
 chosen in his stead ; but on 14 March he too informed 
 the House that he was too unwell to sit, and within 
 forty-eight hours of Chute he died. Thomas Bampfylde 
 (M.P. Exeter) succeeded Long on 16 March, 1658-59, 
 after one Mr. Reynell (M.P. Ashburton) had been pro- 
 posed. Bampfylde was, however, preferred as being " a 
 person of greater experience and of approved learning and 
 gravity." From his nephew, Sir Coplestone Bampfylde, 
 the present Lord Poltimore is descended. This Speaker's 
 tenure of office was interrupted by the Committee of 
 Safety. The last of Lenthall's many substitutes was 
 
 1 He is not mentioned by Manning, but the fact of his having been 
 Speaker is established by reference to the Commons Journals, Vol. VII, 
 p. 482.
 
 214 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 William Say, or Saye, 1 a Bencher of the Middle Temple, 
 and one of the Regicides, who sat in the Chair for a 
 few days in January, 1659-60, during Lenthall's tempo- 
 rary absence from indisposition. He was a member of 
 the Long Parliament from 1647. At the Restoration his 
 name was exempted from the Act of Indemnity, but he 
 contrived to make his escape to the Continent. 
 
 It is a curious fact that of these Cromwellian Speakers 
 Pelham, Rous, and Bampfylde were members of old 
 knightly families boasting pedigrees which satisfied that 
 most exclusive of genealogists, Mr. E. P. Shirley, who in- 
 cluded their names in his Noble and Gentle Men of England. 
 Lenthall, Widdrington, Chute, and Long were all men 
 of good family. Whitelocke, on his mother's side, was 
 descended from the very ancient Buckinghamshire house 
 of Bulstrode of Hedgerley. Even the Regicide Speaker 
 could claim kinship with the Sir John Say who filled the 
 same office in 1449, so that in the darkest days of the 
 Commonwealth the House was jealous of the status and 
 origin of its presiding officer. 
 
 At an age somewhat older than that of most holders 
 of the office, Sir Harbottle Grimston was unanimously 
 elected Speaker at the Restoration, on the motion of Mr. 
 William Pierpont. Early in life he had been a strong 
 Presbyterian, and prominent amongst those who opposed 
 the rise of Cromwell and the Independents in the army. 
 He was excluded from the House by Pride's Purge, and, 
 disapproving as he did of the King's execution, he with- 
 drew from public life. Again elected for Essex in 1656, 
 he was once more excluded. About 1652 he purchased 
 the reversion of the estate of Gorhambury, his second 
 
 1 M.P. Camelford.
 
 /'roin 11 f>,i!ntl 
 
 CHAI.dM-.R CHI IK 
 1658-59
 
 SIR HARBOTTLE GRIMSTON 
 
 1660 
 From a painting in t/te National Portrait Gallery by Lely
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 215 
 
 wife having been a great-niece of Sir Nicholas Bacon, the 
 builder of the now ruined mansion. Grimston held the 
 Mastership of the Rolls concurrently with the Speaker- 
 ship, and until his death in I685. 1 At the Restoration 
 he was living in Lincoln's Inn, and he entertained the 
 King at his house there soon after his arrival in London. 
 
 The existing mace of the House of Commons dates 
 from Sir Harbottle Grimston's Speakership. The earlier 
 "fool's bauble," removed by Cromwell, was made in 
 1649 by Thomas Maundy, a goldsmith in Fetter Lane, 
 and, though it was formerly supposed that it was re- 
 fashioned at the Restoration, it appears certain that the 
 one now in use is wholly of the Charles II period. It 
 weighs upwards of 250 ounces, and is rather less than 
 five feet in length, whereas the Commonwealth mace is 
 known to have been considerably smaller. The tradition 
 that a mace at Kingston, in Jamaica, is the one turned 
 out of the House by Cromwell appears to be without 
 foundation, as the oldest now preserved in that island is 
 of eighteenth-century workmanship. When the House 
 of Commons is not in session the Serjeant-at-Arms re- 
 turns the emblem of his office to the custody of the Lord 
 Chamberlain's Department, whence it is reissued after 
 each Parliamentary recess. 
 
 The Convention Parliament met on 25 April, 1660. 
 Charles II landed at Dover a month later, and on 29 May 
 (his thirtieth birthday) the only one of the Stuarts who 
 had tact and who knew when to give way entered London 
 
 1 In 1803 the Speaker's lineal descendant, the third Viscount 
 Grimston, presented Sir Harbottle' s portrait to the historical series 
 preserved at Westminster, and his coat of arms from the old Rolls 
 Chapel is still to be seen in a window of the museum at the Public 
 Record Office.
 
 2i6 SPEAKERS OF^THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 amidst universal rejoicing. The " Pensionary Parliament " 
 of Charles II, though often unfavourably contrasted with 
 the Long Parliament, showed itself extremely jealous of the 
 privileges of the Commons, and sat for an even greater 
 number of years than its famous predecessor. It ex- 
 tended over seventeen sessions, and was presided over 
 by four Speakers. 
 
 The first of these, Sir Edward Tumour, an ancestor of 
 the present Earl Winterton, occupied the Chair for 
 ten whole years. Samuel Pepys, who knew him well, 
 appeared before him on 4 March, 1668, to deliver his 
 celebrated defence of the principal officers of the Navy. 
 In the speech of his life he held the attention of a crowded 
 House for over three hours in justification of himself and 
 his colleagues. So favourable an impression did the 
 speech produce that when Sir William Coventry, the 
 Chief Commissioner of the Navy, met him the next day 
 he greeted him in the following words : " Good-morrow, 
 Mr. Pepys that must be Speaker of the Parliament 
 House." Coventry also told this invaluable public ser- 
 vant that he could earn 1000 a year at the Bar ; the 
 Solicitor-General said that he was the best speaker in 
 England ; and the Speaker himself declared that in all 
 his experience of the House of Commons he had never 
 heard such a good defence. All which must have been 
 extremely gratifying to Pepys' well-known vanity. The 
 diarist confesses that before going to Westminster on 
 this memorable morning of his life he drank half a pint 
 of mulled sack and a dram of brandy, after which he 
 felt himself " in better order as to courage." He took 
 great interest in the House of Commons even before he 
 became a member, and in his Diary for 27 July, 1663, he
 
 of Cardross)
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 217 
 
 relates how he crowded into the House of Lords, stand- 
 ing close behind the Speaker when he recapitulated the 
 Acts of the session to the King and desired the Royal 
 Assent. " The Speaker's speech was far from any 
 oratory, but was as plain (though good matter) as any- 
 thing could be, and void of elocution." 
 
 No man up to this date had occupied the Chair for 
 anything like so long a time as Speaker Tumour. Len- 
 thall's longest continuous term of office was, as we have 
 shown, under seven years ; but during the decade of 
 1661-71 the Speaker witnessed events as stirring and 
 as far-reaching in their political effect as any of his pre- 
 decessors had taken part in. He saw the wreck of 
 Clarendon (though his policy continued to commend itself 
 to the majority of the House of Commons), the loss of 
 England's command of the sea in the disastrous war with 
 Holland, ending with the humiliating Treaty of Breda, 
 hurriedly concluded after the Dutch fleet had sailed up 
 the Medway, bombarded Chatham, and threatened Dover 
 and Harwich. And when the thunder of the enemy's 
 guns caused a panic in London the Speaker was hindered 
 from taking the Chair until after the King had proceeded 
 to the House of Lords, for fear anything should be resolved 
 upon by the Commons contrary to the wishes of the 
 Court. 1 
 
 1 Considerable light is thrown upon the temper of the House 
 at the time of this discreditable mano3uvre by the ubiquitous Pepys. 
 Writing on 25 July, 1667, when details of the disaster were still wanting, 
 he said : " Contrary to all expectation by the King that there would 
 be a thin meeting, there met above 300 this first day, and all the dis- 
 contented party ; and indeed the whole House seems to be no other 
 almost. The Speaker told them, as soon as they were sat, that he 
 was ordered by the King to let them know he was hindered by some 
 important business to come to them and speak to them as he had
 
 218 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Speaker Tumour saw the rise of the Cabal, that inner 
 conclave of the King's advisers, two of whose members, 
 at least, were in favour of restoring the Roman Catholic 
 religion in this country ; but he may never have known 
 that by a secret treaty, which Charles concluded with 
 Louis XIV in 1670, in return for a heavy bribe, the King 
 was pledged to declare his own adhesion to the Church 
 of Rome as soon as the times were deemed to be ripe 
 for a public declaration. 
 
 Like many other public men at this period, Speaker 
 Tumour received large grants of public money, amount- 
 ing in the aggregate to 11,000, as free gifts ; nor did 
 he altogether escape the stigma of corruption. It was 
 found that he was in receipt of a small gratuity from the 
 East India Company, and in 1669 it was rumoured in 
 the House that evidence existed of corrupt dealings on 
 his part on a much larger scale. His elevation to the 
 Judicial Bench may have been accelerated by a desire 
 to shield him from unpleasant consequences if these 
 charges were found to be proven. 
 
 An order which was passed by the House shortly be- 
 
 intended, and therefore, ordered him to move that they would adjourn 
 themselves till Monday next, it being very plain to all the House that 
 he expects to hear by that time of the sealing of the peace." Four 
 days later, when the signing of the peace was generally known, he 
 wrote : "I went up to the Painted Chamber thinking to have got in to 
 hear the King's speech, but upon second thoughts did not think it would 
 be worth the crowd, and so went down again into the Hall. . . . But 
 presently comes down the House of Commons, the King having made 
 them a very short and no pleasing speech to them at all." The King 
 informed them that he had made peace, but gave no particulars and 
 dismissed Parliament until October. But it leaked out that the 
 Speaker's detention had been deliberately planned " for fear they should 
 be doing anything in the House of Commons to the further dissatis- 
 faction of the King and his courtiers."
 
 SIR EDWARD TTRNOUR 
 
 1661 
 
 J-'roin n painting in the Speaker's House
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 219 
 
 fore his retirement from the Chair " That the Back 
 Door of the Speaker's Chambers be nailed up and not 
 opened during any sessions of Parliament " has given 
 rise to some speculation without eliciting any definite 
 agreement as to its motive. Though backstairs influence 
 was so much in the ascendant at this period, it does not 
 appear that the House, in making the order, had any 
 ulterior object in view beyond regulating the entry of 
 its members through one, and that the main, approach 
 to the Chamber. From a much earlier date the Speaker 
 had been provided with private apartments in which to 
 don his robes, but there is no evidence to show that he was 
 required to live in the Palace in the seventeenth century. 
 Sir Edward Tumour, when in town, lived, like so many 
 of his predecessors, at the Rolls House in Chancery Lane. 
 He died 4 March, 1675, at Bedford during the hearing of 
 the assizes, and was buried with much ceremony at 
 Little Parndon, Essex, on the south side of the chancel. 
 
 An account of St. Stephen's Chapel, as it appeared in 
 the sixteenth century, has been given at an earlier page. 
 In the second part of Chamberlayne's Anglia Notitia, 
 published in 1671, there is a very full and interesting 
 account of both Houses of Parliament as Pepys saw them. 
 
 " The Commons in their House sit promiscuously, 
 only the Speaker hath a Chair placed in the middle, and 
 the Clerk of that House near him at the Table. They 
 never had any robes (as the Lords ever had), but wear 
 every one what he fancieth most, which to strangers 
 seems very unbecoming the gravity and authority of the 
 Great Council of England." 
 
 But few nowadays will be found to endorse the recom- 
 mendation which follows :
 
 220 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 " During their attendance on Parliament, a robe or 
 grave vestment would as well become the honourable 
 members of the House of Commons, as it doth all the 
 noble Venetians, both young and old, who hath right to 
 sit in the Great Council of Venice, and as it doth the 
 Senators of Rome at this day." 
 
 Though Chamberlayne only mentions one Clerk, there 
 had been an assistant at least as early as the reign of 
 James I. In the House of Lords, while the Clerk of the 
 Parliament sat on the " lowermost woolsack " hi 1671, his 
 two assistants knelt behind it and wrote their minutes 
 in the same uncomfortable posture. In another passage 
 Chamberlayne speaks of the House of Commons as the 
 " Grand Inquest of the Realm," an early use of a very 
 familiar definition. But even before this the watchful 
 eye of a foreigner had noted the general aspect of the 
 House of Commons in the latter half of the seventeenth 
 century. Monconys, who accompanied the Due de 
 Chevreuse to London, Oxford, and other places in 1663, 
 has placed on record his impressions of St. Stephen's, 
 and, if for no other reason, they are valuable because 
 they contain the earliest reference of which the author 
 is aware to the green benches of the Lower House : 
 
 " Avant diner je fus a Westminster, d'ou les Deputez 
 de la Chambre Basse sortoient. Le lieu ou ils s'assem- 
 blent est une Chambre mediocrement grande, environne"e 
 de six ou sept rangs de degrez couverts de sarge verte, 
 & disposez en Amphite'atre, au milieu desquels il y a un 
 preau, au fonds duquel vis a vis de la porte est une grande 
 Chaise a bras, avec un dossier de menue sarge dore" & 
 ouvrage", haut de sept ou huit pies, dans lequel s'assoit 
 le President, tournant le dos a la fenetre, & le visage a 
 la porte. Au dessus de la porte, bien plus haut que les
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 221 
 
 derniers degrez, il y a une tribune, ou il y a encore trois 
 ou quatre rangs de ces degres ; il y a place pour 500 
 personnes. Devant la chaise du President il y a un 
 Bureau, oil sont les Griffiers, ou Secretaires." 
 
 This French traveller and his patron were lodged in 
 Westminster during their visit to London, at a house 
 in the immediate vicinity of Palace Yard, which appears 
 to have been set apart for the reception of foreign am- 
 bassadors on their first coming to town. 
 
 " II y a une assez belle place au devant, au fond de 
 laquelle M. le Due alia loger, a cinq pieces par semaine 
 ou 100 Chelins, dans la maison que M. Brunetti lui 
 avoit loiiee, & ou le Roi loge les Ambassadeurs extra- 
 ordinaires les trois premiers jours qu'ils arrivent, & ou 
 il les defraye." l 
 
 The session of 1671 is memorable in the annals of 
 Parliament for the contention then first seriously ad- 
 vanced by the Commons that the Lords were unable to 
 amend a Money Bill. A slight diminution of a proposed 
 duty on sugar having been proposed by the Peers, a 
 deadlock ensued between the two Houses, and, as neither 
 side was disposed to give way, the Bill was dropped. 
 Six years later the same difficulty was experienced 
 when the Lords amended a Bill granting money for an 
 increase in the fleet. On this occasion, however, the 
 Lords did not insist upon their amendment. But in 
 the following year the struggle between the two 
 
 1 Mr. de Moncony's descriptions of London, though little known, 
 are so vivid and so evidently the results of personal experience, that 
 they will repay careful attention. In the National Review, some years 
 ago, the present author wrote an article on the French traveller's impres- 
 sions of 1663, and the above extracts are taken from an edition, published 
 in Paris in 1695, in the writer's possession.
 
 222 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Houses was renewed over a Money Bill for the dis- 
 bandment of troops. Public opinion being found to be 
 hostile to a reduction of the armed forces of the Crown, 
 in view of the threatening attitude of France, the ques- 
 tion was not fought out to a conclusion ; but the venal 
 assembly, contemptuously known as the " Pensionary 
 Parliament," passed the Resolution quoted in every text- 
 book of constitutional history, which has ever since been 
 held to debar the Lords from amending, though not of 
 rejecting or suspending, a Money Bill originating in the 
 Lower House. 
 
 Sir Job Charlton, whom Roger North calls " an old 
 Cavalier, loyal, learned, grave, and wise," was the next 
 Speaker. He is generally said to have been the son of 
 a London goldsmith, by name Robert Charlton, and 
 that his mother was the daughter of another, by name 
 Thomas Harby ; but in the exhaustive list of London 
 goldsmiths printed in Jackson's English Goldsmiths 
 and their Marks, neither of these names occurs. It 
 seems more probable that he came of a Shropshire 
 stock, and that his father was Robert Charlton, of Whit- 
 ton, in that county. He represented Ludlow in 1659, 
 1660, and 1661, and died at his seat at Ludford, Here- 
 fordshire, 24 May, 1697. As he only held office for eleven 
 days, little or nothing is known of his conduct in the 
 Chair. He became Justice of the Common Pleas, but 
 was removed on account of his opposition to James II 's 
 dispensing power. He had also been Chief Justice of 
 Chester, but here he was no luckier, for he had to resign 
 the post in favour of Jeffreys, who had " laid his eye on 
 it." Charlton was the first Speaker to be made a Baronet, 
 and when he resigned from ill-health, the House, for the
 
 SIR JOB CHARI.TON 
 
 1672-3 
 J''>oiii a painting in the Speaker's House
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 223 
 
 first time for 150 years, elected a Speaker who was not a 
 lawyer. This was Sir Edward Seymour, of Maiden Bradley, 
 Wilts, an aristocratic Tory, who held office for five years, 
 when he too resigned on the plea of ill-health, though 
 there is reason to believe that this was but a convenient 
 excuse. The real reason was a difference of opinion with 
 Danby, the master mind of the Government. 
 
 Seymour was first voted to the Chair on 18 February, 
 1672-3, and in October of the same year a wholly irregu- 
 lar debate was initiated by Sir Thomas Littleton, who 
 declared that he was unfitted to hold the office, owing 
 to his being a Privy Councillor and his having admission 
 to the most secret conclaves of the Court. " You are too 
 big for that Chair, and for us," he said; " and you, that 
 are one of the governors of the world, to be our servant, 
 is incongruous." A Mr. Harbord was even more uncom- 
 plimentary. " You expose the honour of the House in 
 resorting to gaming-houses, with foreigners as well as 
 Englishmen, and other ill places. I think you to be an 
 unfit person to be Speaker, by your way of living." 
 Colonel Strangways, however, came to Seymour's rescue, 
 declaring that as for his being a gamester, exception 
 might just as well be taken to the Judicial Bench for 
 the same reasons. 1 
 
 In Seymour's first session a debate arose on the printing 
 of addresses to the King in connection with grievances 
 concerning the billeting of soldiers. On a motion to 
 adjourn the debate, the numbers (on a division) were 
 found to be equal, whereupon the Speaker gave his 
 casting vote in favour of adjournment, saying, " He 
 would have his reason for his judgment recorded, viz. 
 
 1 Cobbett's Parliamentary History, Vol. IV, p. 589.
 
 224 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 because he was very hungry." Seymour was a very 
 proud, not to say overbearing, man, and he was un- 
 popular with the general body of members. A trick 
 was once played upon him by a wag, who handed 
 him a petition, which the Speaker began to read aloud : 
 " The humble petition of Oliver Cromwell the devil," 
 whereon a shout of laughter caused him to throw down 
 the paper and hasten from the Chair. 
 
 On 10 May, 1675, a serious disturbance arose in Com- 
 mittee of the whole House on the consideration of His 
 Majesty's answer to an address for recalling British sub- 
 jects from the service of the French King. The riot could 
 only have been quelled by a strong man, and the Speaker's 
 intervention has scarcely had a parallel since that day 
 until Mr. Speaker Peel's memorable intervention in the 
 Home Rule debate on 27 July, 1893* Seymour " very 
 opportunely and prudently rising from his seat near the 
 Bar, in a resolute and slow pace, made his three respects 
 through the crowd, and took the Chair." The mace 
 was laid on the table and the disorder ceased on the 
 Speaker stating that he had acted, "though not accord- 
 ing to order, with the intent of bringing the House into 
 order again." 2 He " maintained the dignity of the Chair 
 after that of the House was gone" by obliging every 
 member present to stand up in his place and engage on 
 his honour not to resent any of that day's proceedings. 
 As an instance of his pride it is related that when he 
 was presented to William III the King remarked that 
 he believed Sir Edward was of the Duke of Somerset's 
 family, whereupon the ex-Speaker retorted " that the 
 
 1 Commons Journals, Vol. CXLVIII, p. 469. 
 * Grey's Debates, Vol. Ill, p. 129.
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 225 
 
 Duke was rather of his family." Once, when his coach 
 broke down at Charing Cross, he ordered the next 
 gentleman's to be stopped and brought to him, and 
 when its occupant expressed surprise, Sir Edward told 
 him that it was more proper for him to walk in the 
 streets than for the Speaker of the House of Commons. 
 
 The year 1675 was a memorable one in English politics. 
 Alternately inclining to the counsels of Shaftesbury and 
 religious toleration, and to the advice of Danby, who 
 desired the supremacy of the Anglican Church, Charles 
 had allowed the Nonconformists to be harried to please 
 the Churchmen, and had assented to the Test Act of 
 1673 to gratify the hatred of both persuasions for the 
 Roman Catholics. But a haunting fear in the public 
 mind that the Protestant succession to the throne was 
 still endangered convinced Danby that a new and more 
 stringent test was required. The reorganisation of his sup- 
 porters in the Commons which followed led to a cleavage 
 of parties, out of which was gradually evolved the perma- 
 nent division of English political opinion into two distinct 
 bodies : the Tory and the Whig of after days. 
 
 Whilst Danby's proposals were under consideration the 
 relations of the two Houses became once more strained. 
 Evelyn, writing in the summer of 1675, mentions a con- 
 ference of Lords and Commons in the Painted Chamber, 
 at which the Lords accused the representatives of the 
 people of infringing their privileges, and brought forward 
 once more the oft-quoted precedent of Henry IV. To 
 gam time the King suddenly prorogued Parliament for 
 four months, and the storm blew over. 
 
 Sir Robert Sawyer, Pepys' " old chamber fellow " at 
 Magdalene College, Cambridge, succeeded Sir Edward 
 Q
 
 
 226 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Seymour in the Chair on n April, 1678 ; but years 
 before that the same assiduous gossip had noted that " he 
 do very well in the world." Like his two predecessors, he 
 resigned from ill-health. Within a month of his election 
 he was found to be suffering from a violent fit of the 
 stone, attributed to his long sitting one day in the Chair. 
 Sawyer's subsequent career was a chequered one. He 
 became Attorney-General, defended the Seven Bishops, 
 was expelled the House for his conduct in the case 
 of Sir Thomas Armstrong in 1690, and was again re- 
 turned (for Cambridge University) later in the year. 
 The beautiful seat of Highclere, Hants, came to Lord 
 Carnarvon's family from the Sawyers. The eighth Earl of 
 Pembroke married Margaret Sawyer, Sir Robert's only 
 daughter and heiress, in 1684, and her father built the 
 church at Highclere in which he lies buried. Seymour's 
 health being conveniently re-established, he returned to 
 the Chair on 6 May, 1678, and held office till the 
 Pensionary Parliament was dissolved, 24 January, 
 1678-79. 
 
 On the meeting of Charles's third Parliament the King 
 wished to force Sir Thomas Meres upon the House, but 
 the Commons desired to have the services of Seymour 
 once more. In a long dispute Seymour's re-election was 
 refused by the King, 1 and, though the Commons did not 
 insist upon their original choice, they elected Serjeant 
 Gregory in preference to the King's nominee. This was 
 the last occasion on which the Sovereign attempted to 
 impose his own choice upon the House ; and with Sey- 
 mour's rejection began that period of 150 years, more or 
 less, ending with the Speakership of Mr. Shaw Lefevre, 
 
 1 15 March, 1678-79.
 
 SIR ROKKRT SAWYER 
 
 1678 
 a painting in the possession of the Karl of C n
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 227 
 
 during which the evolution of the non-partisan Speaker 
 steadily proceeded. At the same time it should be noted 
 that, though Charles failed to force Sir Thomas Meres 
 upon the House, he was still powerful enough to procure 
 the removal of his successor from the Judicial Bench when 
 he gave a judgment in opposition to his personal wishes. 
 Sir William Gregory, of How Caple, Herefordshire (a 
 junior branch of the family of Gregory of Styvechal, in 
 Warwickshire), like Speaker Charlton, was so removed 
 for giving judgment against the King's dispensing 
 power. He only sat in the Chair for four months, 
 during which time the famous Habeas Corpus Act 
 the Statute which becomes more famous still when 
 suspended was passed into law. 
 
 Towards the close of the reign of Charles II the growth 
 of the party system brought with it considerable expense 
 to Parliamentary candidates, especially in the counties. 
 Evelyn's brother George spent nearly 2000 in 1678-79 
 by " a most abominable custom " in carrying the county 
 of Surrey against Lord Longford and Sir Adam Brown, 1 
 when most of the money was spent in eating and drink- 
 ing. His colleague was Arthur Onslow, grandfather of 
 the celebrated Speaker of the same name. In 1685 
 Evelyn and Onslow stood again, their opponents being 
 Sir Adam Brown, who was stone deaf, and Sir Edward 
 Evelyn, a cousin of the diarist. But, through a trick 
 of the sheriff in holding the election a day before it 
 was expected, the old members were not returned. 
 
 The new names of Whig and Tory were generally 
 applied to the respective members of the country and 
 the Court party at the next general election. Though 
 
 1 Evelyn's Diary, 4 February, 1678-79.
 
 228 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 summoned for October, 1679, Charles's fourth Parliament 
 did not meet for the despatch of business until a year 
 later. Sir William Williams, the Whig member for 
 Chester, and a notable champion of the liberties of the 
 Commons, was elected Speaker, nemine contradicente, on 
 21 October, 1680. The first Welshman to fill the Chair, 
 he migrated from Jesus College, Oxford, the home of the 
 leek, to Gray's Inn. 1 Luttrell tells a story of Sir Robert 
 Peyton, 2 who had been expelled the House, going to 
 Williams a few days after the dissolution and demand- 
 ing satisfaction for a severe rebuke administered to him 
 at the time of his expulsion. He wanted to challenge 
 the Speaker to a duel, but thought fit to retreat in 
 haste on the " young gentlemen of Gray's Inn " (of 
 which Williams was a Bencher) showing signs of taking 
 the law into their own hands on account of what they 
 held to be Peyton's insolence to the Chair. 
 
 In this Parliament, though the Exclusion Bill was 
 thrown out in the Lords, the Lower House set itself 
 steadily to curtail the prerogative of the Crown. It 
 was, in consequence, dismissed in January, 1680-81. 
 Popular excitement ran high in London over the fate 
 of the Bill, and the King thought it prudent to 
 summon his fifth Parliament to meet at Oxford in the 
 month of March. Convocation House was fitted up for 
 the Commons, and the Lords sat in the gallery above. 
 Williams was unanimously recalled to the Chair, but 
 after sitting for a week the King sent it about its busi- 
 ness, saying, " Now am I King of England, if I never was 
 
 1 This Parliament ordered the Votes and Proceedings of the House 
 of Commons to be printed, and in the Journal Office are preserved 
 many of the earliest issues extant. 
 
 8 Knight of the Shire for Middlesex.
 
 SIR WILLIAM GREGORY 
 
 1678-9 
 From a painting in the Speaker s House
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 229 
 
 before." Relieved of the Speakership, Williams returned to 
 the Bar and became Solicitor-General in 1687. He died at 
 his chambers, in Gray's Inn, in 1700, and was buried at 
 Llansilen, Denbighshire. His portrait by Sir Godfrey 
 Kneller has recently been presented to the House by Sir 
 Alfred Thomas, Chairman of the Welsh Parliamentary 
 Party. 
 
 The Welsh precedent, once set, was soon followed, for 
 in James H's only Parliament Sir John Trevor, of Bryn- 
 kinalt, the ancestor of the present Lord Trevor, was 
 unanimously called to the Chair, and at the accession of 
 William III he was re-elected. Having been convicted of 
 taking bribes, he was expelled the House in March, 1695, 
 though he was allowed to remain Master of the Rolls, 
 an office which he had held concurrently with the Speaker- 
 ship. In the Speaker's Portrait Gallery at Westminster 
 there hangs his likeness, showing him to have had a 
 decided squint, a defect which, it might be thought, would 
 have increased the proverbial difficulty of catching the 
 Speaker's eye. His early days had been passed in the 
 chambers of a kinsman in the Inner Temple Arthur 
 Trevor. One day a visitor observed a strange-looking boy 
 seated at a desk, and asked his name. " Oh," said old 
 Trevor, "he is a connection of mine whom I have 
 allowed to sit here to learn the knavish part of the law." 
 Being addicted to high play, he became a recognised 
 authority in gambling disputes, and amongst his fellow- 
 gamesters he had the authority of a judge whose decision 
 was final. 
 
 Trevor is said to have owed his promotion to the Chair 
 to his cousin, the notorious Judge Jeffreys; and some 
 years before, on a motion to remove Jeffreys from the
 
 230 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Recordership of London, Trevor's was the only voice 
 raised in his cousin's behalf. It was probably owing to 
 this support that he was advanced to the position 
 of a K.C. when Jeffreys became Chief Justice. The 
 wits of the day declared that justice might be blind, 
 but that bribery only squinted ; and when Trevor 
 was expelled in 1695 they added that he could no longer 
 take an oblique view of every question from the Chair. 
 When Archbishop Tillotson chanced to meet him some 
 little time before his disgrace, Trevor exclaimed, in an 
 audible whisper, " I hate a fanatic in lawn sleeves " ; 
 whereon the Archbishop turned and faced him, saying, 
 " And I hate a knave in any sleeves." 
 
 On the Bench he appears to have been as upright as 
 he was unscrupulous in the House of Commons, and 
 though he favoured the Protestant interest he remained 
 faithful to James II. As Master of the Rolls he lived in 
 Clement's Lane, then a fashionable street. On the 
 erection of the New Law Courts, the greater part of it 
 was demolished, but a small portion remains at the nor- 
 thern end. Dying there in May, 1717, he was buried in 
 the Rolls Chapel, so unnecessarily pulled down some 
 years ago to make way for an extension of the Public 
 Record Office. In the museum erected on its site Trevor's 
 arms, with an enlarged copy of his signature, taken from 
 one of the windows of the old chapel, are still to be seen. 
 The Trevor estate at Knightsbridge belonged to the ex- 
 Speaker, and, as Master of the Rolls, he set the bad 
 precedent of hearing suitors at his private house, in what 
 was then a pleasant suburb of London. 
 
 With the Revolution which placed William III upon 
 the throne, the history and importance of the Speaker-
 
 SIR JOHN TREVOR 
 
 1685, 1689-90 
 From a painting in the Speaker s House
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 231 
 
 ship may be said to enter upon a new phase. From 
 that date the first Commoner of the realm has occupied 
 his proper station at the head of English gentle- 
 men ; whilst the character and consideration of his office 
 was then, for the first time, recognised by the legislature. 
 By I William and Mary, c. 21, he ranks next to the 
 peers of Great Britain, both in and out of Parliament, 
 though not until many years later did he cease to hold, 
 concurrently with the Speakership, any office of profit 
 under the Crown. The great Arthur Onslow, to silence 
 any imputations of leaning towards the ministry of the 
 day, set an example of independence almost invariably 
 adhered to by his successors, yet, in his case, the now 
 customary reward of a peerage after long service in the 
 Chair was unaccountably withheld. 
 
 The Speaker of the Convention Parliament, which 
 assembled on 22 January, 1688-89, was naturally a 
 member of the Whig party ; and though Sir Edward 
 Seymour, the vehement Tory of earlier days, joined the 
 Prince of Orange at Exeter in the vain hope of once more 
 presiding over the Commons, the choice of the House 
 fell upon Mr. Henry Powle, the son of Henry Powle, of 
 Shottesbrooke, and member for the royal borough of 
 Windsor. Powle had identified himself with the opponents 
 of the Court in the reign of Charles II, and was more 
 than suspected of having been in the pay of Barillon ; 
 but his tact and discretion caused him to become the 
 trusted adviser of William, who, on the first convenient 
 opportunity, conferred on him the Mastership of the 
 Rolls. 
 
 " I will not invade prerogative, neither will I consent 
 to the infringement of the least liberty of my country,"
 
 232 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 were the proud words in which he sought to define his 
 Parliamentary position ; but the proudest day of his life 
 was when, on 13 February, 1688-89, he stood at the head 
 of the assembled Commons in the Banqueting House at 
 Whitehall, Lord Halifax, the Speaker of the Lords, and 
 the peers facing him, and heard the Declaration of Right 
 asserted prior to the tender of the crown to William. 
 In the magnificent procession which paraded the streets 
 of London to proclaim the King and Queen, the Speaker 
 in his coach took precedence even of the Earl Marshal 
 and others of the great nobility. At the dissolution Powle 
 lost his seat on petition and returned to the administra- 
 tion of justice at the Rolls, maintaining his wonted in- 
 dependence when he refused to attend the Lords at their 
 pleasure, declaring that he was an assistant to, but not 
 an attendant upon, the Upper House. He did not live 
 to see Trevor's expulsion from the Chair, having died at 
 Quenington, in Gloucestershire, in 1692. On his tombstone 
 is inscribed the following epitaph, possibly, according 
 to the practice of the times, his own composition : 
 
 " Regi et rcgno fidelissimus, 
 Aequi rectique arbiter integerrimus, 
 Pius, probus, teraperans, prudens, 
 Virtutum omnium 
 Exemplar magnum." 
 
 The next Speaker after Trevor's fall was a man of an 
 altogether different mould and of a different political com- 
 plexion. The rise of his family was somewhat singular. 
 Richard Foley, and his son Thomas after him, made a for- 
 tune in Stourbridge by selling nails. Thomas Foley bought 
 Witley, in Worcestershire, for his eldest son, and Stoke 
 Edith, the old home of the Lingens, for his second son,
 
 &0ITLE /?'' 
 f>/ (avw.YS . '. ttMTfiKe/ >//-/V/ 
 
 trri/~w v -' 
 
 3fUCjC( __L5 
 
 HKNRY I'0\VI.K 
 
 1688-9 
 I-'roin a print
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 233 
 
 Paul. In 1679 Paul Foley became member for the city of 
 Hereford, but, though a Tory, he was not a courtier, and he 
 supported the Revolution of 1688-89. Only a vear before 
 his elevation to the Chair he showed his independent 
 spirit, in Grand Committee on the state of the nation, and 
 used remarkably plain language in stating his personal 
 opinions'on the King's veto. " I believe," he said, "the 
 King hath a negative voice, and it is necessary that it 
 should be so. But if this be made use of to turn by all 
 bills and things the Court likes not, it is misused ; for 
 such a prerogative is committed to him for the good 
 of us all." 1 Roger North called him " a factious lawyer, 
 very busy in ferreting out musty old repositories," which 
 was another way of stating that he had a great know- 
 ledge of precedents. North was also responsible for 
 the cryptic utterance attributed to Foley, that " Things 
 would never go well in England till forty heads flew 
 for it." In 1695 he was put into the Speaker's chair 
 in opposition to Sir Thomas Littleton, the nominee 
 of the Court, and there he remained till within a year 
 of his death. Foley has been styled the first non-partisan 
 Speaker, and, though this is not a strictly accurate 
 description, his tenure of the office undoubtedly marks a 
 stage in the evolution of the office. 
 
 Paul Foley, like Speaker Phelips, was a mighty builder 
 in his day. Stoke Edith, one of the best-proportioned 
 country houses in England, a thoughtful mingling of 
 brick and stone, was in part designed by Wren, who 
 appears to have been consulted on most of the im- 
 portant houses built at the close of the seventeenth 
 century. The harmony and proportion of Foley's house 
 
 1 Porritt's Unreformed House of Commons, 1903, Vol. I, p. 444.
 
 
 234 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 were somewhat marred by alterations carried out by the 
 brothers Adam, when the windows were taken out and 
 replaced by others less suitable to the original design. 
 Sir James Thornhill, who was entrusted with the 
 decoration of the great hall, introduced an allegorical 
 figure of constitutional liberty, with Foley's own por- 
 trait in a contemplative attitude. 1 
 
 On the occasion of Foley's first election to the Chair, 
 Sir Thomas Littleton, the candidate of the Whigs, was 
 defeated by 179 votes to 146 ; but in 1698, after his 
 rival's retirement, having been again put forward by the 
 Junto, he was chosen Speaker in William's third Parlia- 
 ment by a large majority. Shortly before the meeting 
 of the new House in December, 1698, a curious pamphlet, 
 Considerations upon the Choice of a Speaker of the House 
 of Commons in the Approaching Session, was published 
 by the Tories with a view to excluding Littleton. His 
 appointment, like Sir Edward Seymour's, was a reaction 
 from the custom of promoting lawyers, the House once 
 more preferring to have a country gentleman to preside 
 over their deliberations. 
 
 Sir Thomas Littleton, who was the youngest son of a 
 poor baronet, had, however, served an apprenticeship 
 to trade, having been trained hi business habits from 
 his youth. He is said to have been recommended to 
 William III by the Duke of Shrewsbury, the " favourite 
 
 1 Paul Foley was the ancestor of the present Lord Foley. He 
 married Mary, daughter of John Lane, an alderman of the City of 
 London, and dying on n November, 1699, was buried at Stoke Edith. 
 The Speaker's nephew was one of the twelve emergency peers created 
 by Queen Anne in 1712 to secure a Tory majority in the House of Lords. 
 When they made their first appearance at Westminster, Lord Wharton 
 ironically asked them if they desired to give their votes singly, or, as 
 a jury, through their foreman.
 
 , 
 
 PAL' I. KOLEY 
 
 1 694-95> 1695 
 
 From a miniature in the possession of 
 t'aul Henry Foley, Esq., at Stoke Edith
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 235 
 
 of the nation," according to Swift, and a statesman whose 
 biography deserves to be written at length. Although he 
 had but one eye, his political vision was remarkably clear, 
 and at critical moments in the lives of both William III and 
 Anne the Duke rendered invaluable service to the Crown. 
 The sessions of 1698-99 and 1700 proved to be full of 
 humiliations for the Court. Though the ministry had 
 succeeded in securing the election of a Whig Speaker, 
 the new House of Commons contained a composite 
 majority made up of avowed Tories and members who 
 were opposed to a forward military policy. Charles 
 Montagu, afterwards Earl of Halifax, who must not be 
 confounded with the celebrated Trimmer, had carried all 
 before him in the last Parliament, but he now found 
 himself powerless to guide or control the deliberations 
 of the House. In addition to demanding the reduction 
 of the Dutch guards, the Commons became inquisitive 
 in the matter of royal grants, and proposed to appoint 
 Commissioners to inquire into the manner in which the 
 forfeited Irish lands had been conferred on William's 
 personal favourites. In order to force their Bill through 
 the House of Lords the Commons deliberately tacked it 
 on to a Bill granting the Land Tax. And though William 
 reluctantly gave his assent to the measure, rather than 
 throw the Constitution into the melting-pot, he prorogued 
 Parliament l without making a speech from the throne, 
 and wrote to a friend : 
 
 ' This has been the most dismal session I ever had. 
 The members have separated in great disorder and after 
 many extravagances. Unless one had been present, he 
 could have no notion of their intrigues : one cannot 
 even describe them." 
 
 1 1 1 April, 1 700.
 
 236 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Party government was still in its infancy in 1700, and 
 the prolonged quarrel between the two Houses having 
 engendered a dangerous spirit in the Commons, the way 
 was paved for a better understanding between the King 
 and the acknowledged leaders of the Tory party. Thus 
 was established, almost unconsciously, the general prin- 
 ciple, ever since accepted, that ministers who cannot 
 command a majority in the House of Commons cannot 
 cling to office without being discredited in the country. 
 
 When his fourth Parliament was about to assemble 
 in February, 1700-1, William intimated to Littleton, 
 who lacked the physique necessary to the efficient per- 
 formance of the duties of the Chair, his desire that he 
 should give way to Harley, and, with the prompt com- 
 pliance of a courtier, the late Speaker absented himself 
 from the House on the day of meeting, to be rewarded 
 with the valuable office of Treasurer of the Navy, a post 
 which he retained till his death, unshaken by all the 
 efforts made to remove him. On this occasion Harley 
 was proposed by Sir Edward Seymour, the ex-Speaker 
 of the Pensionary Parliament, but the House was by no 
 means unanimous in his favour, 249 members voting for 
 him and 129 against him. Bishop Burnet, who knew 
 Littleton well, wrote of him earlier in his career : 
 
 " I happened in looking for a house to fall accident- 
 ally on the next house to Sir Thomas Littleton, knowing 
 nothing concerning him. But I soon found that he was 
 one of the considerablest men in the nation. He was at 
 the head of the opposition that was made to the Court, 
 and living constantly in town, he was exactly informed 
 of all that passed. He came to have an entire confidence 
 in me, so that for six years together we were seldom two 
 days without spending some hours together. I was by
 
 THOMAS I. II 'll.l-.l ON 
 
 1698 
 /row <r /r/H/
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 237 
 
 this means let into all their secrets, and indeed without 
 the assistance I had from him I could never have seen 
 so clearly into affairs as I did. We argued all the matters 
 that he perceived were to be moved in the House of 
 Commons till he thought he was a master of all that 
 could be said on the subject, and it was observed of him 
 that in all debates in the House of Commons he reserved 
 himself to the conclusion, and what he spoke commonly 
 determined the matter." 
 
 Burnet and Littleton were living at the time referred 
 to the latter end of the reign of Charles II near the 
 Plough Inn, which was on the south side of Carey Street, 
 Lincoln's Inn Fields, and convenient to the Rolls Chapel, 
 where Burnet was then preacher. Manning gives a 
 slightly different version of Burnet's estimate of the 
 Speaker. 1 Burnet, however, was wrong in saying that 
 Littleton was the first Speaker who had not been 
 brought up in the profession of the law. Littleton 
 had a profound antipathy to the members of the 
 long robe in Parliament, and in the debates upon the 
 Bill for allowing counsel to prisoners in cases of high 
 treason, and the impeachment of Sir John Fenwick, who 
 had asked for further time to produce witnesses, he argued, 
 as a private member, as follows : 
 
 " Here ye shall have cunning lawyers defending an im- 
 peachment. I hope I shall not degrade your members 
 to argue against lawyers ; but when an impeachment is 
 by gentlemen of his own quality, I think a cause is as 
 well tried without counsel, and I would disagree with 
 the Lords." He further observed, in the same contemp- 
 tuous strain : "It may be the counsel have a mind to 
 another fee." 
 
 1 Supplement to the History of My Own Time, edited by Miss 
 Foxcroft, 1902, p. 485.
 
 238 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 He was a stout party man, and from his place in the 
 House he declared that the principle which ever guided his 
 vote was the party from whom the proposition emanated. 
 " For my part, I have a way how to guide my vote 
 always in the House, which is to vote contrary to what 
 our enemies without doors wish." Such slavish adher- 
 ence to party ties carries joy to the heart of the party 
 whips, who dislike above everything the " independent " 
 member, who watches the opportunity to snatch a momen- 
 tary notoriety by stabbing his own side in the back. 
 
 Littleton was again put forward for the Chair on 
 December 30, 1701, when 212 members voted in his 
 favour and 216 against him, the closest contest on record. 
 Harley was then re-elected without further opposition. 
 Like Sir Thomas More and " tough old Coke," Harley 's 
 principal triumphs were achieved in other spheres than 
 that of the Chair of the Commons, so that it is unneces- 
 sary to dwell at any length upon the career of this 
 nimblest of politicians. Belauded by Pope and beloved 
 of Swift, this brilliant statesman may be said to have 
 embarked on a ministerial career whilst still Speaker of 
 the Commons, for he was Secretary of State for the 
 Northern Department for some months before he quitted 
 the Chair for the third and last time. 
 
 By birth and education a Whig, by imperceptible 
 stages he developed into the leader of the Tory and 
 Church party. On becoming Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequer, 1 he virtually filled the position of Prime Minister, 
 and when, at the general election of 1710, the Tory party 
 had a large majority at the polls he was all but supreme. 
 In King William's time, when he had only 500 a year, 
 
 1 In 1710.
 
 koKKKT HAKI.KN 
 I7OO-I, IJOl, 
 I-'rotn n painting in the Xatiot 
 
 17O2 
 
 I rortrnitCali,
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 239 
 
 he is said to have spent half this sum in employing clerks 
 to copy out for him treaties and official papers, so that 
 members were almost afraid to speak before him. His 
 enemies said that he had spies and inspectors in every 
 public office. In contrast to his great rival Bolingbroke, 
 who fascinated the House as much by his handsome 
 appearance as by his neatly turned speeches, Harley's 
 physical proportions were unimposing ; his features 
 were homely, and there was little that was impressive in 
 his voice or carriage. " Can it be true," said M. Le Sac, 
 a celebrated maitre de danse, " that Mr. Harley has been 
 made an Earl and Lord Treasurer ? I wonder what the 
 devil the Queen can see in him ! He was a pupil of mine 
 for two years, and a greater dunce I never taught." 
 
 In 1701 he was elected Speaker by 120 votes over Sir 
 Richard Onslow ; on the second occasion he only beat 
 Sir Thomas Littleton by four ; and in 1702 there is no 
 mention in the Journals of his re-election, the Clerks of 
 the House having neglected to minute the proceedings 
 of the first two days of the session. Harley is said 
 to have been the inventor of the newspaper press as an 
 engine of party warfare, and, apart from his political 
 eminence, he deserves to be gratefully remembered for 
 the literary taste displayed in the formation of the 
 splendid library, of which the MS. portion is now in the 
 British Museum, it having been acquired for the nation 
 for the small sum of 10,000. 
 
 On the meeting of Queen Anne's second Parliament, 
 which became the first Parliament of Great Britain by 
 Proclamation dated 29 April, 1707, there was a furious 
 party contest for the Chair. The Tory candidate was 
 Mr. William Bromley, of Baginton, who was to have
 
 240 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 his revenge later on, and the chosen of the Whigs was 
 plain Mr. John Smith, M.P. for Andover, who carried the 
 day by 248 votes to 205. Mr. Smith came of a respectable 
 Hampshire family, and previous to his elevation to the 
 Chair he had acted as a party whip. His close friendship 
 with Godolphin also stood him in good stead. 
 
 The Scotch members sat at Westminster for the first 
 time on 23 October, 1707, and when the ministerial 
 crisis which drove Harley from office early in the next 
 year necessitated a reconstitution of the ministry, the 
 Chancellorship of the Exchequer was conferred upon the 
 Speaker. Mr. Smith only held the post for two years, 
 and, though he remained a member of the House until 
 his death in 1723, his subsequent career was uneventful. 
 He subsided into the less influential but more lucrative 
 sinecure of a Tellership of the Exchequer. On one occa- 
 sion he was indiscreet enough to inform the House that 
 the debts of the Civil List, then stated to be 400,000, 
 had not amounted to half that sum two months before 
 the estimates were made. The deficiency had apparently 
 arisen from excessive disbursements on account of secret 
 service. Swift had a thrust at the ex-Speaker when he 
 wrote in the Invitation to Dismal 
 
 " Wine can clear up Godolphin's cloudy face 
 And fill Jack Smith with hopes to keep his place." 
 
 And keep it he did, until the accession of George I 
 dispelled all danger of removal. As an orthodox Whig, 
 he supported Walpole hi opposition to the Stanhope 
 Administration, and one of his last public utterances was 
 on a curious motion to close the House of Lords against 
 Commoners for the future. 1 
 
 1 Speaker Smith's portrait is in the Speaker's collection at West- 
 minster, and his family is represented at the present day by Mr. Assheton 
 Smith, of Vaynol, near Bangor.
 
 JOHN SMITH 
 
 1705, 1707 
 
 /'roin a ifra'.i'htg in the National Portrait Gallery
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 241 
 
 Anne's third Parliament was presided over by Sir 
 Richard Onslow, a descendant of the man of the same 
 name who was Speaker in 1566. The portrait of the 
 Speaker of 1708-10 has been drawn by the infinitely 
 greater Arthur Onslow, the third of the family to fill the 
 Chair. 
 
 " Tall and very thin, not well shaped, and with a face 
 exceeding plain, yet there was a certain sweetness with 
 a dignity in his countenance, and so much of life and 
 spirit in it, that no one who saw him ever thought him 
 of a disagreeable aspect. His carriage was universally 
 obliging, and he was of the most winning behaviour that 
 ever I saw. There was an ease and openness in his ad- 
 dress, that even at first sight gave him the heart of every 
 man he spoke to. He had always something to say that 
 was agreeable to everybody, and used to take as much 
 pleasure in telling a story to a man's advantage, as others 
 generally do to the contrary. It was this temper that 
 made him so fit for reconciling differences between angry 
 people, an office he frequently and readily undertook 
 and seldom failed of succeeding in." l 
 
 So far it might be thought that Sir Richard possessed 
 every qualification for the post, but less partial judges 
 perceived in " stiff Dick," as he was irreverently called 
 by the Tories, an unfortunate propensity to quarrel- 
 someness which led him on more than one occasion 
 to challenge a fellow-member to a duel. He fought 
 Mr. Oglethorpe, a young man of twenty-two, for some- 
 thing he had said in the course of a debate, and he was 
 only restrained by an order of the House from prose- 
 cuting another affair of honour with Sir E. Seymour. 
 
 1 Historical Manuscripts Commission Report on the MSS. of the 
 Earl of Onslow.
 
 242 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 At the time of his election many would have preferred 
 Sir Peter King, who, missing the Chair, attained the 
 Woolsack in the next reign. 
 
 Paul Jodrell, the Clerk of the House, was also suggested 
 as being the most competent adviser in matters of pre- 
 cedent and procedure, much as the late Sir Thomas 
 Erskine May's name was put forward in recent years as 
 the greatest authority on Parliamentary history and the 
 mainstay of every Speaker with whom he acted. " Stiff 
 Dick " found himself in the uncomfortable position of 
 being confronted with no less than three ex-Speakers, 
 two of them sitting, comparatively negligible quanti- 
 ties, on the ministerial benches Littleton and Smith, 
 and the redoubtable Harley on the Opposition side. 
 Lord Shaftesbury, writing in November, 1708, when 
 Onslow was quite new to the Chair, said : " The late 
 Speaker beset the old one ; and he will have, I fear, a 
 hard task, if this be not an easy session." 
 
 Whatever his shortcomings, Richard Onslow ingra- 
 tiated himself at Court. King William shortly before 
 his death called him into his closet and " bade him con- 
 tinue the honest man he had always found him." Anne 
 made him a Privy Councillor. 1 George I made him 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer and a peer, and on his 
 resigning the Chancellorship he succeeded in getting 
 himself made Teller of the Exchequer for life, the first 
 instance of that appointment being conferred for that 
 period. His manner in the Chair was somewhat imperious. 
 When the House went up to the Lords to demand judg- 
 ment against Dr. Sacheverell, every complaint took the 
 
 1 Said to be the last favour which Lord Godolphin ever procured 
 from the Queen.
 
 SIR RICHARD ONSI.OW 
 
 1708 
 From a painting in the Speaker's House
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 243 
 
 form of a threat : " My Lords, if you do not immediately 
 order your Black Rod to " do this or that, " I will return 
 to the House of Commons at once." 
 
 With the return of Harley to office at the head of 
 a solid Tory majority, and a Parliament strongly 
 attached to the Church, Mr. William Bromley, who 
 had been disappointed of the Chair on a previous 
 occasion, was unanimously chosen on 25 November, 
 1710. x A perfect type of the English country gentleman, 
 Bromley was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and at 
 the time of his election to the Chair he represented the 
 University. After taking his degree he made the tour 
 of the Continent and published an account of his travels. 
 The title-page shows that he considered printing an act 
 of condescension : 2 " Remarks on the Grand Tour of 
 France and Italy lately performed by a person of quality, 
 1692." In the Doge's Palace at Genoa he observed with 
 approval " an excellent method for freedom in voting," 
 and was in advance of his time and party in commend- 
 ing the ballot boxes which rendered it " impossible the 
 suffrage of any particular person should be known." 
 From Genoa he proceeded to Rome, where he was re- 
 ceived in audience by the Pope. " In the evening I was 
 admitted to the honour of kissing the Pope's slipper, 
 who, though he knew me to be a Protestant, gave me 
 his blessing, and, like a wise man, said nothing about 
 religion." 
 
 He was sceptical as to the genuineness of the Sancta 
 Scala at St. John Lateran, and was relieved to hear from 
 
 1 For his speech on taking office see Boyer's Political State of 
 England. 
 
 * Townsencl, Memoirs of the House of Commons, 1844, second 
 edition, p. 178.
 
 244 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 one of the cardinals that they were not the actual stairs 
 ascended by the Saviour, but as they were generally 
 considered to be so it was not thought advisable to un- 
 deceive the devout. From Rome he went to Florence. 
 He was delighted to see the portraits of King Charles 
 and King James, but he would not permit himself 
 to speak of King William, except as the " Prince of 
 Orange." 
 
 His political opponents professed to believe that he 
 must be a Papist and Jacobite at heart, on account of 
 his having kissed the Pope's toe ; and, in consequence 
 of the derision cast by the Whigs on the casual impres- 
 sions of a fairly intelligent traveller, he withdrew from 
 circulation such copies as remained in the bookseller's 
 hands. A second edition appeared, without Bromley's 
 permission, just at the time when he was first proposed 
 for the Chair. To this was added a fictitious table of 
 contents, attributed, though we believe erroneously, to 
 Walpole, turning Bromley's observations into ridicule. 1 
 
 During his Speakership his house at Baginton, in 
 Warwickshire, was burnt to the ground, and the story goes 
 that he was informed of the catastrophe whilst sitting 
 in the Chair, the news having been brought to town by 
 special messenger. Very calmly, and without quitting 
 the Chair, he is said to have given directions for the 
 immediate rebuilding of his ruined home. This was done, 
 and Queen Anne came to see it and planted a cedar in 
 the garden. On the new house the inscription " Phoenix 
 Resurgens " was placed, but none the less it was burnt 
 down again in 1889, and nothing now remains of it but 
 
 1 Both these little books are now rare and there is no copy of either 
 of them in the library of the House.
 
 -..-. 
 
 . 
 
 v 3T- 
 
 ' ..vffiKr!V-" ( 
 
 \VI1.I.1.\M HKOMI.KV 
 IJIO
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 245 
 
 the outside walls with the inscription, which has not yet 
 been made good. 
 
 That Bromley was held in esteem by the House at 
 large is apparent from its having adjourned for six whole 
 days on the occasion of the death of his only son, " out 
 of respect to the father and to give him time both to 
 perform the funeral rites and to indulge his just affliction." 
 He was offered, and accepted, a seat in the Govern- 
 ment before the dissolution of August, 1713, and on 
 quitting the Chair for the Treasury Bench he became 
 the recognised leader of the Tory party in the House of 
 Commons. At Harley's instigation he wrote to Sir 
 Thomas Hanmer, asking him to allow himself to be 
 nominated for the Chair in the new Parliament. Having 
 secured his main object, he sought to ensure the re- 
 election of his chaplain, Dr. Pelham. The manoeuvre 
 was not successful, and history does not record whether 
 another and minor request weighed with his successor. 
 Dating from Whitehall, 22 September, 1710, Bromley 
 had written to Hanmer : 
 
 ' You'll smile at the transition from chaplain to coach 
 horses. I have a pair that drew my great coach, and 
 believe you cannot be better fitted, and I offer them to 
 you before I dispose of them. One especially is a very 
 fine horse, and better than sixteen hands high. You 
 shall have him or them on reasonable terms." 
 
 With the death of Queen Anne Mr. Bromley's official 
 career practically came to a close. To the end of his life 
 he came out on Parliamentary field days with a set 
 oration against the Whigs, emphatically denouncing such 
 evils as Hanoverian alliances, the maintenance of a stand- 
 ing army, and the Septennial Act. He died at Baginton,
 
 246 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 in the summer of 1732, in his sixty-ninth year, " a not un- 
 favourable specimen of the Tory squire in politics, having 
 sat in twelve Parliaments and under four Sovereigns." 
 His library was fortunately saved from the fire in 1889, 
 as was the fine service of plate used by him as Speaker. 
 There is a portrait of him at Westminster, and another 
 in the possession of his descendant, Mr. William Bromley- 
 Davenport, late M.P. for Macclesfield. 
 
 The last Speaker of Queen Anne's reign was Sir 
 Thomas Hanmer, the Shakespearean commentator, and 
 the head of a family which had been settled in the 
 Welsh marches since the reign of Henry III. At 
 the early age of twenty-one he married the widowed 
 Duchess of Grafton, who had been first wedded to one 
 of Charles II's illegitimate sons at the tender age of 
 twelve. Educated at Westminster and Christ Church, 
 Oxford, he entered the House of Commons as member 
 for Thetford, where the Grafton interest was no doubt 
 paramount, and took up his abode in Pall Mall at a 
 house on the south side of the street. He soon made 
 his mark in debate, and in a letter of Lord Berkeley of 
 Stratton, written in 1712, he was said to " outshine all 
 in the House." 
 
 In the course of the next year Swift, who, it was 
 rumoured, occasionally helped him in the composition of 
 his speeches, confided to Stella the opinion that " he was 
 the most considerable man in the House of Commons." 
 Though of generally Tory proclivities, he was looked 
 upon as somewhat of a waverer about this time, and, 
 after he had refused office under Harley, from a growing 
 distrust of his policy, that astute minister desired to 
 relegate him to the Chair, where he thought that he
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 247 
 
 would be more safely occupied than in playing the role 
 of a Parliamentary free-lance. But before this could be 
 contrived the debates on the Commercial Treaty with 
 France, arising out of the eighth and ninth Articles of the 
 ill-starred Treaty of Utrecht, gave Hanmer the chance 
 of his life. 
 
 The Articles were the work of Bolingbroke even more 
 than of Harley, and were designed in the interests of 
 free trade with France, at the expense of Spain, Portugal, 
 and Italy. They proposed concessions in the importa- 
 tion of French wines to the certain injury of the Portu- 
 guese trade ; whilst the silk and woollen manufactures 
 of France were to enter England free. A revolt of 
 English manufacturers and traders at once took place, 
 and the cry of " Treat the foreigner as he treats us ! " 
 was immediately raised. Petitions against the Treaty 
 poured in, and for a month nothing else was talked of 
 in London. This was the age of pamphlets, and public 
 interest in the subject was stimulated and inflamed by 
 the appearance of two rival periodicals, one, The Mer- 
 cator, or Commerce Retrieved, written by Daniel Defoe, 
 upholding the free trade clauses of the Treaty ; and 
 the other, The British Merchant, or Commerce Preserved, 
 (said to have been written by General Stanhope who led 
 the opposition in the House of Commons), which was 
 strongly in favour of a protective tariff. A tariff reform 
 debate in the reign of Queen Anne may seem something 
 of an anomaly to modern readers, but the strenuous 
 party fight which took place on 14 May, prior to the 
 introduction of the Government Bill to make the Articles 
 effectual, raised the whole question of free imports and 
 the imposition of a commercial tariff with France.
 
 248 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 General Stanhope quoted the preamble of an earlier 
 tariff concluded between Louis XIV and Charles II in 
 1664, which declared : 
 
 " That it has been found by long experience that the 
 importing of French wines, brandy, linen, salt and paper, 
 and other commodities of the growth, product, and manu- 
 factures of the territories and dominions of the French 
 King, has much exhausted the treasure of this nation, 
 lessened the value of the native commodities and manu- 
 factures thereof, and caused great detriment to the 
 Kingdom in general." 
 
 At this point Speaker Bromley interposed, saying 
 " that there was no such thing hi that Act," but, being 
 found to be mistaken after the Clerk of the House had 
 read the original words, General Stanhope was allowed 
 to proceed with his arguments, to show the disadvantages 
 of an open trade with France. 1 When the Bill went 
 into Committee it occupied the House for five whole 
 days, and Hanmer, who had originally favoured the 
 scheme of the Government, made an elaborate speech 
 against it. He said that though he had given his vote 
 for the bringing in of the Bill, having in the interval 
 weighed and considered the allegations of the petition- 
 ing merchants and traders, he had been convinced that 
 the passing of the Bill would inflict great prejudice to 
 the home woollen and silk manufactures, increase the 
 number of the poor, and ultimately affect the land. 
 
 " While he had the honour to sit in the House he 
 would never be blindly led by any ministry ; neither, 
 
 1 Boyer says, in relating this incident, " He " (General Stanhope) 
 " and some other members animadverted with some vehemence on the 
 Speaker's mistake." (Political State of Great Britain, Vol. V, p. 370.)
 
 THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 249 
 
 on the other hand, was he biased by what might weigh 
 with some men, viz. the fear of losing their elections. 
 The principles upon which he acted were the interests 
 of his country and the conviction of his judgment, and 
 upon those considerations alone he must oppose the 
 Bill." 
 
 This speech made a great impression upon the House, 
 and when the division was taken, " near eleven at night 
 and after candles had been brought in," the Government 
 was defeated by the narrow majority of nine, and the 
 Bill was killed. Only one of the four members for the 
 City of London voted for it ; the other three and 
 the members for Westminster voted for its rejection. 
 The London drapers, mercers, and weavers were over- 
 joyed at the result, and Hanmer became for a time a 
 popular idol. Bonfires and illuminations expressed the 
 general satisfaction on the news becoming known. 1 The 
 coolness which ensued between Sir Thomas Hanmer 
 and the ministry was temporarily patched up when he 
 consented to take the Chair in the new Parliament. The 
 precarious session of 1714, when the chances of the 
 Stuart and the Hanoverian dynasties were nearly equally 
 balanced, gave the Speaker an opportunity of testifying 
 to his regard for the Protestant succession. 
 
 The country party declared that this was in danger 
 under Her Majesty's Government, and when ministers 
 attempted to shelve an inconvenient topic by moving the 
 
 1 A very interesting letter from the Tory point of view, describing 
 the preliminary debate in the House on 14 May, will be found in the 
 Wentworth correspondence, pp. 234, 235. Peter Wentworth, writing 
 to his brother, Lord Strafford, who had negotiated the Treaty of 
 Utrecht, states that he was an attentive listener to the debate from 
 one o'clock till ten at night.
 
 250 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 previous question, the Speaker, speaking in Committee 
 of the whole House, baffled the attempt in a remarkable 
 speech, in which he said that " he was sorry to see that 
 endeavours were used to stop their mouths, but he was 
 of opinion that this was the proper, and perhaps the only, 
 time for patriots to speak ; that though, for his own part, 
 he had all the honour and respect imaginable for Her 
 Majesty's ministers, he felt that he owed more to his 
 country than to any minister ; that, in the debate, so 
 much had been said to prove that the succession was in 
 danger, and so little to make out the contrary, that he 
 could not but believe the first." Henceforth he became 
 the recognised leader of the Hanoverian Tories, or, as 
 they were nicknamed, the Whimsicals. With the death 
 of George I the last chance of the restoration of his 
 friends to political power disappeared, and Hanmer 
 withdrew from public life to pursue his Shakespearean 
 studies. 1 
 
 1 As recently as July, 1907, Speaker Hanmer's plate was brought 
 to the hammer at Christie's, when it realised high prices.
 
 / A!'t>!.<i<:t. IT. K,' 
 
 SIR THOMAS HANMKR 
 
 1713-4 
 l-'roia a print
 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA. 
 RISE OF THE SYSTEM OF CABINET GOVERNMENT, WITH 
 MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY TO PARLIAMENT 
 
 SEVENTEEN SPEAKERS 
 
 George I 
 
 Spencer Compton 
 George II 
 
 Arthur Onslow 
 
 George III 
 
 John Cust 
 
 Fletcher Norton 
 
 Charles Wolfran Corn- 
 wall 
 
 William Wyndham 
 Grenville 
 
 George IV 
 
 Henry Addington 
 John Mitford 
 
 Charles Abbot 
 
 Charles Manners-Sutton 
 
 William IV 
 
 James Abercromby 
 
 Victoria 
 
 Charles Shaw-Lefevre 
 John Evelyn Denison 
 Henry Bouverie Wil- 
 liam Brand 
 Arthur Wellesley Peel 
 William Court Gully 
 
 Edward VII and George V 
 James William Lowther 
 
 WITH the accession of George I and the rout 
 of the Tory party the Speakership acquired 
 a permanent character hitherto unknown 
 in its annals. Whilst the House of Lords 
 was the most compact body in the State, Sir Robert 
 Walpole, after 1721, taught the nation to look upon the 
 House of Commons as the real seat of power in the legis- 
 lature, with the result that a corresponding increase took 
 
 251
 
 252 
 
 place in the importance and dignity of the Speaker's 
 office. No longer to be regarded as a stepping-stone 
 to rapid legal preferment, the Chair in the early days 
 of the eighteenth century was filled more often than not 
 by men with little or no legal training. It has been 
 shown that in the Middle Ages instances occurred in 
 which a Speaker was re-elected on three, four, and even 
 five occasions ; but when the House of Commons knew 
 but one president during an entire reign (and history 
 repeated itself under George II), new records of long 
 service in the Chair were established which have never 
 since been surpassed or even equalled. 
 
 An aristocrat by birth, Sir Spencer Compton, the third 
 son of the Earl of Northampton, came of a good Tory 
 stock, but in early life he deserted to the Whigs. This 
 "most solemn, formal man in the world," according 
 to Horace Walpole, entered the House as member for 
 Eye in 1698, became Speaker in March, 1715, was re- 
 elected in 1722 (from which date he combined the then 
 lucrative office of Paymaster-General with the duties of 
 the Chair), and was raised to the Peerage as Lord Wil- 
 mington on the accession of George II. The new King 
 wished to make him his Prime Minister, but Walpole 
 having promised the Queen 100,000 a year from Parlia- 
 ment, whereas Wilmington had only ventured to propose 
 60,000, the arrangement fell through. But on Walpole's 
 fall and nominal replacement in 1742, he achieved his 
 heart's desire and became First Lord of the Treasury. 
 
 Though not a strong Speaker, Compton could on occa- 
 sion administer sharp reproof. When a member once 
 called upon him to make the House quiet, declaring that 
 he had a right to be heard, he answered, " No, sir, you
 
 SIR Sl'KNCKK COMI'TON 
 I7H-5, 1722 
 From a firint
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 253 
 
 have a right to speak, but the House has a right to judge 
 whether it will hear you." x Though often called Prime 
 Minister, he was never so in the sense that Walpole was. 
 Carteret, who is said to have been the only peer of 
 Cabinet rank who could talk to the first two Georges in 
 their native tongue, was the chief minister. In this 
 connection it will be remembered that the late Mr. 
 W. H. Smith, when leader of the House, was First Lord 
 of the Treasury, though never Prime Minister. Lord 
 Wilmington seems to have excited in an uncommon 
 degree the mirth and ridicule of the wits of the day. 
 Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, in his " New Ode to a 
 great number of great men newly made," wrote : 
 
 " See yon old, dull important Lord 
 Who at the longed-for money board 
 Sits first, but does not lead." 
 
 And Lord Hervey, the " Sporus " of Pope, said of him : 
 
 " Let Wilmington, with grave contracted brow, 
 Red tape and wisdom at the Council show, 
 Sleep in the Senate, in the circle bow." 
 
 The " Broad-bottomed Administration," a remarkably 
 aristocratic body, seeing that there were five Dukes, a 
 Marquis, and an Earl in it, replaced Lord Carteret's, and 
 was itself upset on Pelham's death. An arch-mediocrity 
 in office, Lord Wilmington could make an effective speech 
 on ceremonial occasions, and a jest of his on the Duke 
 of Newcastle deserves to be remembered as much as the 
 gibes of his political opponents : " The Duke always 
 loses half an hour in the morning, which he is running 
 after the rest of the day, without being able to overtake 
 it." During the whole of his official career this " transient, 
 
 1 Hatsell's Precedents of Proceedings in the House of Commons, 1818, 
 Vol. II, p. 108.
 
 
 254 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 embarrassed phantom " lived in St. James's Square, at 
 a house erroneously supposed to have been Nell G Wynne's, 
 and now merged in the Army and Navy Club. It 
 had originally been built for Moll Davis, a young 
 actress and dancer, whose professional career presented 
 many similar features to Nelly's own. Naive and flippant 
 on the stage, what she lacked in beauty she made up for 
 in agility, and her antics on the stage made the pulse of 
 Pepys beat quicker as he sat in the pit of Old Drury 
 marking time with his foot as he applauded the measure. 
 Lord Wilmington inherited the house from his mother, 
 Mary, Countess of Northampton. Its last occupier was 
 Lord De Mauley, until it was pulled down to make way 
 for the Army and Navy Club. 
 
 The Speaker's next-door neighbour in the Square, at 
 No. 21, was " Beau Colyear," Lord Portmore, who 
 married James II's ugly mistress, Katherine Sidley ; and 
 before he came there Arabella Churchill, another of 
 James's favourites, lived in the house. Lord Portmore 
 was a great patron of horse-racing, even before the foun- 
 dation of the Jockey Club in the middle of the eighteenth 
 century. Lord Wilmington died in July, 1743, and was 
 buried at Compton Wynyates, Warwickshire, one of the 
 most charming country houses in the Midlands. Having 
 never been married, his titles became extinct, and his 
 estates passed to his brother, from whom the present 
 Marquis of Northampton is descended. There is a good 
 portrait of Speaker Compton, by Sir Peter Lely, at 
 Westminster. 
 
 Throughout the whole of the next reign, during Wai- 
 pole's last administration and those of Lord Carteret,
 
 I-'rom a pi 
 
 ARTIITR ONSI.oW 
 I727-S, I734-5. 1741. '747- '754 
 inting flossiHv /> listin
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 255 
 
 the Pelhams, the Duke of Newcastle, the elder Pitt, and 
 the Coalition Ministry of 1757, the Chair was rilled, in 
 five successive Parliaments, by the great Arthur Onslow, 
 the third of his family to be so honoured, and unquestion- 
 ably one of the most distinguished Speakers the House 
 has ever known. As from 1720 to 1727 he represented 
 Guildford, and from 1728 to 1761 the county of Surrey, 
 in the Whig interest, at the time of his retirement in 
 the latter year there can have been very few members 
 of the House who sat in it when he was first called to the 
 Chair. 
 
 The story goes that having in early life conceived a 
 great desire to become Speaker, Sir Robert Walpole 
 wrote reminding him that " the road to that station lay 
 through the gates of St. James's " ; but whether or not 
 Onslow owed his selection to the direct interest of the 
 Crown, no better choice could have been made. He 
 was first returned for Guildford at a bye-election, and in 
 the course of the same year, 1720, he married. He em- 
 braced, as a matter of course, the orthodox Whig creed, 
 which professed to regard the passing of the Septennial 
 Act as coincident with a Constitutional millennium. 
 
 This measure, although often threatened with radical 
 curtailment of its provisions, still sets a convenient limit 
 to the activities of a Parliament, and when Onslow made 
 his appearance at Westminster this great constitutional 
 landmark had not outrun its first allotted term. 
 
 The ideal Speaker, that was to be, chose for his London 
 home a modest dwelling in Leicester Street, a narrow 
 thoroughfare converging, at its upper end, upon Lisle 
 Street. Despite its proximity to the abode of Royalty 
 (in the person of the Prince of Wales at Leicester House,
 
 256 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 where the Empire Theatre now stands), it can never 
 have been a very cheerful situation, and, at the present 
 day, having been long since deserted by private residents 
 of any and every rank in life, it is a singularly un- 
 attractive row of business premises. Probably no district 
 in the West End has so changed for the worse, from the 
 residential point of view, as the once fashionable Leicester 
 Fields, to give it the name usually attributed to it in the 
 reign of the first and second George. 
 
 Yet Onslow lived there for no less than thirty years, 
 only quitting it in 1752 to take up his abode at the finest 
 and largest house in Soho Square. No. 20 stands on the 
 site of Old Falconbergh House, built at the end of the 
 seventeenth century by the head of the Bellasis family. 
 
 It has a handsome facade in the Square (reproduced 
 in this volume), and the London County Council would 
 be well advised to place a memorial tablet on its walls, if 
 only for the sake of an interesting link between the 
 Commonwealth and the reign of George III. 
 
 Mary, Lady Falconbergh, was Oliver Cromwell's 
 daughter, and is said to have borne a striking resemblance 
 to her father. Marrying in his lifetime, she did not die 
 until 1713, so that Arthur Onslow might well have re- 
 membered her. Sir Thomas Frankland and Mr. Anthony 
 Buncombe also lived at No. 20, Onslow's immediate 
 predecessor there being the Lord Tylney for whom 
 Colin Campbell, the author of Vitmvius Britannicus, 
 built Wanstead House in the Essex marshes. 
 
 In its original state Falconbergh House, to give it its 
 earliest name, must have been well suited to the holding 
 of the Speaker's levees, but the interior, with the excep- 
 tion of one room on the first floor decorated with coats
 
 O D 
 
 S O 
 
 c s 
 
 a 
 
 v: x; 
 
 3 O 
 
 O
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 257 
 
 of arms and a highly enriched ceiling, was practically 
 gutted by Messrs. Crosse and Blackwell in adapting it to 
 business purposes. The fine staircase and a quantity of 
 tapestry were then removed, but the well-proportioned 
 front fortunately escaped alteration. The Duke of Argyll 
 and Lord Bradford were other occupiers after the Speaker, 
 and, before it was consecrated to jam and pickles, this 
 historic mansion was used for a time as D'Almaine's 
 pianoforte showrooms. 
 
 Next door, now No. 21 in the square and the corner 
 house of Sutton Street, was the notorious " White House." 
 Some years after Onslow had left the neighbourhood it 
 became a den of infamy unexampled in the annals of 
 disreputable London, thus affording another instance 
 of the vicissitudes which surround the former abodes of 
 the most impeccable citizens. 
 
 The positive identification of Speaker Onslow's house 
 has only been arrived at after an exhaustive examination 
 of the parochial rate-books. Much confusion has pre- 
 vailed in the minds of even recent writers on Soho 
 respecting the actual sites of houses in the square for- 
 merly occupied by distinguished men. The statement 
 that Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell and the Dutch 
 adventurer Ripperda lived at No. 20 is as inaccurate 
 as the one frequently put forward that Onslow's man- 
 sion was one and the same with the " White House " 
 of evil memory. As a matter of fact, Sir Cloudesley 
 lived on the west side of the square and Ripperda on 
 the north, in a house represented by Nos. 10 and IOA 
 of the modern numbering. 
 
 When first called to the Chair, Onslow confessed to 
 feeling apprehensive at being raised to so dangerous
 
 258 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 a height, saying that greater men before him had tried 
 their abilities in the same station and had found the 
 eminence too high for them. He was then only thirty- 
 six, a comparatively early age for a Speaker, and had 
 sat in the House for rather less than eight years. When 
 his re-election was proposed in 1747 he felt some com- 
 punction at accepting a further term of office, telling 
 the House that, " painful as the situation [of Speaker] is, 
 at any time, and worn as I am, perhaps, with its labours, 
 since honourable gentlemen seem inclined to try my 
 poor abilities once more . . . I do not think it decent in 
 me to dispute their commands. I therefore resign myself 
 to the judgment of the House, which has a right to dis- 
 pose of me here in whatever manner it may think proper." 
 And, pausing on the step of the Chair, he added, much 
 after the manner of his immediate predecessors, " It 
 is my duty to let honourable gentlemen know that, 
 before I go any further, they have it in their power to 
 call me back to the seat from whence I came, and to 
 choose some other person to fill this place." 
 
 And not until every member then present had cried 
 out, " No, no," did he consent to preside over the de- 
 liberations of the House for the fourth time. Onslow 
 was the first in the long catalogue to realise the supreme 
 importance of the independence and impartiality of the 
 Chair. Whereas most of his predecessors had been 
 pluralists or expectant office-holders, he raised the 
 character of the Speakership by resigning the lucrative 
 office of Treasurer of the Navy and contenting himself 
 with the modest income derived from fees on private 
 bills. Hatsell, who went to the Table of the House 
 while Onslow was still in the Chair, wrote of him, in
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 259 
 
 connection with the rules then obtaining, that the 
 Speaker endeavoured to preserve order in debate with 
 great strictness, yet always with civility and courtesy, 
 saying that he had often heard, as a young man, from 
 old and experienced members, that nothing tended more 
 to throw power into the hands of the Administration 
 than the neglect of or departure from these rules. That 
 he, Onslow, was of opinion that they had been instituted 
 by our ancestors as a check on the action of ministers, 
 and as a protection to the minority against the arbitrary 
 exercise of power. There can be little doubt that 
 Speaker Onslow's rigid adherence to duty, and his 
 detachment from political office, notwithstanding some 
 divergence from his standard on the part of his imme- 
 diate successors, paved the way for the wholly non- 
 partisan Speaker evolved during the nineteenth century, 
 and that the methods introduced by him have con- 
 tributed to the shaping of the system of Party Govern- 
 ment as understood at the present day. His demeanour 
 in the Chair is said to have been firm but impartial, his 
 voice clear and impressive, and his temper imperturbable. 
 By way of contrast this grave and dignified man, when 
 released from his official duties, would steal away from 
 Westminster to enjoy his pipe and glass incognito in the 
 chimney-corner of the "Jew's Harp," a famous tavern 
 and bowling alley in Marylebone Fields, the site of which 
 is now merged in the Regent's Park. As the great man 
 was driving to the House of Commons one day in his 
 state coach his identity was accidentally revealed to the 
 landlord, who insisted, on the occasion of the Speaker's 
 next visit, on treating him with the deference due 
 to his exalted position. But his secret having been
 
 260 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 betrayed, Marylebone and its diversions knew the First 
 Commoner no more. 
 
 During the forty-one years which Arthur Onslow 
 passed at Westminster he witnessed great changes, not 
 only in the composition and in the manners of the 
 House, but hi the actual conditions of Parliamentary 
 life. Speaker Onslow the third saw the development of 
 the modern system of Cabinet Government coupled with 
 ministerial responsibility to Parliament. He saw the 
 elder Pitt make his first entrance on the Parliamentary 
 stage, 1 and during the most glorious period of the great 
 Commoner's career those two short years in which 
 Clive laid the foundations of our Indian Empire, and 
 Wolfe, at the cost of his life, added Canada to the English 
 dominions beyond the sea he was still in the Chair. 
 He witnessed the rise and fall of the Pelhams, and he 
 lived to see Pitt temporarily supplanted by Lord Bute. 
 He was also directly interested in a movement which 
 has exercised enormous influence on the House of Com- 
 mons and the management of parties the rise of the 
 power of the newspaper press. 
 
 The Parliament of 1728 returned a large and docile 
 majority for Walpole, and one of the first questions 
 which agitated the minds of its members was the illicit 
 reporting of the debates. A publisher, who had ex- 
 tended and amplified the summaries of speeches given 
 by Boyer 2 since the reign of Queen Anne, was summoned 
 to the Bar and imprisoned ; but still the practice grew. 
 In the Gentleman's Magazine, which first appeared in 
 1731, the reporting of the debates became a prominent 
 
 1 As M.P. for Old Sarum, 1734-35. 
 
 * In his monthly publication the Political State of Great Britain.
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 261 
 
 feature, as it did in the London Magazine, wherein they 
 were compiled by Gordon, the translator of Tacitus. 
 When the next Parliament met the Speaker himself 
 called the attention of the House to the subject, and in 
 so doing allowed it to be seen that he was personally 
 strongly opposed to the proceedings of the House being 
 made public. Few historical writers have taken any 
 notice of this debate. 
 
 In the course of an interesting discussion, in which 
 Sir William Wyndham, Pulteney, and Sir Robert Walpole 
 took part, the most sensible view was that taken by the 
 leader of the Opposition. He, Wyndham, contended 
 that the public had a right to know something more of 
 the proceedings of the House than appeared in the votes. 
 But the majority, who seem to have lived in dread of 
 their constituents discovering what passed within the 
 walls of St. Stephen's Chapel, declared that it was a 
 high indignity and a notorious breach of privilege to 
 print the debates at all. The official record of the day's 
 proceedings runs as follows : 
 
 " Thursday, 13 April, 1738. 
 
 " Privilege. A complaint being made to the House, 
 That the Publishers of several written and printed News 
 Letters and Papers had taken upon them to give accounts 
 therein of the Proceedings of this House ; . . . 
 
 " Resolved, That it is an high indignity to, and a 
 notorious Breach of the Privilege of this House, for any 
 News Writer, in Letters, or other Papers (as Minutes, or 
 under any other Denomination), or for any Printer or 
 Publisher of any printed News Paper, of any Denomi- 
 nation, to presume to insert in the said Letters or Papers, 
 or to give therein any account of the Debates, or other 
 Proceedings, of this House, or any Committee thereof,
 
 262 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 as well during the Recess as the Sitting of Parliament ; 
 and that this House will proceed with the utmost severity 
 against such offenders." * 
 
 The account in Cobbett's Parliamentary History of the 
 speeches delivered on this occasion is valuable from its 
 containing an early reference to the custom of the Govern- 
 ment and the Opposition sitting on opposite sides of the 
 House. Some doubt has been expressed as to the date 
 at which this practice was first introduced, but it is 
 evident that in 1738 it was well established. Mr. Thomas 
 Winnington, a member who was all in favour of drastic 
 treatment of offending newspapers and magazines, alluded 
 to his being in complete agreement with " the honour- 
 able gentleman over the way." 
 
 Sir Robert Walpole, in the course of his remarks on 
 the supposed iniquities of the Press, declared that all 
 the debates in which he had taken part which he had 
 had an opportunity of reading in print were so garbled 
 as to convey an entirely contrary meaning to that which 
 he had intended. As to the charge frequently brought 
 against him that he had instigated the publication of 
 newspaper articles, in order to suit the policy of the 
 Government, he only wished to say that, so far as he 
 was able to judge, four pages were written against the 
 Government for every one in its favour. 
 
 " No Government, I will venture to say, ever punished 
 so few Libels, and no Government ever had provocation 
 to punish so many. For my own part, I am extremely 
 indifferent what opinion some gentlemen may form of 
 the writers in favour of the Government, but I shall 
 never have the worse opinion of them for that ; there is 
 
 1 Commons Journals, Vol. XXIII, p. 148.
 
 rs/ ,,: // /uK/M//.-""// 1 ""* 
 
 rjefert* 
 
 WESTMINSTER AS SI'K.
 
 \SI.O\V K\K\V IT IN 1740 
 'fun/i-in/i-r's .!/./
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 263 
 
 nothing more easy than to raise a laugh : it has been 
 the common practice of all minorities, when they were 
 driven out of every other argument." 
 
 About this time a systematic attempt was first made 
 to classify the members of both Houses according to 
 their political convictions. Probably owing to an in- 
 creasing interest on the part of the outside public 
 in Parliamentary proceedings, the Court Kalendar for 
 1732 specified the members who were protesters against 
 the Hessian troops in 1730 ; and a rival publication, 
 The Court and City Register, in its issue for 1742, 
 which was probably printed and circulated immediately 
 after Walpole's defeat, divided the list of Peers into those 
 who voted for and against the Cdnvention ; whilst those 
 members of the Commons " who are supposed to be 
 in the country interest at the creation of Robert, Earl 
 of Orford," have their names marked with an asterisk. 1 
 By passing a drastic Resolution against the printing 
 and publishing of its debates the House was only acting 
 on the principle observed since the time of Elizabeth, 
 when Hooker wrote : 
 
 " Every person of the Parliament ought to keep secret 
 and not to disclose the secrets and things done and 
 spoken in the Parliament House to any manner of person, 
 
 1 These lists, of which those printed before 1740 are now very 
 scarce, were probably first issued soon after the accession of George II. 
 Watson's Court Kalendar for 1732, with a full list of both Houses of 
 Parliament and the London addresses of the members, in the author's 
 own collection, is the earliest hitherto met with. The British Museum 
 Library contains the 1733 and many subsequent issues, and a fairly 
 complete series of The Court and City Register from 1742 onwards. 
 The better-known Royal Kalendar first appeared in 1767, and is still 
 published annually.
 
 264 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 unless he be one of the same House, upon pain to be 
 sequestered out of the House, or otherwise punished as 
 by the order of the House shall be appointed." 
 
 Notwithstanding the efforts of Sir Symonds D'Ewes and 
 others to spread the light, and the journals kept by private 
 members in the seventeenth century, our knowledge of 
 the actual sayings and doings of Parliament from day 
 to day remained extremely limited until the periodical 
 magazine and the daily newspaper had come to stay. 
 For a century after Speaker Onslow directed attention 
 to the subject the unequal struggle between the Press and 
 the Commons went on. Prosecutions, usually abortive, 
 of offending newspapers and magazines were instituted 
 from time to time, but the publications of Almon, 
 Debrett, and Woodfall attained too much popularity 
 with the outside world to be effectually suppressed. 
 In 1771 the whole question was threshed out in the 
 House, when the Press was so far successful that, from 
 that date forward, the Commons tacitly acquiesced in 
 the claim that the constituencies had a right to be in- 
 formed of the proceedings of their Parliamentary repre- 
 sentatives. 
 
 With the growth of the modern newspaper both 
 the Morning Post and The Times from their earliest 
 issues have continued to supply a tolerably complete 
 record of the speeches delivered in both Houses came 
 the shorthand reporters, who, as Speaker Abbot noted in 
 his diary, gained a footing in St. Stephen's as early as 1786. 
 In 1803 they occupied the back bench in the Strangers' 
 Gallery without molestation, though, by one of those 
 curious anomalies which abound in connection with 
 Parliamentary institutions, the Press had still no official
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 265 
 
 recognition at Westminster. An earlier entry in the 
 same diary shows the scant regard entertained for the 
 newspaper press a century ago. Speaker Onslow 
 could not have been more emphatic in his disapproval 
 of what has been called the fourth estate of the 
 realm : 
 
 " 19 December, 1798. Went to the Cockpit in the 
 evening to hear the King's Speech. Two thirds of the 
 room were filled with strangers and blackguard news- 
 writers." 
 
 When, in 1836, the House of Commons began the 
 publication of its own division lists (a reform which had 
 been advocated by Burke in 1770) the battle was vir- 
 tually won. The earliest instance known to the present 
 writer of the publication of a division list, or something 
 closely resembling one a minority protest was when 
 the names of the members who voted against Strafford's 
 attainder in May, 1641, were posted up outside West- 
 minster Hall and headed : " These are the Straffordians, 
 Betrayers of their Country." 
 
 The names of the Lords who voted against the occa- 
 sional Conformity Bill in 1703 were published surrep- 
 titiously, as were those who voted for Sacheverell's 
 impeachment in 1710. From that time forth more or 
 less accurate particulars of the more important divisions 
 in both Houses, compiled hi the first instance by Abel 
 Boyer, are to be found in the volumes of Cobbett's 
 Parliamentary History. It should be mentioned that 
 before the adoption of the present system of taking 
 divisions a trial had been made in 1834 of a very primi- 
 tive plan by which the names were called out by a
 
 266 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 member in the House and another in the lobby outside, 
 and recorded by the Clerks. 
 
 After the great fire of 1834 reporters were admitted 
 to the temporary building used by the Commons, and 
 when, in 1852, the representatives of the people took 
 possession of their new chamber in the Palace of West- 
 minster, 1 the Press was at last officially recognised, and the 
 reporters' gallery, as it at present exists, was an acknow- 
 ledged fact. So voluminous have the verbatim reports of 
 speeches become, and so vivid the descriptions of "scenes" 
 in the House within the last few years, that one is some- 
 times tempted to wish that the penal regulations of the 
 eighteenth century could once more be enforced ; for 
 there is some reason to believe that there would be little 
 or no obstruction of business if there were no picturesque 
 reporting of the scenes to which obstruction gives rise. 
 It is only fair to add that The Times has been an honour- 
 able exception amongst its competitors in the purveying 
 of sensational reports. 2 
 
 During the long years in which Onslow ruled the House 
 many improvements were introduced in the keeping of 
 its official records, all of them tending to regularise and 
 simplify its procedure. The Journals, which had for 
 centuries been kept in a haphazard manner, according 
 to the capacity or incapacity of the Clerk of the House 
 for the time being, assumed a more intelligible shape 
 after 1750, in which year the Clerk of the Journals is 
 first heard of. His office was from the first one of trust 
 
 1 3 February, 1852, after an experimental sitting in the spring of 
 1850. 
 
 1 The whole history of Parliamentary reporting has been ably 
 summarised by Mr. Porritt in Chapter XXX of The Unreformed House 
 of Commons, 19x53, a work of consummate ability and vast research.
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 267 
 
 and responsibility, and, as the House had no library of 
 its own until early in the nineteenth century, he had the 
 custody of all books and papers relating to the business 
 of the House. He fulfilled, in addition to the compila- 
 tion of the Journals, which have always been accepted 
 as authoritative evidence in the courts of law, many of 
 the duties which now appertain exclusively to the Libra- 
 rian. It was owing to Speaker Onslow's exertions that 
 the House, hi 1742, first ordered its Journals to be 
 printed. 
 
 On the recommendation of a Select Committee, 
 Nicholas Hardinge, then Clerk of the House, entrusted 
 the printing of the Manuscript Journals, from the com- 
 mencement in 1547, to Samuel Richardson, printer and 
 novelist, then in the first bloom of Pamela, or Virtue 
 Rewarded, in " whose skill and integrity," as the Com- 
 mittee reported, Mr. Hardinge could safely confide. They 
 were printed in Roman letter upon " fine English Demy 
 worth fifteen shillings a ream." By 1825, when another 
 report was made to the House on the same subject, the 
 outlay had reached a grand total of between 160,000 
 and 170,000. * 
 
 It is certain that Journal books of an earlier date than 
 1547 were formerly in existence, as a statute passed hi 
 the sixth year of Henry VIII provided that members of 
 Parliament who absented themselves without the licence 
 of the Speaker and of the House, " entered of record in 
 the book of the Clerk of the Parliament appointed for 
 the Commons," should be deprived of their wages. 
 Many instances could be cited of quaint entries made 
 
 1 Report of the Select Committee appointed to consider of printing 
 the Journals of the House. (Commons Journals, Vol. XXIV, p. 262.)
 
 268 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 by the earlier Clerks of the House in its official Journals, 
 but two must suffice : 
 
 " 31 May, 1604. Prohibitions Bill. During the argu- 
 ment on this Bill a young Jack Daw flew into the House, 
 called Malunt Omen to the Bill." 
 
 " 14 May, 1606. A strange spanyell of mouse colour 
 came into the House." * 
 
 The earliest issue of the printed Votes and Proceedings 
 now in the Journal Office is that of 21 March, 1681 
 (the Oxford Parliament). But the daily proceedings of 
 the House had certainly been published prior to that 
 date, and the author had in his own possession a single 
 sheet of earlier date in the reign of Charles II. This 
 solitary issue is, unfortunately, no longer in existence, 
 it having been accidentally destroyed by fire some years 
 ago. It was reserved for Sir Thomas Erskine May (Lord 
 Farnborough) to compile a general index to the whole 
 series of Journals from 1547 to the death of Queen Anne, 
 an invaluable work of reference containing many thou- 
 sands of cross references which, had he never written a 
 line of his better-known Treatise on the Law and Practice 
 of Parliament, would entitle him to rank amongst the 
 very highest authorities on this complex subject. 
 
 The form in which the Journals, which are elaborated 
 each day from the shorter minutes known as the Votes 
 and Proceedings (compiled in the first instance from 
 the Minute Books kept by the Clerks at the table), are 
 now produced and indexed leaves little to be desired. 
 Yet such was the slavish adherence to precedent 
 which formerly characterised the compilation of these 
 
 1 Commons Journals, Vol. I, pp. 229, 309.
 
 JKREMIAH DYSON, CI.KRK OF THE HOUSE OK COMMONS 
 front a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds in the possession of Mrs.
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 269 
 
 valuable records that not until November, 1890, were 
 the names of members moving amendments to questions 
 inserted in their pages, although this convenient practice 
 had been followed in the Votes at least as early as 1837, 
 when Mr. Speaker Abercromby was in the Chair. In 
 February, 1866, an alteration was made in the form of 
 the printing of the Votes, whereby the Latin names of 
 the days of the week were replaced by their English 
 equivalents. 1 
 
 In 1750, when the Clerk of the Journals instituted 
 a better method of preserving the official acts of the 
 House, Jeremiah Dyson was Clerk of the House. He 
 purchased the office in 1748, but he was the first to dis- 
 continue the objectionable practice of selling the sub- 
 ordinate clerkships to the highest bidder. Dyson left 
 the service of the House to re-enter it as the Tory member 
 for Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, after Onslow's retirement 
 from the Chair. He became a Lord of the Treasury and 
 a Privy Councillor, and, from his acknowledged authority 
 on questions of Parliamentary procedure, he acquired the 
 nickname of " Mungo " Dyson. 2 
 
 Disorderly scenes were comparatively rare in the 
 House of Commons in the middle of the eighteenth 
 century, but in 1751 the authority of the Speaker was 
 defied by a Mr. Alexander Murray, brother to the Lord 
 Elibank of that day, who was summoned to the bar to 
 be reprimanded for riotous behaviour in Covent Garden 
 during a recent Westminster election, and for threatening 
 the high bailiff in the execution of his duty. He is said to 
 
 1 The Lords still adhere to the use of Latin names of week days in 
 their Journals. 
 
 1 The ubiquitous negro slave in Isaac Bickerstaffe's Padlock.
 
 270 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 have called repeatedly to his followers, " Will nobody 
 kill the dog ? " and to have incited them to other acts of 
 violence. 
 
 When Murray was brought to the bar he refused to 
 kneel in obedience to the Speaker's order, whereupon 
 the House marked its sense of his contumacy and the 
 enormity of his original offence by committing him to 
 Newgate. 
 
 There he caught gaol fever, and, after having declined 
 to avail himself of an offer for his transference to the 
 milder custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms, he languished 
 in durance vile until the prorogation brought with it his 
 release. He then made a kind of triumphal progress 
 through the streets of London, escorted to his home by 
 a noisy mob, after which, like many another comet, 
 blazing for a brief hour in the Parliamentary firmament, 
 nothing more was heard of him. 
 
 In this same year [1751] Arthur Onslow spoke, of 
 course in Committee, in opposition to the clause in the 
 Regency Bill establishing a Council. Horace Walpole 
 thought his speech " noble and affecting," and it was 
 also warmly praised by Bubb Dodington. The Speaker 
 favoured the House with an historical retrospect of 
 the question from the Regency of the Earl of Pembroke 
 temp. Henry III to the Hanoverian era, contending that, 
 though the royal power might with advantage be limited, 
 it could not be divided without grave injury to the State. 
 The Bill, however, received the Royal Assent, at the close 
 of the session, without material alteration. 1 
 
 Onslow was a determined opponent of late sittings 
 
 1 Commons Journals, XXVI, p. 32, and Cobbett's Parliamentary 
 History, Vol. XIV, p. 1017.
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 271 
 
 and late hours of meeting, for which he was inclined 
 to blame the Government of the day. 
 
 " This," he wrote, " is shamefully grown of late, even 
 to Two of the Clock. I have done all in my power to 
 prevent it, and it has been one of the griefs and burdens 
 of my life. It has innumerable inconveniences attending 
 it. The Prince of Wales that now is l has mentioned it 
 to me several times with concern, and did it again this 
 very day, 7 October, 1759, and it gives me hopes that, 
 as in King William's time, those of his ministers who had 
 the care of the Government business in the House of 
 Commons were dismissed by him to be there by eleven 
 o'clock. 
 
 " But it is not the fault of the present King ; his hours 
 are early. It is the bad practice of the higher offices, 
 and the members fall into it, as suiting the late hours of 
 pleasure, exercise, or other private avocations. 
 
 " The modern practice, too, of long adjournments at 
 Christmas and Easter, and the almost constant adjourn- 
 ment over Saturdays, are a great delay of business and 
 of the sessions. 
 
 " This last was begun by Sir Robert Walpole for the 
 sake of his hunting, and was then much complained of, 
 but now everybody is for it." 2 
 
 Onslow was a whole-hearted supporter and fearless 
 advocate of the privileges of the House of Commons 
 whenever it chanced to come into conflict with the 
 Lords. It was, in his opinion, within his province, in 
 presenting Money Bills, to advert not only to measures 
 which had received the Royal Assent or were hi readiness 
 
 1 George III. 
 
 1 Speaker Abbot, Lord Colchester, also raised a wail in his diary 
 over the protracted sittings of the House, as is mentioned more par- 
 ticularly hereafter.
 
 272 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 to receive it, but also to those which, after having occu- 
 pied the attention of the Commons, had failed to pass the 
 House of Lords. In the last Parliament of George II, 
 when several Bills had been thrown out by the Peers, 
 he thought it his right and duty to have animadverted 
 upon their failure and their value and importance to the 
 Constitution, and, as appears by a copy of his intended 
 speech endorsed in his own hand, he was only prevented 
 from delivering his opinion at the Bar of the House of 
 Lords by the accident of the King's sudden indisposition, 
 which disabled him from coming in person to prorogue 
 Parliament. 1 
 
 Onslow took leave of the House of Commons, two days 
 before the dissolution, on 18 March, 1761, in the follow- 
 ing simple words, spoken straight from his heart : 
 
 " I was never under so great a difficulty in my life to 
 know what to say in this place as I am at present In- 
 deed it is almost too much for me I can stand against 
 misfortunes and distresses : I have stood against mis- 
 fortunes and distresses ; and I may do so again : But 
 I am not able to stand this overflow of good will and 
 honour to me. It overpowers me ; and had I all the 
 strength of language, I could never express the full 
 sentiments of my heart upon this occasion, of thanks 
 and gratitude. If I have been happy enough to perform 
 any services here, that are acceptable to the House, I am 
 sure I now receive the noblest reward for them : the 
 noblest that any man can receive for any merit, far supe- 
 rior, in my estimation, to all the other emoluments of 
 this world. I owe everything to this House. I not only 
 owe to this House that I am hi this place, but that I 
 have had their constant support in it ; and to their good 
 
 1 Vide Lord Colchester's Diary.
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 273 
 
 will and assistance, their tenderness and indulgence to- 
 wards me in my errors, it is, that I have been able to 
 perform my duty here to any degree of approbation : 
 Thanks therefore are not so much due to me for these 
 services, as to the House itself, who made them to be 
 services in me. 
 
 " When I began my duty here, I set out with a resolu- 
 tion and promise to the House, to be impartial in every- 
 thing, and to show respect to everybody. The first I 
 know I have done, it is the only merit I can assume : If 
 I have failed in the other, it was unwillingly, it was in- 
 advertently ; and I ask their pardon, most sincerely, to 
 whomsoever it may have happened I can truly say the 
 giving satisfaction to all has been my constant aim, my 
 study, and my pride. 
 
 " And now, sirs, I am to take my last leave of you. 
 It is, I confess, with regret, because the being within 
 these walls has ever been the chief pleasure of my life : 
 But my advanced age and infirmities, and some other 
 reasons, call for retirement and obscurity. 
 
 " There I shall spend the remainder of my days ; and 
 shall only have power to hope and to pray, and my hopes 
 and prayers, my daily prayer will be, for the continuance 
 of the Constitution in general, and that the freedom, the 
 dignity and authority of this House may be perpetual." 1 
 
 The ex-Speaker died of a gradual decay in Great 
 Russell Street on February I7th, 1768. He had removed 
 there, on quitting the Chair, in order to be near the 
 British Museum, of which he was one of the founders. 
 In his retirement he found his principal solace in his well- 
 stored library, and in the visits of politicians of both parties 
 who desired the benefit of his advice and experience. 
 He was buried first at Thames Ditton, near a former 
 
 1 Commons Journals, Vol. XXVIII, p. 1 108.
 
 274 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 residence of his at Imbcr Court, 1 but his remains 
 were subsequently removed to Merrow, near Guildford. 
 There are two portraits of him in the Speaker's House, 
 and another at Clandon Park. A likeness of him, as a 
 young man, habited in his Speaker's robes, attributed 
 to Sir Godfrey Kneller, is in the National Portrait 
 Gallery. But unless Kneller was a prophet as well 
 as a painter this ascription must be incorrect, for 
 Sir Godfrey died in 1723, and Onslow did not become 
 Speaker until 1727-28. The story, which originated with 
 Lord Colchester, that the chairs in which he and his uncle, 
 Richard Onslow, sat were removed to Clandon is apo- 
 cryphal, though Speaker Addington, in the next century, 
 claimed the chair as his personal property and took it 
 away with him. The chair occupied by Manners-Sutton 
 at the time of the great Reform Bill, is however pre- 
 served at Melbourne. 
 
 In Onslow's time a proposal was set on foot to 
 build a new House for the Commons, and plans were 
 even prepared for it and for a new House of Lords by 
 Lord Burlington, in consultation with the Speaker. 
 As early as 1719 the condition of many parts of the 
 old Palace of Westminster was considered to be danger- 
 ous, and the Speaker, after consultation by the Office of 
 Works, was requested to report on the repairs which were 
 necessary to make secure the passage leading from St. 
 Stephen's Chapel to the Painted Chamber, the roof and 
 gable end of the Court of Requests, the roof of the 
 Speaker's private chambers and those belonging to the 
 Clerk of the House, Paul Jodrell. 2 The condition of the 
 
 1 Speaker's Lane is still known locally. 
 1 Commons Journals, Vol. XIX, p. 65.
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 275 
 
 Cottonian Library was inquired into at the same time, 
 and it was eventually condemned as ruinous. Nothing 
 came of Lord Burlington's scheme of 1733, yet from 
 time to time the demand for an enlarged Chamber is 
 renewed, and even quite recently the congested state of 
 the House on occasions of important divisions has been 
 put forward as an argument in favour of Home Rule for 
 Ireland ! 
 
 The first Parliament of George III, which met for 
 business on 3 November, 1761, chose as its Speaker 
 Sir John Cust, of Belton, Lincolnshire, the ancestor of 
 the Earls Brownlow, and the Tory member for Grantham. 
 Horace Walpole, who was naturally critical of the suc- 
 cessor to the really great man whom Sir Robert had 
 selected to fill the Chair, wrote a few days later : 
 
 " Sir John Cust is Speaker, and baiting his nose, the 
 Chair seems well filled." 
 
 He was by no means a success, and he allowed great 
 licence in debate. During the hearing of John Wilkes's 
 case he sat in the Chair for sixteen hours, which was 
 considered a great feat in those days. 
 
 " Think of the Speaker, Nay, think of the Clerks taking 
 most correct minutes for sixteen hours and reading them 
 over to every witness ; and then let me hear of fatigue ! 
 Do you know, not only my Lord Temple who you may 
 swear never budged as spectator but old Will Chetwynd, 
 now past eighty, and who had walked to the House, did 
 not stir a single moment out of his place, from three in 
 the afternoon till the division at seven in the morning." l 
 
 On 17 January, 1770, Cust was taken ill and could 
 not attend the sitting of the House; he resigned on 
 
 1 Horace Walpole to the Earl of Hertford, 15 February, 1764.
 
 276 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 22 January, and died five days later from a paralytic 
 seizure at an age when men are still considered young. 
 Educated at Eton, he lived in Argyll Buildings, 
 Great Marlborough Street, in 1761 and 1762, but re- 
 moved to Downing Street after the latter year. He is 
 buried in St. George's Church, Stamford. 1 Hogarth, 
 who had already painted the interior of the House of 
 Commons with Speaker Onslow in the Chair, introduced 
 Gust's portrait in The Times, Plate 2. Drawn in 1762, 
 the plate, for some unexplained reason, was not issued 
 until after the artist's death. 
 
 Lord North, in looking for another Speaker, reverted 
 to the practice of appointing an experienced lawyer. 
 His choice fell upon Sir Fletcher Norton, who, after having 
 been leader of the northern circuit, had been Solicitor- 
 General in the Bute Administration, and Attorney- 
 General in that of George Grenville. He was dismissed 
 from the latter post on the formation of the Rockingham 
 Cabinet in July, 1765. He was talked of for the Master- 
 ship of the Rolls, but the Lord Chancellor objected to 
 the appointment being made. If it had been, he would 
 have been the last Speaker who ever held that office. 
 At the Bar he earned the reputation of being a bold 
 pleader rather than a learned counsel, and his greed of 
 money gained him the nickname of " Sir Bull Face Double 
 
 1 Of Speakers known to have been educated at Eton, Cust was 
 the first, though in the absence of the earlier school lists it is not 
 possible to say with certainty whether any of his predecessors were 
 trained at Henry's " holy shade." Speakers Grenville, Manners- 
 Sutton, Denison, Brand, Peel, and Lowther were all at Eton, whilst 
 Harley, Hanmer, and Abbot were Westminster boys ; and Arthur 
 Onslow, Cornwall, Addington, Mitford, and Shaw-Lefevre received 
 their early education at Winchester. No Harrow roan has ever filled 
 the Chair.
 
 SIR JOHN CfST 
 
 I76l. i;68 
 /Vow a fainting in the Speaker's House
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 277 
 
 Fee." His demeanour, both in public and private, was over- 
 bearing, and his manners coarse ; and he showed his con- 
 tempt for his fellow-members when on one occasion he 
 told the House that in debating a point of law he should 
 value their opinion no more than that of a parcel of 
 drunken porters. 
 
 Mrs. Piozzi, in her autobiography, quotes one of the 
 many satirical verses made on this Speaker : 
 
 " Careless of censure, and no fool to fame, 
 
 Firm in his double post and double fees, 
 Sir Fletcher, standing without fear or shame, 
 
 Pockets the cash, and lets them laugh that please." 
 
 Junius was even more severe in his strictures. "This," 
 he said, " is the very lawyer described by Ben Jonson," 
 
 who 
 
 " 'Gives forked counsel; takes provoking gold 
 On either hand, and puts it up. 
 
 So wise, so grave, of so perplexed a tongue __, 
 
 And loud, withal, that would not wag, nor scarce lie 
 still, without a fee.' " 
 
 He fell foul of the elder Pitt in 1766, and accused him, 
 during the debates on the petition of the Stamp Act, of 
 " sounding the trumpet to rebellion," whereon Pitt in- 
 timated that he would be ready to fight a duel with him 
 " when his blood was warm." Naturally the Whigs 
 opposed his elevation to the Chair, but Norton was 
 successful by 237 votes to 121 recorded for Mr. Thomas 
 Townshend, who had been put forward, against his 
 will, as a protest against the nominee of the Court. 
 Horace Walpole had a strong aversion to Norton, though 
 he was quick to see that he would rule the House 
 more firmly than Speaker Cust had been able to do :
 
 278 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 " Sir Fletcher Norton consented to be Speaker of the 
 House of Commons. Nothing can exceed the badness of 
 his character, even in this bad age ; yet I think he can 
 do less hurt in the Speaker's Chair than anywhere 
 else. He has a roughness and insolence, too, which will 
 not suffer the licentious speeches of these last days, and 
 which the poor creature his predecessor did not dare to 
 reprimand." l 
 
 If ever a Court nursed a viper in its bosom, it was 
 Sir Fletcher Norton. No sooner was he installed in the 
 Chair than he entered into unseemly wrangles with 
 private members, and in a peculiarly offensive article, 
 " The Memoirs of Sir Bull Face Double Fee and Mrs. 
 G h m," 2 which appeared in the Town and Country 
 Magazine for May, 1770, it was said that he persistently 
 used his position to browbeat the minority. When some 
 disorder arose hi debate, he cried, " Pray, gentlemen, be 
 orderly : you are almost as bad as the other House." 
 On ii February, 1774, he called the attention of the 
 House to a letter written by Home Tooke in the Public 
 Advertiser, reflecting on his conduct in the Chair, but in 
 a truly magnanimous spirit the House vindicated its 
 Speaker and ordered Woodfall, the printer of the letter, 
 to appear at the Bar. 
 
 In the next Parliament, despite his unpopularity with 
 the Court, Norton was re-elected to the Chair and with- 
 out a contest, as his very audacity prevented men from 
 placing themselves in competition with such a notorious 
 bully. In presenting to the Lords the Bill for the better 
 support of the Royal Household on 7 May, 1777, he 
 
 1 Horace Walpole to Mann, 19 January, 1770. 
 1 Goreham.
 
 KI.KTCHER NORTON 
 
 1770, 1774 
 l-'roni a painting l>y Sir II 'in. Bccchy in the possession of Lord Grant Icy
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 279 
 
 made an extraordinary speech, recalling some of the 
 utterances of the mediaeval Speakers in drawing attention 
 to the extravagance of the Plantagenet kings. He said 
 that the Commons had granted to His Majesty a very 
 great additional revenue, " great beyond example, great 
 beyond Your Majesty's highest expense." l Some con- 
 temporary reports gave the last word as " wants " in- 
 stead of " expense," but the Speaker denied their ac- 
 curacy. 
 
 The Court was, naturally, highly indignant, and 
 Richard Rigby was put up in the House to arraign the 
 conduct of the Speaker, which he did in a speech of 
 great acrimony, declaring that the general sense of the 
 House had been grossly misrepresented by its official 
 spokesman. Thurlow, who was Attorney-General at the 
 time, also contended that the Speaker had given utter- 
 ance to his own sentiments, and not those of the House 
 at all. But on this occasion Fox came to his rescue, and, 
 by a skilful piece of special pleading, induced the House 
 to assent to a motion exonerating the Speaker whilst 
 stultifying its previous action. 
 
 During the debate on Burke's Establishment Bill 2 the 
 Speaker made a violent attack on Lord North : " There 
 was a strange scene of Billingsgate between the Speaker 
 and the Minister ; the former stooping to turn informer, 
 and accusing the latter of breach of promise on a lucra- 
 tive job, in which Sir Fletcher was to have been advan- 
 taged." 3 As the Speaker continued to act in hostility to 
 the Court, George III was determined that, if he could 
 
 1 Cobbett's Parliamentary History, Vol. XIX, p. 213. 
 
 * 13 March, 1780. 
 
 * Horace Walpole to Mann, 14 March, 1780.
 
 280 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 prevent it, he should not be voted to the Chair a third 
 time. It was during Norton's tenure of office that women 
 were excluded from the gallery of the House in conse- 
 quence of a disturbance which took place in the year 
 1778. After that date they were only permitted to view 
 the proceedings from a ventilator in the roof of St. 
 Stephen's Chapel. Twenty-five tickets for this apart- 
 ment were issued every night by the Serjeant-at-Arms. 
 Wraxall relates that he had seen the Duchess of Gordon 
 habited as a man sitting in the Strangers' Gallery, and 
 the beautiful Mrs. Sheridan is said to have adopted the 
 same disguise in order to listen to her husband's oratory. 
 
 In the middle of the eighteenth century the House of 
 Commons presented a much more picturesque appear- 
 ance than it does at the present day. Members wore 
 their orders, stars glittered on the front benches, and 
 after the revival of the Order of the Bath red ribands 
 were contrasted with blue. Lord North was always 
 spoken of as " the noble lord in the blue ribbon." It 
 was the etiquette of Parliament to wear orders, as at 
 Court, and the lace cravat and ruffle, the powdered hair 
 worn in a queue, were all but universal. 
 
 The members for the City of London were the last to pre- 
 serve a trace of the former splendour of vestment when on 
 the first day of a new session they took their seats on the 
 Treasury Bench in all the gorgeousness of mazarine robes 
 and gold chains. The last Speaker of the unreformed 
 House, Manners-Sutton, with the red riband of the Bath 
 thrown across his manly figure, looked the impersonation 
 of grandeur in apparel. Even Fox, before he adopted 
 the blue frock-coat and buff waistcoat, was seen in the 
 House by the all-observant Wraxall in a hat and feather.
 
 SIK FI.KTCHKK NOKTdN 
 cature fy Ingleby lent !y /.,</ Craittlcy
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 281 
 
 The American Revolution swept away Court suits, 
 swords, and bag wigs ; and Pitt dealt a mortal blow at 
 the wearing of hair powder. With the French Revolu- 
 tion came a more sombre taste in dress, levelling all dis- 
 tinctions ; and with an occasional eccentricity of attire, 
 adopted, as a rule, for the sake of acquiring notoriety, 
 the House presents at the present time a depressing 
 uniformity of sartorial art, relieved only by the uniforms 
 of the Mover and Seconder of the Address in answer to 
 the gracious Speech from the Throne, and the periodical 
 appearances of an officer of the Household when bearing 
 a message from the Crown. 
 
 Sir Fletcher Norton lived in Lincoln's Inn Fields till 
 his death on i January, 1789. He bought his house 
 there, No. 63, in 1758 for 1721, and when sold in 1884 
 it realized 13,000. Its windows were broken by a mob 
 on 8 May, 1771, when the town went mad because the 
 House had committed Brass Crosby and Richard Oliver 
 to the Tower in connection with Wilkes's agitation for 
 the liberty of the Press. An even greater crowd attacked 
 Lord North's house in the Cockpit at Whitehall and 
 threatened to pull it down. 
 
 After Speaker Norton's transference to the House of 
 Lords, as Baron Grantley of Markenfield, 1 he exhibited 
 the same instability of political principle which had 
 marked his earlier career ; but he ultimately returned 
 to the Tory fold when his capacity for inflicting serious 
 harm on his party had vanished. On the meeting of 
 George Ill's fourth Parliament he had persuaded himself 
 
 1 John Wilkes said, when he heard of the title which Norton had 
 selected, that it was most appropriate since it was composed of his two 
 favourite objects a grant and a lie.
 
 282 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 into believing that he would again be nominated for the 
 Chair, and he professed to be highly indignant when the 
 House chose Mr. Charles Wolfran Cornwall, member of 
 a respectable Herefordshire family and a Gray's Inn 
 lawyer without much practice at the Bar, in his place. 
 " Sir Fletcher Norton, who never haggles with shame, 
 published his own disgrace, and declared that he had 
 been laid aside without notice. Courts do not always 
 punish their own profligates so justly," were the scathing 
 words in which Horace Walpole pronounced his presi- 
 dential epitaph. 
 
 Mr. Cornwall's political complexion was supposed to 
 have been determined when he married, in 1764, Lord 
 Liverpool's sister. But for a time he attached himself 
 to Lord Shelburne and acted with the Whigs. Later 
 on he found political salvation under Lord North, 
 from whom he accepted the post of a Lord of the 
 Treasury. The new Speaker possessed a sonorous voice 
 and an imposing presence, two extremely valuable Par- 
 liamentary assets, but he was by nature of a shy and 
 retiring disposition, and was described by Walpole a not 
 altogether unprejudiced critic as "blushing up to the 
 eyes from a crimson conscience." 
 
 One of the minor economies in Burke's Bill for the re- 
 duction of the Civil List produced a curious situation 
 at the close of the session of 1782. The Jewel Office had 
 recently been abolished in the general process of retrench- 
 ment, and when the King signified his intention of pro- 
 roguing Parliament in person the officials hitherto re- 
 sponsible for the conveyance of the Regalia from the 
 Tower were found to be non-existent. No one seemed 
 to know exactly whose business it was to issue the order
 
 CHARLES WOI.FRAN CORNWALL 
 
 I/So, 1784 
 From a painting I'y Gainsl"<roiigh i't the Speaker's
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 283 
 
 for the production of the crown and sceptre, or how they 
 were to be transported to Westminster. Neither the 
 Lord Chancellor or the Speaker could solve the riddle ; 
 but the Home Secretary 1 rose to the occasion at the 
 last moment, and, dispensing with a military escort, 
 empowered the Bow Street magistrates to convey the 
 Regalia of England in two hackney coaches with 
 blinds closely drawn, and guarded only by a handful 
 of police officers. They took a circuitous and unfre- 
 quented route by the New Road down Great Portland 
 Street and thence to Westminster, returning the same 
 way in the afternoon without attracting the slightest 
 public attention. Had the secret of these unpretentious 
 vehicles been revealed a dozen armed desperadoes could 
 easily have overpowered the police and emulated the far 
 more hazardous exploit of Colonel Blood in the reign of 
 Charles II. And had any mishap occurred to the Crown 
 jewels the severest censure would justly have been cast 
 upon a system of economy fraught with such disastrous 
 consequences at the outset. 
 
 On 27 February, 1786, Cornwall gave a casting vote 
 against the Government on the question of the proposed 
 fortification of Portsmouth and Plymouth at what was 
 then considered the huge cost of a million of money. 
 The plan was condemned in the House by General 
 Burgoyne, Sheridan, and Fox, and the dawn had begun 
 to stream in through the windows of St. Stephen's Chapel 
 when the division was called. The members were found 
 to be 169 on each side, and an uproar arose unparalleled 
 since the defeat of Lord North in 1782. Silence having 
 
 1 The Rt. Hon. Thomas Townshend. Previously to 1782 he was 
 officially styled Secretary of State for the Northern Department.
 
 284 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 been restored Cornwall stood up, and, after declaring the 
 numbers, added that at so late an hour he was too 
 exhausted to enter into the merits of a subject already 
 fully discussed. " I shall therefore content myself with 
 voting against the original motion, and declaring that 
 the Noes have carried the question." Caricatures were 
 issued representing the Duke of Richmond, the Master 
 of the Ordnance and the real author of the scheme, 
 attempting to apply a match to a battery of artillery, 
 while the Speaker, in his robes, extinguished the fire by 
 the same means which Gulliver adopted when he suc- 
 ceeded in quenching the flames which broke out in the 
 royal apartments of Lilliput. 
 
 In the Coalition Ministry, headed by the Duke of 
 Portland in 1783, Cornwall was unanimously re-elected, 
 and he remained in the Chair till his death, which, 
 by a singular coincidence, occurred within twenty-four 
 hours of his old opponent, Sir Fletcher Norton. 1 
 
 History has recorded the name of one, at least, of 
 those who have attained the great position of the Chair 
 whom the House was constrained to expel on the ground 
 of corruption proved up to the hilt ; of others, like 
 Dudley, Empson, and Rich, who deserve the contempt 
 of posterity in an even higher degree. A Speaker has 
 been known to burst into tears in the Chair ; but, up 
 till such a comparatively recent period as 1780, no case 
 had occurred in which a Speaker has been chiefly re- 
 membered for his having been addicted to drink. 
 
 A new precedent was set in an easy-going age, when 
 Mr. Speaker Cornwall relieved the tedium of long debates 
 
 1 Lord Grantley died on i January, and Mr. Cornwall on 2 January, 
 1789.
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 285 
 
 by copious draughts of porter, a flagon of which was 
 placed conveniently at his elbow. 
 
 " Like sad Prometheus fastened to the rock, 
 In vain he looks for pity to the clock, 
 In vain th' effects of strengthening porter tries, 
 And nods to Bellamy's for fresh supplies." l 
 
 Cornwall had the advantage of hearing the greatest 
 oratorical triumphs of Pitt and Fox, the thunders of 
 Burke, and the lightning-like flashes of Sheridan's wit. 
 Was it Sheridan, or Lord Hervey, who said of a fellow- 
 member of Parliament that he was evidently bent upon 
 doing his party all the harm he could, since he spoke for 
 them and voted against them ? Yet not one of these 
 giants of debate could keep the Speaker from falling 
 asleep in his Chair. 
 
 Once when David Hartley, the worthy member for 
 Hull, but a portentously dull speaker, whose rising was 
 usually the signal for a general exodus, asked the Speaker's 
 permission to read a clause in the Riot Act, Burke ex- 
 claimed, before the Speaker could intervene, " You have 
 read it already ; the mob is dispersed." Another story 
 of the same unconscionable talker against time is that 
 Mr. Jenkinson, afterwards Lord Liverpool, leaving the 
 house as Hartley rose to speak, once rode down to 
 Wimbledon, dined there, rode back, and found him still 
 on his legs prosing to a select and patient few. 
 
 On his first entry into Parliament Cornwall lived in 
 Golden Square, then a fashionable quarter of the town, 
 but on being called to the Chair he removed to the Privy 
 Garden, Whitehall. His portrait, by Gainsborough, at 
 
 1 The Rolliad.
 
 286 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 the Speaker's House is one of the best in the whole 
 collection. Wraxall, whose memoirs of contemporary 
 notabilities are especially valuable at this period, snap- 
 pishly said of him : " Never was any man in a public 
 situation less regretted or sooner forgotten." 
 
 When the necessity arose for appointing a successor 
 to Cornwall, and the younger Pitt looked round the 
 ministerial benches, he bethought himself of his cousin, 
 William Wyndham Grenville, who was exactly of his 
 own age. When only twenty-two he had been appointed 
 Chief Secretary for Ireland, his brother, Earl Temple, 
 being the Lord-Lieutenant, for it was an axiom in the 
 Pitt family that the Grenvilles must be taken care of. 
 It was an age of young men, and even whilst he was at 
 Eton Grenville had attracted the attention of the out- 
 side world. There was a rebellion in the school, and two 
 hundred boys left Eton for an inn at Maidenhead. They 
 observed great order and method in their proceedings, 
 choosing officers and keeping accounts of their expendi- 
 ture. Young Grenville was asked whether he would be 
 treasurer or captain. Without hesitation he said he 
 would rather be treasurer. Whilst the young rebels were 
 awaiting events Grenville received a letter from his 
 father 1 ordering him to return to Eton immediately on 
 pain of never seeing his face again. Much perplexed at 
 the receipt of the letter, for before it reached him the 
 boys had taken an oath to stand by one another, he 
 determined to obey his father and quit the confederacy. 
 
 Showing his companions his accounts, he asked that 
 they might be examined to see if they were correct. 
 Whereupon young Montagu, a son of Lord Sandwich, 
 
 1 George Grenville, First Lord of the Treasury 1763-65.
 
 WILLIAM \VYNDHAM tlRKNVI I.I.K 
 
 I/Sg 
 From it f.iiatiiif in the S'utiynal Portrait Gallery
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 287 
 
 who was captain, told him that he had made a good 
 treasurer, but a miserable leader of a party, and that he 
 did not doubt that they would meet again in some other 
 place, where Grenville might depend upon his being re- 
 proached for the desertion of his friends. Young Gren- 
 ville was sent back to Eton by his father for a few hours 
 (probably in order to be flogged), and was then taken 
 away from the school. Lord Granby, who had two sons 
 in the rebellion, sent them to the play, saying : " You 
 shall go there to-night for your pleasure, and to-morrow 
 you shall return to Dr. Foster and be flogged for mine ! '' 
 Lord Sandwich's son was a good prophet, for a cold and un- 
 sympathetic manner prevented Grenville in after life from 
 kindling the enthusiasm so necessary to successful leader- 
 ship, be his industry and integrity what it may. That 
 he was quite conscious of this defect is apparent from a 
 letter he wrote to his brother years later : " I am not 
 competent to the management of men. I never was so 
 naturally, and toil and anxiety more and more unfit me 
 for it." 
 
 Few men have reached the Speaker's Chair at such 
 an early age, at any rate since the Middle Ages, as 
 Grenville. He was not thirty at the time of his 
 election by 215 votes to 144 recorded for Sir Gilbert 
 Elliot. On this occasion, as the King was ill, the new 
 Speaker did not go up to the House of Peers for the 
 royal approbation. Had the King's illness continued, 
 and the Regency Bill passed in 1788, the Whigs, on 
 entering office, would have dissolved Parliament, and it 
 was generally understood that Michael Angelo Taylor 
 would have been appointed Speaker. But the recovery 
 of the King extinguished Taylor's brilliant prospects.
 
 288 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 One of Gillray's clever caricatures satirises his dis- 
 appointment : "The New Speaker between the Hawks 
 and the Buzzards " depicts the opposing parties uniting 
 in preventing Taylor from ascending the Chair. Michael 
 Angelo Taylor, if remembered at all at the present day, 
 is rescued from Parliamentary oblivion by an Act which 
 he was instrumental in passing for the improvement of 
 the London streets, and which is always called by his 
 name. 
 
 Grenville only held office for five months, as he became 
 Home Secretary in the summer of 1789. The next year 
 he was made a peer, and when, on the death of Pitt, 
 the Tory party was rent into a multitude of fortuitous 
 atoms, he became Prime Minister of " all the Talents," 
 the ministry which did indeed abolish the slave trade, 
 but failed in nearly everything else which it attempted. 
 The rewards which were showered on the Grenville 
 family during a long series of years, and especially under 
 Lord Liverpool, were so considerable as to give rise to 
 Lord Holland's witty saying : "All articles are now to 
 be had at low prices, except Grenvilles." William 
 Wyndham Grenville, it must be admitted, was as 
 great an offender in this respect as any member of 
 his family, for he held the post of Auditor of the Ex- 
 chequer, a sinecure worth 4000 a year, for forty years, 
 though much blamed for retaining it after he became 
 Prime Minister. 
 
 For calling the Grenvilles " a family of cormorants " 
 the Duke of Buckingham challenged the Duke of Bed- 
 ford of that day to a duel in Kensington Gardens. 
 His Grace of Stowe, who was of enormous bulk, should 
 have presented an excellent target to his adversary, but
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 289 
 
 though shots were exchanged on both sides, honour pro- 
 fessed itself satisfied without the shedding of a drop of 
 blood. The seconds were Lord Lynedoch and Sir Watkin 
 Wynn, and a caricature of the scene was published, en- 
 titled " The Bloodless Rencontre," I822. 1 
 
 Speaker Grenville's knowledge of the procedure of the 
 House of Commons cannot have been extensive, and he 
 was probably content to rely upon the advice of Hatsell, 
 an acknowledged authority on the subject, and Clerk 
 of the House from 1768 to 1797. His clerk assistant, John 
 Ley, one of an old Devonshire family which has served 
 the House of Commons in an official capacity for 150 
 years, became Clerk in 1797 (at first as deputy to Hatsell), 
 and retained the post until his death in 1814. To him 
 succeeded Jeremiah Dyson, 1814-20 ; John Henry Ley, 
 1820-50 ; Sir Denis Le Marchant, 1850-71 ; Sir Thomas 
 Erskine May (Lord Farnborough), 1871-86 ; Sir Reginald 
 Palgrave, 1886-1900 ; Sir Archibald Milman, 1900-02, 
 who was succeeded in the latter year by Sir Courtenay 
 Ilbert, transferred to Westminster from the Treasury. 
 Before becoming Speaker Grenville lived at the Pay Office 
 in Whitehall, and on resigning the Chair he removed to 
 20, St. James's Square (Sir Watkin Wynn's beautiful 
 Adam house), where he lived with his widowed sister. 
 His widow, Lord Camelford's daughter, survived him 
 until 1864, a remarkable link with the past. 
 
 Pitt's next choice for the Chair was Henry Addington, 
 the son of his father's regular medical attendant, and, 
 
 1 This anecdote was told to the author by the Rt. Hon. G. W. E. 
 Russell, grandson of the sixth Duke of Bedford, who had heard it 
 from his father, Lord Charles Russell, Serjeant-at-Arms to the House 
 of Commons from 1848 to 1875. 
 
 U
 
 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 like the previous Speaker, still in the prime of youth. 
 Sir Gilbert Elliot was again put forward by the Oppo- 
 sition, and though by a strange coincidence exactly the 
 same number of votes were recorded for Addington as 
 there had been for Grenville, Elliot's supporters fell 
 off by two. When old Addington heard of his son's 
 success he is said to have remarked : " Depend upon 
 it this is but the beginning of that boy's career." 
 On three subsequent occasions he was re-elected unani- 
 mously. " The doctor," as he was facetiously called, 
 had not sat long in the House, and his voice was 
 almost unknown in it, but he had applied himself 
 diligently to the study of the procedure and practice 
 of Parliament. A new departure was made in 1790, when 
 he was voted a fixed salary of 6000 a year, in place of the 
 old system of remuneration by fees and sinecure offices. 
 A genial mediocrity, he was very popular with the 
 country party, and Pitt had a high opinion of him, 
 which posterity has not altogether shared. On the other 
 hand spiteful Whigs, like Creevey, always spoke of 
 him as "the cursed apothecary." In the celebrated 
 altercation which took place between Pitt and Tierney 
 in May, 1798, his personal predilection for the former 
 overbore his impartiality. When he learnt that a duel 
 was to take place, not only did he make no attempt 
 to put a stop to it, but he went to Wimbledon 
 Common to be an eye-witness of the encounter. On 
 the following Sunday * two shots were exchanged 
 on either side without a hit, when the seconds pro- 
 nounced that honour was satisfied. Pitt's opponents 
 declared that he had indulged not wisely but too well in 
 
 1 27 May, 1798.
 
 HENRY AUDIXGTON 
 
 1789, 1790, 1796, 1801 
 
 From a print
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 291 
 
 the convivialities of the dinner table on the afternoon of 
 the debate, which gave rise to the duel. However this 
 may be, such symposia were not uncommon at the close 
 of the eighteenth century, and The Rolliad contains a 
 pointed allusion to a scene of this description in an 
 epigram on Pitt and Dundas : 
 
 " I can't see the Speaker, Hal ; can you ? " 
 " Not see the Speaker, Will ! I see two." 
 
 Old John Ley, the Clerk of the House in succession to 
 Hatsell, was so disturbed at Pitt's condition on one 
 occasion that he declared he had not been able to sleep 
 all night for thinking of it. 
 
 But when the Prime Minister was told of this, he 
 laughed it off by saying : 
 
 " Could there possibly have been a fairer division ? 
 I had the wine, and the Clerk, poor man, had the head- 
 ache ! " 
 
 In February, 1801, Addington resigned the Speaker- 
 ship, and in March he became First Lord of the Treasury 
 in an administration which was only noteworthy for the 
 Peace of Amiens. The periodical recurrence of mediocrity 
 in high places, counterbalancing and correcting the 
 achievements of genius, is a curious and persistent feature 
 of English political life. Not easy to account for but 
 patent to all, it is probably not without advantage to a 
 community temporarily satiated with the heroic element 
 in public affairs, and, when an Addington succeeds a Pitt, 
 or a Wilmington replaces a Walpole as leading minister 
 of the Crown, it is often found that the Parliamentary 
 machine runs all the smoother from not being driven at full 
 speed. Almost wholly uninformed upon foreign affairs, for
 
 292 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 he had never visited the Continent or studied diplomatic 
 interests, Addington's mind was not attuned to the ready 
 comprehension of international politics. " Home-keeping 
 youth have ever homely wits," and, whilst he had a fair 
 knowledge of finance and a conciliatory Parliamentary 
 manner, he was conspicuously lacking in that elevation 
 of mind and loftiness of character which so distinguished 
 the younger Pitt. 
 
 " As London is to Paddington 
 So is Pitt to Addington," 
 
 ran a couplet which was composed at the time of his 
 being called to the head of the Administration. 
 
 When the war with France broke out again in 1803 the 
 Prime Minister's opponents said that his gaze was directed 
 exclusively to the Channel and to that, to him, unknown 
 French coast, in abject terror at the thought of the 
 threatened invasion of England's shores by Napoleon. 
 No sooner did Pitt weary of the seclusion of Walmer 
 Castle and evince a desire to resume his former 
 position than Addington's power dissolved into thin 
 air. He subsided for a time into private life, soon, 
 however, to reappear in a subordinate position. It 
 was then that his great opponent Canning said of him: 
 " Addington is like the chicken-pox or the measles. 
 Ministers are bound to have him at least once in their 
 lives." During his tenure of the Chair the House voted 
 the buildings formerly occupied by the Auditor of the 
 Exchequer as an official residence for the Speaker. 
 Addington seems to have taken up his abode in the 
 Palace in 1795. The crypt of St. Stephen's Chapel, which 
 had been used in the time of Lord Halifax as a coal-
 
 SKETCH OF THE INTERIOR OF ST. STEPHEN S WITH PORTRAITS OF 
 
 ADDINCTOX, SPEAKER ABBOT, AND. JOHN LEY U'l.ERK OF THE IKH'SE) 
 
 /'row a firint I'y Js. Gillray
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 293 
 
 cellar, was converted into a state dining-room, and, as " the 
 doctor " was of a convivial nature, and wont to describe 
 himself as the " last survivor of the port-wine faction," 
 he entertained there frequently. An account of one of 
 these banquets will be found at a later page. 1 
 
 His daughter-in-law, the second Lady Sidmouth, 
 who only died in 1894 at the great age of ninety- 
 nine, lived much in her youth with her father-in- 
 law, and with Mr. Hatsell, the Clerk of the House. 
 She retained in her old age a vivid recollection 
 of Pitt and Fox, and well remembered hearing Wilber- 
 force speak on the abolition of the Slave Trade. But 
 probably her most interesting reminiscence was in 
 connection with Nelson : she distinctly recollected his 
 coming to dine at the White Lodge in Richmond Park 2 in 
 1805, and explaining the plan of his operations which 
 ended with the glorious victory of Trafalgar. The Admiral 
 traced the probable course of his fleet on the dinner 
 table, dipping his finger in a glass of wine to illustrate 
 his meaning. This table is still preserved as an heirloom 
 at Up Ottery Manor, the family place, in Devon- 
 shire. 
 
 It has been well said that genius has no ancestry. 
 Yet mediocrity can often successfully lay claim to a long 
 pedigree. Old Dr. Addington, prior to his retirement to 
 Reading, had practised the healing art first in Bedford 
 Row, in which unfashionable street the future Speaker 
 and Prime Minister was born in 1757, and afterwards in 
 
 1 In 1798 the House voted ^2542 IDS. 6d. for the expense of fitting 
 up the houses occupied by the Speaker and the Serjeant-at-Arms. 
 (Commons Journals, 24 April, 1798.) 
 
 * Of which her father-in-law, the ex-Speaker, was Deputy Ranger.
 
 294 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Clifford Street, Burlington Gardens. On his son's being 
 raised to the Peerage he astonished his friends by proving 
 his descent from a Devonshire family seated at Up Ottery 
 since the seventeenth century. The new peer adopted 
 as his motto the words " Liber tas sub rege pio," which 
 " Bobus " Smith impudently translated into " Our 
 pious king has got liberty under." 
 
 Of Speaker Addington there is a likeness by Phillips 
 in the official residence at Westminster. The formation 
 of the collection there was due to his initiative ; it 
 fortunately escaped destruction in the great fire of 
 1834, and since his time it has been considerably aug- 
 mented both by purchase and by the munificence of 
 private donors. The portrait of the next Speaker, Sir 
 John Mitford, afterwards Lord Redesdale, was thrown 
 out of the window in the hurry and confusion of the 
 fire, but not till it had been charred and singed by the 
 flames, and it bears the marks of this rough usage to 
 the present day. 
 
 On the death of Lord Clare, Mitford was made Lord 
 Chancellor of Ireland, with a salary of 10,000 and a 
 retiring pension of 4000, and a peer of the United King- 
 dom. He was the last Speaker to be transferred to the 
 Judicial Bench on vacating the Chair. According to Sir 
 Egerton Brydges, he was " a sallow man, with a round 
 face and blunt features, of a middle height, thickly and 
 heavily built, and had a heavy, drawling, tedious manner 
 of speech." His election to the Chair was opposed by 
 Sheridan, though he did not press his objection to a divi- 
 sion. Mitford's attention had been directed to the office 
 of Speaker by Hatsell at the time of Addington's election, 
 but, as he naively told his successor, what he really had
 
 SIK JOHN MITFOKD 
 
 1801 
 
 /'rout a painting in the Speaker s House
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 295 
 
 in view was the more lucrative Mastership of the Rolls. 
 When Mitford was chosen he conferred with Abbot, 
 telling him that he did not think the position was 
 so arduous as some chose to represent it, and that he 
 was of opinion that it only required diligence, civility, 
 and firmness. Abbot was also informed by Addington 
 that though Mitford had accepted the chair, it might 
 not be for long, and that he wished him to qualify him- 
 self as far as possible to succeed him on the next vacancy. 1 
 With the appreciative eye of a new member Abbot 
 recorded in his diary his impressions of a state dinner 
 given by his friend "the doctor" in February, 1796. 
 Nothing seems to have escaped his attention with the 
 exception of the hour at which the banquet began. 
 
 " Dined at the Speaker's. We were twenty in number, 
 Lord Bridport, Sir George Beaumont, Sir A. Edmonstone, 
 Sir W. Scott Lascelles, Colonel Beaumont, Mr. Adams, 
 Sir H. G. Calthorpe, Bankes, Burton, Wilberforce, 
 Powys, Parker, Coke, Metcalfe, E. Bouverie, Bramston, 
 and Mr. Gipps and the chaplain. 
 
 " We dined in a vaulted room under the House of 
 Commons, looking towards the river, an ancient crypt 
 of St. Stephen's Chapel. 
 
 " We were served on plate bearing the King's arms. 
 Three gentlemen out of livery and four men in full 
 liveries and bags. The whole party full-dressed, 
 and the Speaker himself so, except that he wore no 
 sword. 
 
 " The style of the dinner was soups at top and bottom, 
 
 1 Lord Colchester's diary alludes to his meeting Mitford to discuss 
 the Speakership at " the Coffee House." This must have been Howard's 
 Coffee House which immediately adjoined the upper end of West- 
 minster Hall. It was not burnt in the fire, but removed on the erection 
 of the new Houses of Parliament.
 
 296 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 changed for fish, and afterwards changed for roast 
 saddle of mutton and roast loin of veal. 
 
 " The middle of the table was filled with a painted 
 plateau ornamented with French white figures and vases 
 of flowers. Along each side were five dishes, the middle 
 centres being a ham and boiled chicken. 
 
 " The second course had a pig at top, a capon at 
 bottom, and the two centre middles were turkey and a 
 larded guinea-fowl. The other dishes, puddings, pies, 
 puffs, blancmanges, etc. The wine at the corners in 
 ice pails during the dinner. Burgundy, champagne, l hock, 
 and hermitage. The dessert was served by drawing the 
 napkins and leaving the cloth on. Ices at top and bottom ; 
 the rest of the dessert oranges, apples, ginger wafers, 
 etc. Sweet wine was served with it. 
 
 " After the cloth was drawn a plate of thin biscuits 
 was placed at each end of the table and the wine sent 
 round, viz. claret, port, Madeira, and sherry. Only one 
 toast given ' The King.' 2 
 
 " The room was lighted by patent lamps on the 
 chimney and upon the side tables. The dinner-table had a 
 double branch at top and at bottom, and on each side 
 of the middle of the table. Coffee and tea were served 
 on waiters at eight o'clock. The company gradually 
 went out of the room, and the whole broke up at 
 nine." 
 
 On ii November, 1800, in consequence of some repairs 
 which were in progress in St. Stephen's Chapel, the 
 Commons, after the lapse of centuries, met once more 
 in the Painted Chamber. 3 The Speaker acquainted the 
 House on the opening day of the session that he had 
 received a letter from the Lord Steward, in which he was 
 
 1 An early notice of its use in England. 
 
 * A custom still observed on these occasions. 
 
 3 Sometimes called St. Edward's Chamber.
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 297 
 
 commanded to inform the House that, as the chamber 
 in which they usually assembled was not in a fit state 
 to receive them, His Majesty had given orders that 
 the Painted Chamber should be fitted up for their 
 accommodation during the ensuing session. 
 
 In adapting this venerable apartment for it was 
 probably of even earlier date than the Great Hall 
 to its temporary purpose the interesting discovery was 
 made that its walls, like those of the neighbouring 
 Chapel, were entirely covered under the tapestry hang- 
 ings with historical paintings of considerable artistic 
 merit. The subjects represented were the Wars of the 
 Maccabees and scenes from the life of Edward the Con- 
 fessor, with explanatory inscriptions hi Norman-French. 
 These paintings were probably executed to the order of 
 Henry III, and, though careful drawings were made of 
 them at the time of their discovery, the authorities who 
 should have taken steps to preserve them promptly 
 covered them with a coat of whitewash ! The very 
 existence of these mural decorations had been forgotten, 
 and they would probably have escaped notice, until their 
 final destruction by fire in 1834, had it not been for the 
 accidental use, for the last time in its long history, by 
 the Commons of the room in which, by tradition, the 
 Confessor is said to have breathed his last. Once more 
 its doors were flung open to receive the body of the 
 younger Pitt, who lay in state there before his interment 
 in the Abbey. 1 
 
 1 Lord Colchester notes the meeting of the House in the Painted 
 Chamber in his diary for 1800, and The Times, in its Parliamentary 
 report. 12 November, 1800, also alludes to the unwonted place of 
 assembly.
 
 298 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 The procession of Tory Speakers was continued by 
 Charles Abbot, who was created Lord Colchester on his 
 retirement, with a pension of 4000 a year and 3000 to 
 his successor in the title. From his earliest entry into 
 Parliament in 1795 he enjoyed the confidence of 
 Addington, who told him to make the Chair the goal 
 of his ambition. Gillray is responsible for a "Sketch 
 of the Interior of St. Stephen's as it now stands," 
 with portraits of Addington, Abbot, and John Ley in 
 the clerk's seat. It was Speaker Abbot who gave 
 his casting vote against Pitt 1 when Whitbread brought 
 forward a motion for the impeachment of Lord Melville 
 on account of peculation in the administration of the 
 Navy. Ministers made no attempt to screen Lord 
 Melville, if he were guilty, from public censure ; but 
 they contended that, upon a subject of such magnitude, 
 affecting as it did, not only the character of Parliament, 
 but of every individual member of the House, the fullest 
 investigation should precede a final decision. 
 
 Pitt proposed the appointment of a Select Committee 
 to inquire into the charges brought with irresistible force 
 against Lord Melville, but on the numbers being found 
 to be equal, 216 to 216, the Speaker, pale with emotion 
 and after ten minutes of terrible suspense, during which 
 the dropping of a pin might have been heard in the 
 crowded House, gave his vote against the Government. 
 When the decision of the Chair was made known Pitt 
 burst into tears, and at past five in the morning hurried 
 from the House. The next day Lord Melville resigned. 
 
 Speaker Abbot was the inventor of the Census ; he 
 introduced many improvements in the form and printing 
 
 1 8 April, 1805.
 
 'UK !<II;IIT Hiy\: r i! A K I.K'S VHJJOT, u.i .1. v K.K.S. 
 
 rilAKI.KS A11HOT 
 
 1 802-2, 1806, 1807, 1812 
 
 l-'roin a print
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 299 
 
 of the official records, and he left an interesting Parlia- 
 mentary diary. In it is a valuable note on the hours of 
 meeting of the House, which had steadily been growing 
 later, in unison with the dinner-hour of London society. 
 
 " Mr. Pitt asked me at parting what would be the 
 proper time for beginning public business every day. I 
 said I thought half-past four, if he could come. He said 
 by all means, it was just as easy for him to come at that 
 hour as at any other. He actually came at five." l 
 
 Some mention has already been made of the early 
 hour at which the House was accustomed to meet in 
 Elizabethan times. During the Commonwealth and in 
 the reign of Charles II it was usual for the House to stand 
 adjourned at its rising until the following morning at 
 9 a.m. This continued to be the practice until 1770, 
 when the nominal hour of meeting was altered to 10 a.m. 
 This, with an occasional variation to n a.m., continued 
 till the year 1810 ; but it will be seen that there was a 
 considerable difference between the nominal and the 
 actual time for commencing public business. 
 
 From 1811 to 1835 no hour is mentioned in the Votes 
 for resumption on the following day, but from the latter 
 year the time at which the Speaker would take the Chair 
 is usually notified as three or half-past. On 18 July, 
 1835, it was appointed to meet at a quarter to four, at 
 which hour it remained until 1888, when three o'clock was 
 reverted to. The present time of meeting is a quarter 
 of an hour earlier. At the close of the session of 1808 
 Lord Colchester wrote : 
 
 " The most laborious session for hours of sitting ever 
 
 1 Diary of Lord Colchester, Vol. I, p. 543.
 
 300 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 known within living memory of the oldest members or 
 officers of the House. There were in sitting days, 
 amounting to 829 hours, averaging 7! hours a day. Since 
 Easter to the close of the session rarely less than 10 or 
 ii hours every day." 
 
 What would he have thought of 1887, when the House 
 sat on 160 days, and for 277 hours after midnight ! 
 On 24 May, 1803, the Speaker wrote in his diary : 
 
 " Settled with the Serjeant-at-Arms and Mr. Ley that 
 the gallery door should be opened, every day if required, 
 at twelve ; and the Serjeant would let the House Keeper 
 understand that the ' news writers ' might be let in their 
 usual places (the back row of the gallery), as being under- 
 stood to have the order of particular members like any 
 other strangers." 
 
 This Speaker persuaded the Government to spend 
 70,000 in improving his official residence between 1802 
 and 1808, and the alterations and additions were carried 
 out by Wyatt, the fashionable architect of the day, but 
 one of the greatest Vandals his profession has ever known 
 when engaged on the restoration of ancient buildings. 
 Worse than " Blue Dick," who " rattled down proud 
 Becket's glassy bones " at Canterbury from mistaken 
 religious conviction, Wyatt, at Salisbury, in addition 
 to other enormities, carted into the town ditch the 
 mediaeval glass which had escaped the Reformation and 
 the Commonwealth. 
 
 " The King talked to me at length about the forms 
 of the House of Commons, and the conversion of the 
 Speaker's house in Palace Yard. He looked remarkably 
 well ; rather grown larger within the last twelvemonth, 
 and very cheerful. The King having asked me very
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 301 
 
 particularly about the Speaker's house, and its' being 
 finished, I wrote to the Duke of Portland to desire he 
 would ask the King for his portrait, to be placed as the 
 only picture in the principal of those apartments which 
 the members of the House of Commons are accustomed 
 to visit in the course of the session." x 
 
 The picture was given, and it was painted by Sir Thomas 
 Lawrence, but it is nowhere to be found at Westminster 
 now. The large expenditure on the official residence 
 was much commented upon at the time, and Tierney, 
 who voiced the opinion of the economists, threatened to 
 bring the matter before the House ; but the Speaker 
 referred him to the architect, and the storm blew over. 
 Wyatt probably destroyed far more than he preserved, as 
 is painfully evident from the additional plates in Smith's 
 Antiquities of Westminster, in which Plates 24 and 26, 
 27 and 28, show extensive demolitions in progress on the 
 east side of the old House of Lords and the vicinity of 
 the Princes' Chamber ; but a curious oak door, painted 
 and gilt with arabesque ornaments, which was found 
 plastered up in the crypt of St. Stephen's Chapel, escaped 
 wanton destruction, only to perish in the fire of 1 834. 2 
 
 On the debate on the Address, at the opening of the 
 session of 1810, the Speaker showed that he was no 
 respecter of persons in his official capacity. " We had 
 a grand fuss in telling the House. The Princess of 
 Wales, who had been present the whole time, would 
 stay it out to know the numbers, and so remained in 
 her place in the gallery. The Speaker very significantly 
 
 1 Diary, 20 January, 1808. 
 
 * This door is figured in the body of Smith's Antiquities of Westmin- 
 ster, which, with the additional plates, is the most valuable pictorial 
 representation of the Palace, as it existed a century ago.
 
 302 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 called several times for strangers to withdraw ; which she 
 defied, and sat on. At last the little fellow became irri- 
 tated, started from his chair, and, looking up plump in 
 the faces of her and her female friend, halloaed out most 
 fiercely, ' If there are any strangers in the House they 
 must withdraw.' They being the only two, they struck 
 and withdrew." x 
 
 After the triumphant return of the Tory party 
 from the polls in 1812 Abbot was unanimously re- 
 elected to the Chair ; but a speech which he delivered 
 at the Bar of the House of Lords in the course of the 
 following year brought upon him a motion of censure by 
 Lord Morpeth, on account of his having introduced into 
 it the subject of Roman Catholic aggression. After 
 mention of the supplies granted, the financial measures 
 adopted, and anticipations of future prosperity, the 
 Speaker went on to say, in a passage which imme- 
 diately aroused the hostility of the Opposition : 
 
 " But, sir, these are not the only subjects to which our 
 attention has been called. Other monstrous charges have 
 been proposed for our consideration. Adhering, however, 
 to those laws by which the Throne, the Parliament, and 
 the Government of this country are made fundamentally 
 Protestant, we have not consented to allow that those 
 who acknowledge a foreign jurisdiction should be autho- 
 rised to administer the powers and jurisdiction of this 
 realm ; willing as we are, nevertheless, and willing as I 
 trust we ever shall be, to allow the largest scope to re- 
 ligious toleration." 
 
 After a heated debate, Lord Morpeth's motion was 
 defeated by 274 to 106. 
 
 1 Creevey Papers, VoL I, p. 123.
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 303 
 
 " I remarked," says the Speaker in his diary, " to Lord 
 Castlereagh, Vansittart, and Bathurst that the House had 
 repeatedly refused to instruct the Speaker what he should 
 say ; that they left it to him to collect the sense of the 
 House from its proceedings ; and that as to pleasing 
 everybody I had long ago given up that attempt." 
 
 The earliest speech made by any Speaker which is re- 
 corded in the Journals of the House of Lords is one of 
 Sir Thomas Englefield in 1509-10. At first the entries 
 only state the general substance of the Speaker's remarks, 
 but in the reign of Elizabeth some are given by Sir 
 Symonds D'Ewes at greater length. There is a speech 
 of Speaker Lenthall, hi 1641, given in some detail, and 
 several more in the reign of Charles II. In 1689 two such 
 speeches are entered in the Journals, but none during 
 the reigns of William III or Anne. There are four by 
 Sir Spencer Compton in the reign of George I, and one 
 in the Commons Journals. From 1721 there is no pro- 
 rogation speech entered at length in either Journal, 
 except one by Speaker Onslow in 1745 reviewing the 
 whole state of public affairs both in and out of Parliament. 
 
 Abbot died in Spring Gardens on 8 May, 1829, and 
 was buried without a monument, by the side of his 
 mother, in Westminster Abbey, the first Speaker to be so 
 honoured since Trussell, Puckering, and Richardson, and 
 also the last in the Abbey's roll of fame. His portrait, by 
 Sir Thomas Lawrence, is one of the ornaments of the 
 Speaker's collection. 
 
 The name is now reached of the only man who has 
 ever been Speaker seven times, though his actual tenure 
 of office was exceeded in length by both Arthur Onslow 
 and Shaw - Lefevre. This was Charles Manners-Sutton,
 
 304 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 a son of the Archbishop of Canterbury who crowned 
 George IV. But for his open connection with the 
 Tory party outside the House he would undoubtedly 
 have been re-elected an eighth time in 1835. Such 
 an exceptional Parliamentary career deserves somewhat 
 detailed examination. Manners-Sutton was originally 
 intended for the Law. He entered Parliament for the 
 first time in November, 1806, shortly after the death 
 of Fox, and when the Ministry of " All the Talents " 
 was hastening to its close to be replaced by the 
 Duke of Portland as the nominal head of the Tory 
 party. 
 
 At the time of his entering the House young 
 Manners-Sutton was living in Stone Buildings, Lincoln's 
 Inn, and though he never had very much practice 
 at the Bar, his commanding voice and presence soon 
 attracted the attention of his fellow-members, and 
 especially of Castlereagh, George Canning, and Spencer 
 Perceval. As became the son of an archbishop, his 
 maiden speech was made on the Clergy Residence Bill, 
 introduced by himself. 1 A little later on he was found 
 supporting the retention of flogging in the army. At 
 the early age of twenty-seven he had been made Judge 
 Advocate-General, and was speaking as the mouthpiece 
 of the Government. In 1812 he made a forcible speech 
 in opposition to Lord Morpeth's motion for inquiry into 
 the state of Ireland, veiling the demand for Catholic 
 Emancipation. It was a long debate, and Grattan did 
 not rise to address the House until four in the morning, 
 
 1 " There was no point," he said, " in which so much improvement 
 had taken place in the last twenty years as in the arrangements for 
 the examination of candidates for Holy Orders."
 
 H. II'. Pickersgill, R.A. San 
 
 HENRY CHARLES MANNERS-SUTTON 
 
 1817, 1819, 1820, 1826, 1830, 1831, 1833 
 
 Front a />rin t 
 
 S, SCIllpt.
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 305 
 
 nor did it adjourn until half -past five, after defeating 
 Lord Morpeth's motion by a majority of ninety-four. 
 
 Five years later Manners-Sutton's reputation was so 
 well established, that on the resignation of Speaker Abbot, 
 in June, 1817, little surprise was expressed when he was 
 put forward by the Ministry of the day to fill the vacant 
 Chair. The Opposition proposed C. W. Williams Wynn, the 
 member for Merionethshire, who was heavily handicapped 
 by a high falsetto voice, and in the Creevey Papers there 
 is a complimentary reference to the successful candidate 
 in the contest. 
 
 " We all like our new Speaker most extremely ; he 
 is gentlemanlike and obliging. The would-be Speaker l 
 (alias Squeaker) has, as I suppose you have heard, 
 moved down to my old anti-Peace of Amiens bench. 
 I rejoice sincerely that I did not vote for said Squeaker, 
 but some of those who did are, I hear, very much 
 ashamed of themselves for it." 2 
 
 Mr. Wynn's brother, Sir Watkin, was also a member 
 of the House, and from the peculiarity of their voices 
 the two were commonly known as " Bubble and Squeak." 
 At the election referred to Manners-Sutton had been 
 chosen by a majority of one hundred votes, and some 
 spiteful wit said that if Williams Wynn had minded his 
 P's and Q's he might have been Speaker instead of 
 Squeaker ! Once in the Chair, not even the most bitter 
 Radical found cause to complain of the Speaker's par- 
 tiality. He " rode the House with a snaffle rein, and not 
 with a curb," as one of his political opponents remarked. 
 Some colour is lent to his understanding of the changing 
 
 1 Wynn. 
 
 * Lord Folkestone to Creevey, 23 February 1818.
 
 306 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 relations between the House and the Chair by the fact 
 that when he intervened in the debates hi Committee 
 on the Catholic Relief Bill of 1825, he prefaced his re- 
 marks with an apology for joining in the discussions. 
 In 1827, in Canning's Administration, he could have been 
 Home Secretary for the asking, but he preferred to 
 remain where he was. 
 
 Tom Moore's Diary for May, 1829, reveals a glimpse of 
 Manners-Sutton's private life in the old official residence 
 on the banks of the Thames. Daniel O'Connell, the 
 " Liberator," had made a dramatic appearance at the 
 Bar of the House, to claim the seat for Clare denied to 
 him as a Roman Catholic, a circumstance which con- 
 vinced the Duke of Wellington that Catholic Emancipa- 
 tion could not be much longer delayed. 
 
 " Went to the House of Commons early, having begged 
 Mr. Speaker yesterday to put me on the list for under the 
 gallery. An immense crowd in the lobby, Irish agitators, 
 etc. ; got impatient and went round to Mr. Speaker, 
 who sent the train-bearer to accompany me to the lobby, 
 and after some little difficulty I got in. The House 
 enormously full. O'Connell's speech good and judicious. 
 Sent for by Mrs. Manners-Sutton at seven o'clock to 
 have some dinner ; none but herself and daughters, 
 Mr. Lockwood, and Mr. Sutton. Amused to see her in all 
 her state, the same hearty, lively Irishwoman still. 
 Walked with her in the garden ; the moonlight rising 
 on the river, the boats gliding along it, the towers of 
 Lambeth rising on the opposite bank, the lights of 
 Westminster Bridge gleaming on the left ; and then, 
 when we turned round to the House, that beautiful, 
 Gothic structure, illuminated from within, and at that 
 moment containing within it the council of the nation 
 all was most picturesque and striking."
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 307 
 
 The Speaker's second wife, a Miss Ellen Power, from 
 the county of Waterford, was only a recent bride at the 
 time of Moore's visit. His first wife was Miss Denison, 
 of the Nottinghamshire family which gave another 
 Speaker to the House hi after years. 
 
 The worst fault that could be laid to Manners- 
 Sutton's charge was that he was never able wholly to 
 dissociate himself from old party ties and obligations. 
 Lord Grey has left it on record that as early as 1831 
 the opponents of Reform met at a party at the Speaker's 
 house to discuss the plan of campaign, and " looked with 
 confidence to its affording them the means of striking 
 an effectual blow at the Administration " whenever 
 the question should come before the House. 
 
 On Lord Grey's resignation in May, 1832, whilst the 
 Duke of Wellington was endeavouring to form an 
 administration, a short-lived intrigue was got up to 
 offer the post of Prime Minister to Manners-Sutton. 
 The idea seems to have originated with Lord Lynd- 
 hurst, aided and abetted by Vesey Fitzgerald and Ar- 
 buthnot. Peel, if we may believe Greville, also favoured 
 the scheme, and, animated by a singular mixture of 
 ambition and caution, he desired to make Manners-Sutton 
 a second Addington, whilst he was to be another Pitt. 
 But at a meeting held at Apsley House, at which Peel 
 was not present, Manners-Sutton made a bad impression. 
 He " talked infernal nonsense " for three hours, and 
 Lyndhurst and the Duke were convinced of the im- 
 possibility of forming a Government under such leader- 
 ship. The idea, so hastily conceived, was as promptly 
 abandoned. As all the world knows, the Duke of Welling- 
 ton declined to take office, and Lord Grey returned.
 
 308 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Nettled perhaps at the turn of events, Manners-Sutton 
 intimated to the House his wish to retire. 1 A vote of 
 thanks was accorded to him, and his pension of 4000 a 
 year settled. 
 
 Merely to state that Speaker Manners-Sutton saw the 
 Reform Bill of 1832 carried through all its stages would 
 be to give a very inadequate idea of the strain imposed 
 upon his physical powers and those of the responsible 
 officers of the House. From 1830 the length of the 
 sittings of the Commons went up with a bound. In 
 that year the hours after midnight totalled 126 ; in 1831 
 they rose to 156; and in 1832, the crucial year, they 
 amounted to no less than 223, a figure never exceeded 
 or approached until 1881, when, at the beginning of the 
 serious agitation for Home Rule in Ireland, they reached 
 the unprecedented total of 238, a figure only since ex- 
 ceeded in the memorable session of 1887, when Speaker 
 Peel was in the Chair. When, at last, in June, 1832, 
 exactly five hundred years after the generally accepted 
 date of the separation of the two Houses, 2 Manners- 
 Sutton went up to the House of Lords to hear the Royal 
 Assent given to Bills agreed upon by both Houses, it was 
 to the provisions of a measure more far-reaching in its 
 after effects upon English political life than any em- 
 bodied in a statute of the realm since the origin of Parlia- 
 ments. 
 
 When Reform was carried the Whig leaders played 
 into the Speaker's hands. Nervous at the prospect 
 of meeting the first Parliament to be elected under the 
 new system, they implored Manners-Sutton to serve yet 
 
 3 Juty. 1832. 
 1332-
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 309 
 
 another term of office. Lord Althorp wrote him what 
 Greville calls " a very flummery letter," and he accepted 
 the offer. 1 On 29 January, 1833, he was voted to 
 the Chair by 210 votes over Edward John Littleton, 2 
 who was put forward as a candidate by the Radicals. 
 In the course of the year the King conferred upon him 
 the Order of the Bath, an honour not enjoyed by any of 
 his predecessors since Speaker Compton. 3 
 
 Manners-Sutton was rather short-sighted, and when 
 the new Parliament assembled, like the strong party 
 man that he was, he affected not to be able to distinguish 
 the new Whig members' faces, nor to remember their 
 names. When he had to call on Mr. Bulteel to speak 
 he made a great pretence of looking at the name through 
 his glass before he cried out, " Mister Bull Tail," at which 
 the House laughed loud and long. One of the first of 
 the new members returned in the Tory interest was the 
 young representative of the Duke of Newcastle's pocket 
 borough of Newark William Ewart Gladstone. 
 
 ' The first time," he wrote to a correspondent many 
 years later, " that business required me to go to the arm 
 of the Chair to say something to the Speaker, Manners- 
 Sutton the first of seven whose subject I have been 
 who was something of a Keate, I remember the revival 
 in me bodily of the frame of mind in which the school- 
 boy stands before his master." 
 
 Mr. Gladstone had been at Eton under Dr. Keate, and 
 
 1 Greville Memoirs, 11 January, 1833. 
 
 2 Afterwards Lord Hatherton. 
 
 3 " At Court yesterday, the Speaker was made a Knight of the 
 Bath, to his great delight. It is a reward for his conduct during the 
 session, in which he has done Government good and handsome service." 
 (Greville Memoirs, 5 September, 1833.)
 
 3 io SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 he retained a lively recollection of the methods of persua- 
 sion favoured by that well-known advocate of the birch. 
 He took his seat in January, 1833, in the old House of 
 Commons, which was soon afterwards to be destroyed by 
 fire. On his first entry into Parliament the future Prime 
 Minister took rooms in Jermyn Street, lodging over the 
 shop of a corn-chandler named Crampern, a few doors 
 west of York Street, St. James's Square. The corn- 
 chandler in question was a relation of some of his con- 
 stituents at Newark. Removing soon after to the 
 Albany, Mr. Gladstone retained a lifelong partiality for 
 St. James's, and during the session of 1890 he lived at 
 No. 10, St. James's Square, the former home of Chatham. 
 Lord Derby, the " Rupert of Debate," lived in the same 
 house from 1837 to I854. 1 
 
 Lord John Russell admitted in after years that he had 
 supported the candidature of Manners-Sutton in 1833 
 because he felt exceedingly solicitous and somewhat diffi- 
 dent concerning the reformed House of Commons. For the 
 purpose of securing the advantage of his long experience 
 he was willing to depart from the general rule that the 
 Speaker should be the representative of the majority. 
 During Manners-Sutton's last term of office Sir Thomas 
 Erskine May, the greatest authority on Parliamentary 
 Procedure that the House has ever known, first became 
 officially connected with the Commons. Placed at first 
 in the library, he undertook, whilst a mere youth, the 
 enormous labour of indexing the whole series of Journals 
 
 1 The London County Council has recently placed a memorial tablet 
 on the front of the house to commemorate its association with the 
 names of three Prime Ministers. Mr. Gladstone personally informed 
 the present writer of the circumstances attending his early connec- 
 tion with the neighbourhood.
 
 . 
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 311 
 
 from the year 1547 to the reign of Queen Anne. As an 
 illustration of the changed habits of the House within his 
 personal recollection, Sir Thomas Erskine May told the 
 present writer that he remembered the Speaker leaving 
 the Chair, some time in the 'thirties, followed by the 
 great majority of members, and proceeding in haste to 
 the riverside in order to watch the race for Doggett's 
 Coat and Badge as it passed by Westminster. There 
 was then a pleasant garden, fringed with tall trees on the 
 river bank, attached to the Speaker's house. 
 
 The most memorable incident of Manners-Sutton's 
 last Speakership was the destruction of the old Houses 
 of Parliament by fire on 16 October, 1834. The Speaker 
 was with his family at Brighton at the time, recuperating 
 his energies after the fatigues of the session. Recalled 
 by an express, he arrived in town the next morning to 
 find the flames still raging and his own house a smoking 
 heap of ruins. Having witnessed the destruction of the 
 whole Palace, with the exception of Westminster Hall, the 
 Star Chamber, and a few unimportant exceptions, it was 
 suggested to him that it was his duty to write to the 
 King, informing him of the actual state of affairs, so far 
 as it was in his power to form a judgment ; the more so 
 as, by the gracious permission of the Crown, he was 
 living in a portion of a royal palace. He waited upon 
 the King at St. James's to discuss the expedients neces- 
 sary to secure another place of meeting for the Parliament. 
 William IV commanded him to survey Buckingham 
 House and its gardens, with a view to the erection of a 
 temporary building, and to take Blore, the royal archi- 
 tect, with him. It is necessary to mention these facts 
 because his interviews with the King at this period were
 
 312 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 later on made the foundation of a groundless charge 
 against his conduct in the Chair. 
 
 During the great fight to save Westminster Hall from 
 the flames the Speaker's house was stripped of its 
 contents, and even the furniture, china and mirrors, 
 were thrown out of the windows. The official residence of 
 Mr. Ley, the Clerk of the House, fared even worse, every- 
 thing in it being destroyed, even to his wig and gown. 
 It was one of the many misfortunes of that calamitous 
 night that the tide was very low throughout the earlier 
 hours of the conflagration, so that the floating fire- 
 engines on the Thames were unable to render any ser- 
 vice during the time when by their help the spread of 
 the flames might have been checked. A strong south- 
 west wind blew the fire into the heart of the ancient 
 buildings, and added to the fears of the bystanders that 
 the Great Hall would be destroyed. So great was the 
 glare in the heavens that the King and Queen saw it at 
 Windsor, twenty miles away. Thus perished in a single 
 night the historic chamber replete with memories of 
 Raleigh, Hampden, Coke, and Cromwell ; the arena in 
 which Chatham delivered his immortal eloquence ; where 
 Pulteney and Walpole, Pitt and Fox, Canning and 
 Brougham, in turn confronted one another ; where 
 Burke threw down the dagger, and Castlereagh walked 
 proudly to his seat with the Treaty of Paris in his hand. 
 
 " By the Clerk's table in that ancient chapel the brow 
 of the boldest warrior had grown pale as he stood up to 
 receive the thanks of the House and a grateful nation. 
 There Blake and Marlborough, and that hero of a hun- 
 dred fights, the Duke of Wellington, drank in the pealing 
 applause which foreshadowed Westminster Abbey, and
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 313 
 
 there the noblest sons of genius, Bacon, Newton, Addison, 
 and Gibbon sat ' mute but not inglorious.' Its historic 
 walls rang with the shout of triumph when the slave 
 trade went down in its iniquity ; there Grattan poured 
 forth his matchless eloquence, and Meredith and Romilly 
 pleaded, against capital punishments, that criminals still 
 were men." x 
 
 After the fire it became necessary further to prorogue 
 Parliament, and if ever a prorogation took place under 
 difficulties it was this one, owing to the difficulty of find- 
 ing any habitable room in the precincts of the Palace in 
 which to perform the ceremony. An eye-witness of the 
 scene wrote : 
 
 " The two Mr. Leys (the Clerk of the House and the 
 second Clerk Assistant) called on Saturday. They de- 
 sired Mr. Rickman to attend the Prorogation because 
 they have lost their wigs, and Mr. William Ley says : 
 ' We shall follow you to the Bar in plain clothes, but 
 where the Bar is to be we know not.' ' 
 
 When the Houses met again in 1835 it was in tem- 
 porary chambers hastily improvised for the occasion. 
 The House of Lords was installed in a room on the site 
 of the Painted Chamber, and the Commons in an apart- 
 ment to the south of Westminster Hall improvised out 
 of the ruins of the House of Lords. Gladstone made 
 his maiden speech in the old chapel of St. Stephen's, but 
 Disraeli's " The time will come when you shall hear me " 
 was uttered in the temporary building in use until 1852. 
 
 After Lord Melbourne's summary dismissal by the 
 King, 2 Sir Robert Peel undertook to form an administra- 
 
 1 Townsend's Memoirs of the House of Commons, 1844, Vol. II, 
 p. 465. 2 In November, 1834.
 
 314 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 tion, and, though unsuccessful in obtaining a majority 
 at the polls, he pluckily determined to face Parliament, 
 and allowed it to be known that it was his intention 
 once more to propose Manners-Sutton for the Chair. 
 Grave charges were circulated against the late Speaker 
 in the Press and on the platform, some of them un- 
 doubtedly founded upon fact, whilst others were devoid 
 of any solid foundation. For weeks before the date fixed 
 for the opening of the session the newspapers were filled 
 with arguments for and against Manners-Sutton's claim 
 to the renewed confidence of the House. 
 
 Great excitement prevailed as to the issue of the 
 coming contest for the Chair, but Manners-Sutton 
 waited patiently and submissively under imputations 
 affecting his honesty and integrity until such time as he 
 could refute them in his place. The gravamen of the 
 accusations of his enemies was that, being Speaker, he 
 had busied himself in the subversion of Lord Melbourne's 
 Government, that he had assisted, with others, in the 
 formation of the new Cabinet, and that he had advised 
 the dissolution of the late Parliament for party pur- 
 poses. 
 
 Charles Greville, who, though he never entered Parlia- 
 ment, was perhaps better informed than any man of his 
 time as to the secret springs of politics, has left a vivid 
 picture of the intense interest excited by the promulga- 
 tion of these charges against the late Speaker. He 
 made a book on the event, and having at first 
 favoured the chances of Manners-Sutton, he eventually 
 leant to the side of his opponent and made 55 by back- 
 ing his opinion. 
 
 On 19 February, 1835, the opening day of the session,
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 315 
 
 Manners-Sutton replied to his accusers in the fullest 
 House ever known. The first charge, he was able to 
 show, grew out of the fact (alluded to on a previous 
 page) that he had been commanded by the King to 
 attend him during the autumn, and he read a letter 
 which he had addressed to His Majesty proving that it had 
 reference solely to the burning of the Houses of Parliament. 
 To the second and graver charge he admitted that he 
 had been in communication with the Duke of Wellington 
 during Peel's absence abroad, and that, on the latter's 
 return, he had paid him a visit at the Prime Minister's 
 own request. The only other occasion on which he 
 visited Peel was when he waited on him for the purpose 
 of obtaining the sanction and signature of the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer, in order to make good the payment of 
 the Clerks of the House. 
 
 " He had never advised, had never suggested, never 
 was in any way consulted, and he never knew of the 
 appointment of any one individual member of the 
 Government until after it had taken place. He admitted, 
 however, that he did attend the meeting of the Privy 
 Council after William IV had dismissed Lord Melbourne. 
 So little did he know of the last charge, that of having 
 counselled a dissolution, that he did not attend the 
 meeting of the Privy Council from which the proclama- 
 tion for dissolution emanated. 
 
 " He was not at it, he was not summoned to it, he was 
 never consulted with regard to it, he never had any- 
 thing to do with the dissolution, and so little did he 
 know of the steps that had been taken, that he did not 
 even know it had been resolved upon, until he read it 
 in the Gazette." 
 
 Lord John Russell, in spite of these emphatic dis-
 
 3 i6 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 claimers, insinuated that for Manners-Sutton to have 
 attended any meeting of the Privy Council at such a 
 juncture was conduct unbecoming the Speaker of the 
 House of Commons. Versed as Lord John was in 
 the dead lore of the Constitution, he quoted from 
 speeches made by Sir Harbottle Grimston and Mr. 
 Speaker Williams in the seventeenth century, with a 
 view to showing that if Manners-Sutton was elected, 
 and the majority of the House gave up its right 
 for the sake of a compliment, they might say fare- 
 well to the choosing of a Speaker for all time ; but, as 
 Peel was quick to remark, Lord John must have selected 
 his precedent when he thought that the charge of having 
 counselled a dissolution could be proved, for the only 
 part of his speech which extorted the faintest cheer 
 from the House was that in which it was insinuated that, 
 if he should be re-elected, the Speaker would do as he 
 had done before. 
 
 Although Manners-Sutton had completely vindicated 
 himself, the combination of Whigs, Radicals, and the 
 Irish members under Daniel O'Connell carried the elec- 
 tion of Abercromby, in the fullest House ever known, 
 by the narrow majority of ten votes. It cannot be said 
 that the Whigs triumphed out of their turn, for they had 
 not had a Speaker of their own political complexion since 
 Arthur Onslow's distinguished rule. Grenville, though 
 he came of a Whig stock, was a supporter of Pitt when 
 called to the Chair in 1789, and to all intents and 
 purposes a member of the Tory fold. 
 
 " The great battle is over," wrote Greville on 20 Feb- 
 ruary, " and the Government defeated by 316 to 306. 
 Such a division never was known before in the House of
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 317 
 
 Commons, and the accuracy of the calculations is really 
 surprising. Mulgrave told me three days ago that they had 
 317 people, which with the Teller makes the exact number. 
 " Holmes went over the other list and made it 307, 
 also correct. In the House so justly had they reckoned, 
 that when the numbers first counted (306) were told to 
 Duncannon in the lobby, he said : ' Then we shall win 
 by 10.' Burdett and Cobbett went away, which with 
 Tellers makes a total of 626 members in the House. All 
 the Irish members voted but four, all the Scotch but 
 three, and all the English but 25. The Irish and Scotch, 
 in fact, made the majority." 
 
 So disappeared Manners-Sutton from the Commons. 
 He spoke but seldom in the House of Lords, though he 
 lived for ten years after his ungenerous dismissal from 
 the Chamber he had ruled so wisely and so well. 
 
 The only Speaker who ever came from north of the 
 Tweed was James Abercromby, third son of General Sir 
 Ralph Abercromby. Nicknamed by Brougham " Young 
 Cole," in contradistinction to Tierney, " Old Cole," he had 
 sat in the House for over a quarter of a century without 
 attracting much attention or making many enemies. 
 Creevey, indeed, calls him, in 1809, " as artificial as the 
 devil," and a few years later " factious and violent," but 
 the censure seems to have been undeserved. His career 
 in the Chair was not marked by any incidents calling 
 for the display of those higher qualities by which the 
 office of Speaker acquires importance in emergencies. 
 If he did not succeed in entirely repressing the tendency 
 to disorder in the House which had grown up under the 
 somewhat lax rule of Manners-Sutton in his later years, 
 his impartiality was never called in question. His chief 
 claim to remembrance rests upon his unremitting efforts
 
 
 3i8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 to reform the conduct of the private business of the 
 House. 
 
 Before Abercromby's time the passage of a Private 
 Bill through the Commons was attended with much 
 jobbing and confusion, and he succeeded in placing some 
 salutary restrictions upon the expenses attending the 
 promotion of many useful measures of routine. On 
 the occasion of his re-election, on 7 November, 1837, he 
 was proposed by his successor in the Chair Mr. Charles 
 Shaw-Lefevre. Abercromby was treated with marked 
 rudeness by William IV, who took every opportunity 
 of showing his resentment at the treatment of Manners- 
 Sutton in 1835, and his general distrust of the Whigs. 
 
 " Tavistock told me a day or two ago that His Majesty's 
 ministers are intolerably disgusted at his behaviour to 
 them and his studied incivility to everybody connected 
 with them. The other day the Speaker was treated by 
 him with shocking rudeness at the drawing-room. 
 He not only took no notice of him, but studiously over- 
 looked him while he was standing opposite, and called 
 up Manners-Sutton and somebody else to mark the 
 difference by extreme graciousness to the latter. Sey- 
 mour, who was with him as Serjeant-at-Arms, said he 
 had never seen a Speaker so used in the five-and-twenty 
 years he had been there, and that it was most painful. 
 The Speaker asked him if he had ever seen a man in 
 his situation so received at Court. 
 
 " Since he has been Speaker the King has never taken 
 the slightest notice of him. It is monstrous, equally 
 undignified and foolish." * 
 
 Speaker Abercromby, on his retirement in 1839, 
 was created Lord Dunfermline, with a pension of 4000. 
 
 1 The Greville Memoirs, 15 July, 1835.
 
 Jok.i Jnrtto,,. A'../. 
 
 JAMP:S ABKRCROMBY 
 1835- 1837 
 
 Front a print
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 319 
 
 There is a portrait of him in the collection at West- 
 minster. He wrote a memoir of his father, Sir Ralph 
 Abercromby, published, after Lord Dunfermline's death, 
 in 1861. 
 
 The first Lord Monteagle, Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 in the Melbourne Administration, 1 had set his heart on 
 the Speaker's Chair, and when Abercromby informed 
 Lord Melbourne of his wish to resign, the then Prime 
 Minister virtually promised Spring-Rice the reversion 
 of the place, but finding that he would not be accept- 
 able to the Radicals, Mr. Shaw-Lefevre was preferred 
 in order to maintain the unity of the party. With the 
 appointment of the latter, in 1839, the evolution of 
 the non-partisan Speaker was all but complete. Born 
 in London in February, 1794, the eldest son of a 
 Hampshire squire, Shaw-Lefevre was predestined to 
 become one of the most conspicuous successes in the 
 Chair whom the House of Commons has ever known. 
 His father, a man of tall and imposing figure, though 
 of somewhat pompous manners, entered Parliament in 
 1796, and elicited from Canning the somewhat malicious 
 remark that " there are only two great men in the world, 
 Shah Abbas and Shaw-Lefevre." After being educated 
 at Winchester and at Trinity College, Cambridge, the 
 son was destined for the Bar by his father. 
 
 In 1819 he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn, but though 
 by no means idle, his heart was in the healthy pursuits 
 of a country gentleman rather than in the mysteries 
 of the law. So keen a sportsman and so accomplished 
 a shot did he become that his father once regretfully 
 observed, " As for Charles, he is only fit to be a game- 
 
 1 Thomas Spring-Rice.
 
 320 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 keeper." After his father's death the young squire acquired 
 a definite position in the county as a magistrate, a member 
 of quarter sessions, and an officer of yeomanry. But 
 he was perhaps even better known as the best shot in all 
 that sporting county. In 1830, through the influence 
 of a relative, Lord Radnor, he was put forward as the 
 Whig candidate for the pocket borough of Downton, a seat 
 which he soon exchanged 1 for his own county of Hants. 
 He attracted the favourable notice of Lord Althorp, 
 who asked him to move the Address at the opening of 
 the session of 1834. Like his father before him, Shaw- 
 Lefevre applied himself to the study of the rules and 
 practice of the House, and to those useful but modest 
 labours on Committees, which do so much to train the 
 mind of the young member. 
 
 By 1837 his position was so far established that he was 
 selected to propose Abercromby for re-election to the 
 Chair. Two years later Abercromby suddenly retired, and 
 Lord Eversley used, in after years, to relate how, stand- 
 ing behind the chair surrounded by a group of county 
 members, one of the number said to him, " Now, Lefevre, 
 we mean to have you as our Speaker." The friendly jest 
 was found to express the general sentiment of the country 
 gentlemen in the ministerial ranks. Ministers who had 
 hitherto favoured the claims of Spring-Rice were forced 
 to defer to the unmistakable desire of the bulk of their 
 supporters. Nature had marked out Shaw-Lefevre as 
 the fittest representative of an assembly of English 
 gentlemen. His manly bearing, his handsome features 
 and frank and open countenance commanded the ready 
 confidence of men of his own class. 
 
 1 te. in 1831.
 
 CIIAKI.KS SIIANV I.KI- KVKK 
 
 1839, iS 4 i, 1847, 1852
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 321 
 
 On 27 May he was formally proposed for the Chair, 
 though on this occasion his election was not allowed to 
 pass unchallenged. Goulburn, the rival candidate, had 
 had longer experience of the House, had held office 
 under the Crown, and he was, moreover, proposed by 
 the greatest living authority on Parliamentary lore, 1 who 
 had himself been spoken of as not unworthy to fill the post. 
 In form and feature Goulburn presented an infelicitous 
 contrast to his young rival, but, as usually happens in 
 these contests, the ultimate verdict depended upon the 
 relative strength of parties, and Shaw-Lefevre secured 
 a majority of eighteen votes. 
 
 From the first his conduct in the Chair won the approval 
 of all parties. He could call unruly members to order with 
 a smile which disarmed anger. He knew how to rule them 
 without giving offence to their amour propre. But 
 when he was compelled to exercise a sterner authority 
 his manner could be both resolute and unbending. In 
 his intercourse with men of all shades of opinion 
 he displayed the genial humour of his healthy nature. 
 When twenty members sprang to their feet at once, 
 someone asked him how he contrived to single out his 
 man. " Well," he replied, " I have not been shooting 
 rabbits all my life for nothing, and I have learnt 
 to mark the right one." His firm rule was greatly 
 needed in the stormy times of O'Connell's agitation for 
 the repeal of the Union and during the great debates on 
 the Corn Laws. Re-elected unanimously in 1841, 2 1847, 
 
 1 Mr. Williams Wynn. 
 
 2 " The Tories were beginning to quarrel about the Speakership, 
 some wanting to oust Lefevre, but the more sensible and moderate, 
 with Peel and the leaders, desiring to keep him. The latter carried
 
 322 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 and 1852, he did not finally vacate the Chair he adorned 
 until March, 1857. 
 
 The Commons met, experimentally, in the present 
 House on Thursday, 30 May, 1850 whilst it was still 
 in an unfinished state in order to test the acoustic 
 properties of the building. It might have been so utilised 
 even sooner, but as no provision had been made for 
 artificial warmth, and the season was an unusually cold 
 one, it was deemed prudent to wait for a fine day. 
 Mr. Speaker, accompanied by Sir Robert Peel, so soon 
 to be snatched away from public life and usefulness, 
 took the Chair at twelve o'clock, accompanied by 
 upwards of 200 members. Hume, Cobden, and Bright 
 were amongst those present, and below the Bar Hallam the 
 historian and the architect Barry were provided with seats. 
 The fittings of the House were still incomplete ; there 
 was no stained glass in the windows, no heraldic decora- 
 tion on the panels, and the benches were nothing but 
 common deal and green baize knocked together with 
 rough-and-ready haste. The primary idea of the archi- 
 tect had been not to produce a great hall, in which 656 
 gentlemen could lounge at their ease, but rather a com- 
 pact house of business, in which 200 or 300 working 
 members could enjoy reasonable facilities for transacting 
 the public affairs. 
 
 Mr. Wilson Patten was the first member to raise his 
 voice in the new chamber, and Mr. Sullivan, an Irishman, 
 
 their point without much difficulty. Peel wrote to four or five and 
 twenty of his principal supporters and asked their opinions. All, 
 except Lowther, concurred in not disturbing Lefevre, and he said 
 that he would not oppose the opinions of the majority. So Peel wrote 
 to Lefevre and gave him notice that he would not be displaced." 
 (Greville Memoirs, 10 August, 1841.)
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 323 
 
 the first to present a petition. This was from the mayor 
 and corporation of Kilkenny, " praying to be relieved 
 from the odious tax of ministers' money." Mr. Glad- 
 stone also spoke, and amongst those present on this 
 historic occasion in the annals of Parliament may have 
 been the veteran Earl of Wemyss, now in his ninety- 
 second year, for he was then, as Lord Elcho, a member of 
 the Lower House. Sir Robert Peel took a seat in the 
 galleries, as well as on both sides of the floor, being 
 anxious to ascertain the tone of voice which members 
 who desired to be audible without being noisy should in 
 future adopt. The experiment was not altogether satis- 
 factory, as every one who could, members and strangers 
 alike, entered into loud and earnest conversation with 
 his neighbour. Many groups talked all at once ; in vain, 
 therefore, did the orators of the assembly, who affected 
 to debate the questions under consideration, strain their 
 lungs to raise a shout which might be heard above, not 
 the murmurs, but the roar of general conversation. One 
 member, addressing the Speaker from the gallery, said 
 that he did not know whether the Speaker could hear 
 him, but this he knew that he could not himself hear 
 what was passing on the floor of the House. At three 
 o'clock the Speaker proceeded to the old House of Lords, 
 which had been used by the Commons as a temporary 
 home since the fire, and finished the business of the day 
 there. This was assuredly the only time in its history 
 when the House has occupied two separate chambers on 
 one and the same day. 
 
 " Shaw-Lefevre was the best Speaker I ever knew," 
 said Lord John Russell ; " when there was not a pre- 
 cedent, he made one," adding, so as to prevent any
 
 324 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 further discussion, " according to the well-known prac- 
 tice of the House," a formula which pleased everyone 
 and permitted of no further discussion. This remarkable 
 man maintained his vigour at an age when most men 
 have retired from all outdoor pursuits. He bought a new 
 pair of guns after he had passed his ninetieth birthday. 
 He refused a pension of 2000 a year for two lives on 
 the ground that he could not bear the thought of being 
 a burden to posterity ; but he consented to accept 4000 
 for his own life, and enjoyed it for over thirty years. 
 Lord Eversley's portrait, by Sir Martin Shee, is at the 
 Speaker's House. Up to 1839 every Speaker on taking 
 omce had been provided with an ample service of plate, 
 but, on the motion of Hume, the most persistent 
 economist the House has ever known, it was henceforth 
 attached to the office and no longer made personal to 
 the holder. 
 
 It is within the knowledge of the writer that Lord 
 Palmerston consulted Delane and asked him informally 
 to adjudicate upon the credentials of the various candi- 
 dates for the Chair, and they were not few, when, in 1857, 
 Mr. Shaw-Lefevre retired. The qualifications which 
 the editor of The Times held to be essential were : 
 (i) imperturbable good ' temper, tact, patience, and 
 urbanity ; (2) a previous legal training, if possible ; 
 
 (3) absence of bitter partisanship in his previous career ; 
 
 (4) the possession of innate gentlemanly feelings which 
 involuntarily command respect and deference ; (5) per- 
 sonal dignity in voice and manner. To these indis- 
 pensable requirements Delane might have added the 
 importance of a sense of humour in the holder of the 
 office, for many a delicate situation has been saved,
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 325 
 
 especially in recent times, by the Speaker's possessing 
 this precious gift of nature. 
 
 It would be invidious to mention the names of other 
 candidates on whose merits Delane was asked to pro- 
 nounce. But he made no secret of his opinion that the 
 fittest man to succeed Mr. Shaw-Lefevre was Mr. Evelyn 
 Denison, who had sat in the House for more than thirty 
 years, and whose experience of its procedure dated 
 from before the passing of the great Reform Bill. 
 In after years Speaker Denison occasionally wrote 
 in The Times for Delane, and one of his contribu- 
 tions to the paper was an article comparing the 
 French legislative assembly with the English House 
 of Commons. 
 
 On 7 April Lord Palmerston wrote as follows : 
 
 " My dear Denison, 
 
 " We wish to be allowed to propose you for the 
 Speakership of the House of Commons. Will you agree ? " 
 
 On the 3oth of the same month he was unanimously 
 chosen. The retiring Speaker, when asked if there was any 
 one whom he could call to his assistance in a difficulty, said, 
 " No one ; you must learn to rely entirely upon yourself." 
 " I spent the first few years of my Speakership like 
 the captain of a steamer on the Thames," Denison wrote 
 in his interesting Journal, 1 "standing on the paddle-box, 
 ever on the look out for shocks and collisions. The House 
 is always kind and indulgent, but it expects its Speakers 
 to be right. If he should be found often tripping, his 
 
 1 First privately printed in 190x3. and since re-Lssucd for general 
 circulation.
 
 326 
 
 authority would soon be at an end." Disraeli, in con- 
 gratulating Denison on his re-election in 1859, spoke of 
 him as combining in his person the purity of an English 
 judge and the spirit of an English gentleman. 
 
 He had a great admiration for Palmerston, and when 
 he attended in state the opening of the International 
 Exhibition of 1862 he bore witness to the great popu- 
 larity which the veteran minister enjoyed with the 
 people. On arriving at South Kensington, taking Lord 
 Charles Russell, the Serjeant-at-Arms, and the mace and 
 his train-bearer with him in his coach, the Speaker had 
 to walk first in the procession ; but seeing the Prime 
 Minister, he asked him to accompany him, when Palmer- 
 ston replied, " No, the Speaker of the House should 
 walk alone ; I will follow." And on Denison saying, 
 " I should think it a great honour if we might pro- 
 ceed together," they entered the building side by 
 side. 
 
 The moment Lord Palmerston came in sight shouts of 
 welcome were raised : " Palmerston for ever ! " and so 
 on throughout the whole building. One voice cried, " I 
 wish you may be Minister for the next twenty years," at 
 which Lord Taunton, who was standing by, drily re- 
 marked, " Well, he would only then be a little more than 
 a hundred ! " Some men, it has been frequently proved, 
 reach the maturity of their intellect at twenty-one, and 
 some, like Lord Palmerston, the typical statesman of the 
 Victorian era, at seventy-one. 
 
 Denison was in the Chair at the time of Lord Derby's 
 and Disraeli's famous " leap in the dark " the Reform 
 Bill of 1867, the era from which pessimists date the de- 
 clension of the usefulness of the Lower House, during the
 
 
 ^ 
 
 JOHN KVKI.VN DKNISON 
 
 1857, 1859, l866. 1868 
 
 /'nnn <i /hut
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 327 
 
 period of the fiercest strife between Gladstone and his 
 great rival. He was Speaker when the former became 
 the first Minister of the Crown, though he did not live 
 to see Disraeli head a triumphant majority at the polls. 
 Age and ill-health compelled him to resign in 1872, 
 too late, indeed, for his own welfare, for the long-deferred 
 rest did not restore his overtaxed strength, and he died 
 early in the following year. He possessed in an eminent 
 degree the qualities of tact, discrimination, and justice 
 so essential to the successful performance of his duties, 
 and when his epitaph came to be written in the columns 
 of The Times, Delane did no more than justice to a 
 friend of many years' standing in causing it to be said 
 of him : 
 
 " As the House of Commons is the home where the 
 English nature exhibits itself with the most absolute 
 reality, Speaker Denison was the clear, unsullied mirror 
 of that simple nobleness which we think Englishmen 
 may claim as the ideal of our national character. Hence 
 it was that he so exactly appreciated the feeling and 
 disposition of the assembly over which he was called 
 upon to preside, the sources to which he could look for 
 aid, and the exact limits and sphere of his authority. 
 He knew also that English gentlemen possessed, as he 
 did, an unusual aptitude to conform to the spirit of 
 traditionary law. He knew that hence he could rely for 
 support on all who sat around him." l 
 
 1 It was Delane's practice periodically to revise the obituary notices 
 of public men which he kept ready standing in type, " necrologies 
 awaiting their victims," as he called them. He took them home with 
 him and made additions and alterations within his personal knowledge, 
 during the brief intervals of leisure which he permitted himself at 
 Ascot Heath. In this way the admirably lucid biography of Disraeli, 
 though not required until 1881, eighteen months after his own death, 
 was mainly his own work.
 
 328 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 In view of recent occurrences affecting the relations 
 of the two Houses, it may not be inappropriate to remark 
 that when the House of Lords rejected the Bill for the 
 repeal of the paper duty in May, 1860, Speaker Denison 
 denounced in energetic language a practice by which 
 he considered that the Upper House indirectly infringed 
 on the special function of the Commons the grant of 
 public money as one calculated to break down the 
 broad line of distinction between the duties and powers 
 of the two Chambers. 
 
 It often becomes the duty of the Speaker to decide, on 
 the spur of the moment, what is and what is not a Par- 
 liamentary expression. Mr. Denison was appealed to in 
 1864 by Mr. Layard, then Under Secretary for Foreign 
 Affairs, the House being in a very excited state at the 
 time, to know whether it was competent for another 
 member 1 to say that he had made " calumnious charges " 
 against the Opposition. The Speaker said that he 
 saw no ground for his intervention, whereon Mr. Glad- 
 stone looked reproachfully at the Chair and urged 
 Lord Palmerston to get up. The Prime Minister then 
 rose and said that, in his opinion, the imputation 
 of motives was hardly in order, and that the ex- 
 pression used implied motives. A long discussion 
 ensued, in which Mr. Disraeli, amongst others, took part, 
 but before the incident closed the Speaker was reminded 
 by Mr. Otway that Mr. Layard, of all people, should re- 
 member something about the use of the word " calum- 
 nious " in the House, for he had been accused of making 
 false and calumnious charges in the year 1845, and by 
 
 1 Mr. Gathorne Hardy, afterwards Earl of Cranbrook.
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 329 
 
 no other than the noble lord who had just spoken. And 
 on Hansard being referred to, it appeared that though 
 Lord Palmerston, at Mr. Gladstone's request, was pro- 
 testing in 1864 against the use of the phrase, he had 
 applied the very same words to charges made by the 
 same Mr. Layard nearly twenty years before. Lord 
 Eversley, on his attention being called to the expression, 
 gave it as his opinion that " calumnious " was not a 
 word to which exception could be taken. Since that 
 date at least one Speaker has had constantly by his side 
 for ready reference a list of admissible Parliamentary ex- 
 pletives. From time to time new adjectives and nouns 
 have to be adjudicated upon ; but it is within the dis- 
 cretion of the Chair to determine how far they must be 
 taken with the context and the circumstances of the 
 moment, since it is quite possible for a word to be used 
 in a manner calculated to give offence which, on another 
 occasion, would pass without objection from any quarter 
 of the House. 
 
 It has sometimes been said that nearly every Parlia- 
 mentary contingency which can possibly arise has had 
 its antecedent parallel, and is accordingly governed by a 
 precedent, so that a Speaker cannot go far astray in a 
 decision if he be thoroughly acquainted with the forms and 
 procedure of the House and the rulings of his predecessors. 
 But this is no longer strictly accurate. Formerly it 
 was customary to give the Speaker notice of questions 
 on points of order, but of late years the occasions have 
 been numerous when the most weighty decisions have been 
 required to be taken by the Chair on its being suddenly 
 confronted with an absolutely unprecedented situation. 
 In the case of the last three occupants of the Chair
 
 330 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 these decisions have required, in addition to exceptional 
 tact, firmness, and courage, the prompt exercise of that 
 peculiar authority which the confidence and respect 
 of the House at large can alone confer. It is no 
 exaggeration to say that the difficulties which Speakers 
 Shaw-Lefevre and Denison, both of them admittedly 
 strong and able men, had to contend with have in- 
 creased tenfold since their day of power, owing to 
 a multiplicity of causes which have fundamentally 
 changed the temper and spirit of the House of Commons. 
 Within the last twenty years the control and initiative 
 in legislation have gradually been passing from the House 
 to the executive Government in other words, to the 
 Cabinet, or a committee of that body which usually 
 dominates the Cabinet considered as a whole. 
 
 Changes in the composition of the House, rendered 
 inevitable by the " leap in the dark " of 1867, accen- 
 tuated by Mr. Gladstone's Franchise Act of 1884 ; the 
 claims of labour to separate representation and organi- 
 sation successfully asserted in recent years ; the cate- 
 gorical demand by a majority of the representatives of 
 Ireland for separation from the parent assembly, a de- 
 mand annually restated, in spite of the abortive offers of 
 settlement in 1886 and 1893 ; the formation of small 
 subsidiary parties acting independently of the official 
 whips ; the heavy strain of practically continuous ses- 
 sions ; the altered rules of procedure all tending to en- 
 hance the power of the Government of the day at the 
 expense of the independent member ; and, lastly, the 
 application of the closure at the discretion of the Chair 
 all these have increased the ever-growing responsibilities 
 of the Speaker.
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 331 
 
 When Speaker Denison presided over the House the 
 practice of addressing questions to ministers was in its 
 infancy, whereas at the present day the printed inter- 
 rogatories to the Government on every conceivable topic 
 of public and private interest run into thousands in the 
 course of a single session, to say nothing of those, often 
 the most difficult to deal with, which are sprung upon 
 the attention of the Chair without notice. Mr. Denison 
 was the last Speaker to exercise his right of speak- 
 ing and voting in Committee. He had no liking for 
 the financial methods of Mr. Lowe, and on 9 June, 
 1870, on a Budget proposal of the then Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer, he formed one of a majority of four 
 which inflicted a defeat on the Government. By a 
 singular coincidence Mr. Speaker Abbot, who was 
 strongly opposed to the removal of Catholic disabilities, 
 carried an amendment in Committee in 1813 by the same 
 narrow majority. The amendment was to omit the vital 
 words " to sit and vote hi either House of Parliament " 
 from Grattan's Bill qualifying Roman Catholics for 
 election as members of Parliament. 
 
 The Speakers of the House of Commons have not, on 
 the whole, been conspicuous for literary ability. The 
 notorious Dudley, as has been mentioned on an earlier 
 page, wrote the Tree of Commonwealth during his im- 
 prisonment in the Tower. With this exception, a few 
 volumes of law reports, of which the most notable example 
 is that of Sir Edward Coke, and the writings of the great 
 Sir Thomas More, whose Utopia will never die, are the only 
 contributions to periodical literature emanating from the 
 pen of a Speaker. Bulstrode Whitelocke was a pains- 
 taking and accurate historian, and Harley was a successful
 
 332 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 pamphleteer before he became a minister of the Crown. 
 Sir Thomas Hanmer was a conscientious Shakespearean 
 critic, and his predecessor, Speaker Bromley, wrote an 
 amusing volume of travels. But both in fiction and 
 poetry the Chair is otherwise unrepresented. 
 
 Speaker Denison, however, deserves to be remembered 
 for his painstaking share in the field of Biblical criticism, 
 known to posterity as the Speaker's Commentary. So 
 impressed was he with the necessity that existed for an 
 explanation of the Bible in accordance with the spirit 
 of the age in which he lived, and the scientific knowledge 
 accumulated during the nineteenth century, that he in- 
 duced Archbishop Thomson of York and over forty 
 other scholars and Biblical students to engage in the 
 production of what is still recognised as a valuable book 
 of reference. The Archbishop wrote the historical in- 
 troduction to the whole work, which Denison, unfortu- 
 nately, did not live to see completed. 
 
 On his retirement from the Chair in 1872, though he 
 accepted a Peerage 1 Mr. Denison refused to accept the 
 customary pension of 4000. " Though without any pre- 
 tensions to wealth," he wrote to Mr. Gladstone, " I have 
 a private fortune which will suffice, and for the few years 
 of life which remain to me I should be happier in feeling 
 that I am not a burden to my fellow-countrymen." 
 There is a portrait of Lord Ossington, by Sir Francis 
 Grant, in the Speaker's House. The official residence at 
 Westminster was first occupied by him, and his coat of 
 arms is sculptured over the entrance doorway in Speaker's 
 Court. 
 
 1 An honour conferred on every Speaker since Lord Colchester. The 
 title which he selected was that of Viscount Ossington.
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 333 
 
 Having now reached a period in the history of the 
 Speaker's office within the memory of many still living, it 
 will be unnecessary to recapitulate facts which are within 
 the knowledge of all who have studied the history of 
 Parliament and parties during the last half -century. 
 In treating of Mr. Speaker Denison's successors it 
 would be unbecoming in one who, like the present writer, 
 entered the service of the House of Commons when Mr. 
 Speaker Brand still sat in the Chair, to consider in detail 
 the political aspect of questions which await the im- 
 partial verdict of a later age questions, moreover, which 
 are apt to assume such a totally different complexion 
 when viewed from the Government or from the Oppo- 
 sition benches. 
 
 When the inflammable and ephemeral matter which 
 feeds the fires of debate has utterly burnt out, and when 
 the sound and fury with which every step of political 
 progress is wont to be discussed has been extinguished 
 by the merciful hand of time, those who dwell on the 
 fertile soil formed by. those volcanic upheavals will be 
 in a better position to appraise the ability and boldness, 
 the success or failure, of rival English statesmen, and to 
 recognise at their true value causes which agitated the 
 length and breadth of the Kingdom whilst they were in 
 the making. 
 
 Mr. Brand was three times unanimously called to the 
 Chair, and will be long remembered for his coup d'etat 
 of February, 1881, when, after a sitting of nearly thirty 
 hours, he declared the state of business to be so urgent as 
 to justify him in summarily closing the debate. The story 
 is told at length by Lord Morley in his Life of Gladstone. 
 During this and the following session urgency resolu-
 
 334 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 tions were agreed to by the House, by which its powers 
 could, in respect of a particular Bill, be vested in the 
 Speaker, who accordingly laid rules upon the table pre- 
 scribing the manner in which the Bill should be dealt 
 with. At the same time obstruction was checked by 
 the power given to the Speaker to put the question, 
 " That the question be now put." If this question 
 was agreed to in a House of not less than 200 
 members, the question was put forthwith without 
 further debate. 
 
 Speaker Brand was reputed to have the best French 
 cook in London, Cost by name. The title was dis- 
 puted by Beguinot, successively chef to Lord Granville 
 and his brother, Mr. F. Leveson-Gower, and by Mr. 
 Russell Sturgis's cordon bleu. The first of them said 
 " nous sommes trois," and opinions still vary as to 
 their respective merits. Mr. Brand was a man of slight 
 stature, with the fresh pink of a winter apple in his 
 cheeks, of remarkable dignity, and sound judgment, and, 
 though Disraeli was sceptical at the time of his appoint- 
 ment as to the expediency of promoting a former whip, 
 his retirement, in 1884, was received with real regret by 
 the majority of the House. Mr. Brand was once asked 
 if in his long experience of Parliamentary life he had 
 ever known or heard of money passing for the vote of a 
 member. He said : " No, never. The nearest approach 
 to it I have ever known was the finding of a suit of 
 clothes for an M.P. who stated that without them he 
 would be unable to attend the House at a critical 
 division." 1 
 
 Of his successor, Mr. Arthur Wellesley Peel, the worthy 
 
 1 Recollections of Sir Algernon West.
 
 IIKNKV IHirVKK'K \\IIM\\I |!K\M> 
 
 1*72. 1X7}. INS..
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 335 
 
 inheritor of an illustrious Parliamentary name, it will be 
 unnecessary to say more at present than that he main- 
 tained to the full the high traditions of the Chair during 
 a period of unexampled difficulty. Such was his command 
 of the House that the mere rustle of his robes, as he rose 
 to rebuke a breach of order, was sufficient to awe the 
 most unruly member into prompt submission to his 
 ruling. l 
 
 Mr. Speaker Brand's tenure of office will always be re- 
 garded as a landmark in the history of Parliamentary 
 institutions, if only for the great change adopted by the 
 House in entrusting the Chair with the power of closure 
 by a bare majority, a necessary change which, more than 
 any other, has tended to aggrandise the power of the 
 Government of the day, though with a corresponding decline 
 in the usefulness and efficiency of the private member. 2 
 
 In 1887, under Mr. Speaker Peel, the Chair was relieved 
 of the initial responsibility for the closure. Power was 
 then conferred upon any member to move that the ques- 
 tion be now put, the Chair being directed to put such 
 question forthwith, unless the rights of the minority 
 seemed to him to be infringed or the rules of the House 
 abused. One hundred members must now vote in the 
 majority to make the motion effective. When the 
 motion for closure has been carried, and the question on 
 
 1 Mr. Gladstone had offered the post, in the first instance, to the 
 late Lord Goschen, who felt himself obliged to decline the honour on 
 account of defective eyesight. 
 
 1 The principle of closure of debate, first adopted in 1882, was 
 never actually put in practice until February, 1885, when Mr. Speaker 
 Peel was in the Chair. In March, 1888, the Chair was invested with 
 increased powers for maintaining order and checking irrelevancy in 
 debate, while a fixed hour for the adjournment of the House, subject 
 to certain exceptions, was also agreed to.
 
 336 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 which it has been moved has been decided, any question 
 already proposed from the Chair may be put forthwith 
 without a further closure motion. 
 
 Another innovation designed to facilitate the despatch 
 of business has been the passing of Orders regulating 
 the procedure on certain stages of Bills. These have 
 differed from one another in their scope and severity, 
 but their general object has been to fix the time at which 
 certain stages or parts of a stage should be brought to 
 a conclusion, and to provide a special form of procedure 
 for the summary disposal of that part of the stage which 
 has not been concluded at the prescribed time. As a 
 rule, the " guillotine," as it has come to be called, has 
 taken the form of directing the Chair to put at a pre- 
 scribed hour the question then under discussion, and to 
 put any questions necessary to dispose of the allotted 
 portion or stage of the Bill without debate, and when 
 amendments are admissible, to put the question only on 
 amendments moved by the Government. Since 1887 
 this procedure has been adopted occasionally in order 
 to dispose of the necessary supply before the close of 
 the financial year. 
 
 Mr. Speaker Peel l during his whole term of office kept 
 a diary, which it is to be hoped will one day be given 
 to the world, far exceeding, as it does, in interest similar 
 journals kept by Speaker Denison and Speaker Abbot. 
 From his entry into Parliament, in 1865, Mr. Peel 
 familiarised himself with the features and idiosyncrasies 
 of the members over whom he was one day to be called 
 upon to preside. On one occasion, he told the present 
 writer, he was asked by Mr. Gladstone if he could 
 
 1 Now Viscount Peel of Sandy, Beds.
 
 II K \\ I-.M l.-l l.\ I '1. 1. 1 
 
 S4. |SS() (j). iS<)2
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 337 
 
 tell him the name of a gentleman who had walked 
 into the House and seated himself on the front Opposi- 
 tion bench. For once he was at fault, and, as neither 
 the Speaker, 1 on being applied to, nor the doorkeepers 
 could solve the mystery, a messenger was sent to 
 the intruder to ask his name. It transpired that 
 he had mistaken the House of Commons for the 
 House of Lords (to which assembly he was an in- 
 frequent visitor), and had imagined that he was 
 sitting amongst his peers. Mr. Gladstone, whose 
 eagle eye had at once spotted an unfamiliar face, re- 
 marked to Mr. Peel that he should have thought the 
 colour of the benches might have suggested to him 
 that he had taken the wrong turning from the Central 
 Hall. An elaboration of this anecdote, for which, how- 
 ever, we do not vouch, was to the effect that, after 
 listening for some time to the debate, the intruder 
 asked his neighbour, in perfect good faith, whether the 
 noble lord who was addressing the House was Lord 
 Salisbury ! 
 
 Mr. Peel was in the seat of power all through the 
 period of the dynamite outrages which disgraced London 
 and baffled the police in 1884. Once word was brought 
 to him that a desperado, disguised as a woman, had 
 obtained admission to the ladies' gallery immediately 
 above his head, no doubt with the intention of hurling 
 a bomb into the crowded chamber. But fortunately the 
 necessary courage was lacking, and no outrage took 
 place, though it was not without a feeling of relief that 
 the Speaker put the question " That this House do now 
 
 1 Then Mr. Dcnison.
 
 338 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 adjourn " at the conclusion of an anxious sitting. 
 A propos of the reign of terror, the present writer has 
 excellent reasons for remembering the dastardly outrage 
 in Westminster Hall on 24 January, 1885, when a bomb 
 was placed on the staircase leading to the crypt by a 
 miscreant who deliberately chose a Saturday for his 
 fiendish purpose, when the Houses of Parliament are 
 usually thronged with visitors. The writer walked 
 through the Hall a few minutes before the per- 
 petration of the outrage, returning later on to find 
 every pane of glass blown out of the great stained 
 window by the terrific force of the explosion, and the 
 Hall itself smoking from end to end with the dust of ages 
 which had been shaken from its rafters. 
 
 Of Mr. Speaker Gully it would be unbecoming to speak 
 at any length, owing to his recent untimely decease. 
 Recommended to the attention of the Government in 
 the first instance by the late Lord Herschell, his election 
 to the Chair on April 10, 1895, was the closest contest 
 of the kind ever known, with the exceptions of Harley 
 in December, 1710, and Abercromby in 1835. Whereas 
 Abercromby was successful by ten votes, Mr. Gully 
 received only eleven more than Sir Matthew White- 
 Ridley in 1895. By his winning manner and unfailing 
 courtesy he gained the respect and affection of every 
 quarter of the House during the ten years in which he 
 filled the Chair. In August, 1895, and December, 1900, 
 his re-election was unanimous, nor was he again put to the 
 trouble of a contest at the latter appeal to the country. 
 
 There can be no indiscretion in mentioning in these 
 pages that, on the occasion of Mr. Gully's promotion,
 
 HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 339 
 
 the late Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman would have 
 liked to succeed Mr. Peel ; but it may not be generally 
 known that, though he was fortified by the opinion of 
 Mr. Gladstone to the effect that ample precedent existed 
 for his projected transference from the ministerial bench, 
 the then ruling powers in the Cabinet thought otherwise, 
 with the result that he stood aside, to attain, in after 
 years, an even more strenuous position in the State. 
 With the advent of Mr. James William Lowther to 
 the Chair of the House of Commons in June, 1905, 
 exactly six hundred years after a member of his family 
 sat as Knight of the Shire for Westmorland, 1 this record 
 perforce ceases, to be taken up hereafter, it may be, by 
 some more skilful hand. 
 
 Politicians and parties may come and go, changes 
 may, and must, occur in the aims and aspirations of the 
 democracy of England, which will affect the relations of 
 the House of Commons towards the parent assembly ; but 
 the Speaker's office, unfettered by the exigencies of party, 
 and administered in the lofty and impartial spirit which 
 has characterised the later years of its existence, will 
 endure as long as the Constitution itself. 
 
 Tradition binds the Commons together with amazing 
 strength, and so long as the peculiar and essential func- 
 tions of the Chair, in ruling by general consent rather 
 than by compulsion, in upholding freedom of speech 
 without ever allowing it to degenerate into licence, are 
 adhered to by the successors of the great Englishmen 
 whose names have been recorded in these inade- 
 quate pages, it is safe to predict that the proud heritage 
 of seven centuries of liberty and progress will be handed 
 
 1 XXXIII Edward I, 1305.
 
 340 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 on unimpaired to many future generations of a free and 
 self-governing nation. 
 
 In bidding farewell to Westminster and to the " well- 
 ordered inheritance " of the Speaker's Chair, it only 
 remains to add those two words so familiar and so dear 
 to all of Eton's sons 
 
 ESTO PERPETUA
 
 JAMF> \VI! I 1AM I OU I Ill-.k 
 HiO.v KKX>. HMO. KM I
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES 
 TO THE PRESENT DAY !
 
 342 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker or other 
 Presiding Officer 
 
 Authority 
 
 XLII Henry III, n Peter de Register Book 
 
 June, 1258, at Ox- Montfort of St. Alban, 
 
 ford. The 
 Parliament " 
 
 " Mad 
 
 Cottonian Li- 
 brary, British 
 Museum, 
 now illegible 
 through dam- 
 age by fire. 
 Hake w i 1 , 
 1641, p. 106 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 XX Edward II, and WilliamTrussell Styled Procura- 
 27th Parliament tor of Parlia- 
 
 summoned to meet mentinHenry 
 
 at Westminster of Knighton's 
 
 7 January, 1326-7 chronicle con- 
 
 tained in 
 T wy sde n's 
 Decem Scrip- 
 tores 
 
 VI Edward III, and Henry Browne - Willis, 
 
 loth Parliament Beaumont and Rot.Parl., 
 
 summoned to meet Vol. II, p. 64 
 
 at Westminster, 16 
 March, 1331-2, " Le 
 lundi prechein apres 
 la Feste de Seint 
 Gregoir." 
 
 VI Edward III, and Sir Geoffrey Rot. Par/., Vol. 
 
 nth Parliament Le Scrope II, p. 66 
 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 9 
 September, 1332, 
 " Le Lendemayn de 
 la Nativite N re 
 Dame "
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 343 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 Said to have consented 
 " vice totius com- 
 munitatis " to the 
 banishment of Ay- 
 mer de Valence, 
 1259-60. (?) Died 
 1287. Owned the 
 manor house of II- 
 mington, Warwick- 
 shire, where traces of 
 thirteenth-century 
 work remain. 
 
 One of this name was 
 Knight of the Shire 
 for Leicester in 
 1314. Buried in 
 Westminster Abbey, 
 circa 1346 
 
 " Lesqueux Comtes 
 Barouns & autres 
 Grantz puis revin- 
 drent & repondir- 
 ent touz au Roi par 
 la bouche [de] Mons r 
 Henri de Beau- 
 mont " 
 
 Probably the same man 
 who was Chief Jus- 
 tice of the King's 
 Bench from 1324 to 
 
 1338, and Secretary 
 to Edward III in 
 
 1339. He was a 
 Trier of Petitions as 
 early as 1320. These 
 important officials 
 arc- first heard of in 
 1304. Hot. Part.. 
 Vol. I. p. 159. Le 
 Scropc died in 1 340
 
 344 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 XIV Edward III, and 
 26th Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 29 
 March, 1340. " Au- 
 jour de meskerdy 
 prochein apres la 
 fest de la Translation 
 de Seint Thomas le 
 Martir " 
 
 XV Edward III, 1341 
 
 Speaker or other 
 Presiding Officer 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 
 Appointment 
 
 WilliamTrusscll Rot. Parl., Vol. 
 again II, p. 118 
 
 XVII Edward III, and WilliamTrussell Rot. Parl., Vol. 
 3Oth Parliament again II, p. 136 
 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 28 
 April, 1343. "A la 
 quinzeme de Pask " 
 
 XXI Edward III, 1347 William de Elsynge, Rot. 
 
 Thorpe Parl., Vol. II, 
 164 
 
 XXII Edward III, William de Elsynge and Rot. 
 
 1348 Thorpe again Parl., Vol. II, 
 
 p. 200
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Close of Office Constituency 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Chief Justice 
 
 Baron of the 
 Exchequer. 
 1352 
 
 Remarks 
 
 Announced a naval 
 victory to the Com- 
 mons and undertook 
 to raise wools for the 
 King's aid. "Apres 
 grand trete & par- 
 lance cue entre les 
 Grantz & les dits 
 Chivalers & autre 
 les Communes " 
 
 " Les ditz Grantz & 
 autres de la Com- 
 mune qu ils se trais- 
 sent ensemble, & 
 s'avisent entre eux 
 c'est assaver les 
 grantz de p. eux & 
 les Chivalers des 
 Counteez & Burgeys 
 de p. eux " 
 
 " Et puis vindrent les 
 Chivalers de Coun- 
 teez et les Com- 
 munes & responder- 
 ent p r Mons r William 
 Trussell [to a com- 
 munication from the 
 Pope]. The Com- 
 mons met in the 
 Chambre Depeint or 
 Painted Chamber 
 and the Lords in the 
 Chambre Blanche 
 
 Elsynge considered that 
 the Chief Justice 
 habitually acted as 
 Speaker tcmf>.^ Ed- 
 ward III. though 
 the cause of sum- 
 mons was occa- 
 sionally delivered by 
 the Chancellor. 
 Thorpe was a Trier 
 of English and Irish 
 Petitions in 1346
 
 346 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 ; Speaker or other 
 '_ Presiding Officer 
 
 XXV Edward III, and 
 36th Parliament 
 summoned to meet at 
 Westminster, 9 Feb 
 ruary, 1350-51 
 
 William de 
 
 Sharcshull 
 
 Authority 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 
 II, p. 226 
 
 Date of 
 
 Appointment 
 
 XXV Edward III, and 
 37th Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 1 3 
 January, 1351-52 
 
 William de 
 
 Shareshull 
 again 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 
 H. P-. 237 
 
 In 1354 William de Shareshull again declared the cause of summons, and 
 in 1355 he stated that the King was pleased to command the cause to be 
 delivered by Monsieur Walter de Manny, " overtement a totes gentz." 
 
 In 1362 the cause of summons was delivered by Monsieur Henry Green 
 in English. 
 
 In 1363 Sir Henry Green, Chief Justice, told the Parliament in English (in 
 the Painted Chamber) that the King was ready to begin his Parliament, 
 but the cause of summons was subsequently delivered by the Bishop of Ely. 
 
 In 1372 the Chancellor, John Knyvet (in the Painted Chamber), and the 
 next day Sir Guy Brian (in the Chambre Blanche), " more particularly," 
 declared the cause of summons. 
 
 L Edward III, 55th The Chancellor, 
 
 Parliament sum- John Knyvet, 
 
 moned to meet at againdeclared 
 
 Westminster, 28 the cause of 
 
 April, 1376 summons
 
 Close of Office 
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Constituency 
 
 347 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Chief Justice 
 1350 
 
 Chief Justice 
 1361 
 
 Remarks 
 
 Pronounced the cause 
 of summons to Par- 
 liament and consid- 
 ered by Elsynge to 
 have acted as 
 Speaker. He was a 
 Trier of Petitions 
 from Flanders in 
 1340 
 
 The Commons now 
 meet in the Chapter 
 House of the Abbey. 
 The Lords in the 
 Chambre Blanche. 
 " Et q le remenant 
 des Communes se 
 trahissent elChapitre 
 de Westminster." (A 
 committee of the 
 Commons) 
 
 Rot.ParL.Vol II, p. 237 
 
 So early as 1347 Walter 
 de Manny had been 
 a Trier of Petitions 
 
 In 1354 Green acted as 
 a Trier of Petitions 
 for England 
 
 Chancellor of 
 
 England 
 1372-77 
 
 Died 1381. As early as 
 1 362 Kny vet had 
 been a Trier of Peti- 
 tions for foreign 
 parts, whilst Brian 
 acted in a similar 
 capacity for England 
 in I3S4 
 
 In this Parliament the 
 Commons were under 
 the leadership of Sir 
 Peter de la Mare, 
 though there is no 
 mention in the Rolls 
 of his having been 
 formally elected to 
 the chair.
 
 348 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 LI Edward III, and Sir Thomas Rot. Parl., Vol. January, 1376-7 
 
 S6th Parliament Hungerford II, p. 374 
 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 27 
 January, 1376-77 ; 
 sat till 2 March 
 
 I Richard II, and ist Sir Peter de la Rot. Parl., Vol. October, 1377 
 Parliament sum- Mare III, p. 5 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 13 Oc- 
 tober, 1377 
 
 II Richard II, and 2nd Sir James 
 Parliament sum- Pickering 
 moned to meet at 
 Gloucester, 20 Oc- 
 tober, 1378 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 22 October, 1378 
 HI, p. 34 
 
 III Richard II, and Sir John Rot. Parl., Vol. January, 1379- 
 
 4th Parliament sum- Guildesborough III, p. 73 80 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 16 
 January, 1379-80 
 
 IV Richard II, and Sir John Rot. Parl., Vol. November, 1380 
 
 5th Parliament sum- Guildesborough III, p. 89 
 moned to meet at again 
 Northampton, 5 No- 
 vember, 1380 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 18 November, 
 III, p. 100 1381 
 
 V Richard II, and Sir Richard 
 6th Parliament sum- Waldegrave 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 1 6 Sep- 
 tember, 1381, and 
 
 his prorogation, 
 3 November, 1381 
 
 VI Richard II, and Sir James Pick- Rot. Parl., Vol. 23 February, 
 9th Parliament sum- ering again III, p. 145 1382-83 
 moned to meet at 
 
 Westminster, 23 Feb- 
 ruary, 1382-83
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 349 
 
 Close of Office Constituency 
 2 March, 1 376-7 Wilts 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 28 Nov., 1377 Hereford 
 
 Remarks 
 
 Died 1398 and was 
 buried at Farleigh 
 Hungerford, in the 
 county of Somerset. 
 Described in the 
 Rolls as the " Chi- 
 valer qi avoit les 
 paroles pur les Com- 
 munes d'Engleterre 
 en cest Parlement " 
 
 16 Nov., 1378 Westmorland 
 
 See also 1382-83 
 
 3 Mar., 1379-80 Essex 
 
 Sometimes erroneously 
 called Goldes- 
 borough, but he docs 
 not appear to have 
 been related to the 
 Yorkshire family of 
 that name 
 
 6 Dec., 1380 Essex 
 
 25 Feb., 1381-2 Suffolk 
 
 Died 1402. Waldcgrave 
 may also have been 
 Speaker in the two 
 next Parliaments, 
 but the Rolls arc de- 
 fective at this period 
 
 10 Mar., 1382-3 Yorkshire 
 
 He sat in Parliament 
 altogether (or thirty- 
 five years
 
 350 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 
 Appointment 
 
 From 1383 to 1393 the Rolls of Parliament are defective, and it is not 
 definitely known who was Speaker in Richard IPs loth, nth, i2th, I3th, 
 I4th, I5th, i6th, i7th, i8th, igth, 2Oth, or 2ist Parliament; but as Sir 
 James Pickering sat for Yorkshire in 1384, 1388, 1389-90, and 1390, he 
 probably acted as Speaker in one or more of them. 
 
 XVII Richard II, and Sir John Bussy Rot. Par/., Vol. 28 Jan., 1393-94 
 
 22nd Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 27 
 January, 1393-94 
 
 III, p. 310 
 
 XVIII Richard II, and 
 23rd Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 27 
 January, 1394-95. 
 Sat till 15 February. 
 
 Probably Bussy 
 again Speak- 
 er, though not 
 mentioned in 
 the Rolls 
 
 XX Richard II, and 
 24th Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 22 
 January, 1396-97 
 
 XXI Richard II, and 
 25th Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 1 7 
 September, 1 397, 
 and adjourned to 
 Shrewsbury, 27 Jan- 
 uary, 1397-98, and 
 sat till 31 January, 
 when it resigned its 
 authority to a Com- 
 mittee of i 8, 12 
 peers and 6 com- 
 moners, of whom the 
 Speaker was one 
 
 Sir John Bussy 
 again 
 
 Sir John Bussy 
 again 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 
 HI, P- 338 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 
 III. P- 357 
 
 22 Jan., 1 396-97 
 
 17 Sept., 1397
 
 Close of Office 
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Constituency 
 
 351 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 6 Mar., 1393-94 Lincolnshire 
 
 12 February, 
 1396-97 
 
 Lincolnshire 
 
 Remarks 
 
 VII Richard II, 1384. 
 The Commons are 
 directed to choose a 
 Speaker : "la per- 
 sonne qi'auroit les 
 paroles en cest Par- 
 lement pur la C6e." 
 The cause of sum- 
 mons was delivered 
 by Mons' Michel de 
 la Pole, Chancellor 
 
 Beheaded 29 July, 
 1399. He lived at 
 H o u g h a m , near 
 Grantham, and 
 several memorials of 
 his family remain in 
 the parish church. 
 Styled " Commune 
 Parlour" in the Rolls 
 
 The Commons were 
 charged by the Chan- 
 cellor to assemble 
 either in the Chapter 
 House or the Refec- 
 tory of Westminster, 
 to choose a Speaker 
 (Rot. Part., Vol. III. 
 P- 329) 
 
 31 Jan., 1397-8 Lincolnshire
 
 352 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament Speaker Authority 
 
 XXIII Richard II, and None chosen 
 26th Parliament, 
 met 30 September, 
 J 399. but sat only 
 one day to depose 
 the King 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 I Henry IV, and ist Sir John Cheyne Rot. Parl., Vol. 14 October, 1399 
 Parliament, met at or Cheney III, p. 424 
 
 Westminster, 6 Oc- 
 tober, 1399 
 
 Ditto 
 
 John Dorewood Rot. Parl., Vol. 15 October, 1399 
 III, p. 424 
 
 II Henry IV, and 
 2nd Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 York, 27 October, 
 1400, and by proro- 
 gation at Westmin- 
 ster, 20 January, 
 1400-1. [The cause 
 of summons was, 
 however, still de- 
 clared by the Chief 
 Justice, Sir William 
 Thurning.] 
 
 Sir Arnold Rot. Parl., Vol. 21 Jan., 1400-1 
 
 Savage III, p. 455 
 
 III Henry IV, and 
 3rd Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 30 Jan- 
 uary, 1401-02 
 
 III Henry IV, and 4th Sir Henry Red' Rot. Parl., Vol. 3 October, 1402 
 Parliament sum- ford III, p. 486 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster (in the 
 Painted Chamber), 
 15 September, 1402, 
 and by prorogation 
 on 30 September
 
 Close of Office 
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Constituency 
 
 353 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Remarks 
 
 Filled the Chair 
 for only two 
 days 
 
 Gloucestershire 
 
 19 Nov., 1399 Essex 
 
 (Not'mentioned in the 
 " D.N.B.) Hakewil 
 makes him Speaker 
 again in 1405-6, but 
 this is inaccurate. 
 He was still living in 
 1409 
 
 See also 1413 
 
 10 March, 
 1400-01 
 
 Kent 
 
 Again Speaker in 
 1403-4, and died in 
 1410. Memorial 
 brass in Bobbing 
 Church, Kent 
 
 Possibly Savage was 
 again Speaker, but 
 the Rolls do not 
 mention him at this 
 date 
 
 25 Nov., 1403 Lincolnshire 
 
 Died circa 1404. He 
 owned lands at Hey- 
 ling, Lincolnshire 
 
 2 A
 
 354 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 V Henry IV, and 5th Sir Arnold Sa- Rot. Parl., Vol. 15 Jan., 1403-4 
 Parliament sum- vage again III, p. 523 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Coventry, 3 Decem- 
 ber, 1403, and actu- 
 ally met there, and 
 at Westminster, after 
 prorogation, 14 Jan- 
 uary, 1403-04 
 
 VI Henry IV, and 6th Sir William 
 Parliament sum- Sturmy, or 
 moned to meet at Esturmy 
 Coventry, 6 October, 
 
 1404 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 7 October, 1404 | 
 III, p. 546 
 
 VII Henry IV, and 7th Sir John Tiptoft Rot. Parl., Vol. 2 March, 1405-6 
 Parliament sum- III, p. 568 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Coventry, 15 Febru- 
 ary 1405-06 (after- 
 wards at Gloucester), 
 and, after proroga- 
 tion, met at West- 
 minster, i March, 
 1405-06 
 
 IX Henry IV, and Thomas Rot. Parl., Vol. 25 October, 1407' 
 
 8th Parliament sum- Chaucer III, p. 609 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Gloucester, 20 Oc- 
 tober, 1407 
 
 XI Henry IV, and Thomas Rot. Parl., Vol. 28 Jan., 1409-10 
 
 9th Parliament sum- Chaucer III, p. 623 
 
 moned to meet at again 
 Westminster, 27 Jan- 
 uary, 1409-10 
 
 XIII Henry IV, and Thomas Rot. Parl., VoL 5 Nov., 1411 
 
 loth Parliament Chaucer III, p. 648 
 
 summoned to meet again 
 at Westminster, 
 3 November, 1411
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Close of Office 
 
 C. 10 April, 
 1403-4 
 
 Constituency 
 Kent 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 355 
 
 Remarks 
 Died 1410 
 
 14 November, 
 1404 
 
 Devon 
 
 " Parliamentum indoc- 
 torum " or Laymen's 
 Parliament 
 
 22 December, Huntingdon- Baron Tiptoft 
 1406 shire 1426 
 
 The first Speaker to be 
 raised to the Peerage. 
 Died 1443 
 
 2 December, Oxfordshire 
 1407 
 
 9 May, 1410 Oxfordshire 
 
 Believed to be son of 
 the poet. Died 1434. 
 Buried at Ewelme, 
 Oxon. The Commons 
 were directed to as- 
 semble in the Fratry 
 of the Abbey at 
 eight o'clock 
 
 19 December, Oxfordshire 
 1411 
 
 The King, in replying 
 to the Speaker's ex- 
 cuse on presentation 
 for the royal accept- 
 ance, said : " Qar il 
 ne vorroit aucune- 
 ment avoir nullc 
 manieredeNovellerie 
 en cest Parlement "
 
 356 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 XIV Henry IV, and 
 nth Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 3 
 February, 1412-13 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Speaker un- 
 known 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 I Henry V, and ist William Stour- Rot. Par I., Vol. 18 May, 1413 
 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 14 May 
 1413 
 
 ton. " Gisoit 
 cy malades en 
 son lyt qu'il 
 ne purroit 
 pluis outre 
 entendre d' oc- 
 cupier le dit 
 office de Par- 
 lour " 
 
 IV, pp. 4, 5 
 
 Ditto 
 
 John Dorewood Rot. Parl., Vol. 3 June, 1413 
 again IV, p. 5 
 
 II Henry V, and 2nd Sir Walter Hun- Rot. Parl., Vol. i May, 1414 
 Parliament sum- gerford IV, p. 16 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Leicester, 30 April, 
 1414 
 
 II Henry V, and 3rd Thomas Rot. Parl., Vol. 19 Nov., 1414 
 
 Parliament sum- Chaucer IV, p. 35 
 
 moned to meet at again 
 Westminster, 19 No- 
 '.vember, 1414 
 
 III Henry V, and 
 4th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 2iOct.^ 
 1415, and, by pro- 
 rogation, on 4 Nov. 
 
 Richard Red- Rot. Parl., Vol. 5 Nov., 1415 
 man, or Red- IV, p. 63 
 mayne 
 
 III Henry V, and Sir Walter Rot. Parl., Vol. 18 Mar., 1415-16 
 
 5th Parliament sum- Beauchamp IV, p. 71 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, i6Mar. 
 1415-16
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 357 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 3 June, 1413 Dorset (?) Died 1417. Ancestor 
 
 of Baron Stourton 
 
 9 June, 1413 Essex 
 
 29 May, 1414 Wilts Baron Hunger- Son of Sir Thomas 
 
 ford, 1425-26 Hungerford (Speaker 
 in 1377), died 1449, 
 and was buried in 
 Salisbury Cathedral 
 
 Date of dissolu- Oxfordshire 
 tion not as- 
 certained 
 
 Sat less than a Yorkshire Died 1426 
 
 fortnight 
 
 May, 1416 Wiltshire Styled " Prolocutor "
 
 358 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 IV Henry V, and 6th Roger Flower 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 19 Oc- 
 tober 1416 
 
 V Henry V, and 7th Roger Flower 
 Parliament sum- again 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 16 No- 
 vember, 1417 
 
 VII Henry V, and Roger Flower 
 8th Parliament sum- again 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 16 Oc- 
 tober, 1419 
 
 VIII Henry V, and Roger Hunt 
 9th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 2 Dec., 
 
 1420 
 
 Date of 
 Authority Appointment 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. October, 1416 
 IV, p. 95 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. November, 1417 
 IV, p. 107 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. October, 1419 
 IV, p. 117 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 4 Dec., 1420 
 IV, p. 123 
 
 IX Henry V, and Thomas Rot. Parl., Vol. May, 1421 
 
 xoth Parliament Chaucer IV, p. 130 
 
 summoned to meet again 
 at Westminster, 2 
 May, 1421 
 
 IX Henry V, and Richard Rot. Parl., Vol. 3 December 1421 
 
 nth Parliament Baynard IV, p. 151 
 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 
 I December, 1421 
 
 I Henry VI, and ist Roger Flower 
 Parliament sum- again 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 9 Nov., 
 1422 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. n Nov., 1422 
 IV, p. 170 
 
 II Henry VI, and Sir John Russell Rot. Parl., Vol. 21 Oct., 1423 
 2nd Parliament sum- IV, p. 198 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 20 Oc- 
 tober, 1423
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 359 
 
 Close of Office 
 
 1 8 November, 
 1416 
 
 Constituency 
 Rutland 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Remarks 
 Died 1428 
 
 17 December, 
 1417 
 
 Rutland 
 
 November, 1419 Rutland 
 
 Date of close Bedfordshire 
 of this Parlia- 
 ment unascer- 
 tained 
 
 Date of close Oxfordshire 
 of Parliament 
 unascertained 
 
 Date of close Essex 
 of Parliament 
 unascertained 
 
 Omitted by Hakewil at 
 this date. An'eminent 
 lawyer and a Baron 
 of the Exchequer. 
 Memorial brass dated 
 1473 at Gt. Linford, 
 Bucks, may represent 
 him or his son 
 
 First to be five times 
 Speaker. Died 1434 
 and was buried at 
 Ewelme, Oxfordshire, 
 where his monument 
 and brass remain 
 
 (Not mentioned in Dic- 
 tionary of National 
 Biography) 
 
 1 8 December, 
 1422 
 
 Rutland 
 
 28 February, 
 1423-24 
 
 Herefordshire
 
 360 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 III Henry VI, and Sir Thomas 
 3rd Parliament Walton, or 
 summoned to meet Wauton 
 
 at Westminster, 
 30 April, 1425 
 
 IV Henry VI, and Sir Richard 
 4th Parliament sum- Vernon 
 moned to meet at 
 Leicester, 18 Febru- 
 ary, 1425-26 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 2 May, 1425 
 IV, p. 262 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 28 Feb., 1425-26 
 IV, p. 296 
 
 VI Henry VI, and Sir John Tyrrell Rot. Parl., Vol. 15 October, 1427 
 5th Parliament sum- IV, p. 317 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 13 Oc- 
 tober, 1427 
 
 VIII Henry VI, and William Aling- Rot. Parl., Vol. 23 Sept., 1429 
 6th Parliament sum- ton IV, p. 336 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 22 Sep- 
 tember, 1429 
 
 IX Henry VI, and Sir John Tyrrell Rot. Parl., Vol. 13 Jan., 1430-31 
 7th Parliament sum- again IV, p. 368 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 12 Jan- 
 uary, 1430-31 
 
 X Henry VI, and Sir John Russell Rot. Parl., Vol. 14 May, 1432 
 
 8th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 1 2 May, 
 1432 
 
 again 
 
 XI Henry VI, and Roger Hunt 
 9th Parliament sum- again 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 8 July, 
 1433 
 
 XIV Henry VI, and John Bowes 
 joth Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 10 
 October, 1435 
 
 IV, p. 389 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 10 July, 1433 
 IV, p. 420 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 12 October, 143 5 
 IV. p. 482
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 361 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style 
 
 14 July, 1425 Bedfordshire 
 
 Remarks 
 
 Died 1437. Owned 
 lands at Great 
 Staughton, Hunts 
 
 i June, 1426 Derbyshire 
 
 Died 145 1. Ancestor 
 of Lord Vernon 
 
 25 March, 1428 Herts 
 
 Died 1437 
 
 23 Feb., 1429-30 Cambridgeshire 
 
 20 March, Essex 
 
 1430-31 
 
 17 July, 1432 Herefordshire 
 
 21 December, Huntingdon- 
 1433 shire 
 
 23 December, Nottingham- 
 1435 shire 
 
 (Not mentioned in Dic- 
 tionary of Nationa 
 Biography)
 
 362 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 XV Henry VI, and Sir John Tyrrell Rot. Parl., Vol. 23 Jan., 1436-37 
 nth Parliament again IV, p. 496 
 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 21 
 January, 1436-37 
 
 Ditto 
 
 William Burley, Rot. Parl., Vol. 19 Mar., 1436-37 
 or Boerley IV, p. 502 
 
 XVIII Henry VI, and William Rot. Parl., Vol. 13 Nov., 1439 
 
 1 2th Parliament Tresham V, p. 4 
 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 12 
 November, 1439 
 
 XX Henry VI, and William Rot. Parl., Vol. 26 Jan., 1441-42 
 
 1 3th Parliament Tresham V, p. 36 
 
 summoned to meet again 
 at Westminster, 25 
 January, 1441-42 
 
 XXIII Henry VI, and William Burley Rot. Parl., Vol. 26 Feb., 1444-45 
 1 4th Parliament again V, p. 67 ; and 
 
 Appendix to 
 Return of 
 Names of 
 Members of 
 Parliament, 
 p. xxiii, where 
 he is styled 
 "Prolocutor" 
 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 25 
 February, 1444-45 
 
 XXV Henry VI, and William 
 
 1 5th Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Bury St. Ed- 
 munds, 10 February, 
 1446-47 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 1 1 Feb., 1446-47 
 
 Tresham V, p. 129 
 
 again 
 
 XXVII Henry VI, and Sir John Say 
 1 6th Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 12 
 February, 1448-49 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 13 Feb., 1448-49 
 V, p. 141
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 363 
 
 Close of Office 
 March 
 
 Constituency 
 Essex 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Remarks 
 
 27 March, 1437 Salop 
 
 1440 
 
 Northants 
 
 Murdered atThorpland, 
 Northants, 1450. 
 Owned lands at 
 Sywell, Northants. 
 Leland, in his Itiner- 
 ary, gives a circum- 
 stantial account of 
 his death 
 
 27 May. 1442 Northants 
 
 9 April, 1445 Salop 
 
 3 March. 
 1446-47 
 
 Northants 
 
 16 July. 1449 Cambridgeshire 
 
 Died 1478. Buried in 
 Broxbourno Church. 
 Herts, where his me- 
 morial brass remains
 
 364 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 XXVIII Henry VI, Sir John Rot. Parl., Vol. 8 Nov., 1449 
 
 and 1 7th Parliament Popham V, p. 171 
 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 6 
 November, 1449 
 
 Ditto 
 
 William 
 
 Tresham 
 again 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 8 Nov., 1449 
 V, p. 172 
 
 XXIX Henry VI, and Sir William 
 
 i8th Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 6 
 November, 1450 
 
 Oldhall 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 
 V, p. 210 
 
 7 Nov., 1450 
 
 XXXI Henry VI, and Thomas Thorpe Rot. Parl., Vol. 8 Mar., 1452-53 
 1 9th Parliament V, p. 227 
 
 summoned to meet 
 at Reading, 6 Max., 
 H52-53 
 
 XXXII Henry VI, and Sir Thomas Rot. Parl., VoL 16 Feb., 1453-54 
 
 1 9th Parliament Charlton V, p. 240 
 
 continued 
 
 XXXIII Henry VI, 
 and 2oth Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 9 
 July, 1455 
 
 Sir John 
 
 Wenlock 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 
 V, p. 280 ; 
 and Appendix 
 to Return of 
 Names of 
 Members of 
 Parliament, 
 p. xxiii, where 
 he is styled 
 " Prolocutor" 
 
 10 July, 1455
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 365 
 
 Close of Office 
 
 Excused on 
 ground of ill- 
 health 
 
 Constituency 
 Hants 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Remarks 
 Died c. 1463 
 
 Spring, 1450 Northants 
 
 This Parliament, after 
 being prorogued over 
 Christmas, reassem- 
 bled 22 January, and 
 was sitting on 17 
 March. In April it 
 met again at Leices- 
 ter ~ 
 
 May, 1451 
 
 Herefordshire 
 
 Died "1460. Buried in 
 St. Michael, Pater- 
 noster Royal, Lon- 
 don 
 
 1 6 February, 
 1453-54 
 
 Essex 
 
 Beheaded at Haringay 
 Park, Middlesex, 1461 
 
 April, 1454 
 
 Middlesex 
 
 In place of Thorpe im- 
 prisoned. (Not men- 
 tioned in D.N.B.) 
 
 January, 
 1455-56 
 
 Bedfordshire 
 
 Lord Wenlock 
 1461 
 
 Killed at the battle of 
 Tewkesbury, 1471
 
 366 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 XXXVIII Henry VI, Sir Thomas 
 
 and 2ist Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Coventry, 20 No- 
 vember, 1459 
 
 Tresham 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 21 Nov., 1459 
 V, p. 345 : 
 and Appendix 
 to Return of 
 Names of 
 Members of 
 Parliament, p. 
 xxiv, where 
 he is styled 
 " Prolocutor" 
 
 XXXIX Henry VI, John Green 
 and 22nd Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 7 
 October, 1460 
 
 Rot. ParL, Vol. 8 October, 1460 
 V, p- 373 
 
 I Edward IV, and Sir James Rot. Parl., Vol. 5 Nov., 1461 
 
 ist Parliament sum- Strangeways V, p. 462 ; 
 
 and Appendix 
 to Names of 
 Members of 
 Parliament, p. 
 xxiv, where 
 he is styled 
 " Prolocutor" 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 4 No- 
 vember, 1461 
 
 III Edward IV, and Sir John Say 
 2nd Parliament sum- again 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 29 Ap- 
 ril, 1463 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 30 April, 1463 
 V, p. 497 : 
 and Appendix 
 to Names of 
 Members of 
 Parliament, p. 
 xxv, where 
 he is styled 
 " Prolocutor" 
 
 VII Edward IV, and Sir John Say 
 3rd Parliament sum- again 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 3 June, 
 1467 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 5 June, 1467 
 V, p. 572 
 
 IX Edward IV, and No Speaker 
 4th Parliament sum- chosen 
 moned to meet at 
 York, 22 Sept., 1469
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 367 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 20 December, Northants Beheaded at Tewkes- 
 
 1459 bury, 1471 
 
 Only sat about Essex (Not mentioned in D. 
 
 ten days N.B.) 
 
 6 May, 1461-62 Yorkshire Introduced a new pre- 
 
 cedent. Besides mak- 
 ing the customary 
 " excuse " on elec- 
 tion he offered a 
 formal address to 
 Crown on the politi- 
 cal situation. Buried 
 in St. Mary Overy's, 
 Southwark 
 
 1465 Herts 
 
 May, 1468 Herts
 
 368 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 X Edward IV, and 
 5th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 26 No- 
 vember, 1470 
 
 Speaker 
 
 'Authority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 XII Edward IV, and 
 6th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 6 Oct., 
 1472 
 
 William Aling- Rot. Parl., Vol. 7 October, 1472 
 ton VI, p. 4 
 
 XVII Edward IV, and 
 7th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 1 6 Jan- 
 uary, 1477-78 
 
 William Aling- 
 ton again 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 
 VI, p. 168 
 
 17 Jan., 1477-78 
 
 XXII Edward IV, and John Wood, or Rot. Parl., Vol. 21 Jan., 1482-83 
 8th Parliament sum- Wode VI, p. 197 ; 
 
 moned to meet at and Appendix 
 
 Westminster, 20 Jan- to Return of 
 
 uary, 1482-83 Names of 
 
 Members of 
 Parliament, p. 
 xxv, where 
 he is styled 
 " Prolocutor" 
 
 I Richard III, and 
 ist Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 2 3 Jan- 
 uary, 1483-84 
 
 William 
 
 i Rot. Parl., Vol. 24 Jan., 1483-84 
 
 Catesby VI, p. 238 ; 
 
 and Appendix 
 
 to Return of 
 
 Names of 
 
 Members of 
 
 Parliament, p. 
 
 xxv, where 
 
 he is styled 
 
 " Prolocutor"
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Close of Office Constituency 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 369 
 
 Remarks 
 
 No particulars known. 
 Henry VI again tem- 
 porarily dominant, 
 and records, if any 
 were kept, probably 
 destroyed by order 
 of Edward IV 
 
 1 4 March, 1474- 
 75 
 
 Cambridgeshire 
 
 Date of close 
 of Parliament 
 unascertained 
 but it sat 
 about five 
 weeks 
 
 Cambridgeshire 
 
 Believed to have been 
 buried in Bottisham 
 Church, Cambridge- 
 shire, in an altar 
 tomb from which 
 the brass has dis- 
 appeared 
 
 February, 
 1482-83 
 
 Sussex (prob- 
 ably) 
 
 There is some doubt as 
 to whether he repre- 
 sented Surrey or Sus- 
 sex, but the latter 
 appears to be more 
 probable 
 
 20 February, 
 1483-84 
 
 Northants 
 
 Beheaded 1485, after 
 the Battle of Bos- 
 worth. Memorial 
 brass in the church 
 at Ashby St. Ledgers, 
 Northants 
 
 2 P.
 
 370 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 I Henry VII. and 
 ist Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 7 Nov., 
 "1485 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Sir Thomas 
 
 Lovell 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 Rot. Part., Vol. 8 Nov., 1485 
 VI, p. 268 ; 
 and Appendix 
 to Return of 
 Names of 
 Members of 
 Parliament, p. 
 xxvi, where 
 he is styled 
 "Prolocutor" 
 
 III Henry VII, and Sir John 
 
 2nd Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 9 Nov., 
 1487 
 
 Mordaunt 
 
 Rot. Parl, Vol. 10 Nov., 1487 
 VI, p. 386; 
 and Appendix 
 to Return of 
 Names of 
 Members of 
 Parliament, p. 
 xxvi, where 
 he is styled 
 " Prolocutor" 
 
 IV Henry VII, and Sir Thomas 
 
 3rd Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 1 3 Jan- 
 uary, 1488-89 
 
 Fitzwilliam 
 
 Rot. Parl, Vol. 14 Jan., 1488-89, 
 VI, p. 410 ; 
 and Appendix 
 to Return of 
 Names of 
 Members of 
 Parliament, p. 
 xxvi, where 
 he is styled 
 " Prolocutor" 
 
 VII Henry VII, and Sir Richard 
 
 4th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 17 Oc- 
 tober, 1491 
 
 Empson 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 1 8 October, 1491 
 VI, p. 440 ; 
 and Appendix 
 to Return of 
 Names of 
 Members of 
 Parliament, p. 
 xxvi, where 
 he is styled 
 "Prolocutor"
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 371 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 March, 1486 Northants The last of the martial 
 
 Speakers. Died 1524. 
 Bronze medallion 
 portrait by Torre - 
 giano now placed in 
 Henry VII's Chapel, 
 Westminster Abbey 
 
 Date of close Bedfordshire Chancellor of Died 1506. Monu- 
 of Parliament the Duchy of mental effigy at 
 
 unascertained Lancaster Turvey, Beds. 
 
 Feb. 27, 1490 Yorkshire (Not mentioned in 
 
 D.N.B.) Died 1495 
 
 March, 1491-92 Northants Chancellor of Beheaded with Dudley 
 
 the Duchy of 1510 
 Lancaster
 
 372 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 XI Henry VII, and 
 5th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 14 Oc- 
 tober, 1495 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Sir Robert 
 
 Drury 
 
 Authority 
 
 Rot. Parl., Vol. 
 VI, p. 458; 
 (Choice of 
 Speaker de- 
 clared by a 
 Committee 
 without nam- 
 ing the person 
 elected) 
 
 Date of 
 
 Appointment 
 
 15 October, 1 49 5 
 
 XII Henry VII, on 24 
 October, 1496, a 
 great Council, rather 
 than a Parliament, 
 met at Westminster 
 
 Sir Reginald 
 Bray (Pre- 
 sident or 
 Chairman) 
 
 Appendix to Re- 
 turn of Names 
 of Members of 
 Parliament, p. 
 xxvii 
 
 XII Henry VII, and Sir Thomas Rot. Parl., Vol. 19 Jan., 1496-97 
 
 6th Parliament sum- Englefield VI, p. 5 10 ; 
 
 and Appendix 
 to Return of 
 Names of 
 Members of 
 Parliament, p. 
 xxvii 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 16 Jan- 
 uary, 1496-97 
 
 XIX Henry VII, and 
 7th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 25 
 January, i 503-04 
 
 Edmond Rot. Parl., Vol. 26 Jan., 1503-04 
 
 Dudley VI, p. 521 ; 
 and Appendix 
 to Return of 
 Names of 
 Members of 
 Parliament, p. 
 xxvii, where 
 he is styled 
 " Prolocutor" 
 
 I Henry VIII, and Sir Thomas 
 
 ist Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 21 Jan- 
 uary, 1509-10 
 
 Englefield 
 again 
 
 Appendix to 23 Jan., 1509-10 
 official Return 
 of Names of 
 Members of 
 Parliament, p. 
 xxviii, where 
 he is styled 
 " Prolocutor"
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Close of Office Constituency 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Date of the close 
 of this Par- 
 liament unas 
 certained 
 
 Suffolk 
 
 373 
 
 Remarks 
 
 Died 1536. Monu- 
 mental effigy in St. 
 Mary's Church, Bury 
 St. Edmund's 
 
 Bedfordshire or Chancellor of 
 
 Northants in the Duchy of 
 
 Parliament of Lancaster 
 495 
 
 Died 1503, and was 
 buried in St.George's 
 Chapel, Windsor 
 Castle, but without 
 a monument 
 
 Date of close 
 of this Par- 
 liament unas- 
 certained 
 
 Berkshire 
 
 (Not mentioned in 
 D.N.B.) Died 1514 
 
 Date of close Staffordshire 
 of this Par- 
 liament unas- 
 certained 
 
 Advocate of absolute 
 monarchy. Beheaded 
 with Empson 1510 
 
 23 February, 
 1509-10 
 
 Berkshire 
 
 Died 1514
 
 374 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 
 Appointment 
 
 III Henry VIII, and Sir Robert Appendix to 5 Feb., 1511-12: 
 
 2nd Parliament sum- Sheffield official Return 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 4 Feb., 
 1511-12 
 
 of Names of 
 Members of 
 Parliament, p. 
 xxviii, where 
 he is styled 
 "Prolocutor" 
 
 VI Henry VIII, and Sir Thomas Appendix to 6 Feb., 1514-15 
 
 3rd Parliament sum- Nevill official Return 
 
 moned to meet at of Names of 
 
 Westminster, 5 Feb., Members of 
 
 1514-15, but met Parliament, p. 
 
 ultimately at Black- xxviii, where 
 
 friars he is styled 
 
 "Prolocutor" 
 
 XIV Henry VIII, and Sir Thomas 
 4th Parliament sum- More 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Black Friars, 15 Ap- 
 ril, 1523 
 
 Appendix to 16 April, 1523 
 
 official Return 
 
 of Names of 
 
 Members of 
 
 Parliament, p. 
 
 xxviii, where 
 
 he is styled 
 
 " Prolocutor" 
 
 XXI Henry VIII, and Sir Thomas Appendix to 5 Nov., 1529 
 
 5th Parliament sum- Audley Return of 
 
 moned to meet at N ame s of 
 
 Westminster, 3 Nov., Members of 
 
 1529 Parliament, p. 
 
 xxix, where 
 he is styled 
 "Prolocutor" 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Sir Humphrey Cobbett's 9 Feb., 1533 
 
 Wingfield Parliamentary 
 History, Vol. 
 I, p. 524 
 
 XXVIII Henry VIII, Sir Richard Cobbett's 9 June, 1536 
 
 and 6th Parliament Rich Parliamentary 
 
 summoned to meet History, Vol. 
 
 at Westminster, 8 I, p. 529 
 
 June, 1536
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 375 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 ? Dec., 1513 Lincolnshire Died 1518. Buried in 
 
 the Church of the 
 Augustinian Friars, 
 London 
 
 22 Dec., 1515 Kent Died 1542. Memorial 
 
 brass in Mereworth 
 Church, Kent 
 
 13 August, 1523 Middlesex Lord Chancellor Beheaded 1535 
 
 26 Jan., 1 533 Essex Lord Chancellor. Died 1544 
 
 Lord Audley 
 1538 
 
 4 April, 1536 Great Yar- The first Speaker to 
 
 mouth sit for a borough 
 
 constituency. Died 
 1545. This was the 
 longest Parliament 
 known to this date 
 
 18 July, 1536 Colchester Lord Chancellor Died 1567 
 
 1547-51. 
 Lord Rich
 
 376 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 XXXI Henry VIII, Sir Nicholas Cobbett's 28 April, 1539 
 
 and 7th Parliament Hare Parliamentary 
 
 summoned to meet History, Vol. 
 
 at Westminster, 28 I, p. 536 
 
 April, 1539 
 
 XXXIII Henry VIII, Sir Thomas 
 
 and 8th Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 16 
 January, 1541-42 
 
 Moyle 
 
 XXXVII Henry VIII, Sir John Baker 
 and 9th Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 23 
 November, 1545 
 
 Edward VI, and 
 ist Parliament met 
 in St. Stephen's 
 Chapel, Westminster, 
 4 November, 1547 
 
 Sir John Baker 
 again 
 
 19 Jan., 1541-42 
 
 November, 1545 
 
 Cobbett's 
 Parliamentary 
 History, Vol. 
 I. P- 550 
 
 Acts of the 
 Privy Coun- 
 cil (edited 
 by Sir J. R. 
 Dasent), Vol. 
 II, p. 24 
 
 Commons Jour- 4 Nov., 1547 
 nals, Vol. I, 
 p.i 
 
 VII Edward VI, and Sir James Dyer Commons Jour- 2 Mar., 1552-53 
 2nd Parliament sum- nals, Vol. I, 
 
 moned to meet at p. 24 
 
 Westminster, i Mar., 
 1552-53 
 
 I Mary, and ist Parlia- Sir John Pollard Cobbett's 5 October, 1553 
 
 ment summoned to Parliamentary 
 
 meet at Westminster, History, Vol. 
 
 5 October, 1553 I, p. 607 
 
 I Mary, and 2nd Par- Sir Robert Cobbett's 2 April, 1554 
 
 liament summoned Brooke Parliamentary 
 
 to meet at West- History, Vol. 
 
 minster, 2 April, I, p. 613 
 
 1554 
 
 I and II Philip and 
 Mary, and ist Par- 
 liament summoned 
 to meet at Westmin- 
 ster, 12 Nov., 1554 
 
 Sir Clement 
 
 Heigham 
 
 Cobbett's 
 Parliamentary 
 History, Vol. 
 I, p. 617 
 
 12 Nov., 1554
 
 Close of Office 
 24 July, 1540 
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Constituency 
 Norfolk 
 
 377 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Remarks 
 
 Master of the Died 1557 
 Rolls 1553 
 
 28 March, 1544 Kent 
 
 Died 1560 
 
 31 Jan., 1 546-47 Huntingdon- 
 shire 
 
 Chancellor of Died 1558 
 the Exchequer 
 
 15 April, 1552 
 
 Huntingdon- 
 shire 
 
 Died 1558 
 
 31 March Cambridgeshire Chief Justice of Died 1582 
 
 the Common 
 Pleas 
 
 5 December 
 
 Oxfordshire 
 
 Died 1557 
 
 5 May 
 
 London 
 
 16 Jan., 1554-55 West Looe 
 
 Chief Justice of Died 1558. The first 
 
 the Common Speaker to represent 
 
 Pleas the City of London. 
 
 Monument in Cla- 
 
 verley Church, near 
 
 Wolverhampton 
 
 Chief Baron of Died 1570. Memorial 
 the Exchequer brass in Barrow 
 Church. Suffolk
 
 378 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 II and III Philip and Sir John Pollard Commons Jour- 21 Oct., 1555 
 Mary, and 2nd Par- again nals, Vol. I, 
 
 liament summoned p. 42 
 
 to meet at West- 
 minster, 21 October, 
 1555 
 
 IV and V Philip and Sir William 
 Mary, and 3rd Par- Cordell 
 
 liament summoned 
 to meet at Westmin- 
 ster, 20 January, 
 1557-58 
 
 I Elizabeth, and ist Sir Thomas 
 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 2 5 Jan- 
 uary, 1558-59 
 
 Gargrave 
 
 Commons Jour- 20 Jan., 1557-58 
 nals, Vol. I, 
 P- 47 
 
 Commons Jour- 25 Jan., 1558-59 
 nals, Vol. I, 
 P- 53 
 
 V Elizabeth, and 2nd Thomas 
 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 1 1 Jan- 
 uary, 1562-63 
 
 Williams 
 
 Symonds 
 D'Ewes, 
 Journals, 
 P- 79 
 
 12 Jan., 1562-63 
 
 VIII Elizabeth, and Richard Onslow Symonds 
 2nd Parliament. D'Ewes, 
 
 Second session began Journals, 
 
 30 September, 1566 p. 121 
 
 i October, 1566 
 
 XIII Elizabeth, and Sir Christopher Symonds 2 April, 1571 
 
 3rd Parliament sum- Wray D'Ewes, 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 2 April, 
 1571 
 
 Journals, 
 P- 156
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 379 
 
 Close of Office Constituency 
 
 9 December, 
 
 1555 
 
 Exeter or Chip- 
 pcnham. The 
 latter is the 
 more probable 
 as the official 
 return gives 
 the name as 
 Johannes Pol- 
 lard "Armi- 
 ger," whereas 
 the member 
 for Exeter is 
 called ' Miles,' 
 and the Spea- 
 ker was not a 
 knight in 1555 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Remarks 
 
 Died 1557 
 
 17 November, 
 1558 
 
 Suffolk 
 
 Master of the Died 1581 
 Rolls 
 
 8 May, 1559 Yorkshire 
 
 Vice-President Died 1579 
 of the Council 
 of the North 
 
 10 April, 1563 Exeter 
 
 Died 1566. Buried in 
 Harford Church, Co. 
 Devon 
 
 2 Jan., 1566-67 Steyning 
 
 Died 1571 
 
 29 May, 1571 Ludgershall Chief Justice of Died 1592 
 
 the Queen's 
 Bench
 
 38o SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 XIV Elizabeth, and 
 4th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 8 May, 
 1572 
 
 Speaker 
 Sir Robert Bell 
 
 Authority 
 
 Symonds 
 
 D'Ewes, 
 Journals, 
 p. 205 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. I, 
 p. 94, which 
 gives the date 
 of his election 
 as 10 May 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 8 May, 1572 
 
 Ditto continued. 4th 
 and last session be- 
 gan 16 January, 
 1580-81 
 
 Sir John 
 
 Popham 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. I, 
 p. 117 
 
 18 Jan., 1580-81 
 
 XXVII Elizabeth, and Sir John Symonds 
 
 5th Parliament sum- Puckering D'Ewes, 
 
 moned to meet at Journals, 
 
 Westminster, 23 No- p. 333 
 
 vember, 1584 
 
 23 Nov., 1584 
 
 XXVIII Elizabeth, and 
 6th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 29 Oct. 
 1586 
 
 Sir John 
 
 Puckering 
 again 
 
 Symonds 
 D'Ewes, 
 Journals, 
 P- 392 
 
 29 Oct., 1586 
 
 XXXI Elizabeth, and 
 7th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 4 Feb., 
 1588-89 
 
 Thomas Snagge 
 
 Symonds 
 D'Ewes, 
 Journals, 
 p. 428 
 
 4 Feb., 1588-89 
 
 XXXV Elizabeth, and Sir Edward 
 
 8th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 19 Feb- 
 ruary, 1592-93 
 
 Coke 
 
 Symonds 
 D'Ewes, 
 Journals, 
 p. 469 
 
 19 Feb., 1592-93
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Close of Office 
 1576 
 
 Constituency 
 Lyme Regis 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Remarks 
 
 Chief Baron of Died 1577 
 the Exchequer 
 
 19 April, 1583, Bristol 
 but the House 
 did not sit 
 after 18 Mar., 
 1580-81 
 
 Chief Justice of 
 the King's 
 Bench 
 
 Died 1607 
 
 14 Sept., 1586 Carmarthen 
 
 Lord Keeper of 
 the Great Seal 
 1592 
 
 Died 1596 
 
 23 March, 
 1586-87 
 
 Gatton 
 
 29 March, 1589 Bedford 
 
 Died 1593. (The Dic- 
 tionary of National 
 Biography says he 
 was chosen on 12 
 November, 1588, but 
 there was no Parlia- 
 ment in session at 
 that date) 
 
 I o April, 1593 Norfolk 
 
 Chief Justice of Died 1634 
 the Common 
 Pleas 1606, 
 Chief Justice 
 of the King's 
 Benchi6i3-i6
 
 382 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 XXXIX Elizabeth.and 
 pth Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 24 Oct. 
 1597 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Sir Christopher 
 Yelverton 
 
 Authority 
 
 Symonds 
 D'Ewes, 
 Journals, 
 P- 550 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 24 Oct., 1597 
 
 XLIII Elizabeth, and Sir John Croke 
 loth Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 27 
 October, 1601 
 
 I James I, and ist Par- Sir Edward 
 
 liament summoned 
 to meet at West- 
 minster, 19 March, 
 1603-04 
 
 Phelipe 
 
 Symonds 
 D'Ewes, 
 Journals, 
 p. 621 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. I, 
 p. 141 
 
 27 October, ifioii 
 
 19 Mar., 1603-41 
 
 XII James I, and Sir Randolph 
 2nd Parliament sum- Crewe 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 5 April, 
 1614 
 
 Commons Jour- 5 April, 1614 
 nals, Vol. I, 
 P- 455 
 
 XVIII James I, and Sir Thomas Commons Jour- 30 Jan., 1620-21 
 
 3rd Parliament sum- Richardson nals, Vol. I, 
 
 moned to meet at p. 507 
 
 Westminster, 16 Jan. 
 1620-21 
 
 XXI James I, and 
 4th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 12 
 February, 1623-24. 
 King's speech de- 
 livered 19 February 
 
 Sir Thomas 
 
 Crewe 
 
 Commons Jour- 19 Feb., 1623-24 
 
 nals, Vol. 
 p. 670 
 
 I, 
 
 I Charles I, and ist 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 1 7May, 
 1625. (Adjourned to 
 Oxford) 
 
 Sir Thomas 
 
 Crewe 
 again 
 
 There is no men- 18 June, 1625 
 
 tion in the 
 
 Journals of 
 
 his re-election 
 
 to the Chair. 
 Cobbett's 
 
 Parliamentary 
 
 History, Vol. 
 
 II, p. 3
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style 
 
 383 
 
 Remarks 
 
 9 Feb., 1597-98 Northants Justice of the Died 1612 
 
 Queen's 
 Bench 
 
 19 December, London 
 1601 
 
 Judge and Re- Died 1620 
 corder of Lon- 
 don 
 
 9 Feb., 1 610-11 Somerset 
 
 Master of the Died 1614 
 Rolls 1611 
 
 7 June, 1614 ? Brackley 
 
 Chief Justice of Died 1646 
 the King's 
 Bench 
 
 8 Feb., 1621-22 St. Albans 
 
 Chief Justice of Died 1635 
 the Common 
 Pleas 1626 
 
 27 March, 1625. Aylesbury 
 but the House 
 did not sit 
 after 29 May, 
 1624 
 
 Died 1634 
 
 12 August, 1625 Gatton
 
 384 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 I Charles I, and 2nd 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 6 Feb., 
 1625-26 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Sir Heneage 
 
 Finch 
 
 Authority 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. I, 
 p. 816 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 6 Feb., 1625-26 
 
 III Charles I, and 3rd Sir John Finch 
 Parliament summon- 
 ed to meet at West- 
 minster, 17 March, 
 1627-28 
 
 Commons Jour- 17 Mar., 1627-28: 
 nals, Vol. I, 
 p. 872 
 
 XVI Charles I, 4th Sir John Commons Jour- 
 
 or " Short " Parlia- Glanville nals, Vol. II, 
 
 ment summoned to p. 3 
 
 meet at Westminster 
 13 April, 1640 
 
 XVI Charles I, 5th 
 or " Long " Parlia- 
 ment summoned to 
 meet at Westminster 
 3 November, 1640. 
 Dispersed by Crom- 
 well, 20 April, 1653 
 
 1 647 continued 
 
 William 
 
 Lenthall 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. II, 
 p. 20 
 
 13 April, 1640 
 
 3 Nov., 1640 
 
 Henry Pelham 
 
 Commons Jour- 30 July, 1647 
 nals, Vol. V, 
 p. 259 
 
 " Long " Parliament William Len- 
 and " Rump " Par- thall again 
 liament 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. V, 
 p. 268 
 
 6 August, 1647 
 returned to 
 the Chair 
 
 " Barebones " or Little Rev. Francis Commons Jour- 5 July, 1653 
 
 Parliament met 4 Rous 
 
 July, 1653. (Len- 
 thall not a member 
 of it) 
 
 First Parliament of William Len- 
 Oliver, Protector, as- thall again 
 sembled 3 September 
 1654 
 
 nals, Vol. VII, 
 p. 281 
 
 Commons Jour- 4 Sept., 1654 
 nals, Vol. VII, 
 P- 365 
 
 Second Parliament of 
 Oliver, Protector, as- 
 sembled 17 Septem- 
 ber, 1656 
 
 Sir Thomas 
 Widdrington 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. VII, 
 P- 423 
 
 17 Sept., 1656
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 15 June, 1626 London Died 1631 
 
 385 
 
 10 March. Canterbury Lord Keeper of Died 1660 
 
 1628-29 the Great Seal 
 
 1639-40 
 
 Baron Finch of 
 Fordwich 
 
 5 May, 1640 Bristol 
 
 Died 1 66 1 
 
 Held office till Woodstock 
 26 July, 1647, 
 when he aban- 
 doned the post 
 to join the 
 Army 
 
 Master of the Died 1662 
 Rolls, and a 
 Commissioner 
 of the Great 
 Seal 
 
 5 August, 1647 Grant ham 
 
 (Not mentioned by 
 Manning or D.N.B.) 
 
 so April, 1653 Woodstock 
 
 12 December, ? Devonshire 
 1653 
 
 Sat in Crom- Died 1659 
 well's House 
 of Lords 
 
 32 Jan., 1654-55 Oxfordshire 
 
 4 Feb.. 1657-58 Northumber- Chief Baron of Died 1664. Buried in 
 
 land the Exche- St. Giles's - in - the - 
 
 quer 1658-60 Fields 
 
 a C
 
 386 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Second Parliament of 
 Oliver, Protector 
 continued 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Bulstrode 
 
 Whitelocke 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 Commons Jour- 27 Jan., 1656-57 
 nals, Vol. VII, appointed pro 
 p. 482 tern. during 
 
 the absence of 
 Widdrington 
 from indispo- 
 sition 
 
 Parliament of Richard 
 Cromwell, Protector, 
 assembled 27 Jan., 
 1658-59 
 
 Chaloner Chute Commons Jour- 27 Jan., 1658-59 
 nals, Vol. VII, 
 P- 594 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Sir Lislebone 
 
 Long 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. VII, 
 p. 612 
 
 9 Mar., 1658-59 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Thomas 
 Bampfylde 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. VII, 
 p. 613 
 
 i6Mar., 1658-59 
 and formally 
 chosen, 1 5 Ap- 
 ril, 1659, after 
 the death of 
 Chute 
 
 Rump," or that por- William Len- Commons Jour- 
 tion of the Long thall again nals, Vol. VII, 
 
 Parliament which p. 797 
 
 had continued sitting 
 till ejected by Crom- 
 well, recalled 
 
 7 May, 1659 
 
 The Rump restored a 
 second time 
 
 William Len- 
 thall again 
 
 William Say 
 
 Whole surviving body William Len- 
 of the Long Parlia- thall again 
 ment recalled after 
 Monk's arrival in 
 London 
 
 Cobbett's 
 Parliamentary 
 History, Vol. 
 HI, p. 1571 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. VII, 
 p. 811 
 
 26 Dec., 1659 
 
 13 Jan., 1659-60 
 (during Lent- 
 hall's absence 
 from indispo- 
 sition) 
 
 21 Jan., 1659-60
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Close of Office Constituency 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Buckingham- Commissioner 
 
 shire of the Great 
 Seal 1648 and 
 1659 
 
 387 
 
 Remarks 
 Died 1675 
 
 9 March, 
 1658-59 
 
 Middlesex 
 
 Died 1659 
 
 14 March, Wells 
 
 1658-59 
 
 Died 1659 
 
 22 April, 1659 Exeter 
 
 (Not mentioned in 
 D.N.B.) Died Oc- 
 tober 8, 1693, and 
 was buried in St. 
 Stephen's Church, 
 Exeter 
 
 October 1 3, 1659, Oxfordshire 
 when the 
 Rump was 
 expelled by 
 Lambert 
 
 13 Jan., 1659-60 Oxfordshire 
 
 21 January. 
 1659-60 
 
 Camelford 
 
 Died 1665 ? 
 
 1 6 March, 
 1659-60 
 
 Oxfordshire
 
 388 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 XII Charles II, and 
 ist or Convention 
 Parliament summon- 
 ed to meet at West- 
 minster, 25 April, 
 1660 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Sir Harbottle 
 
 Grimston 
 
 Authority 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals.Vol.VlU, 
 p.i 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 25 April, 1660 
 
 XIII Charles II, and Sir Edward Commons Jour- 8 May, 1661 
 
 2nd or "Pensionary" Turnour o/s,Vol.VIII, 
 
 Parliament sum- p. 245 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 8 May, 
 1661 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Sir Job Commons Jour- 4 Feb., 1672-73 
 
 Charlton nals, Vol. IX, 
 P- 245 
 
 Sir Edward Commons Jour- 18 Feb., 1672-73 
 
 Seymour nals, Vol. IX, 
 P- 253 
 
 Sir Robert 
 
 Sawyer 
 
 Sir Edward 
 
 Seymour 
 again 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. IX, 
 P- 463 
 
 n April, 1678 
 
 Commons Jour- 6 May, 1678 
 nals, Vol. IX, 
 p. 476 
 
 XXkl Charles II, and Sir Edward Cobbett's Parl. 6 Mar.. 1678-79 
 
 3rd Parliament sum- Seymour Hist., Vol. IV 
 
 moned to meet at again 
 Westminster, 6 Mar., 
 1678-79 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Sir William 
 
 Gregory 
 
 Cobbett's Parl. 
 Hist., Vol. IV 
 
 1 5 Mar., 1678-79 
 
 XXXI Charles II, and 
 4th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 17 Oc- 
 tober, 1679. Met for 
 business 21 October, 
 1680 
 
 Sir William 
 
 Williams 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. IX, 
 p. 636 
 
 21 Oct., 1680
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style 
 
 Remarks 
 
 29 December, Colchester 
 1660 
 
 Master of the Died 1685 
 Rolls 
 
 389 
 
 23 May, 1671 Hertford 
 
 Chief Baron of Died 1676 
 the Exche- 
 quer 
 
 15 February, Ludlow 
 1672-73 
 
 Justice of the Died 1697 
 Common 
 Pleas 
 
 ii April, 1678 Totnes 
 
 A Lord of the Died 1708 
 Treasury 
 
 (6 May, 1678 Wycombe 
 
 Attorney- Died 1692 
 
 General 1681-87 
 
 24 Jan., 1678-79 Totnes 
 
 115 March, 1678- Devonshire 
 79, when his 
 re-election to 
 the Chair was 
 refused by the 
 King 
 
 112 July, 1679 Weobley 
 
 Baron of the Died 1696 
 Exchequer 
 
 118 Jan.. 1680-81 Chester 
 
 Solicitor- Died 1700 
 
 General 1687
 
 390 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 XXXIII Charles II. 
 and 5th Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Oxford, 21 Mar., 
 1680-81 
 
 Speaker 
 
 A uthority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 Sir William Commons Jour- 21 Mar., 1680-81 
 
 Williams nals, Vol. IX, 
 again p. 705 
 
 I James II, and ist Sir John Trevor Commons Jour- 19 May, 1685 
 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 19 May, 
 1685 
 
 nals, Vol. IX, 
 P- 
 
 Convention Parliament Henry Powle 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 22 
 January, 1688-89 
 
 Commons Jour- 22 Jan., 1688-89 
 nals, Vol. X, 
 p. 9 
 
 II William and Mary, Sir John Trevor Commons Jour- 20 Mar., 1689-90 
 
 and i st Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 20 
 March, 1689-90 
 
 Ditto 
 
 again 
 
 Paul Foley 
 
 VII William and Mary, Paul Foley 
 and 2nd Parliament again 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, 22 
 November, 1695 
 
 X William III, and Sir Thomas 
 3rd Parliament sum- Littleton 
 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 24 Au- 
 gust, 1698, and met 
 for despatch of busi- 
 ness 6 December 
 
 nals, Vol. X, 
 P- 347 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. XI, 
 p. 272 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. XI, 
 P- 334 
 
 1 4 Mar., 1694-95 
 
 22 Nov., 1695 
 
 Commons Jour- 6 Dec., 1698 
 nals, Vol. XII, 
 P- 347 
 
 XII William III, and Robert Harley 
 4th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 6 Feb., 
 1700-01 
 
 Commons Jour- 10 Feb., 1700-11 
 a/s,Vol.XIII 
 P-325
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Close of Office Constituency 
 28 March, 1681 Chester 
 
 391 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Remarks 
 
 2 July, 1687 Denbigh Master of the Expelled the House 
 
 Borough Rolls for taking bribes, 
 
 1 6 March, 1694-95. 
 Died 1717 
 
 6 February, 
 1688-89 
 
 Windsor (Whig) Master of the Died 1692 
 Rolls 
 
 14 March, 
 1694-95 
 
 Yarmouth, Isle 
 of Wight 
 
 (Whig) 
 
 ii October, 1 695 Hereford (Tory) 
 
 Died 1699 
 
 7 July, 1698 Hereford (Tory) 
 
 19 Dec., 1700 Woodstock Treasurer of the Died 1710. He re- 
 
 (Whig) Navy quested to be excused 
 
 from executing the 
 office on the ground 
 that he suffered from 
 the stone 
 
 ii Nov., 1701 New Radnor Chancellor of Died 17.14 
 (Tory) the Exche- 
 
 quer, Earl oi 
 Oxford 1711
 
 392 
 
 Parliament 
 
 XIII William III, and 
 5th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 30 De- 
 cember, 1701 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Robert Harley 
 again 
 
 Authority 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. XIII 
 p. 645 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 30 Dec., 1701 
 
 I Anne, and ist Par- 
 liament summoned 
 to meet at West- 
 minster, 20 August, 
 1702, and met for 
 despatch of business 
 20 October 
 
 Robert Harley 
 again 
 
 Cobbett's 
 Parliamentary 
 History, Vol. 
 VI, p. 46. 
 
 20 Oct., 1702 
 
 IV Anne, and 2nd Par- 
 liament summoned 
 to meet at West- 
 minster, 14 June, 
 1705, and met for 
 despatch of business 
 2 5 October. Declared 
 First Parliament of 
 Great Britain, 29 
 April, 1707 
 
 John Smith 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. XV, 
 pp. 5 and 393 
 
 25 Oct., 1705 
 
 VI Anne, and ist 
 Parliament of Great 
 Britain met at West- 
 minster, 23 October, 
 1707 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 nals, Vol. XV, 
 P- 393 
 
 23 Oct., 1707 
 
 VII Anne, and 3rd 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 8 July, 
 1708, and met for 
 despatch of business 
 1 6 November 
 
 Sir Richard 
 
 Onslow 
 
 Commons Jour- 16 Nov., 1708 
 mb.Vol.XVIi 
 p. 4 
 
 IX Anne, and 4th 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 2 5 Nov. 
 1710 
 
 William 
 Bromley 
 
 Commons Jour- 
 a/s,Vol.XVI, 
 p. 401 
 
 25 Nov., 1710
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 393 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 2 July, 1702 New Radnor Elected by a majority 
 
 (Tory) of four votes over Sir 
 
 Thomas Littleton 
 
 5 April, 1705 New Radnor 
 (Tory) 
 
 13 April, 1708 Andover (Whig) Chancellor of Died 1723 
 
 the Exchequer 
 1708-10 
 
 Andover (Whig) 
 
 21 Sept., 1710 Surrey (Whig) Chancellor of Died 1717 
 
 the Exchequer 
 
 Baron Onslow 
 
 8 August, 1713 Oxford Univer- Secretary of Died 1733 
 sity (Tory) State 1713-14
 
 394 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 XII Anne, and 5th 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 12 No- 
 vember, 1713 ; and 
 met for despatch 
 of business 16 Feb., 
 1713-14. Queen's 
 speech delivered 2 
 March 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Sir Thomas 
 
 Hanmer 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 Commons Jour- 16 Feb., 1713-14 
 nals. Vol. 
 XVII, p. 472 
 
 I George I, and ist Sir Spencer 
 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned and met for 
 business at West- 
 minster, 17 March, 
 1714-15 
 
 Compton 
 
 Commons Jour- 17 Mar., 1714-15 
 nals, Vol. 
 XVIII, p. 16 
 
 VIII George I, and Sir Spencer 
 
 2nd Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, i oMay , 
 1722 ; met for busi- 
 ness 9 October 
 
 Compton 
 
 Commons Jour- 9 Oct., 1722 
 l. XX, 
 
 again 
 
 p. 8 
 
 I George II, and ist Arthur Onslow 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 28 No- 
 vember, 1727 ; met 
 for despatch of bu- 
 siness 23 January, 
 1727-28 
 
 Commons Jour- 23 Jan., 1727-28 
 wfl/s,Vol.XXI 
 p. 20 
 
 VIII George II, and Arthur Onslow 
 2nd Parliament sum- again 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 13 
 June, 1734 ; met 
 for despatch of busi- 
 ness 14 January, 
 1734-35 
 
 Commons Jour- 14 Jan., 1734-35 
 nals, Vol. 
 XXII. p. 324
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 395 
 
 Subsequent 
 Constituency Rank or Style Rem 
 
 IS Jan.. 1714-15 Suffolk (Tory) Died 1746. 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 10 Mar., 1721-22 Sussex (Whig) First Lord of Died 1743. 
 
 the Treasury 
 1742, and Earl 
 of Wilmington 
 
 5 August, 1727 Sussex (Whig) 
 
 17 ApriJ, 1734 Surrey (Whig) Died 1768, having been 
 
 Speaker for the re- 
 cord number of years 
 
 27 April, 1741 Surrey (Whig)
 
 396 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 XV George II, and Arthur Onslow 
 3rd Parliament sum- again 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 2 5 J une , 
 1741 ; met for des- 
 patch of business 
 i Dec., 1741 
 
 Authority 
 
 Date of 
 
 Appointment 
 
 Commons Jour- i Dec., 1741 
 nals, Vol. 
 XXIV, p. 8 
 
 XXI George II, and Arthur Onslow 
 4th Parliament sum- again 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 13 Au- 
 gust, 1747; met for 
 despatch of business 
 10 Nov., 1747 
 
 Commons Jour- 10 Nov., 1747 
 nals, Vol. 
 XXV, p. 416 
 
 XXVII George II, and Arthur Onslow Commons 
 5th Parliament sum- again Journals, 
 
 moned to meet at Vol. XXVII, 
 
 Westminster, and p. 7 
 
 met for despatch of 
 business 31 May, 
 1754 
 
 31 May, 1754 
 
 I George III, and ist Sir John Cust Commons 
 Parliament sum- Journals, 
 
 moned to meet at Vol. XXIX, 
 
 Westminster, 1 9 May, p. 8 
 
 1761. King's speech 
 delivered 3 Novem- 
 ber 
 
 3 Nov., 1761 
 
 VIII George III, and Sir John Cust 
 
 2nd Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 10 May, 
 1768 
 
 again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. XXXII. 
 p. 6 
 
 10 May, 1768 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Sir Fletcher 
 
 Norton 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. XXXII, 
 p. 613 
 
 22 Jan., 1770
 
 Close of Office 
 1 8 June, 1747 
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Constituency 
 Surrey (Whig) 
 
 397 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Remarks 
 
 8 April, 1754 Surrey (Whig) 
 
 20 March, 1761 Surrey (Whig) 
 
 n March, 1768 Grantham 
 
 (Tory) 
 
 Died 1770. 
 
 17 Jan., 1770 Grantham 
 
 (Tory) 
 
 Died five days after his 
 resignation. 
 
 30 Sept., 1774 Guildford(Tory) Baron Grantley Died 1789. 
 
 1782
 
 398 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 XV George III, and Sir Fletcher 
 
 3rd Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 29 Novem- 
 ber, 1774 
 
 Norton 
 
 again 
 
 Authority 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. XXXV, 
 P-5 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 29 Nov., 1774 
 
 XXI George III, and Charles Wolfran Commons 
 
 4th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 31 October, 
 1780 
 
 Cornwall 
 
 Journals, 
 Vol. 
 
 XXXVIII, 
 p. 6 
 
 31 Oct., 1780 
 
 XXIV George III, and Charles Wolfran Commons 
 $th Parliament sum- Cornwall Journals, 
 
 moned to meet at again Vol. XL, p. 5 
 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 18 May, 
 1784 
 
 1 8 May, 1784 
 
 Ditto 
 
 William Wynd- Commons 
 ham Grenville Journals, 
 
 Vol. XLIV, 
 P- 45 
 
 5 Jan., 1789 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Henry Commons 
 
 Addington Journals, 
 
 Vol. XLIV, 
 P- 434 
 
 8 June, 1789 
 
 XXX George III, and Henry 
 
 6th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 10 Au- 
 gust, 1 790 ; met for 
 despatch of business 
 25 November, 1790 
 
 Addington 
 again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. XLVI, 
 p. 6 
 
 25 Nov., 1790
 
 Close of Office 
 i Sept., 1780 
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 Constituency 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Guildford(Tory) Baron Grantley 
 1782 
 
 399 
 
 Remarks 
 
 2$ March, 1784 Winchelsea 
 
 (Tory) 
 
 Died 1789 
 
 2 January, 1789 Rye (Tory) 
 
 7 June, 1789 Buckingham- Prime Minister Died 1834 
 shire. Of a "All the Tal- 
 Whig family ents." Baron 
 but a sup- Grenville 
 porter of Pitt 1790 
 
 n June, 1790 Truro (Tory) 
 
 Prime Minister. Died 1844 
 Viscount Sid- 
 mouth 1805 
 
 20 May, 1796 Devizes (Tory)
 
 400 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 XXXVI George III. Henry 
 and 7th Parliament Addington 
 
 summoned to meet again 
 at Westminster, 12 
 July, 1796 ; and met 
 for despatch of busi- 
 ness 27 September 
 
 (XLI George III, by ditto 
 proclamation of 5 
 November, 1800. 
 Members then sitting 
 were declared mem- 
 bers of the First Par- 
 liament of the United 
 Kingdom, to meet 
 22 January, 1801. 
 King's speech de- 
 livered 2 February, 
 1801) 
 
 Authority 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. LII, p. 8 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 
 Vol. LVI, p. 6 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 27 Sept., 1796 
 
 22 Jan., 1801 
 
 7th Parliament con- Sir John Mitford Commons 
 tinned Journals, 
 
 Vol. LVI, 
 P- 33 
 
 II Feb., 1 80 1 
 
 Ditto 
 
 XLII George III, and 
 8th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 31 Au- 
 gust, 1 802 ; and met 
 for despatch of busi- 
 ness : 6 November. 
 King's speech de- 
 livered 23 November 
 
 Charles Abbot 
 
 Charles Abbot 
 again 
 
 Commons 
 
 Journals, Vol. 
 LVII, p. 93 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. LVIII, 
 p. 8 
 
 10 Feb., 1802 
 
 1 6 Nov., 1802 
 
 XLVII George III, and Charles Abbot 
 9th Parliament sum- again 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 15 Decem- 
 ber, 1 806. King's 
 speech delivered 19 
 December 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. LXII, 
 p. 4 
 
 15 Dec., 1806
 
 Close of Office 
 16 Feb., 1801 
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 401 
 
 Subsequent 
 Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 Devizes (Tory) 
 
 Devizes (Tory) 
 
 9 February, 1 802 Northumber- 
 land (Tory) 
 
 Baron Redes- 
 dale 1802. 
 Lord Chancellor 
 of Ireland 1 802 
 
 Died 1830 
 
 29 June, 1802 Woodstock Baron Colches- Died 1829. Buried in 
 
 (Tory) ter 1817 Westminster Abbey. 
 
 The last Speaker to 
 be so honoured 
 
 29 April, 1807 
 
 Woodstock 
 
 (Tory) 
 
 29 April, 1807 
 
 Oxford Univer- 
 sity (Tory) 
 
 2 D
 
 402 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 XLVII George III, and 
 loth Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 22 June, 
 1807. King's speech 
 delivered 26 June 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Charles Abbot 
 again 
 
 Authority 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. LXII, 
 p. 560 
 
 Date of 
 
 Appointment 
 
 22 June, 1807 
 
 LIII George III, and Charles Abbot 
 nth Parliament again *M 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 24 Novem- 
 ber, 1812. Prince 
 Regent's speech de- 
 livered 30 Nov. *' 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. LXVIII, 
 P-4J 
 
 24 Nov., 1812 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Charles 
 Manners- 
 Sutton 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. LXXII, 
 P- 307 
 
 2 June, 1817 
 
 LVIII George III. and Charles 
 1 2th Parliament Manners- 
 summoned to meet Sutton again 
 at Westminster, 4 
 August, 1818 ; met 
 for despatch of busi- 
 ness 14 January, 
 1819. King's speech 
 delivered 21 Jan. 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. LXXIV, 
 p. 8 
 
 14 Jan., 1819 
 
 I George IV, and ist 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 2 1 April, 
 1820. King's speech 
 delivered 27 April 
 
 Charles 
 Manners- 
 Button again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. LXXV, 
 p. 1 08 
 
 21 April, 1820
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 403 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 29 Sept., 1812 Oxford Univer- 
 sity (Tory) 
 
 2 June, 1817 Oxford Univer- 
 sity (Tory) 
 
 10 June, 1818 Scarborough Viscount Died 1845 
 
 (Tory) Canterbury 
 1835 
 
 29 Feb., 1820 Scarborough 
 
 (Tory) 
 
 2 June, 1826 Scarborough 
 
 (Tory)
 
 404 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 VII George IV, and 
 2nd Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 2 5 July, 
 1826 ; met for des- 
 patch of business 14 
 November. King's 
 speech delivered 21 
 November 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Charles 
 Manners- 
 Sutton again 
 
 Authority 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. LXXXII 
 p. 8 
 
 Date of 
 
 Appointment 
 
 14 Nov., 1826 
 
 I William IV, and ist 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 14 
 September, 1830; 
 met for despatch of 
 business 26 October. 
 King's speech de- 
 livered 2 November 
 
 Charles 
 Manners- 
 Sutton again 
 
 Commons 
 
 Journals, 
 Vol. LXXXVI, 
 
 p. 6 
 
 26 Oct., 1830 
 
 I William IV, and 2nd 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 14 June, 
 1831. King's speech 
 delivered 21 June 
 
 Charles 
 Manners- 
 Sutton again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. LXXXVI, 
 p. 522 
 
 14 June, 1831 
 
 III William IV, and 
 3rd Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 ^business 29 January, 
 1833. King's speech 
 delivered 5 February 
 
 Charles 
 Manners- 
 Sutton again 
 
 Commons 
 
 Journals, 
 VoLLXXXVIIl 
 
 P- 5 
 
 29 Jan., 1833 
 
 V William IV, and 
 4th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business^ 1 9 Febru- 
 ary, 1835. King's 
 speech delivered 24 
 February 
 
 James 
 
 Abercromby 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. XC, p. 5 
 
 19 Feb., 1835-
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 405 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 24 July, 1830 Scarborough 
 
 (Tory) 
 
 23 April, 1831 Scarborough 
 
 (Tory) 
 
 3 Dec., 1832 Scarborough 
 
 (Tory) 
 
 29 Dec., 1834 Cambridge Uni- 
 versity (Tory) 
 
 17 July, 1837 Edinburgh Baron Dunferm- The only Speaker to 
 
 (Whig) line 1839 come from north of 
 
 the Tweed. Died 
 1858
 
 406 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Victoria, and ist 
 Parliament summon- 
 ed to meet at West- 
 minster, ii Septem- 
 ber, 1837; and met 
 for despatch of busi- 
 ness 1 5 November. 
 Queen's speech de- 
 livered 20 November 
 
 Speaker 
 
 James 
 
 Abercromby 
 again 
 
 Authority 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. XCIII, 
 P-7 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 15 Nov., 1837 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Charles Shaw- 
 Lefevre 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. XCIV. 
 p. 274 
 
 27 May, 1839 
 
 V Victoria, and 2nd Charles Shaw- Commons 
 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 19 August, 
 1841. Queen's speech 
 delivered 24 August 
 
 Lefevre again 
 
 Journals, 
 Vol. XCVI, 
 p. 465 
 
 19 August, 1841 
 
 XI Victoria, and 3rd 
 Parliament summon- 
 ed to meet at West- 
 minster, 21 Septem- 
 ber. 1847; and met 
 for despatch of busi- 
 ness 1 8 November. 
 Queen's speech de- 
 livered 23 November 
 
 Charles Shaw- 
 Lefevre again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 
 vol. cm. p. 7 
 
 1 8 Nov., 1847 
 
 XVI Victoria, and 4th 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 20 
 August, 1852. Met 
 for despatch of busi- 
 ness 4 November. 
 Queen's speech de- 
 livered 1 1 November 
 
 Charles Shaw- 
 Lefevre again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CVIII. 
 P-7 
 
 4 Nov., 1852
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 407 
 
 P Subsequent 
 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 15 May, 1839 Edinburgh 
 
 (Whig) 
 
 23 June, 1841 North Hamp- Viscount Evers- Died 1888 
 shire (Liberal) ley 1857 
 
 23 July, 1847 North Hamp- 
 shire (Liberal) 
 
 i July, 1852 North Hamp- 
 shire (Liberal) 
 
 21 March, 1857 North Hamp- 
 shire (Liberal)
 
 4o8 
 
 Parliament 
 
 XX Victoria, and 5th 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 30 April, 
 1857. Queen's speech 
 delivered 7 May 
 
 Speaker 
 
 John Evelyn 
 Denison 
 
 Authority 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CXII, 
 p. 119 
 
 Date of 
 
 Appointment 
 
 30 April, 1857 
 
 XXII Victoria, and 
 6th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 3 1 May, 
 1859. Queen's speech 
 delivered 7 June 
 
 John Evelyn 
 Denison again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CXIV, 
 p. 191 
 
 31 May, 1859 
 
 XXIX Victoria, and 
 7th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, 15 
 August, 1865 ; and 
 met for despatch of 
 business I February, 
 1866. Queen's speech 
 delivered 6 February 
 
 John Evelyn 
 Denison again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CXXI, 
 P-9 
 
 i Feb., 1866 
 
 XXXII Victoria, and 
 8th Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 10 Decem- 
 ber, 1868. Queen's 
 speech delivered 16 
 February, 1869 
 
 John Evelyn 
 Denison again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CXXIV, 
 P-5 
 
 10 Dec., 1868 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Henry Bouverie 
 William Brand 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CXXVII, 
 P- 23 
 
 9 Feb., 1872
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 409 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 23 April, 1859 North Notts ViscountOssing- Died 1873. His election 
 
 (Liberal) ton 1872 to the Chair was 
 
 unanimous on each 
 occasion 
 
 6 July, 1865 North Notts 
 
 (Liberal) 
 
 II Nov., 1868 North Notts 
 (Liberal) 
 
 7 Feb.. 1872 North Notts 
 
 (Liberal) 
 
 26 Jan., 1874 Cambridgeshire Viscount Hamp- Died 1892. His elect ion 
 (Liberal) den 1884 to thr Chair w 
 
 unanimous on each 
 
 ,, i i, ui
 
 410 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Authority 
 
 XXXVIII Victoria, Henry Bouverie Commons 
 and gth Parliament William Brand Journals, 
 again 
 
 Date of 
 
 Appointment 
 
 5 Mar., 1874 
 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 5 March, 
 1874. Queen's speech 
 delivered 19 March 
 
 Vol. CXXIX, 
 P-S 
 
 XLIII Victoria, and Henry Bouverie Commons 
 loth Parliament William Brand Journals, 
 again 
 
 29 April, 1880 
 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 29 April, 
 1880. Queen's speech 
 delivered 20 May 
 
 Vol.CXXXV, 
 P-S 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Arthur Welles- 
 ley Peel 
 
 Commons 
 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CXXXIX, 
 
 P- 74 
 
 26 Feb., 1884 
 
 XLIX Victoria, and Arthur Welles- Commons 
 nth Parliament ley Peel again Journals, 
 summoned to meet Vol. CXLI, 
 
 at Westminster, and p. 5 
 
 met for despatch of 
 business 12 January, 
 1886. Queen's speech 
 (delivered in person 
 by Her Majesty) 21 
 January 
 
 12 Jan., 1886 
 
 L Victoria, and I2th 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 5 August, 
 1886. Queen's speech 
 delivered 19 August 
 
 Arthur Welles- 
 ley Peel again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CXLI, 
 P- 315 
 
 5 August, 1886
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 
 
 411 
 
 Close of Office Constituency 
 
 .24 March, 1880 Cambridgeshire 
 (Liberal) 
 
 Subsequent 
 Rank or Style 
 
 Remarks 
 
 2$ Feb., 1884 
 
 Cambridgeshire 
 (Liberal) 
 
 18 Nov., 1885 
 
 Warwick and 
 Leamington 
 (Liberal) 
 
 Viscount Peel, 
 1895 
 
 His election to the 
 Chair was unanimous 
 on each occasion 
 
 26 June 
 
 Warwick and 
 Leamington 
 (Liberal) 
 
 28 June, 1892 
 
 Warwick and 
 Leamington 
 (Liberal)
 
 412 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 Parliament 
 
 Speaker 
 
 Authority 
 
 LVI Victoria, and i3th Arthur Welles- Commons 
 Parliament sum- ley Peel again Journals, 
 moned to meet at Vol. CXLVII, 
 
 Westminster, and p. 412 
 
 met for despatch of 
 business 4 August, 
 1892. Queen's speech 
 delivered 8 August 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 4 August, 1892 
 
 Ditto 
 
 William Court 
 Gully 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CL, 
 p. 149 
 
 10 April, 1895 
 
 LIX Victoria, and I4th 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 12 August, 
 1895. Queen's speech 
 delivered 15 August 
 
 William Court 
 Gully again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CL, 
 P- 340 
 
 12 August, 1895. 
 
 LXIV Victoria, and 
 1 5th Parliament 
 summoned to meet 
 at Westminster, i 
 November, 1900 ; 
 and met for despatch 
 of business 3 Decem- 
 ber. Queen's speech 
 delivered 6 Dec. 
 
 William Court 
 Gully again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CLV, 
 p. 406 
 
 3 Dec., 1900 
 
 And I Edward VII, 
 and ist Parliament 
 summoned to hear 
 the King's speech 
 14 February, 1901 
 
 Ditto continued 
 
 James William 
 Lowther 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CLX, 
 p. 249 
 
 8 June, 1905
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 413 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 9 April, 1895 Warwick and 
 Leamington 
 (Liberal) 
 
 8 July, 1895 Car lisle (Liberal) Viscount Selby, Died 1909. 
 
 1905 
 
 25 Sept., 1900 Carlisle (Liberal) 
 
 7 June, 1905 Carlisle(Liberal) 
 
 8 Jan., 1906 Cumberland 
 
 (Penrith Div.) 
 (Conservative)
 
 414 
 
 Parliament 
 
 VI Edward VII, and 
 2nd Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 13 Feb., 
 1906. King's speech 
 delivered 19 Feb. 
 
 Speaker 
 
 James William 
 Lowther again 
 
 Authority 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CLXI, 
 P-5 
 
 Date of 
 Appointment 
 
 13 Feb., 1906 
 
 X Edward VII, and 
 3rd Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business, 15 Feb., 
 1910. King's speech 
 delivered 21 Feb. 
 
 James William 
 Lowther again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CLXV, 
 P- 5 
 
 15 Feb., 1910 
 
 And I George V, 7 May, 
 1910 
 
 I George V, and ist 
 Parliament sum- 
 moned to meet at 
 Westminster, and 
 met for despatch of 
 business 31 January, 
 1911. King's speech 
 delivered 6 Feb. 
 
 James William 
 Lowther again 
 
 Commons 
 Journals, 
 Vol. CLXVI, 
 P- 5 
 
 31 Jan., 1911 
 
 It will be noticed that the dates of several elections to the Chair and the 
 sequence of names do not, in all cases, correspond with the list of Speakers 
 inscribed on the panels of the Library of the House of Commons. They, 
 unfortunately, contain many inaccuracies, and it has been the Author's 
 endeavour to correct them as far as possible in these pages.
 
 CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 415 
 
 Subsequent 
 Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks 
 
 10 Jan., 1910 Cumberland 
 
 (Penrith Div.) 
 (Conservative) 
 
 128 Nov., 1910 Cumberland 
 
 (Penrith Div.) 
 (Conservative) 
 
 Cumberland 
 (Penrith Div.) 
 (Conservative
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 2 E
 
 APPENDIX I 
 
 f "^HE following curious account of Sir Thomas 
 
 LovelTs election to the Chair in 1485 shows 
 
 that at the commencement of the Tudor era 
 
 the Speaker was recommended for the Royal 
 
 approval by a committee of Knights of the Shire, 
 
 aided, apparently, by a small number of borough 
 
 members, acting in concert with the Lord Chancellor 
 
 and the Recorder of London. It is taken from a report 
 
 made to the corporation of Colchester, by Thomas 
 
 Christmas and John Vertue, burgesses for Colchester, of 
 
 the first Parliament of Henry VII (printed in Benham's 
 
 Red Paper Book of Colchester [1902], pp. 61-2) : 
 
 " The vij 01 day of November, be ix of the clokke, so 
 for to precede unto a leccion for [to] chose a Speker. So 
 the leccion gave hir voyse unto Thomas Lovell, a gentle- 
 man . . . Lincolnes Inne. That doon, it pleased the 
 Knyghts that were there present for to ryse f[rom] ther 
 sets and so for to goo to that place where as the Speker 
 stode and [brought him and] set hym in his sete. That 
 done, there he thanked all the maisters of the plase. Then 
 [it pleased] the Recorder of London for to shew the cus- 
 tume of the place. This was his seycng : ' Maister Speker, 
 and all my maisters, there hath ben an ordir in this place 
 in tymes passed [that] ye shuld commaunde a certayn 
 [? number] of Knyghts and other gcntilmen, such as it 
 
 419
 
 420 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 pleaseth you ... to the number of xxiiij, and they to 
 goo togedir unto my Lord Chaunceler, and there to show 
 unto his lordship that they have doon the Kyngs com- 
 maundement in the chosyn of our Speker, desyring his 
 lordship if that he wold shew it unto the Kyng's grace. 
 And . . . whan it plesith the King to commaunde us 
 when, we shall present hym afore his high grace. Yt 
 pleased the Kyng that we shuld present hym upon the 
 ix day of Novembre. That same day, at x of the cloke, 
 sembled Maister Speker and all the Knyghts, sitteners, 1 
 and burgeyses in the parlement house, and so departed 
 into the parlement chamber before the Kyngs grace and 
 all his lords spirituall and tempo rail and all his Juggs, 2 
 and so presented our Speker before the Kyngs grace and 
 all his lords spirituall and temporall.' ' 
 
 The Lord Chancellor referred to was John Russell, 
 Bishop of Lincoln, and the Recorder of London was 
 Thomas Fitzwilliam, who was himself Speaker in 1488-89. 
 Speaker Lovell was a contemporary of Abbot Islip, 
 the last of the great monastic builders to stamp his 
 individuality on the fabric of the Abbey. As Treasurer 
 of the Royal Household Lovell probably assisted at the 
 laying of the foundation stone of Henry the Seventh's 
 Chapel, in which, after the lapse of four centuries, his 
 noble medallion portrait by Torregiano has, with singular 
 appropriateness, recently been placed. (See illustration 
 in this volume.) 
 
 1 Citizens. 2 Judges.
 
 APPENDIX II 
 
 Sir Thomas More's Speech on presentation for the Royal 
 Approval, 1523. Translated from the original Latin. 
 
 ON Saturday the i8th day of April, the 4th 
 day of Parliament, the Commons from their 
 House, appearing before our Lord the 
 King in full Parliament, presented to our 
 Lord the King Thomas More, knight, as their Speaker ; 
 whom our aforesaid Lord the King was graciously pleased 
 to accept. 
 
 " Whereupon Thomas, after making his excuse before 
 our Lord the King, inasmuch as his excuse could not be 
 admitted on the part of our Lord the King, made his 
 most humble supplication, that, with the like liberty of 
 speech, he might publish and declare all and singular 
 things to be by him published and declared in the Parlia- 
 ment aforesaid, in the name of the said Commons ; but 
 that if he declared any things enjoined on him by his 
 Fellows otherwise than they themselves were agreed 
 upon, either by adding or diminishing, he might be 
 enabled to correct and amend the things so declared 
 by his Fellows aforesaid ; and that his Protestation to 
 this effect might be entered on the Roll of the Parliament 
 aforesaid. 
 
 " To whom, by the King's command, answer was made 
 
 421
 
 422 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 by the most Reverend Legate, the Lord Chancellor, that 
 Thomas should employ and enjoy the like liberty of 
 speech as other Speakers, in the times of the noble 
 ancestors of our Lord the King of England, were wont to 
 use and enjoy in Parliaments of this kind."
 
 INDEX
 
 INDEX 
 
 Abbey of Westminster, v. West- 
 minster Abbey 
 
 Abbot, Charles (afterwards Lord 
 Colchester), Speaker in 1802, 1806, 
 1807, and 1812, xxviii, xxx, xxxi, 
 xxxv, 264, 295, 298, 299, 300, 301, 
 3 2 . 303, 33 '. 400, 402 
 Abbots of Abingdon, 14 
 Abbots of Furness, 1 3 
 Abbots of Westminster, 12, 20, 37, 
 46, 47. 59, 161 
 
 William of Colchester, 46, 47, 
 
 48 
 Thomas Henley, 37 ; John Islip, 
 
 420 
 Simon Langham, 42, 43, 44, 
 
 45. 47 
 Nicholas Litlington, 44, 45, 
 
 47 
 
 Thomas Millyng, 95 
 Richard Ware, 42 
 Abbot's School, Westminster, King 
 
 Edward V educated at, 95 
 Abercorn, Earl of, 206 
 Abercromby, James (Lord Dunferm- 
 line), Speaker in 1835 antl I &37> 
 xxx, xxxi, 269, 316, 317, 318, 319, 
 320, 404, 406 
 Abingdon, Abbots of, 14 
 Abingdon Street, xxxix 
 Addington, Dr. , the Speaker's father, 
 
 293 
 Addington, Henry (Lord Sidmouth), 
 
 Speaker in 1789, 1790, 1796, and 
 
 1801, xxviii, xxx, xxxi, 289, 291, 
 
 292, 293, 294, 398, 400 
 "Addled Parliament," 170 
 Adjournment, fixed hour for, adopted 
 
 by the House of Commons in 1888, 
 
 335 
 
 Agincourt, Battle of, a Speaker fights 
 t, 75 
 
 Album of water-colour drawings of 
 
 Speakers in the National Portrait 
 
 Gallery, xxiv, xxvii, xxviii 
 Alexander IV, Pope, 34 
 Alington, William, Speaker in 1429, 
 
 xxiii, xxxvi, 79, 360 
 Alington, William, the younger, 
 
 Speaker in 1472 and 1477-78, 
 
 xxxvi, 91, 368 
 
 "All the Talents," Ministry of, 288 
 Almon, printer of Parliamentary 
 
 debates, 264 
 Althorp, Lord, 308 
 Amiens, 7, 291 
 
 Anne, Queen of England, 234, 244, 245 
 Argyll Buildings, London residence 
 
 of Speaker Cust, 276 
 Argyll, Duke of, 257 
 Armstrong, Sir Thomas, 226 
 Arundel, Thomas, Archbishop of 
 
 Canterbury, 62 
 Ashby St. Ledger's, Northants, church 
 
 of, xxv ; burial place of Speaker 
 
 Catesby, 369 
 Askew, Mr., 197 
 " Assenters as well as Petitioners," 
 
 Commons so described in the Rolls 
 
 of 1414, 75 
 Audley, Sir Thomas (afterwards 
 
 Lord Audley), Speaker in 1529, 
 
 xxviii, xxx ; painting by Holbein, 
 
 xxxiii; 124, 125, 374 
 Audley End, Essex, said to be the 
 
 largest private house in England, 
 
 124 
 Austin Friars, burial place of Speaker 
 
 Sheffield, 117 
 Aye Bourne, 10 
 Ayles, Kev. Dr. H. II. I?., xl 
 Aymer dc Valence, Bishop Elect of 
 
 Winchester, 34, 343 
 Ayremine, William dc, Clerk in 
 
 Chancery, records the doing* of 
 
 both Houses, ttmf. Edward ft, 32 
 
 425
 
 426 
 
 INDEX 
 
 B 
 
 Bacon, Sir Francis, 152, 165, 171 
 
 "Bad Parliament" of 1376-77, 52 
 
 Baginton, Warwickshire, seat of 
 Speaker Bromley, 244 
 
 Bailly, Inner, of the Palace of West- 
 minster, 19 
 
 Outer, of the Palace of West- 
 minster, 19 
 
 Baker, Mr. William, of Norwich, 
 xxvii 
 
 Baker, Sir John, Speaker in 1545 and 
 1547, xxvii, 128, 129, 130, 131, 376 
 
 Ball, John, hanged in 1381, 80 
 
 Bampfylde, Thomas, Speaker in 
 1659, xxxvi, 213, 386 
 
 Banqueting House, Whitehall, 170 
 
 Bankside, Southwark, 21 
 
 Barbers Hall, xxviii 
 
 "Barebones" Parliament, 200 
 
 "Bares " or Bars, a game prohibited 
 within the precincts of the Palace 
 of Westminster, temp. Edward III, 
 
 3i 
 
 Barnard, Lord, xxix, xl 
 
 Barnet, Battle of, 86 
 
 Barones Minores, severance of, from 
 the House of Lords, 22 
 
 Barrow, Suffolk, burial place of 
 Speaker Heigham, xxxiv, 377 
 
 Barry, Sir Charles, architect of the 
 new Houses of Parliament, 9, 59, 
 in, 322 
 
 Baynard, Richard, Speaker in 1421, 
 xxiii, xxxvii, 76, 358 
 
 Beale, Robert, 153 
 
 Beauchamp, Earl, xxxix 
 
 Beauchamp, Richard, Earl of War- 
 wick, 78 
 
 Beauchamp, Sir Walter, Speaker in 
 1415-16, and the first lawyer to be 
 called to the Chair by the Commons 
 themselves, xxxiv, xxxvi, 76, 78, 
 356 
 
 Beaudesert, 36 
 
 Beaufort, Margaret, bronze effigy of, 
 in Westminster Abbey, xxii 
 
 Beaumont, Henry de, xxiii, xxxvii, 
 33. 40, 343 
 
 Becket's shrine in Canterbury Cathe- 
 dral, 126 
 
 Bedford, Duke of, 288 
 
 Bedford Row, birthplace of Speaker 
 Addington, 293 
 
 Bell, Mr. J., xxviii 
 
 Bellasis family, memorial of the, in 
 St. Giles's in the Fields, xxviii 
 
 Bell, Sir Robert, Speaker in 1572, 
 xxviii, xxx, 139, 380 
 
 Bell Tower of the Palace of West- 
 minster, 1 8 
 
 Belvoir, reproduction of picture of 
 Dudley and Empson at, xxvi 
 
 Benevolences, 92, 96, 170 
 
 Benson, Edward White, Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, xxxi, xxxii 
 
 Berkeley of Stratton, Lord, 246 
 
 Besant, Sir Walter, 19, 45 
 
 Besselsleigh, Berks, property of the 
 Lenthall family, 184, 195 
 
 Bibury Club Races, 206 
 
 "Big Ben" of Westminster, the 
 largest chiming clock in the world, 
 103 
 
 Bills, early use of the word in the 
 Parliamentary sense, 53, 75 
 
 Bills of Supply, a frequent cause of 
 disagreement between Lords and 
 Commons, 152, 177 
 
 Birch Hall, Colchester, xxxv 
 
 Birdcage Walk, n 
 
 "Black," or Reformation, Parlia- 
 ment, 124 
 
 Black Prince, Edward the, 39, 51 
 
 Blackfriars, 49, 119, 120, 123, 137 
 
 Parliaments held at, 49, 119, 120 
 Blood, Col., 283 
 
 "Bloodless Rencontre, The," 289 
 Blount, Sir Thomas, 161 
 
 Sir Michael, 162 
 Le, Nicholas, 161 
 
 Bobbing, Kent, burial placeof Speaker 
 Savage, xxv, 353 
 
 Bodleian Library, Oxford, xxxv 
 
 Boerley v. Burley, 362 
 
 Boleyn, Anne, n 
 
 Bolingbroke, Viscount, Henry Saint- 
 John, 247 
 
 Bourchier, Thomas, Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, 85 
 
 Bowes, John, Speaker in 1435, xxiii, 
 xxxvii, 360 
 
 Boyer's Political State of Great 
 Britain, 248, 265 
 
 Bradford, Lord, 257 
 
 Brand, Henry Bouverie William, 
 (Viscount Hampden), Speaker in 
 1872, 1874 and 1880, xxx, xxxi, 
 333-5, 408, 410
 
 INDEX 
 
 427 
 
 Brassington, Robert, a craftsman em- 
 ployed on Westminster Hall, temp. 
 Richard II, 59 
 
 Bray, Edmund, xxvi 
 
 Bray, John, xxvi 
 
 Bray, Judge Edward, xxvi 
 
 Bray, Lord, xxvi 
 
 Bray, Mr. Justice, xxvi 
 
 Bray, Sir Edward, xxvi 
 
 Bray, Sir Reginald, President or 
 Chairman of a great Council in 
 1496 : portrait of, xxvi ; 108, 109, 
 372 
 
 Braybrooke, Lord, xxxiii 
 
 Brembre, Sir Nicholas, Lord Mayor 
 of London, 88 
 
 Bribery, 115, 116, 227 
 
 Brideoak, Ralph, Bishop of Chiches- 
 ter, 207, 209 
 
 Bridewell, Palace of, 118, 119 
 
 Bristol, surrender of, to Henry of 
 Lancaster, 57 
 
 British Museum, Map of Westmin- 
 ster in 1740, xxxviii ; Speaker 
 Arthur Onslow, one of the founders 
 of, 273 
 
 " Broad-bottomed Administration," 
 
 253 
 
 Broadside of List of Members, xxxv 
 Bromley, William, Speaker in 1710, 
 
 xxx, xxxi, xxxv ; 239, 243, 244, 
 
 245, 246, 248, 332, 392 
 Brooke, Sir Robert, Speaker in 1554 ; 
 
 and the first to represent the City of 
 
 London, xxiii, xxvii, xxxiv, 125, 
 
 134, 376 
 
 Brown, Sir Adam, 227 
 Browne, Sir George, 83 
 Broxbourne Church, Hertfordshire, 
 
 burial place of Speaker Sir John 
 
 Say, xxv, 81 
 
 Bruen, Mr., of Greek Street, xxx 
 " Bubble and Squeak," nicknames 
 
 of the two brothers Wynn, 
 
 305 
 
 Buckingham, Dukes of, 171, 178, 
 180, 181, 182, 188 
 
 Buckingham Palace, Goring House 
 on site of, occupied by Speaker 
 Lenthall, 112, 190 
 
 Bulinga Fen, 10 
 
 " Bull Face, Double Fee, Sir," nick- 
 name applied to Speaker Norton, 
 278 
 
 Bulled, Mr., 309 
 
 Burford Priory, Oxfordshire home of 
 
 Speaker Lenthall, 184, 204, 205, 
 
 206, 207 
 
 Burford, view of, xxxix 
 B urges, Dr., 189 
 
 Burgh, William, a craftsman em- 
 ployed on Westminster Hall, temp. 
 
 Richard II, 59 
 
 Burghley, Lord Treasurer, 146 
 Burgoyne, General, 283 
 Burke, Edmund, 265, 285 
 Burke's Establishment Bill, 279, 282 
 Burley or Boerley, William, Speaker 
 
 in 1436-37, and 1444-45, xxxvii, 
 
 362 
 Burlington, Lord, plans new Houses 
 
 of Parliament in 1733, 274, 275 
 Burnet, Gilbert, Bishop of Salisbury, 
 
 236, 237 
 Bury St. Edmunds, St. Mary's 
 
 Church in, burial place of Speaker 
 
 Drury, 373 
 Bussy, or Bushey, Sir John, Speaker 
 
 >n 1393-94. 1396-97, and 1397, 
 
 xxxvi, xxxvii, 33, 56, 57, 350 
 the first Speaker mentioned by 
 
 Shakespeare, 57 
 "Butcher of England," The, John 
 
 Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, 70, 71, 
 
 83 
 
 Butterwick, Lincolnshire, seat of 
 Speaker Sheffield, temp. Henry 
 VIII, 117 
 
 Cabinet Government Ministerial re- 
 sponsibility to Parliament, origin 
 of the system, 260 ; increased 
 power of, in recent years, 330 
 
 Cade, Jack, 80, 83 
 
 Caesar, Sir Charles, 203 
 
 Cairns, Countess, xxxix 
 
 Cairns, Earl, xxxix 
 
 Call of the House in Tudor times, 120 
 
 Campbell-Bannerman.Sir Henry, J3Q 
 
 Campbell, Colin, Architect, 136, 256 
 
 Campeggio, Cardinal, 123 
 
 Campion, Edmund, 162 
 
 Cannon, or Channel Row, lo 
 
 Canning, George, 292 
 
 Canterbury Cathedral, 126, 300 
 
 Canterbury, Viscount, v. Manners- 
 Sutton, Charles 
 
 Cardinal Cap Alley, Banksi.lc, 21
 
 428 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Carteret, Lord, 253 
 
 Carey Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, 
 
 237 
 
 Caricatures of Speakers, 284, 288 
 
 Cartwright, Thomas, 162 
 
 Casting Votes of Speakers, 160, 196, 
 223, 283 
 
 " Cat, the Rat and Lovell the Dog," 
 96 
 
 Catesby, Robert, 96 
 
 Catesby, William, Speaker in 1483- 
 84, xxxvi, 96, 97, 368 ; memorial 
 brass of, xxv 
 
 Caxton, William, 48, 150 
 
 Cecil, Sir Robert, 153, 169 
 
 Chair, Speaker Lenthall's, canopy of, 
 preserved at Radley, Berks, 195 
 
 Chamber of the Chauntor of St. 
 Stephen's Chapel, Palace of West- 
 minster, 17 
 
 Chamber of the Cross in the old 
 Palace of Westminster, 18 
 
 Chamberlayne's Anglia Notitia, 219, 
 220 
 
 Chambers, John, Dean of St. Ste- 
 phen's Chapel, Westminster, 119 
 
 Chambre Blanche, or White Hall, in 
 the old Palace of Westminster, 42, 
 
 43 
 
 Chancery Lane, 103, 202 
 Chapel of St. Benedict, Westminster 
 
 Abbey, 44 
 Chapel of St. Erasmus, Westminster 
 
 Abbey, 95 
 Chapel of the Pyx, Westminster 
 
 Abbey, 58 
 Chapel of St. Michael, Westminster 
 
 Abbey, Wm. Trussell's tomb in, 40 
 Chapel of St. Stephen, in the old 
 
 Palace of Westminster, v. St. 
 
 Stephen, Chapel of ; Chapel, 
 
 Henry VII's, in Westminster 
 
 Abbey, 94, 105, 109, no, III 
 Chaplain of the House of Commons, 
 
 in the reign of Queen Anne, 245 
 Chapter House of the Abbey, 41, 45, 
 
 46, 47, 48, 49 
 Charles I, King of England, 7, 190, 
 
 191, 
 Charles II, King of England, 215, 
 
 226, 227, 228 
 Charlton, Sir Job, Speaker in 1672- 
 
 73, xxx, 222, 388 
 
 Charlton, Sir Thomas, Speaker, in 
 3~S4> xxiii xxxvii, 81, 83, 364 
 
 Chaucer, Geoffrey, 53, 71 
 
 Chaucer, Thomas, Speaker in 1407, 
 
 1409-10, 1411, 1414, and 1421, 
 
 71, 72, 354, 356, 358; memorial 
 
 brass of, xxv 
 
 Checkenden, Bucks, xxxiv 
 Cheney, v. Cheyne 
 Cheyne, Sir John, Speaker in 1399, 
 
 xxiii, xxxvii, 62, 352 
 Chope, Mr. R. P., xl 
 Christ Church College, Oxford, xxix, 
 
 xxxv 
 Church and State, symbol of the 
 
 Union of, in Plantagenet times, 48 
 Church, spoliation of the, proposed by 
 
 the House of Commons in 1404, 
 
 69 
 Chute, Chaloner, Speaker in 1658-59, 
 
 xxix, 213, 386 
 Chute, Mr. Charles, of The Vyne, 
 
 Basingstoke, xxix 
 Cinque Ports, 25 
 City of London, Sir Robert Brooke 
 
 the first Speaker to represent it in 
 
 Parliament, 134 
 Clarence, Duke of, 92 
 Claverley, near Wolverhampton, 
 
 burial place of Speaker Brooke, 
 
 xxxiv, 134 
 Clement's Lane, 230 
 Clergy Residence Bill, introduced by 
 
 Speaker Manners-Sutton, 304 
 Clerk of the House of Commons, 33, 
 
 159, 168, 267, 315 
 Clerk Assistant of the House of 
 
 Commons, print disproving the 
 
 belief that John Rushworth was 
 
 the first, xxxviii 
 Clerk of the Parliaments, 33 
 Cleuderre, William, a craftsman em- 
 ployed on Westminister Hall, temp. 
 
 Richard II, 59 
 Clifford Street, Burlington Gardens, 
 
 294 
 
 Clive, Lord, 260 
 Clock for use of the House of 
 
 Commons, first mention of, 157 
 Clock Tower of the old Palace of 
 
 Westminister, 118 
 Cloister Court of St. Stephen's 
 
 Chapel, Palace of Westminister, 
 
 118, 119 
 
 Closure of Debate, institution of, 335 
 Cloth Fair, Smithfield, 126 
 Coalition Ministry of 1783, 284
 
 INDEX 
 
 429 
 
 Cobbett's Parliamentary History, 
 265, 374, 376, 382, 386, 388, 392 
 
 Cockpit in Whitehall, 199, 265, 281 
 
 Coe, Rev. C. H., xl 
 
 Coke, Sir Edward, Speaker in 
 1592-93, xxviii, xxix, xxxi, 31, 
 147, 148, I49-IS 8 , l?l, I? 2 , i?8, 
 179, 184, 331, 380 
 
 Colchester, Lord, v. Abbot, Charles 
 
 College Street, Great, Westminster, 
 viii, 10, 12 
 
 Cold ham, xxviii 
 
 Commercial Treaty with France, 
 
 1713. 247 
 
 "Committee of Safety," 213 
 Committee of the whole House, 
 
 Speaker formerly votes in, 331 
 Commons, House of 
 Plantagenet Period 
 
 Dawn of the English Constitu- 
 tion, at Westminster, 4 
 JBarones Afirwres, or lesser Ten- 
 ants in Chief, separate from 
 the House of Lords, 22 
 Simon de Montfort and the writ 
 
 of summons, 23 
 
 The Writ becomes a right, in- 
 stead of, as in the case of the 
 House of Lords, a privilege, 
 
 25 
 
 Transition of the principle of 
 representation from tenure to 
 selection, 23 
 
 Knights of the Shire, when first 
 summoned to Westminster, 
 24 
 
 Novelties and experiments intro- 
 duced into the Parliamentary 
 system in the thirteenth cen- 
 tury, 27 
 
 Burgesses, when first summoned 
 to Westminster, 28 ; seldom 
 attend in person, contenting 
 themselves with petitioning 
 the Crown, 23 
 
 End of the experimental stage 
 and permament establishment 
 of an assembly comprising 
 three estates of the realm, 28 
 
 Separation of the two Houses, 
 temp. Edward III, 30; not- 
 withstanding some uncertainty 
 as to Lords and Commons 
 having, at any time, delilwr- 
 ated in the same Chamt>er, 31 
 
 Commons, House of 
 Plantagenet Period 
 
 Lords and Commons make separ- 
 ate grants in 1332 and 1339,31 
 
 Earliest mouthpieces of the 
 Commons, the precursors of 
 the formally elected Speakers 
 mentioned in the Rolls of Par- 
 liament, 33 
 
 Important constitutional as- 
 sembly at Westminster in 
 February, 1304-05, 29 
 
 In 1322 the Commons obtain 
 from Edward II an acknow- 
 ledgment of the supremacy of 
 a representative assembly, vir- 
 tually amounting to a written 
 Constitution, 32 
 
 Maintenance of order within the 
 Palace of Westminster, temp. 
 Edward III, 31 
 
 Clerk of the House of Commons 
 appointed in 1338, 33 
 
 Peter de Montfort said to have 
 acted " vice totius com muni- 
 tatis" in the " Mad Parlia- 
 ment," held at Oxford, 1258, 
 a restricted assembly of Barons 
 and Prelates, 35 
 
 Differences between Lords and 
 Commons in 1339 lead to the 
 summoning of a new Parlia- 
 ment, 39 
 
 Commons assemble in the 
 Painted Chaml>er in the Easter 
 Parliament of 1343, 42; in 
 the Chapter House of the 
 Abbots of Westminster in 
 1351-52, during the rule of 
 Simon Langham, 43 
 
 A Parliamentary leader, holding 
 a position not dissimilar to 
 that of Speaker (William Trus- 
 sell), buried in Westminster 
 Abl>ey, temp. Edward III, 
 
 ^44 
 
 Commons assemble in the Re- 
 fectory of the Monks of West- 
 minster in 1397, 48 
 
 Sir Thomas Hunger ford, I he 
 first Speaker whose name is 
 entered on the Rolls, calls the 
 attention of the King to (he 
 grievances of his subjects, both 
 male and female, Si
 
 430 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Commons, House of 
 Plantagenet Period 
 
 Sir James Pickering, Speaker in 
 1378, asserts the right of free 
 speech, 54 
 
 Sir John Guildesborough, 
 Speaker in 1380, foreshadows 
 the modern procedure in 
 Committee of Supply in his 
 speech to the Throne, 56 
 Lancastrian Period 
 
 Henry IV, driven by necessity 
 to depend upon constitutional 
 methods, endeavours to con- 
 ciliate Parliament, 63 
 
 No taxation without consent and 
 legislation to be based upon 
 mutual recognition of the rights 
 of both Houses, 63 
 
 Harmonious relations of Lords 
 and Commons at the beginning 
 of the reign. Both Houses 
 invited to dine at Westminster 
 by the King, 64 
 
 Reunion of the two Houses for 
 social purposes contrasted with 
 a recent proposal that the 
 Lords and Commons or a 
 committee drawn from both 
 Houses should meet as one 
 deliberative body in cases of 
 deadlock, 65 
 
 Income tax sought to be im- 
 posed in 1404 proves highly 
 unpopular, and is only granted 
 on the understanding that it 
 should not be considered a 
 precedent, 66 
 
 The Declaration of Gloucester 
 1407 lays down that no reports 
 of money grants shall be made 
 to the Crown until both 
 Houses have agreed on their 
 terms, such reports to be de- 
 livered only by the Speaker 
 of the House of Commons, 
 
 73 
 
 The Commons described in the 
 Rolls of 1414 as Assenters as 
 well as Petitioners, 75 
 
 Bills gradually supersede peti- 
 tions, and are to be engrossed 
 as statutes without alteration 
 by the Crown, 75 
 
 Commons, House of 
 Lancastrian Period 
 
 The county electorate limited to 
 freeholders of forty shillings 
 annual value in 1429-30, and 
 so continued for 40x5 years, 79 
 
 A constitutional opposition 
 headed by the Duke of York 
 receives the sympathy of the 
 City of London and many 
 provincial municipalities, 8 1 
 
 An ex-Speaker beheaded by a 
 
 London mob, 83 
 Yorkist Period 
 
 The growth of borough repre- 
 sentation coincides with the 
 gradual relinquishment of the 
 custom of payment of mem- 
 bers, 87, 88 
 
 Speaker Strangeways reviews 
 the political situation in his 
 speech to the Throne, 1461, 89 
 
 The Commons thanked by the 
 King for their support, 90 
 
 Unpopularity of the method of 
 raising money by means of 
 income tax, 92 
 
 Unambitious nature of the legis- 
 lation attempted, and little or 
 no redress of grievances, 93 
 
 In the intervals of Parliamentary 
 government the King is de- 
 pendent for supplies on confis- 
 cations and benevolences, 91, 
 96 
 
 Statutes of the realm for the 
 first time printed in English, 
 temp. Richard III, 96 
 
 No measures of repression or 
 severity towards opponents in- 
 troduced to the House during 
 his reign, 96 
 Tudor Period 
 
 Powers of the Commons re- 
 stricted, and those of the 
 Privy Council increased, 99 
 
 Court of Star Chamber set up, 
 101 
 
 Sir Thomas Lovell, the last of 
 the Martial Speakers, called 
 to the Chair, 104 
 
 Unostentatious character of 
 legislation achieved by the 
 earlier Tudor Parliaments, 107
 
 INDEX 
 
 431 
 
 Commons, House of 
 Tudor Period 
 
 Continuous Parliamentary gov- 
 ernment neither expected or 
 desired by the constituencies, 
 temp. Henry VIII, 113 
 
 Two ex-Speakers beheaded on 
 Tower Hill, 113 
 
 Bills prepared by the Privy 
 Council presented cut and 
 dried to the Commons, 114 
 
 Intimidation and bribery lead 
 to little or no free choice in 
 the election of members, 114, 
 
 "5 
 
 Pressure put upon sheriffs and 
 mayors by Thomas Cromwell 
 to ensure return of candidates 
 favourable to the Court, 
 116 
 
 Spirit of independence almost 
 wholly dead in the House of 
 Commons at the Reformation, 
 117 
 
 A graduated tax upon income 
 and property is, however, 
 stoutly resisted in 1523, 121 
 
 The Commons reduced to such a 
 degree of subserviency that 
 even the imprisonment of their 
 Speaker passes without re- 
 monstrance, 128 
 
 A sessional allowance of ,100 
 made to the Speaker, 129 
 
 The long and intimate connection 
 between the Abbey and the 
 Commons comes to an end, 
 and the latter remove to the 
 disused Chapel of St. Stephen, 
 in the Palace of Westminster, 
 
 13' 
 Revival of independent spirit in 
 
 the Commons, temp. Ldward 
 
 VI, 131 
 Precautions taken by Queen 
 
 Mary I to ensure the return of 
 
 members favourable to the old 
 
 faith, 134 
 Early instance of a contest for 
 
 the Chair, in 1566, 137 
 Description of the House of 
 
 Commons in 1568, 138 
 Queen Eliza!>eth orders the Com- 
 mons to make no fresh laws, 
 
 141 
 
 Commons, House of 
 Tudor Period 
 
 Compliance of the Commons 
 with the advisers of the Crown 
 on the occasion of the trial and 
 execution of Mary Queen of 
 Scots, 141 
 
 Thomas Snagge, a lawyer, and 
 a future Speaker, advocates the 
 use of simpler language in the 
 framing of laws, 143 
 
 Sir Edward Coke becomes 
 Speaker, but shows little of 
 the independence and courage 
 marking the later years of his 
 career, 147 ; discourages the 
 making of new laws, 148 ; 
 ensures the postponement of 
 an inconvenient debate, 149 ; 
 prevents the House from com- 
 ing to an immediate decision 
 unpalatable to the Court, 150 
 
 Serious disagreement between the 
 two Houses in connection with 
 the granting of supplies, 151 
 
 Sir Francis Bacon upholds the 
 privileges of the Commons, 152 
 
 A conference held with the 
 Lords in 1593, at which the 
 Commons give way on the 
 question of the wording of the 
 preamble of Bills of Supply, 
 
 55 
 
 The Subsidy Bill only passed in 
 the Lower House through the 
 subtlety of Speaker Coke in 
 putting the question, 156 
 
 Right of the Speaker to speak 
 and vote in committee asserted 
 by Coke, 157 
 
 Extraordinary precautions taken 
 by the Privy Council in 1597 
 to ensure the return of 
 members favourable to the 
 Queen's Government, 159 
 
 Prayers adopted in the Commons, 
 
 '59 
 
 Early hours of meeting of the 
 House, 159 
 
 Casting vote of Speaker, early 
 decision as to, loo 
 
 Suspicion of Spain in the public 
 mind leads to a permanent 
 Protestant majority in the 
 House of Commons, 162
 
 432 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Commons, House of 
 Tudor Period 
 
 A growing spirit of self-reliance 
 manifests itself in the Commons 
 towards the close of Elizabeth's 
 reign, 163 
 
 The right of argument recog- 
 nised when responsible Minis- 
 ters of the Crown sit in the 
 House and take part in debate 
 on equal terms with the general 
 body of members, 163 
 Stuart Period 
 
 The great struggle between the 
 Commons and the Crown 
 
 Notwithstanding the advent of 
 a generation which valued pri- 
 vilege more than prerogative 
 Parliamentary progress is re- 
 tarded, temp. James I, 165 
 
 The important case of Privilege of 
 Sir Thomas Shirley carries the 
 amount of protection afforded 
 by the House to its members a 
 step further than in the instan- 
 ces of Haxey and Strode, 166 
 
 Rules made for the guidance of 
 the House and its Speaker, 168 
 
 Old or discredited system of 
 raising money by benevolences, 
 the sale of honours, and the 
 creation ofmonopolies, resorted 
 to by the King, 170 
 
 The Commons make formal 
 assertion of their liberties in 
 1621, 171 ; whereon the King 
 tears the page out of the 
 Journal with his own hand, 172 
 
 The refusal of supplies in Charles 
 I's first Parliament leads to its 
 summary dismissal, 175 
 
 Increasing boldness of the 
 Commons instanced by the 
 impeachment of the Duke of 
 Buckingham, 175 
 
 Oliver Cromwell enters the House 
 at the age of 29, 1 76 
 
 A committee appointed by the 
 Commons to draw up the pre- 
 amble of the Bill of Supply, 177 
 
 A conference held between the 
 two Houses, 1628, and a 
 threatened deadlock averted 
 by the Lords passing the Bill 
 as it stood, 180 
 
 Commons, House of 
 Stuart Period 
 
 The Long Parliament assembles, 
 184 
 
 Lenthall chosen Speaker, 184 ; 
 owes his election to an acci- 
 dent, 184 ; the opinion of most 
 of his contemporaries unfa- 
 vourable, 185 ; derives great 
 assistance from Henry Elsynge, 
 the Clerk of the House, 186 ; 
 the latter resigns his post in 
 1648 rather than it should be 
 said that he even tacitly ap- 
 proved of the trial and con- 
 demnation of the King, 186 
 
 Quorum of the House fixed at 
 forty, 1 88 
 
 Long hours of sitting cause the 
 Speaker to think of resigning 
 office, 189 
 
 Attempted arrest of the Five Mem- 
 bers, 3 January, 1641-42, 190 
 
 A King of England enters the 
 House of Commons and takes 
 the Speaker's Chair, 190 
 
 Lenthall's memorable reply to 
 Charles I, 192 
 
 Incidents of the day described, 
 192, 193 
 
 Lenthall abandons his post on 
 the military party becoming 
 absolute masters of the situa- 
 tion, 195 ; but returns to the 
 Chair a few days later, 196 
 
 " Pride's Purge " effected with- 
 out articulate protest from the 
 Speaker, 196 
 
 Lenthall gives a casting vote on 
 a question connected with the 
 Isle of Wight Treaty with the 
 King, 197 
 
 The rift between the Army and 
 the Parliament broadens, 198 
 
 The nation not truly represented 
 at Westminster, 198 
 
 The uncontrolled rule of a single 
 Chamber proves distasteful to 
 many of Cromwell's sup- 
 porters, 198 
 
 Expulsion of the Long Parlia- 
 ment by Cromwell, 199 
 
 The Speaker pulled out of his 
 Chair and the mace removed, 
 199
 
 INDEX 
 
 433 
 
 Commons, House of 
 Stuart Period 
 
 "Barebones" or Little Parlia- 
 ment, Lenthall not a member 
 of it, 200 
 
 This assembly, known as "The 
 Reign of the Saints," having 
 served its purpose, is cajoled 
 by its Speaker (Francis Rous) 
 into summary abdication, 
 200 
 
 Lenthall unanimously re-elected 
 in the first Parliament of 
 Oliver, Protector, but replaced 
 by Sir Thomas Widdnngton 
 in his second, 200 
 
 Lenthall takes his seat in the 
 caricature of the House of 
 Lords set up by Cromwell in 
 January, 1658, 201 
 
 Lenthall consents to preside over 
 the restored " Rump" in May, 
 1659, 20 1 
 
 The * Rump ' violently dis- 
 persed by General Lambert, 
 202 
 
 The whole surviving body of the 
 Long Parliament having been 
 restored by the army, Lenthall 
 again takes the Chair, 202 
 
 Military and Parliamentary rule 
 having alike become distasteful 
 to the country, the way is 
 paved for the Restoration of 
 the Monarchy, 202 
 
 Proposal to exclude lawyers from 
 the House, Speaker Bulstrode 
 Whitelocke's sarcastic remarks 
 upon, 213 
 
 The "Pensionary Parliament" 
 of Charles II shows itself 
 extremely jealous of the 
 privileges of the Commons, 
 216 
 
 The House of Commons as seen 
 by French eyes in 1663, 220, 
 
 221 
 
 Formal contention of the House 
 of Commons in 1671 that the 
 Lords are unable to amend a 
 Money Bill, 221 
 
 The struggle between the two 
 Houses renewed over a Money 
 Bill for the disbandment of 
 troops, 222 
 
 2 F 
 
 Commons, House of 
 Stuart Period 
 
 The Commons pass a resolu- 
 tion debarring the Lords from 
 amending, though not of re- 
 jecting or suspending, a Money 
 Bill, 222 
 
 A grave disturbance in com- 
 mittee of the whole House 
 quelled by the prompt action 
 of the Speaker, 224 
 
 The reorganisation of Danby's 
 supporters in the House of 
 Commons leads to a cleavage 
 of parties, out of which sprang 
 the Whigs and Tories of later 
 days, 225 
 
 The relations of the two Houses 
 become once more strained 
 (the precedent of Henry IV 
 again quoted), 225 
 
 Evolution of the non-partisan 
 Speaker foreshadowed, 227 
 
 The terms Whig and Tory first 
 generally applied, 227 
 
 The Commons seek to curtail 
 the prerogative of the Crown, 
 228 
 
 Parliament summoned to meet 
 at Oxford, 228 
 
 Speaker Trevor expelled the 
 House for taking bribes, 229 
 
 Importance of the Speaker's 
 office enters upon a new phase 
 after the Revolution of 1688, 
 231 
 
 Position of the Speaker, as first 
 Commoner of the Realm, 
 defined by the Legislature, 231 
 
 The Speakership of Paul Foley, 
 temp. William III, marks a 
 stage in the evolution of the 
 independence of the Chair, 233 
 
 Reaction, in 1695, from the 
 custom of promoting lawyers 
 to the Chair, 234 
 
 "Tacking," in 1699 and 1700, 
 
 2 3S 
 
 A quarrel Iwtween the two 
 Houses leads to a Iwttcr under- 
 standing between William III 
 and the Tory party, 236 
 
 Speaker Littleton's antipathy to 
 the legal profession in Parlia- 
 ment, 237
 
 434 
 
 Commons, House of 
 Stuart Period 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Speaker Harley, by birth and 
 education a Whig, develops, 
 by imperceptible stages, into 
 the leader of the Tory party, 
 238 ; said to have been the in- 
 ventor of the newspaper press 
 as an instrument of party war- 
 fare, 239 
 
 A Speaker confronted in the 
 House of Commons by no less 
 than three previous holders of 
 the office (1708), 242 
 
 Sir Thomas Hanmer, Speaker 
 in 1713-14, a popular leader 
 before his elevation to the 
 Chair, 246 ; makes the speech 
 of his life in 1713, 247-49 
 
 A Tariff Reform debate in the 
 reign of Queen Anne, 247 
 
 The Speakership assumes a per- 
 manent character, hitherto un- 
 known in its annals, temp. 
 George I, 251 
 
 Under Sir Robert Walpole the 
 House of Commons becomes 
 the real seat of power, with a 
 corresponding increase in the 
 dignity and importance of the 
 Chair, 252 
 
 Arthur Onslow, Speaker for the 
 record number of years, elected 
 to the Chair, 255 ; embraces 
 the orthodox Whig creed, 255 ; 
 the first Speaker to realise the 
 paramount importance of the 
 impartiality of the Chair, 258 ; 
 his conception of the duties 
 and responsibilities of his 
 office, contributes to the shap- 
 ing of the modern system of 
 Party Government, 259 
 Hanoverian and Saxe - Coburg 
 Period 
 
 Rise of the system of Cabinet 
 Government coupled with min- 
 isterial responsibility to Par- 
 liament, 260 
 
 The Speaker brings to the notice 
 of the House the illicit report- 
 ing of its Debates, 260-66 
 Rise of the influence of the 
 newspaper press, 260-66 
 
 Commons, House of 
 
 Hanovtrian and Saxe - Coburg 
 
 Period 
 
 Speaker Arthur Onslow's au- 
 thority defied by a culprit at 
 the bar in 1751, 269 
 
 The Speaker opposes, in com- 
 mittee of the whole House, 
 a measure promoted by the 
 Government, 270 
 
 His fearless advocacy of the 
 privileges of the Commons and 
 his opposition to late sittings 
 and late hours of meeting, 271 
 
 His farewell speech to the House, 
 quoted in extenso, 272 
 
 Proposals for building a new 
 House of Commons, 274 
 
 Speaker Gust sits in the Chair 
 for sixteen hours, 275 
 
 The Commons revert to the 
 practice of appointing a law 
 officer of the Crown to the 
 Chair, 276 ; the experiment 
 not altogether successful, 277- 
 
 79 
 
 Speaker Norton's extraordinary 
 speech to the Throne on pre- 
 senting a Bill for the better 
 support of the Royal House- 
 hold, 279 
 
 The Speaker makes a violent 
 attack on the Prime Minister 
 (Lord North), in the debate on 
 Burke'sEstablishmentBill, 279 
 
 Picturesque appearance of the 
 House in the middle of the 
 eighteenth century, as com- 
 pared with the present day, 280 
 
 Ladies excluded from the gallery 
 in consequence of a distur- 
 bance in 1778, 280 
 
 Speaker Cornwall gives a casting 
 vote against the Government 
 of the day, 283 
 
 William Wyndham Grenville, 
 (Pitt's cousin) raised to the 
 Chair at the early age of 29, 
 286 
 
 Speaker Addington, a genial 
 mediocrity, owes his election 
 to the Chair to the influence 
 of Pitt, 290 ; becomes Prime 
 Minister, 291 ; replaced by 
 Pitt, 292
 
 INDEX 
 
 435 
 
 Commons, House of 
 
 Hanoverian and Saxe Coburg 
 
 Period 
 
 The Speaker takes up his official 
 residence at Westminster, 292 ; 
 and gives his State dinners in 
 the crypt of St. Stephen's 
 Chapel, which had long been 
 used as a coal-cellar, 295 
 
 The procession of Tory Speakers 
 continued by Charles Abbot 
 (the inventor of the Census), 
 298 ; his conversation with 
 Pitt as to the most convenient 
 hour for beginning public busi- 
 ness, 299 ; induces the Govern- 
 ment to spend .70,000 on his 
 official residence, 300 ; incurs 
 a motion of censure for hav- 
 ing introduced the subject of 
 Roman Catholic aggression 
 into his speech to the Throne, 
 320 ; his action exonerated by 
 the House by a substantial 
 majority, 302 
 
 Speaker Abbot, the last Speaker 
 to be buried in Westminster 
 Abbey, 303 
 
 Speaker Manners-Sutton fills the 
 Chair of the Commons on 
 seven separate occasions, 303 ; 
 is offered the post of Prime 
 Minister, 307 ; in the Chair at 
 the passing of the great Re- 
 form Bill, 308 ; is asked by 
 the Whigs to retain the 
 Speakership after the Reform 
 Bill had been carried, 308 
 
 Destruction of the old Houses of 
 Parliament by fire in 1834, 311 
 
 Manners-Sutton is superseded by 
 Al>ercromby in 1835 by a com- 
 bination of minorities voting 
 with the Whigs, 316 
 
 Speaker Abercromby, the first 
 Whig to occupy the Chair 
 since Arthur Onslow, and the 
 only Speaker from north of 
 the Tweed, 317 
 
 Speaker Shaw-I/cfevre, one of 
 the conspicuous successes of 
 the Chair, and the first non- 
 partisan Speaker of modern 
 times, 319 ; wins the approval 
 of all parties in the House, 32 1 
 
 Commons, House of 
 
 Hanoverian and Saxe - Coburg 
 
 Period 
 
 The Commons meet, experiment- 
 ally, in the present Chamber, 
 May 30, 1850, 322 
 
 Changing conditions of the 
 House of Commons, its causes 
 described, 330 
 
 Lord Palmerston consults Delane 
 as to the choice of a successor 
 to Speaker Shaw-Lefevre, 324 
 
 John Evelyn Denison, first chosen 
 in 1857, 325 ; the last Speaker 
 to exercise his right of voting 
 in Committee, 331, and the 
 first to occupy the new official 
 residence in the Palace of 
 Westminster, 332 
 
 Mr. Speaker Brand's coup (ft"tat 
 of February, 1881, declaring 
 the state of public business to 
 be so urgent as to justify him 
 in closing the debate, 333 
 
 Urgency resolutions adopted by 
 the House and power given 
 to the Speaker to put the 
 question forthwith, 334 
 
 The principle of Closure of De- 
 bate adopted in 1882, and 
 further powers for maintaining 
 order and checking irrelevancy, 
 conferred on the Chair in 
 1888, 335 
 
 A fixed hour for the adjournment 
 of the House adopted in 1888, 
 
 335 
 
 Orders regulating procedure on 
 certain stages of Bills intro- 
 duced by the Government, 
 generally known as "Guillo- 
 tine" Resolutions, 336 
 
 Since 1887 occasionally applied 
 in order to dispose of the 
 necessary supply before the 
 close of the financial year, 336 
 
 Dynamite explosions at West- 
 minster in 1884, 337 
 
 Control and initiative in legisla- 
 tion gradually j Missing from the 
 House to the executive Govern- 
 ment, with a corre<|>onding 
 decline in the power and use- 
 fulness of the private memlxrr, 
 330
 
 436 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Commons, House of 
 
 Hanoverian and Saxe Coburg 
 Period 
 
 Altered rules of procedure in the 
 last two decades tend to en- 
 hance the power of the 
 Government, 330 
 The Speaker's office, unfettered 
 by the exigencies of party, 
 and administered in the im- 
 partial spirit characterising 
 the later years of its existence, 
 will endure as long as the 
 Constitution itself, 339 
 Compton, Sir Spencer, Earl of Wil- 
 mington, Speaker in 1714-15, and 
 1722, xxviii, xxx, xxxi, 252, 253, 
 
 254, 394 
 Compton Wynyates, Warwickshire, 
 
 burial place of Speaker Compton, 
 
 254 
 Conferences between Lords and 
 
 Commons, 152-55, 178, 225 
 Contests for the Chair, early instance 
 
 of, 137 
 Convention Parliament of 1660, 
 
 215 ; 1688-89, 2 3 I 
 Convocation House, Oxford, fitted up 
 
 for the House of Commons in 
 
 I 680-8 I, 228 
 Conway, Mr. L. Hussell Conway, 
 
 xxxviii 
 Cordell, Sir William, Speaker in 
 
 1557-58, xxix, 135, 378 
 Cornwall, Charles Wolfran, Speaker 
 
 in 1780 and 1784, xxviii, xxx, 282, 
 
 283, 284, 285, 286, 398 
 Cornwall, Earl of, Richard, 24 
 Corrupt Practices Act, 1883, 116 
 Cottonian Library, Westminster, 275 
 Council Chamber in old Palace of 
 
 Westminster, 17 
 County Franchise, qualification for, 
 
 in 1429-30, 79 
 Coup toot of February, 1881, under 
 
 Speaker Brand, 333 
 Court and City Register, addresses 
 
 of Members of Parliament, pub- 
 lished in, 263 
 Court and Country Parties, rise of, in 
 
 English political history, 173 
 Court Kalendar, 263 
 Courts of Law, establishment of, in 
 
 the old Palace of Westminster, 21 
 Coventry, Lord Keeper, 181, 182 
 
 Coventry, Parliament at, in 1404, 
 
 69; in 1459. 8 3 
 
 Coverham Church, Yorks, xxxiv 
 Cranbrook, Kent, burial place of 
 
 Speaker Baker, 130 
 Creevey, Thomas, 290, 302, 305, 317 
 Crewe, Earl of, xxxv, xl 
 Crewe, Sir Randolph, Speaker in 
 
 1614, xxviii, xxx, xxxv, 169, 382 
 Crewe, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 1623- 
 
 24 and 1625, xxviii, xxx, xxxv, 
 
 169, 173, 382 
 Croke, Sir John, Speaker in 1601, 
 
 xxvii, 160, 161, 162, 382 
 Cromwell, Mary, v. Falconbergh, 
 
 Lady 
 Cromwell, Oliver, 176, 196, 198, 199, 
 
 200, 201, 212, 224, 256; House 
 
 of Lords set up by, in 1658, 200, 
 
 20 1 
 
 Cromwell, Richard, 201 
 Cromwell, Thomas, 122, 125 
 Crosby Hall, 96 
 Crypt of St. Stephen's Chapel, 18 ; 
 
 (formerly used as a coal-cellar) as 
 
 the Speaker's State dining-room, 
 
 292, 293 ; attempted destruction 
 
 of, by dynamite, in 1884, 338 
 Cullum, Mr. George Gery Milner- 
 
 Gibson, xxix 
 Cust, Sir John, Speaker in 1761 and 
 
 1768, xxviii, xxx, 275, 276, 396 
 
 D 
 
 Dahl, Michael, painter, xxxv 
 Danby, Lord, Thomas Osborne, 
 
 afterwards 1st Duke of Leeds, 223, 
 
 225 
 Dasent, Sir John Roche, Editor of 
 
 the Acts of the Privy Council 
 
 mentioned, 376 
 Dasent, Sir George Webbe, the 
 
 author's father, mentioned, x 
 Davis, Moll, 254 
 
 Dean's Yard, Westminster, viii, 20 
 Debrett, John, printer of Parliamen- 
 tary Debates, 264 
 Declaration of Gloucester in 1407, 
 
 72 
 D'Ewes, Sir Symonds, 34, 137, 156, 
 
 185, 264, 378, 380, 382 
 Defoe, Daniel, 247 
 De la Mare, Peter, v . Mare, De la 
 De La Hay Street, 10
 
 INDEX 
 
 437 
 
 Delane, John, Editor of The 
 Times, 123, 324, 325, 327 ; on the 
 Speaker's office, 327 
 
 De L'Isle, Robert, 37 
 
 Denison, John Evelyn (Viscount 
 Ossington), Speaker in 1857, 1859, 
 1866 and 1868, xxx, xxxi, 160, 325, 
 326, 327, 328, 330, 331, 332 
 
 De Thorpe, William, xxxvii 
 
 Desmond's rebellion in Ireland, 145 
 
 Despencer, Le, Hugh, 37 
 
 Dickenson, Dr., of Merton College, 
 Oxford, 202, 209 
 
 Dictionary of National Biography, 
 important names added to, xxiii 
 
 Digges, Dudley, 175 
 
 Dignity of the Peerage, Report of 
 Lord Shaftesbury's Committee on, 
 
 23, 
 
 Dillon Sir Lucas, Chief Baron of 
 Ireland, temp. Elizabeth, 144 
 
 Dining-room in the House of Com- 
 mons, contains portrait of Speaker 
 William Williams by Kneller, xxx ; 
 collection of paintings being formed 
 there, xxx 
 
 Disagreements between Lords and 
 Commons, in 1399, 38; in 1407, 
 72; in 1592-93. IS', 152, J 53. 
 154 ; in 1628, 177 ; in 1671, 221 ; 
 in 1675, 225; in 1700, 236; in 
 1909, 38 
 
 Disorder having arisen in committee 
 of the whole House, Speaker re- 
 sumes the Chair, 224 
 
 Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beacons- 
 field, 313, 328, 332, 334 
 
 Division of Lords and Commons into 
 two bodies, temp. Edward III, 31 
 
 Divisions of the House of Commons, 
 officially recorded since 1836, 265 
 
 Doggett's Coat and Badge, Speaker 
 leaves the Chair to witness the race 
 for, 311 
 
 Dorewood, John, Speaker in 1399 and 
 1413, xxiii, xxxvii, 63, 352 
 
 Downing Street, Speaker Cust lives 
 in, 276 
 
 Dress in the House of Commons, 220, 
 280, 281 
 
 Drury, Sir Rolwrt, Speaker in 1495, 
 xxvi, 106, 107, 372 
 
 Drury Lane, 107 
 
 Dublin, letter from Speaker Snagge 
 at, 144 
 
 Dudley, Edmond, Speaker in 1503- 
 04, xxxvi, 107, 113, 331, 372 
 
 Duel between Pitt and Tierney on 
 Wimbledon Common in 1798, wit- 
 nessed by the Speaker, 290 
 
 Duncombe, Anthony, 256 
 
 Dundas, Henry, afterwards Viscount 
 Melville, 291 
 
 Dunfermline, Lord, v. Al>ercromby 
 
 Dyer, Sir James, Speaker in 1552-53, 
 xxvii, xxviii, 132, 376 
 
 Dynamite explosions in Palace of 
 Westminster, 1884, 337 
 
 Dyson, Jeremiah, Clerk of the House 
 of Commons, 1747-62, xxxiii, 269, 
 289 
 
 Earle, Mr. J. G., xl 
 
 Easton Mauduit, Northants, 158 
 
 Eastwell Church, Kent, xxxiv 
 
 Ebury, or Eybury, 10 
 
 Edenestowe, Henry de, Clerk of the 
 
 Parliaments in 1330, 33 
 Edward, The Black Prince, 39, 50, 
 
 51,52 
 
 Edward the Confessor, 5, 17, 1 8 
 Edward I, King of England, 27, 121 
 Edward II, King of England, 16, 36 
 Edward III, King of England, 50 
 Edward IV, King of England, 91, 
 
 92, 93 
 
 Edward V, King of England, 95 
 Edward VI, King of England, 129, 
 
 132, 133 
 
 Edward VII, King of England, 93 
 Eland, Rev. C. T., xl 
 Elcho, Lord, now Earl of Wemyss, 
 
 323 
 
 Eleanor of Provence, 24 
 Eliot, Sir John, 175, 176 
 Elizabeth, Queen of England, 130, 
 
 '.50, 141. 142, 144, 148, 150, 151, 
 
 i''i, 163 
 Elliot, Sir Gillwrt, a candidate for 
 
 the Chair in 1789, 287, 290 
 Elms, The, (Dean's Yard, West- 
 minster) ; 20 
 Elsyngc, Henry, Clerk of the House 
 
 of Commons 1640-48, 41, 174, 
 
 186, 188, 193 
 Ely Cathedral ; tomb of John Tiptofi, 
 
 Karl of Worcester, in, xxxii, 70 
 Embankment, the Thames 12
 
 438 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Empson, Sir Richard, Speaker in 
 
 1491, xxxvi, 105, 106, 107, 113, 
 
 370 
 Englefield, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 
 
 1496-97 and 1509-10, xxiii, xxxvii, 
 
 107, 113, 303, 372 
 English Primitives, paintings by, in 
 
 country houses, xxii 
 Erskine, Mr. H. D. , of Cardross 
 
 (Serjeant-at-Arms), xxx, xxxix, xl 
 Erskine-May, Sir Thomas, v. May 
 Esturmy, or Sturmy, Sir William, 
 
 Speaker in 1404, 69, 354 
 Etaples, Peace of, 105 
 Eton, 76, 211, 276, 286, 287 
 Evans, Elizabeth, wife of Speaker 
 
 Lenthall, 184 
 Evelyn, John, 225 
 Evelyn, George, 227 
 Evelyn, Sir Edward, 227 
 Eversley, Viscount, v. Shaw-Lefevre, 
 
 Charles 
 Ewelme, Oxfordshire, burial place of 
 
 Speaker Chaucer, xxv, 71 
 Exchequer, Office of, 7, 119 
 Exclusion Bill of 1 860, 228 
 Eye, or Aye, Cross, 10 
 Exeter, burial place of Speaker 
 
 Bampfylde, 387 
 Experimental meeting of the House 
 
 in the new Chamber, May 30, 1850, 
 
 322 
 
 F 
 
 Faber, Johann, engraver, xxxv 
 Fairfax, General, brother-in-law of 
 
 Speaker Widdrington, 21 
 Faithorne, William, engraver, xxxv 
 Falconbergh House, Soho Square, 
 
 former residence of Speaker Arthur 
 
 Onslow, xxxix, 256 
 Falconbergh, Mary, Lady, Oliver 
 
 Cromwell's daughter, 256 
 Falkland, Viscount, Lucius Gary, 184, 
 
 206 
 Farleigh Castle, Somerset, seat of the 
 
 Hungerford family, xxiv, 53 
 Farleigh - Hungerford, Somerset, 
 
 burial place of Sir Thomas 
 
 Hungerford, Speaker in 1376-77, 
 
 xxiv, xxvi, 53 
 Fawkes, Guy, 169 
 Felstead Church, Essex, xxxiv ; burial 
 
 place of Speaker Rich, 1 27 
 Felton, John, 171 
 
 Fenwick, Sir John, 237 
 
 Fermerie at Leicester, meeting-place 
 of the House of Commons 1414, 74 
 
 Fiennes, Mr, 193 
 
 Financial supremacy of the House of 
 Commons, asserted in the Declara- 
 tion of Gloucester, 1407, 72 
 
 Finch, Sir Heneage, Speaker in 
 1625-26, xxviii, xxix, xxxiv, 175, 
 
 .384 
 Finch, Sir John, Speaker in 1627-28, 
 
 xxviii, xxix, xxxi, xxxv, 176, 177, 
 
 182, 384 
 Fire at old Palace of Westminster in 
 
 1512, 118; in 1834, 17, 311, 312, 
 
 313 
 FitzWilliam, Sir Thomas, Speaker 
 
 in 1488-89, xxiii, xxxvii, 105, 370, 
 
 420 
 Five members, attempted arrest of, by 
 
 Charles I, 190 
 Fleet Ditch, 119 
 Fleet Prison, 83 
 Flower, Roger, Speaker in 1417, 
 
 1419, 1422, xxxvii, 75, 358 
 Foley, Mr. Paul Henry, xxii 
 Foley, Paul, Speaker in 1694-95 and 
 
 1695, xxviii, 223 ; miniature of, 
 
 xxii 
 
 Foley, Richard, 232 
 Foley, Thomas, 232 
 Forster, John, " biographer of 
 
 Dickens," 193 
 Fortescue, Sir John, 206 
 Fox, Charles James, 279, 280, 285 
 Frankland, Sir Thomas, 256 
 Franchise Act of 1884, 330 
 Free Trade and Protection in the 
 
 reign of Queen Anne, 248 
 Furness, abbot of, 13 
 
 Gainsborough, Thomas, xxx 
 
 Gallows, the new, beyond the Tem- 
 ple Gate, 75 
 
 Gardener's Lane, 10, 12 
 
 Gardiner, S. R., Dr., opinion of 
 Lenthall, 187 
 
 Gardiner, Sir Thomas, 184 
 
 Gargrave, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 
 1558-59, xxix, 378 
 
 Gascony, 17, 24 
 
 Gasquet's Henry III and the Church, 
 referred to, 35
 
 INDEX 
 
 439 
 
 Gallon, Surrey, 175 
 
 Gaunt, John of, 50, 51 
 
 Gentlemen Errant, by Mrs. Henry 
 
 Cust, quoted, 118 
 
 " George," The, by Paul's Wharf, 89 
 George I, King of England, 251, 253 
 George II, King of England, 253 
 George III, King of England, 271, 
 
 275. 279, 287, 300, 301 
 George IV, King of England, 50 
 Gillray, James, caricature by, xxxix 
 Gladstone, Rt. Hon. W. E., 309, 313, 
 
 323, 335. 336, 337, 339 
 Glanville, Sir John, Speaker in 1640, 
 
 xxvii, xxxi, 182, 183, 384 
 Gloucester, Parliament held at, in 
 
 1407, 72 
 Golden Square, town residence of 
 
 Speaker Cornwall, 285 
 "Good " Parliament of 1376, 49 
 Gordon, Thomas, translator of Taci- 
 tus, compiles Parliamentary De- 
 bates for the London Magazine, 
 
 261 
 Gorhambury, estate purchased by 
 
 Sir Harbollle Grimslon, 214 
 Goring House, now Buckingham 
 
 Palace, occupied by Speaker 
 
 Lenthall, 190, 196 
 Goring, Lord, afterwards Earl of 
 
 Norwich, 198 
 Goschen, Lord, 335 
 Goulburn, Henry, a candidate for 
 
 the Chair in 1839, 321 
 Government and Opposition Benches 
 
 in Elizabethan times, 138; in the 
 
 reign of George II, 262 
 Grant, Sir F. , xxxi 
 Grant, Sir William, 136 
 Grantley, Lord, xxix 
 Granville, 2nd Earl, 334 ; 
 Grattan, Henry, 304, 331 
 Gray's Inn, Speaker Snagge at, with 
 
 Walsingham and Burghley, 143 
 Great College Street, 7, 10, 12 
 Great George Street, 19 
 Great Linford Church, Bucks, xxv 
 Great Russell Street, death of Speaker 
 
 Arthur Onslow in, 273 
 Great Smith Street, 10 
 "Great Tom" of Westminster, 104 
 Green, Sir Henry (Chief Justice), 
 
 xxxvii, 41, 57, 346 
 Green, John, Speaker in 1460, xxiii, 
 
 xxxvii, 81, 85, 366 
 
 Greensted, Mr. Henry, xl 
 
 Gregory, Mr., xxviii 
 
 Gregory, Sir William, Speaker in, 
 
 1678-79, xxviii, xxx, 227, 388 
 Grenville, George, 276 
 Grenville, William Wyndham (Lord 
 
 Grenville), Speaker in 1789, xxvii, 
 
 xxviii, xxxi, xxxv, 286, 287, 288, 
 
 289, 398 
 
 Greville, Charles, 307, 314 
 Greville Memoirs quoted, 309, 314, 
 
 316,318 
 
 Grey, Lady Jane, 133 
 Grey de Ruthyn, Lord, 80 
 Grimston, Sir Harbottle, Speaker in 
 
 1660, xxvii, xxviii, xxxi, xxxv, 
 
 214, 215, 388 
 Grimthorpe, Lord, 163 
 Guildesborough, Sir John, Speaker 
 
 in 1379-80, xxiii, xxxvii, 33, 54, 
 
 348 
 
 Guildhall, the, xxviii 
 Guillotine orders, regulating the pro- 
 cedure of the House on Bills and 
 
 Supply, 336 
 Gully, William Court (Viscount 
 
 Selby), Speaker in 1895 (2), 1900, 
 
 xxxi, 338, 412 
 
 Gunpowder Plot, The, 166, 169 
 Gwynne, Nell, 206 
 
 II 
 
 Habeas Corpus Act, of 1679, 388 
 Haden, Sir Francis Seymour, the 
 
 late, xxxviii 
 
 Hakewil, William, 30, 34, 178 
 Hale, Sir Matthew, 183 
 Halifax, Earl of, Charles Montagu, 
 
 235 
 
 Hall, Sir Benjamin, First Com- 
 missioner of Works, 103 
 Halloran, Rev. J. A., xl 
 Hampden, John, 177, 183, 190 
 Ilampden, Viscount, r. Brand, Henry 
 Hampton Court Palace, proposals 
 between Charles I and the Parlia- 
 ment, 1647, 196 
 
 Hampton Court, Herefordshire, 
 property of Speaker Lcnthall, 195 
 Hanbury- Williams, Sir Charles, 253 
 Hanmcr, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 
 1713-14, xxviii, xxx, xxxi, 246, 
 248, 249, 250, 332, 394 
 Harbord, Mr., 223
 
 440 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Harding, S. P., xxvii 
 
 Harding, Sylvester, v . Harding, S. P. 
 
 Hardinge, Nicholas, Clerk of the 
 
 House of Commons, 267 
 Hare, Sir Nicholas, Speaker in 1539, 
 
 xxxvii, 127, 376 
 Haringay, Speaker Thorpe beheaded 
 
 at, 83 
 Harford, North Devon, burial place 
 
 of Speaker Thomas Williams, xxv, 
 
 379 
 
 Harley, Robert (Earl of Oxford), 
 Speaker in 1700-01, 1701, and 
 1702, xxvii, xxviii, xxxi, 236, 238, 
 239, 240, 246, 331, 390, 392 
 
 Harling, East, Norfolk, home of 
 Speaker Lovell, 105 
 
 Harman, family of, owners of Bur- 
 ford Priory, 205, 206 
 
 Hartley, David, 285 
 
 Hasely, Oxfordshire, birthplace of 
 Speaker Lenthall, 184 
 
 Hastings, Sir Francis, 165 
 
 Hatton, Sir Christopher, 141, 163, 
 169 
 
 Hatfield House, Herts, plans of 
 Westminster Palace in 1593 pre- 
 served at, 119 
 
 Hatsell, John, Clerk of the House of 
 Commons, xxxviii, 253, 258, 289 
 
 Haxey, Sir Thomas, 56, 166 
 
 Hay or Aye Hill, 10 
 
 Hazlerig, Arthur, 190, 201 
 
 H. B., caricatures by, xxxix 
 
 Heigham, Sir Clement, Speaker in 
 1554, xxvii, xxxiv, 133, 134, 376 
 
 Henley in Arden, 36 
 
 Henley, Thomas, Abbot of West- 
 minster, 37 
 
 Henry III, King of England, 4, 5, 
 6, 7, 11, 19, 24, 28, 45 
 
 Henry IV, King of England, 56, 57, 
 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69, 
 72, 73, 74, 161 
 
 Henry V, King of England, 74, 76 
 
 Henry VI, King of England, 76, 79, 
 81, 83, 85, 86 
 
 Henry VII, King of England, 99, 
 loo, 101, 102, 104, 105, 107, 109, 
 I IO ; with Empson and Dudley, 
 painting of, xxvi ; Chapel, West- 
 minster, xxii 
 
 Henry VIII, King of England, 113, 
 114, 117, 121, 122, 126, 128, 129 
 
 Henry of Knighton's Chronicle, 36 
 
 Herbary, The, "between the King's 
 Chamber and the Church," II 
 
 Herschell, Lord, 338 
 
 Hervey, Lord, 253 
 
 Higham, Mr. John, of Bedford, xxvii 
 
 Highclere, Hants, seat of Sir Robert 
 Sawyer, Speaker in 1678, 226 
 
 High Gate of the Palace of West- 
 minster, 19 
 
 Hoby, Sir Edward, 165 
 
 Hogarth, William, paints interior of 
 the House of Commons, xxxiv, 
 276 
 
 Holbein, Hans, drawing after, xxviii; 
 portrait of Sir Thomas More, 194 
 
 Holl, Frank, xxxi 
 
 Holland, Rev. C. W., xl 
 
 Hollar, Wenceslaus, engraver, xxxviii 
 
 Holies, Denzil, 190 
 
 Holmes, Mr. C. J., xl 
 
 Holywell, Nunnery of, Shoreditch, 
 
 i5 
 
 Hooker's description of the House 
 of Commons in the reign of Eliza- 
 beth, 138 ; remarks on publica- 
 tion of proceedings of the House, 
 263 
 
 Hours of meeting of the House of 
 Commons in former times at sun- 
 rise in the fourteenth century, 
 49; at 6 a.m., 159; at 7 a.m., 
 
 159 
 
 House of Commons, v. Commons 
 House of Lords, v. Lords 
 Howard's Coffee House, at upper end 
 
 of Westminster Hall, 295 
 "Hudibras," quoted in connection 
 
 with Speaker Lenthal, 201 
 Hulton, Rev. C. B., xl 
 Hume, Joseph, 324 
 Humphreys, Mr. A. L., xl 
 Hungerford, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 
 
 1376-77 ; first Speaker mentioned 
 
 in the Rolls, xxiv ; monumental 
 
 effigy of, xxvi ; portrait of, xxvi ; 
 
 xxvii, 33, 52, 53, 348 
 Hungerford, Sir Walter (Lord 
 
 Hungerford), Speaker in 1414, 
 
 xxiv, 74, 75, 356 
 Hunsdon House, Herts, seat of 
 
 Speaker Oldhall, 82 
 Hunt, Roger, Speaker in 1420 and 
 
 1433, 358, 360 ; memorial brass of, 
 
 xxv 
 Hustings in Trafalgar Square, x
 
 INDEX 
 
 441 
 
 Hutton-Hall, Rev. E., xl 
 
 Hylton, Lord, xl 
 
 Hysing, Hans, painter, xxxv 
 
 I 
 
 Iddesleigh, Earl of, xl 
 
 Ilbert, Sir Courtenay, Clerk of the 
 House of Commons, from 1902, xi, 
 289 
 
 Ilmington, Warwickshire, owned by 
 Peter de Montfort, 343 
 
 Imber Court, Thames Ditton, resi- 
 dence of Speaker Arthur Onslow, 
 274 
 
 Impeachment of Lord Melville, 
 Speaker Abbot's casting vote, 298 
 
 Income Tax, sought to be imposed 
 on all owners of land and house 
 property, temp. Henry IV, . 66 ; 
 institution of, in an inquisitorial 
 form, by Edward IV, 92 
 
 Infirmary garden of St. Peter's 
 Monastery, 12 
 
 Inner Palace of Westminster, Con- 
 stable of England's apartments in, 
 70 
 
 Inns, wretched accommodation af- 
 forded by, in the Middle Ages, 26 
 
 " Instrument of Government," 200 
 
 Intimidation of voters in mediaeval 
 times, 114 
 
 Inundations of the Thames at West- 
 minster in former times, 12 
 
 Ireland, early mention of in English 
 Parliament, 29 ; Speaker of the 
 Irish House of Commons, 97, 138 ; 
 great debate on the state of, in 
 1812, 304, 305 ; demand for Home 
 Rule, rejected in 1 886 and 1893, 
 330 
 
 Insh House of Commons, Speakers 
 
 of, 97 
 Islip, John, Abbot of Westminster, 
 
 420 
 Ivy Bridge, Strand, 142 
 
 J 
 
 James I, King of England, 165, 172 
 James II, King of England, 229, 
 
 230 
 
 Jeffreys, Judge, 222, 229, 230 
 Jermyn Street, residence of Mr. 
 
 Gladstone in, on first entry into 
 
 Parliament, 310 
 
 Jerusalem Chamber, Westminster 
 Abbey, 74 
 
 Jewel Office, 282 
 
 Jewel Tower of the Palace of West- 
 minster, the, illustration of, from 
 a drawing, xxxviii ; view of the 
 interior, xxxviii, 7 
 
 "Jew's Harp," Marylebone Fields, 
 259 
 
 Jodrell, Paul, Clerk of the House of 
 Commons, 242, 274 
 
 John, King of England, 4 
 
 Jonson, Ben, his description of a 
 dishonest lawyer applied to Sir 
 Fletcher Norton by "Junius," 
 277 
 
 Journals of the House of Commons, 
 defaced by James I, 172 ; ordered 
 to l>e printed in 1 742, under Speaker 
 Arthur Onslow, 267 ; Sir Symonds 
 D'Ewes prints portions of Eliza- 
 bethan Journals, 147 ; antiquity 
 of, 267 ; curious entries in, temp. 
 James I, 268 ; improvements in, 
 269; indexed by Sir T. Erskine 
 May, 268 
 
 Journals, Clerk of the, first mention 
 of, in 1750, 266 
 
 "Junius" and Sir Fletcher Norton, 
 277 
 
 K 
 
 Katherine of Arragon, Queen of 
 
 England, 123 
 
 Keate, Dr., he;id master of Eton, 309 
 Kenilworth, 37 
 
 Kettle, Mr. Bernard, of the Guild- 
 hall Library, xxix 
 
 Kew, residence of Speaker Pucker- 
 ing, 142 
 
 King Street, Covent Garden, 190 
 Kingston, Jamaica, mace at, 215 
 King Street, Westminster, 1 1 
 Kneller, Sir Godfrey, portrait of 
 Speaker William Williams, in the 
 Dining-room of the House of Com- 
 mons, xxx ; portrait of Speaker 
 Arthur Onslow in National Portrait 
 Gallery, erroneously attributed to, 
 
 274 
 
 KnightslirMgc, Speaker Trevor's es- 
 tate at, 230 
 
 of the Shire, the aristocracy 
 <>t the Lower House, 1 8, 22, 23, 
 25. 79
 
 442 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Knollys, Sir Francis, 150 
 Knyvet, Sir John (Chancellor), 51, 
 346 
 
 L 
 
 Labouchere, Henry, Rt. Hon., his 
 house in Old Palace Yard, 8 
 
 Labour, representation of, in the 
 House of Commons, 330 
 
 Ladies' Gallery of House of Commons, 
 280, 301, 337 
 
 Lambe, John, Dr., 181 
 
 Lambert, John, Parliamentary 
 General, 199, 201, 202 
 
 Lambeth Palace, xxxi ; fall of en- 
 graving at, xxxii, 14 
 
 Landor, Walter Savage, Imaginary 
 Conversations, 67 
 
 Land taxes, early unpopularity of the 
 principle, 43, 66, 235 
 
 Langham, Simon, Abbot of West- 
 minster, Cardinal and Archbishop, 
 Preface, viii, 42, 43 
 
 Langland's " Richard the Redeless," 
 80 
 
 Late hours in the House of Commons 
 and late hours of meeting strenu- 
 ously opposed by Speaker Arthur 
 Onslow, 270, 271 
 
 La Terriere, Colonel, restores Burford 
 Priory, Lenthall's former house, 
 204 
 
 Latimer, Lord, impeachment of, in 
 1376, 51. 
 
 Laud, William, Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, xxxii, 189, 213 
 
 Law, firm grip of the Speaker's 
 Chair by the legal profession, 135 
 
 Law and Practice of Parliament, by 
 Sir Thomas Erskine-May, 268 
 
 Law in Ireland, Speaker Snagge's 
 opinion of, temp. Elizabeth, 144, 
 
 145 
 
 Lawrence, Sir Thomas, xxxi, xxxiv, 
 303 ; portrait of George III by, 
 formerly at Westminster, 301 
 
 Lawson, Wilfrid, Mr., 157 
 
 Layard, Sir Austen Henry, 328, 329 
 
 Lefevre-Shaw, Charles (Viscount 
 Eversley), Speaker in 1839, 1841, 
 1847, and 1852, 318, 319, 320, 
 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 329, 406 
 
 Leicester, Earl of, v. Montfort, De, 
 Simon 
 
 Leicester, Earl of, xxix 
 
 Leicester, Parliament held at, in 
 
 1414, 74 
 Leicester Street, Leicester Square, 
 
 Speaker Arthur Onslow's house in, 
 
 255 
 
 Lely, Sir Peter, xxix, xxxi 
 Le Marchant, Sir Denis, Clerk of the 
 
 House of Commons from 1850 to 
 
 1871, 289 
 
 Lenthall, Sir John, 190, 203, 206 
 Lenthall, Sir Roland, 195 
 Lenthall, William, Speaker in 1640 
 
 1647, 1654, 1659, 1659-60, xxvii, 
 
 xxxi, xxxiii, 184-210, 384, 386 
 Le Scrope, Sir Geoffrey, xxxiv, xxxvii 
 Le Sueur, Hubert, sculptor, xxxiii, 
 
 173 
 
 Lesser Tenants in Chief, or Barones 
 
 Minores, 22 
 
 Leveson-Gower, Frederick, 334 
 Lewin, William, 150 
 Lewkenor, Mr. 181 
 Ley, John, Clerk of the House of 
 
 Commons from 1797 to 1814, 289, 
 
 291 
 Ley, John Henry, Clerk of the House 
 
 of Commons from 1820 to 1850, 
 
 289, 312, 313 
 Ley, William, 313 
 Ley, a Devonshire family of that 
 
 name connected with the House 
 
 of Commons for 150 years, 289, 
 
 3'3 
 
 Library of the House of Commons, 
 books and papers formerly in the 
 custody of the Clerk of the Jour- 
 nals, 267 
 
 Lincoln, 4 
 
 Lincoln's Inn, the gateway of, built 
 by Speaker Lovell, 103 
 
 Lincoln's Inn Fields, 202, 215, 281 
 
 Litlington, Nicholas, Abbot of West- 
 minster, 44, 45, 47 
 
 Little Hall, in old Palace of West- 
 minster, 17, 48 
 
 Littleton, Edward John (afterwards 
 Lord Hatherton), a candidate for 
 the Chair in 1833, 309 
 
 Littleton, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 
 1698, xxx, 223, 233, 234, 236, 237, 
 238, 239, 390 
 
 Liverpool, Earl of, 285 
 
 Livery and maintenance, evils of, 
 81 
 
 Lollards, The, 69
 
 INDEX 
 
 443 
 
 London, Sir Robert Brooke, the first 
 Speaker to represent the City of, 
 134 
 
 Long Ditch, Westminster, n, 12 
 Long Parliament assembles, 183 
 Long, Sir Lislebone, Speaker in, 
 
 1658-59, xxxvii, 213, 386 
 Longford, Lord, 227 
 Lords 
 
 Lords, House of, viii ; the parent 
 
 assembly, 22 
 
 A body lineally descended from 
 the feudal Norman Curia, 22 
 The writ of summons to, a privi- 
 lege to be issued or withheld 
 at the will of the Sovereign, 
 
 25 
 
 Constitution of in Plantagenet 
 times, the non-hereditary ele- 
 ment a moiety of the whole 
 until the Reformation, 28 
 
 Separation of the two Houses, 
 usually accepted date of, 3 1 
 
 The Upper House appoints its 
 own Clerk in 1330, 33 
 
 " The Mad Parliament " of Ox- 
 ford in 1258, a restricted 
 assembly of Barons and Pre- 
 lates, 35 
 
 Grants made by the Lords in 
 1339, and disagreement with 
 the Commons, lead to the call- 
 ing of a New Parliament, 
 
 39 
 
 The Deadlock of 1339 not dis- 
 similar to that of 1909, 39 
 
 The Lords meet in the Chambre 
 Blanche of the Palace of 
 Westminster in 1368, 43 
 
 The Speaker of the House of 
 Commons (Sir Thomas Hun- 
 gerford) delivers seven Bills 
 to the Clerk of the Parliament 
 in 1376-77, but the Lords 
 vouchsafe no reply, the session 
 having come to an end, 53 
 
 Consolidation of the Peerage, 
 temp. Henry IV, and a re- 
 markable unanimity prevailing 
 between Lords and Commons, 
 
 63 
 
 Establishment of a permanent 
 hereditary Chaml>cr acting as 
 a Court of Appeal in civil 
 cases, 64 
 
 Lords, House of 
 
 King Henry IV invites both 
 Lords and Commons to dine 
 with him at Westminster in 
 1402, 65 
 
 Social reunion of the two 
 Houses in Plantagenet times 
 contrasted with the recent 
 scheme for two Chambers 
 sitting as one deliberative 
 body, in cases of deadlock, 
 
 65 
 
 The Declaration of Gloucester, 
 in 1407, defines the functions 
 of the Lords in assenting to 
 money grants, 72, 73 
 
 Exhaustion of the English no- 
 bility consequent on the Wars 
 of the Roses, 87 
 
 Depletion of the numbers of the 
 House of Lords at the com- 
 mencement of the Tudor era, 
 
 99 
 
 Only twenty-nine temporal peers 
 entitled to sit at the accession 
 of Henry VII, 100 
 
 The peerages created in the six- 
 teenth century lay the founda- 
 tions of a new aristocracy, 
 100 
 
 Henry VII relegates the House 
 of Lords to a position of legis- 
 lative impotence, at the same 
 time desiring to be indepen- 
 dent of the Lower House, 101 
 
 The temporary eclipse of the 
 Lords as a legislative body 
 continued under Henry VIII, 
 114 
 
 A serious disagreement with the 
 Commons in 1593, in connec- 
 tion with a Money Bill, 151 
 
 Sir Francis Bacon, on behalf of 
 the Commons, opposes a con- 
 ference with the Lords, as 
 contrary to their privileges, 
 152 
 
 The conference held, and the 
 wording of the preamble of 
 the Bill decided in favour of 
 the Lords, 155 
 
 The Bill hurriedly passed by the 
 Commons through the action 
 of its Speaker (Sir Edward 
 Coke), 156
 
 444 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Lords, House of 
 
 In 1625 the Lords concur in a 
 Money Bill, founded upon a 
 grant to which their assent 
 had not been specified in the 
 preamble, 178 
 
 In 1628 the wording of the pre- 
 amble of a Money Bill again 
 gives rise to serious disagree- 
 ment between the two Houses, 
 a deadlock averted by the 
 Lords passing the Bill as pre- 
 sented to them, after a con- 
 ference with the Commons, 
 I So 
 
 A message sent to the Lords by 
 the Commons declaring that 
 " the good concurrence be- 
 tween the two Houses is the 
 very heart-string of the Com- 
 monwealth, and that they shall 
 be ever as zealous of their 
 Lordships' privileges as of 
 their own rights," 180 
 
 Cromwell's House of Lords meets 
 in January, 1658, Lenthall, the 
 Speaker of the Long Parlia- 
 ment, takes his place in it, 
 together with Fleet wood, Monk 
 and Pride, 201 
 
 In 1671 the Pensionary Parlia- 
 ment of Charles II passes a 
 formal resolution to the effect 
 that the Lords are unable to 
 amend a Money Bill, 221 
 
 In 1675 the relations of the two 
 Houses again become strained, 
 and the Lords accuse the re- 
 presentative Chamber of in- 
 fringing their privileges, 225 
 
 Queen Anne creates a dozen 
 peers to ensure a Tory majority 
 in the House of Lords, 234 ; 
 Lord Wharton's sarcastic ob- 
 servations upon, 234 
 
 The House of Lords most com- 
 pact body in the State at 
 the accession of George I, 
 251 
 
 Several bills having been rejected 
 by the Lords in the last Parlia- 
 ment of George II, the Speaker 
 of the House of Commons de- 
 sired to have animadverted 
 upon the cause of their failure, 
 
 Lords, House of 
 
 but was prevented from doing 
 so by the accidental absence of 
 the Sovereign, 272 
 A Bill for the repeal of the paper 
 duty having been rejected by 
 the Lords in 1860, Speaker 
 Denison deprecates the action 
 of the Peers as calculated 
 to break down the distinc- 
 tion between the duties and 
 powers of the two Chambers, 
 328 
 
 Lovell, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 1485, 
 102, 103, 104, 105, 370, 419, 420 ; 
 medallion portrait of, by Torre- 
 giano, in Westminster Abbey, xxii, 
 420 
 Lowe, Robert (Viscount Sherbrooke), 
 
 33 
 
 Lowther, Right Hon. James William, 
 Speaker in 1905, 1906, 1910, and 
 1911, xxx, 339, 412,414 
 
 M 
 
 Macaulay, Lord, on conferences be- 
 tween the two Houses, 155 
 
 Mace of the House of Commons ; 
 description of, xxxix ; 215 
 
 "Mad" Parliament of 1258, held at 
 Oxford, 35, 342 
 
 Maiden Bradley, xxxv 
 
 Maitland, Professor, his introduction 
 to the Memoranda de Parlia- 
 mento, 29 
 
 Mall, The, 112 
 
 Manners, Lady Victoria, xl 
 
 Manners-Sutton, Charles (Viscount 
 Canterbury), Speaker in 1817, 1819, 
 1820, 1826, 1830, 1831, and 1833, 
 xxix, xxx, xxxi, 281, 301, 304, 305, 
 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 314, 
 3!5> 3 l6 , 3W, 402, 404 
 
 Marculph's Tower, Palace of West- 
 minster, 17 
 
 Mare, Sir Peter De la, Speaker in 
 1377, xxxvii, 33, 50, 51, 52, 53, 
 54, 348 
 
 Margaret of Anjou, Queen of Henry 
 VI, 86 
 
 Marlowe's Edward II, reference 
 to Trussell in, 37 
 
 Marshall, Master, 189
 
 INDEX 
 
 445 
 
 Marston Morteyne, Beds, burial 
 
 place of Speaker Snagge, xxvi, 146 
 
 Mary, Queen of England, 133, 134, 
 
 I3S 
 
 Mary, Queen of Scots, 139, 141 
 Maud, Empress, 12 
 Maundy, Thomas, goldsmith in 
 
 Fetter Lane, maker of the mace 
 
 removed by Cromwell, 215 
 May-Erskine, Sir Thomas (Lord 
 
 Farnborough), Clerk of the House 
 
 of Commons from 1871 to 1886, x, 
 
 242, 268, 289, 310, 311 
 Mayo, Rev. Canon, of Long Burton, 
 
 xxvii 
 
 Melbourne, Lord, 313 
 Melville, Lord, Impeachment of, 
 
 decided by casting vote of Speaker 
 
 Abbot, 298 
 Member of Parliament, early uses of 
 
 the term, 75, 128 
 Memoranda de Par liamento, 1304-05, 
 
 29 
 
 Memorial Brasses, xxii, xxv 
 Meres, Sir Thomas, 226 
 Mereworth, Kent, burial place of 
 
 Speaker Nevill, xxv, 375 
 Merchant Taylors Company, 168 
 Merrow, near Guildford, burial 
 
 place of Speaker Arthur Onslow, 
 
 274 
 " Michael Ritus," v. John Michael 
 
 Wright 
 Middlesex, Earl of, impeachment, 
 
 J74 
 
 Mildmay, Sir H., 185 
 
 Mileham, near Swaffham, Norfolk, 
 birthplace of Sir Edward Coke, 
 house in which he was lx>rn, xxxix 
 
 Mill bank, 10, 19 
 
 Millyng, Thomas, Abbot of West- 
 minster, 95 
 
 Milman, Sir Archibald, Clerk of the 
 House of Commons from 1900 to 
 1902, 289 
 
 Milner, Mr. J. D., xl 
 
 Mit ford, Sir John (Lord Redesdale), 
 Speaker in 1801, xxviii, xxx, 294, 
 295, 400 
 
 Mompesson, Sir Giles, 171 
 
 " Model " Parliament of 1295, 27 
 
 Monastery of Blackfriars, v. Black- 
 friars 
 
 Monastery of Westminster, v. West- 
 minster 
 
 Monconys, description of the House 
 
 of Commons in 1663, 220, 221 
 Money Bills, Speaker Arthur Onslow's 
 
 attitude on presentation to the 
 
 House of Lords, 272 
 Money grants, differences between 
 
 Lords and Commons as to, in 
 
 Gloucester Parliament of 1407, 72 ; 
 
 in 1593, 152; in 1628, 178; in 
 
 1671, 221 
 
 Monk, General, 201, 202, 203 
 Monopolies, 136, 137, 171 
 Montacute, co. Somerset, built by 
 
 Speaker Phelips, xxxix, 165, 
 
 106 
 
 Montagu, Sir Henry, 165 
 Monteagle, Lord, Thomas Spring 
 
 Rice, 319 
 Montfort, de, Peter, xxiii, xxxvii, 33, 
 
 34, 35 
 Montfort, de, Simon, 5, 23, 24, 27, 
 
 35i 36 ; his coat of arms remaining 
 
 in the Abbey, 5 
 Monumental Effigies of Speakers, 
 
 xxii 
 
 Moore, Thomas, 306 
 Mordaunt, Sir John, Speaker in 1487, 
 
 monumental effigy of, xxvi ; 105, 
 
 370 
 
 Morecambe Bay, 13 
 More, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 1523, 
 
 xxviii, xxx, xxxv, xxxvi, 49, 120, 
 
 121, 122, 123, 124, 331, 374, 421, 
 
 422 ; portrait of, formerly at Burford 
 
 Priory, 194 
 
 Morley's Life of Gladstone, 333 
 Morpeth, Lord, 302 
 Morris, Mr., 150 
 " Mother of Parliaments, The," 
 
 xxxv 
 Mowbray, John, Earl- Marshal of 
 
 England, 78 
 Moyle, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 1 54 1 - 
 
 xxxiv, xxxvii, 42, 128, 376 
 Murray, Alexander, defies Speaker 
 
 Arthur Onslow in 1751, 269 
 Myddleton, Mrs., of Chirk Castle, 
 
 xxxiii 
 
 N 
 
 National Portrait Gallery : libraiy 
 of, xxiv, xxvii ; album of water- 
 colour drawings of S|<akcr> in, 
 xxiv, xxvii, xxxviii
 
 446 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Nelson, Horatio, Admiral, memorial 
 
 to, in Trafalgar Square, 113 ; Lady 
 
 Sidmouth's anecdote of, 293 
 Nevill, Sir Henry, 165 
 Nevill, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 
 
 1514-15, 119, 173,3745 memorial 
 
 brass of, xxv 
 Newcastle, Duke of, 253 
 Newgate Prison, 270 
 New Palace Yard, Westminster, view 
 
 of, xxxviii ; 9, 20 
 Newspaper Press, rise of the power 
 
 of, 260 
 Neyte, Manor House of, belonging 
 
 to the Abbots of Westminster, 
 
 5i 
 
 Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke 
 
 of, 129 
 Norman masonry remaining in 
 
 Westminster Hall, 8 
 North, Lord, 276, 279, 280, 281 
 North, Roger, 222, 233 
 North, Mr. Stanley, xxiv 
 Northampton, Mary, Countess of, 
 
 254 
 
 Northcote, James, painter and en- 
 graver, xxxv 
 
 Northumberland, Duke of, 133 
 
 Northumberland, Earl of, thanked 
 by Parliament in 1402, 64 
 
 Norton, Sir Fletcher (Lord Grantley), 
 Speaker in 1770 and 1774, xxviii, 
 xxix, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 
 282, 396, 398 
 
 Nottingham Castle, Sir Peter de la 
 Mare imprisoned in, 52 
 
 O 
 
 Occasional Conformity Bill of 1703, 
 265 
 
 O'Connell, Daniel, 306, 316 
 
 Official residence of the Speaker, in 
 1511-12, 117; in the seventeenth 
 century, 136; in 1795, 2 9 2 > m 
 1802, 300 ; new house, designed by 
 Sir Charles Barry, first occupied 
 by Speaker Denison, 332 
 
 Oglethorpe, Mr., 241 
 
 Old and new peerages, Selden's 
 opinion of, 177 
 
 Oldcastle, Sir John, 75 
 
 " Old Cole," a nickname bestowed 
 on Tierney, 317 
 
 Oldhall, Sir William, Speaker in 
 1450, xxxvii, 81, 82, 83, 364 
 
 Old Palace Yard, Westminster, 19, 
 20, 71, 169 
 
 Oliver Isaac, 123 
 
 Onslow, Arthur, grandfather of the 
 Speaker of that name, 227 
 
 Onslow, Arthur, Speaker in 1727-28, 
 1734-35. I74I, 1747, and 1754, 
 xxvii, xxviii, xxxi, xxxiv, xxxv, 
 xxxviii ; view of his house in Soho 
 Square, xxxix ; 255-274, 394, 396 
 
 Onslow, Earl of, xxxiii, xl 
 
 Onslow, Fulk, Clerk of the House of 
 Commons, 137, 160 
 
 Onslow, Richard, Speaker in 1566, 
 xxviii, xxx, 137, 139, 378 
 
 Onslow, Sir Richard, Speaker in 
 1708, xxviii, xxx, 239, 241, 242, 
 392 
 
 Opposition, early rise of a constitu- 
 tional, temp. Henry VI, 81 
 
 Orchardson, Sir W. Q. , xxxi 
 
 Order in debate, rules adopted in 
 1888, 335 
 
 Order, maintenance of, in the Palace 
 of Westminster, regulations, temp. 
 Edward III, 31 
 
 Orders regulating the procedure of 
 the House on Bills and Supply, 
 336 
 
 Oriel College, Oxford, xxxv 
 
 Ossington, Viscount, v. Denison, 
 John Evelyn 
 
 Otway, Mr., 328 
 
 Owen, William, painter, xxxv 
 
 Oxford, xxxii, xxxv ; a colloquium 
 held there in 1204, 4; provisions 
 of, 35; assizes at, 139; Parlia- 
 ments at, 35, 228, 342, 390 
 
 Painted Chamber in the Old Palace 
 of Westminister, 17, 48, 49, 96, 
 118, 155, 178, 218, 225, 274, 296, 
 
 297, 313 
 
 Paisley, Lord, James Hamilton, 207 
 Palace of Westminster, v. West- 
 minster 
 
 Palace Gate, Westminster, 17 
 Palgrave, Sir Reginald, Clerk of the 
 House of Commons from 1886 to 
 1900, 289
 
 INDEX 
 
 447 
 
 Pall Mall, 246 
 
 Palmerston, Viscount, x, 324, 325, 
 326, 328, 329 
 
 Paris, Matthew, 12 
 
 Parliament held at Blackfriars, 119, 
 120, 374; Bury St. Edmund's, 362 ; 
 Coventry, 69, 354, 366 ; Gloucester, 
 72, 348, 354 5 Leicester, 74, 356, 
 360 ; Lincoln, 4 ; Northampton, 
 348 ; Oxford, 4, 35, 228, 342, 390 ; 
 Reading, 364 ; Shrewsbury, 350 ; 
 Winchester, 45 ; York, 32, 352, 
 366 
 
 " Parliamentary Indoctorum," or Lay- 
 men's Parliament, held at Coventry, 
 
 1404, 355 
 
 Parliament Street, xxxix 
 Parndon, Little, Essex, burial place 
 
 of Speaker Tumour, 219 
 Party government, rise of, 225, 
 
 236 
 Paston family, co. Norfolk, 15, 87 
 
 Agnes, 82 ; Elizabeth, 83 ; John, 
 
 88-89: Margaret, 15 
 Patten- Wilson, Mr., 322 
 Payment of members in the Middle 
 
 Ages, 88 
 Pearson, J. L. , architect employed on 
 
 Westminster Hall, temp. Queen 
 
 Victoria, 8, 9 
 Peart, Henry, pupil of Vandyck, 
 
 xxxi, 210 
 Peel, Arthur Wellesley (Viscount 
 
 Peel), Speaker in 1884, 1886 (2), 
 
 and 1892, xxxi, xl, 224, 334, 335, 
 
 336, 337, 4o, 412 
 Peel, Sir Robert, 160, 313, 315, 322, 
 
 323 
 Peerage and Pedigree, by J. Horace 
 
 Round, 23 
 Peerages, created by Queen Anne in 
 
 1712 to secure a Tory majority in 
 
 the House of Lords, 234 
 Peerages old and new, Selden's 
 
 opinion of the comparative value 
 
 set upon them, 177 
 Pelham, Dr., chaplain to Speaker 
 
 Bromley, 245 
 Pelham, Henry, Speaker in 1647, 
 
 xxiii, xxix, 210, 214, 384 
 Pembroke, 8th Earl of, 226 
 Pembroke College, Oxford, xxviii, 
 
 XXXV 
 
 " Pensionary Parliament," 216, 222 
 Pepys, Samuel, 216, 217, 218 
 
 Ferrers, Alice, 50, 52, 53 
 
 Pery, Edmond Sexten, Speaker of the 
 Irish House of Commons, 1772-85, 
 97 
 
 Petite Salle in the old Palace of West- 
 minster, 43 
 
 Petition of Right, 177 
 
 Petitions, gradually replaced by Bills, 
 
 75. 
 Petitions, triers of (first mentioned in 
 
 1304), 17, 343 
 Peyton, Sir Robert, 228 
 Phelips, Sir Edward, Speaker in 
 
 1603-04, xxviii, xxix, xxxi, 165, 
 
 166, 167, 168 
 Phelips, Mr. William Robert, of 
 
 Montacute, xxix 
 Philip II of Spain, husband of Queen 
 
 Mary, 133, 134, 135 
 Phillips, Thomas, painter, xxxi, xxxv 
 Picart, Charles, engraver, xxxv 
 Pickering, Sir James, Speaker in 
 
 1378, xxxvii, 33, 54, 55, 56, 
 
 348 
 
 Pimlico, 19 
 
 Pinkerton's Jconographica Scotica, 
 plate in, supposed to represent 
 Edward I sitting in Parliament, 
 121 
 
 Piozzi, Mrs., 277 
 
 Pitt, William, Earl of Chatham, 260, 
 277 
 
 Pitt, William, the younger, 290, 297, 
 298, 299, 310 
 
 Play House Yard, Blackfriars, 123 
 
 Plate, service of, used by the Speaker, 
 formerly his personal property, but 
 now attached to the holder of the 
 office for the time being, 246, 250, 
 
 295. 324 
 
 " Pleine Parlement, proposed rever- 
 sion to, in case of disagreement 
 between the two Houses, 65 
 
 Plough Inn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, 
 
 237 
 
 Podlicote, Richard, rol the Royal 
 Treasury in Westminster Ably in 
 
 1303. 5 
 
 Pole, Cardinal, 134 
 Pole, William dc la, 37 
 Pollard, Sir John, Speaker in 1553 
 
 and 1555, xxxvii, 133, 134, 370, 
 
 378 
 
 Pollen, Richard, xxiv 
 Pollimore, I*a<ly, xl
 
 448 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Poltimore, Lord, descended from 
 Speaker Bampfylde, 213 
 
 Poole, Mrs. S. L., xl 
 
 Popham, Sir John, Speaker in 1449, 
 364 
 
 Popham, Sir John, Speaker in 1580- 
 81, xxvii, xxxiv, xxxvii, 139, 140, 
 380 
 
 Porritt's Unreformed House of Com- 
 mons quoted, 233, 266 
 
 Portmore, Lord, 254 
 
 Portraits, from church windows, 
 xxii ; historical collection at Lam- 
 beth Palace, xxxi ; ignorance of 
 owners regarding their possessions, 
 xxi ; list of Speakers of whom no 
 portraits can be traced, xxxvi ; 
 many unidentified in country- 
 houses, xxii ; reasons why the 
 present collection is of such in- 
 terest, xxii 
 
 Portsmouth and Plymouth, fortifica- 
 tion of, in 1786, debate and casting 
 vote of the Speaker, 283 
 
 Powerscourt, Viscount, xl 
 
 Powle, Henry, Speaker in 1688-89, 
 xxviii, xxx, 231, 232, 390 
 
 Poynings, Robert, sword-bearer to 
 Jack Cade, 83 
 
 Prayers in the House of Commons, 
 
 159 
 
 Preemunire, Statute of, passed at 
 Winchester in 1393, 45 
 
 Preamble of Bills of Supply, wording 
 of, gives rise to differences between 
 Lords and Commons, 152, 177 
 
 Prerogative of the Crown, 75, 163, 
 165, 174, 175, 178, 234 
 
 Press Gallery, House of Commons, 
 264, 266 
 
 Pride, Thomas, 201 
 
 Prideaux family, the, brass in colours 
 to the memory of, xxv 
 
 Pride's Purge, 196 
 
 Primogeniture and Selection, evolu- 
 tion of the Writ of Summons, 
 22 
 
 Prince's Chamber, Palace of West- 
 minster, 301 
 
 Prince's Street, Id 
 
 Princess of Wales requested to with- 
 draw from the Gallery by Speaker 
 Abbot, 301 
 
 Printing House Square, Blackfriars, 
 123 
 
 Priory Church, Malvern, xxvi 
 
 Prior John, of Burford, murdered in 
 1697, 207 
 
 Priory, Great Hall of, in Blackfriars, 
 Parliaments held in, 120, 123 
 
 Private Bill Office, instituted by 
 Speaker Abbot in 1811 and de- 
 veloped by Speaker Abercromby, 
 
 3i8 
 Privilege, 261 ; v. Commons, House 
 
 of 
 
 Privy Garden, Whitehall, 285 
 Procurator of Parliament, a title 
 
 bestowed on some of the earlier 
 
 presiding officers of the Commons , 
 
 36 
 
 Prolocutor, a title bestowed on some 
 of the earlier Speakers, 36 
 
 " Provisions of Oxford," 35 
 
 Prynne, William, 24, 25 
 
 Public Record Office, 230 
 
 Puckering, Sir John, Speaker in 1584 
 and 1586, 140, 141, 142, 380 ; 
 tomb of, xxvi 
 
 Pulteney, Sir William, Earl of Bath, 
 69, 261 
 
 Purbrick, Father Edward, at Lam- 
 beth Palace, xxxii 
 
 Purveyance, 15 
 
 Pym, John, 172, 175, 190, 191, 192, 
 
 193 
 
 Pyx, Chapel of the, in Westminster 
 Abbey, 27, 58 
 
 Queen Anne's creation of peers in 
 1712 to secure a Tory majority in 
 the House of Lords, 234 
 
 Quenington, Gloucestershire, burial 
 place of Speaker Powle, 232 
 
 Question to be put forthwith by the 
 Chair, rules adopted in 1881 and 
 1882, and extended in 1887, 335 
 
 Quorum of the House of Commons 
 fixed by the Long Parliament, 188 
 
 R 
 
 Radley, Berks, Canopy of Speaker 
 Lenthall's chair preserved at, 195 
 
 Radnor, Earl of, xl 
 
 Raleigh, Sir Walter, 153, 154, 158, 
 160
 
 INDEX 
 
 449 
 
 Reading, Parliament held at, 364 
 
 Redesdale, Lord, v. Mitford, Sir John 
 
 Redesdale, Lord, xxxiv, xl 
 
 Redford, Sir Henry, Speaker in 1402, 
 xxxvii, 64, 352 
 
 Redman, or Redmayne, Richard, 
 xxxvii, Speaker in 1415, 356 
 
 Redress of grievances to precede the 
 granting of supplies, temp. Henry 
 IV, 66 
 
 Refectory of the Monks of West- 
 minster, meeting-place of the Com- 
 mons in 1397, 1403-4. J 4i4, 14'St 
 and 1416, 48 
 
 Reformation of Religion Act, 1 28 
 
 Reform Bill of 1832, 308 ; of 1867, 
 326 
 
 " Regale of France," a diamond 
 stolen from Becket's shrine by 
 Henry VIII, 126 
 
 Regency Bill of 1751, opposed by 
 Speaker Arthur Onslow, 270 
 
 Reid, Sir George, xxxi 
 
 " Reign of the Saints," a name 
 bestowed on the ' ' Barebone's " 
 Parliament, 200 
 
 Remarks on the Grand Tour of France 
 and Italy by Speaker Bromley, 
 
 243 
 
 " Remonstrance, The Grand," 189 
 Repeal of the Paper Duty, Bill 
 
 rejected by the House of Lords 
 
 1860, 328 
 
 Reporters' Gallery, House of Com- 
 mons, first officially recognised, 
 
 266 
 Reppiting of debates, recorded in 
 
 The Times since its establishment, 
 
 264 
 Reporting of debates in the House 
 
 of Commons, 263, 264, 265, 
 
 266 
 Representative system, origin of, 6, 
 
 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 
 
 32..3S 
 
 Reunion of the two Houses of Par- 
 liament in 1402 for a social purpose, 
 
 65 
 
 Reynell, Mr., a candidate for the 
 Chair in 1658-59, 213 
 
 Reynolds, Sir Joshua, xxxiii 
 
 Rheimi, 7 
 
 Rich, Sir Richard, (afterwards Lord 
 Rich), Speaker in 1536, xxviii, 
 xxx, xxxiv, 125, 126, 374 
 
 2 G 
 
 Richard II, King of England, 9, 13, 
 
 55, 57, 59, 60. 
 Richard III, King of England, 95, 
 
 96,97 
 
 Richardson, Samuel, author of 
 fame/a, 267 ; printing of the Jour- 
 nals of the House of Commons 
 entrusted to, in 1742, 267 
 Richardson, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 
 
 1620-21, xxvii, xxxiii, 170, 171, 
 
 173, 382 
 Rickman, John, Clerk-Assistant of 
 
 the House of Commons, 313 
 Ridley, White, Sir Matthew, a candi- 
 date for the Chair, 338 
 Rigby, Richard, 279 
 Ripperda, 257 
 Robinson, Mr. George, xl 
 Robinson, Sir Charles, xxii 
 Rockingham Administration, 276 
 Rolliad, The, and Speaker Cornwall, 
 
 285 ; on Pitt and Dundas, 291 
 Rolls Chapel, 230 
 Rolls House, Chancery Lane, former 
 
 residence of many Speakers (as 
 
 Masters of the Rolls), 136 
 Rolls of Parliament (A'otu/i Parlia- 
 
 mentorum), 30, etc. etc. 
 Rome, engraving of, xxxii 
 Rosamond, Fair, 92 
 Rosebery, Earl of, 175 
 Rothschild, Messrs., 106 
 Round, Mr. J. H., xl 
 Round, Rt. Hon. James, xxxv 
 Rous, Francis, Speaker in 1653, xxviii, 
 
 xxx, xxxi, xxxv, 200, 384 
 Royal Commission on Historical 
 
 Portraits, the necessity for, xxi 
 Rules of the House of Commons 
 
 adopted, temp. James I, 168 ; 
 
 great alterations in, adopted in 
 
 1882 and 1888, 334, 335 
 "Rump" Parliament, 196, 384, 
 
 386 
 Rushworth, John, Clerk-Assistant of 
 
 the House of Commons, xxiii, 
 
 xxxviii, 7, 174, 193 
 Russell, Lord Charles, Serjeant-at- 
 
 Arnis to the House of Commons, 
 
 289, 326 
 
 Russell, Kt. Hon. G. W. E., 289 
 Russell, Lord John, afterward* Earl 
 
 Russell, 315, 323 
 Russell, Sir John, Speaker in i^Jj 
 
 and 1432, xxxvii, 77, 78, 358, 300
 
 450 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Russell, John, Bishop of Lincoln and 
 Lord Chancellor, 420 
 
 Russell House, Strand, town resi- 
 dence of Speaker Puckering, 142 
 
 Rutland, Duke of, xxvi 
 
 Rutland, Dukes of, xxxiii 
 
 Rutley, Mr. J. L., xl 
 
 St. Albans, 84 
 
 St. Albans, Duke of, 206 
 
 St. Bartholomew's, Smithfield, 126 
 
 St. Benedict's Chapel, Westminster 
 
 Abbey, tomb of Simon Langham 
 
 in, 44 
 St. Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, 
 
 burial place of Speaker Richard 
 
 Onslow in 1571, 139 
 St. Edward's Chamber, Palace of 
 
 Westminster. Painted Chamber 
 
 sometimes so called, 296 
 St. Erasmus' Chapel, Westminster 
 
 Abbey, 95 
 St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, 
 
 94, 109 
 
 burial place of Sir Reginald Bray, 
 109 
 
 St. George's Church, Stamford, 
 
 burial place of Speaker Cust, 
 
 276 
 St. Giles-in-the-Fields, Church of, 
 
 xxvii ; burial place of Speaker 
 
 Widdrington, 385 
 St. James's Park, n, 19, 1 12 
 St. James's Square, town residence 
 
 of Speaker Compton, 254 
 
 town residence of Speaker Gren- 
 ville, 289 
 
 St. John, Oliver, 150 
 St. John's College, Oxford, the Presi- 
 dent of, xxix 
 St. Martin's Church, Canterbury, 
 
 burial place of Speaker John Finch, 
 
 182 
 
 St. Mary Overy's, South wark, 90 
 St. Mary's Church, BurySt. Edmunds, 
 
 burial place of Speaker Drury, 
 
 xxvi, 373 
 
 St. Maur, Mr. Harold, xxxiv 
 St. Michael, Paternoster Royal, burial 
 
 place of Speaker Oldhall, 365 
 St. Michael's Chapel, Westminster 
 
 Abbey, Wm. Trussell's tomb in, 
 
 40 
 
 St. Paul's Chapel, Westminster 
 Abbey, Speaker Puckering's tomb 
 in, 142 
 
 St. Stephen's Chapel, Palace of West- 
 minster, xxxviii ; 17, 44, 48, 93, 
 131, 138, IS 6 , 201, 295, 296, 301, 
 306, 313 
 
 St. Swithin's Lane, 106 
 
 Sac, Le, M., 239 
 
 Sacheverell, Dr., 242 
 
 Saffron Walden, Essex, burial place 
 of Speaker Audley, 124 
 
 Salisbury Cathedral, xxiv, 300; burial 
 place of Speaker Walter Hunger- 
 ford, 357 
 
 Salle Blanche, or White Hall in the 
 old Palace of Westminster, 18, 42, 
 
 43 
 
 Sailer's Hall, 106 
 
 Sanctuary, The, Westminster, ix, 
 
 95 
 
 Sandys, Lord, 213 
 
 Sanitation in Westminster in the 
 
 Middle Ages, 16 
 Saturday holiday of House of 
 
 Commons, due to Sir Robert 
 
 Walpole, 160 
 Saunders, Sir Edward, 139 
 Savage, Sir Arnold, Speaker in 1400- 
 
 01 and 1403-04, 64, 65, 66, 67, 
 
 68, 352, 354 ; memorial brass of, 
 
 XXV 
 
 Sawyer, Margaret, 226 
 
 Sawyer, Sir Robert, Speaker in 1678, 
 
 xxviii, 225, 226, 388 
 Say, Sir John, Speaker in 1448-49, 
 
 1463 and 1467, 80, 81, 84, 125, 
 
 362, 366 ; memorial brass of, 
 
 xxv 
 Say, William, Speaker in 1659-60, 
 
 xxxvii, 214, 386 
 Scardesburgh, John de, Clerk of 
 
 the House of Commons 1388, 
 
 33 
 Scobell, Henry, Clerk of the House 
 
 of Commons, 139, 174, 199 
 Scotch members at Westminster in 
 
 1707, 240 
 
 Scott, Sir Gilbert, architect, 112 
 Scrope, Geoffrey Le, 33, 40, 342, 
 
 343 
 
 Scrope, William Le, (Earl of Wilt- 
 shire), 57 
 
 Selby, Viscount, v. Gully, William 
 Court
 
 INDEX 
 
 45i 
 
 Selden, John, on peerages old and 
 
 new, 177 
 " Self- Denying Ordinance," Eton 
 
 exempted from, 21 1 
 Separation of Lords and Commons, 
 
 supposed date of, 32, 45 
 Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of 
 
 Commons, The, xl, 140, 156, 
 
 157 
 
 Serjeant's Inn, 157 
 Seymour, Sir Edward, Speaker in 
 
 1678 and 1678-79, xxvii, xxxi, 
 
 xxxiv ; 55, 223, 224, 225, 226, 
 
 231, 236, 388 
 Seymour, John, Clerk of the House 
 
 of Commons, temp. Elizabeth, 132 
 Shaftesbury, 1st Earl of, Anthony 
 
 Ashley-Cooper, 225 ; 3rd Earl, 
 
 242 
 Shaftesbury, 6th Earl of, Cropley 
 
 Ashley-Cooper, Chairman of the 
 
 Lords Committee on the Dignity 
 
 of the Peerage, 23 
 Shakespeare, William, 57, 123; on 
 
 Sir John Bussy, Speaker in 1393-94, 
 
 1396-97, 57 
 Shareshull, Sir William, Chief 
 
 Justice, xxxvii, 41, 346 
 Shaw-Lefevre, Charles (Viscount 
 
 Eversley), Speaker in 1839, 1841, 
 
 1847 and I 8 5 2 , * xx . xxxi . 3 l8 , 3'9 
 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 329, 
 406 
 
 Shee, Sir Martin Archer, xxxi 
 
 Sheffield, Sir Robert, Speaker in 
 1511-12, xxx, 117, 118, 374 
 
 Shelburne, Lord, 282 
 
 Shore, Manors at, xxvi 
 
 Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 283, 
 285 
 
 Shirley, Evelyn Philip, 154 
 
 Shirley, Sir Thomas, 166, 167 
 
 Shore, Jane, 91 
 
 "Short" Parliament of 1640, 182 
 
 Shottesbrooke, Berks, 40 
 
 Shovell, Sir Cloudesley, 257 
 
 Shrewsbury, Duke of, the " favourite 
 of the nation," 234 
 
 Shrine of Edward the Confessor in 
 Westminster Abbey, 126 
 
 Sidmouth, Lord, v. Addington 
 
 Sidmouth, Lady, the second, anec- 
 dote of Nelson, 293 
 
 Sidney, Henry, Lord Deputy of 
 Ireland, temp. Elizabeth, 143 
 
 Simco, Mr., xxviii 
 
 Simon de Montfort, v. Montfort 
 
 Single Chamber system, proposed re- 
 union of Lords and Commons as 
 one deliberative body, 65 ; contrast 
 between 1402 and 1911, 65 ; Crom- 
 well's adherents chafe under the 
 uncontrolled rule of, 198 
 
 Sissinghurst Castle, near Cranbrook, 
 Kent, built by Speaker Baker, 
 129, 130 
 
 Skelton, Sir John, 127 
 
 Smallbridge, Suffolk, 54 
 
 Smith, "Bobus," his translation of 
 Speaker Addington's motto, 294 
 
 Smith, John, Speaker in 1705 and 
 1707, xxvii, xxxi, 240, 392 
 
 Smith, William Henry, Rt. Hon., 
 
 253 
 
 Smith's Antiquities of Westmintter, 
 301 
 
 Snagge, Thomas, Speaker in 1588-89, 
 xxvi ; 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 
 380 
 
 Snagge, Sir Thomas, a direct descen- 
 dant of the Speaker of that name, 
 xxvi, 146, 147 
 
 Soho Square, Speaker Arthur Onslow s 
 house in, 256, 257 
 
 Somerset, Dukes of, 84, 224 
 
 Somerset, Duchess of, at Burford 
 Priory, 206 
 
 Speaker's Commentary, 332 
 
 Speaker, v. Commons, House of, 
 and under individual names ; 
 earliest painting of, xxvii ; of the 
 Irish Parliament, 97, 138 
 
 Speakers executed, xxxvi 
 
 Speaker's house, collection of por- 
 traits at, xxx, xxxi ; parlour at 
 Clandon, xxxiv ; residence, xxxvi ; 
 salary, xxxvi 
 
 Speeches of the Speakers, 303 
 
 Spring Gardens, 303 
 
 Stamford, St. George's Church, burial 
 place of Speaker Cust, 276 
 
 Stanhope, General, 247, 248 
 
 Stanhope, Sir Walter Spencer, Bart., 
 
 XXXV 
 
 Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn, Dean of 
 Westminster, x, 5, 6, 40, 4. 94 
 
 Staple in Westminster, 17 
 
 State dinner in the Crypt of St. 
 Stephen's Chapel, dcscrilwd by 
 Speaker Abbot, 296
 
 452 
 
 Star Chamber, in Palace of West- 
 minster, 17, 101, 118, 178, 
 
 311 
 
 Court of, 101 
 
 Statute " De haeretico comburendo," 
 
 68 
 
 Steele, Rev. J. T., xl 
 Stew Lane, 21 
 " Stiff Dick," a nickname of Sir 
 
 Richard Onslow, Speaker in 1708, 
 
 241 
 Stoke Edith, Herefordshire, built by 
 
 Speaker Foley, 232, 233 ; view of, 
 
 xxxix 
 Stone Buildings, Lincoln's Inn, 
 
 304 
 
 Stone, Sir Benjamin, xxxviii 
 
 Storey's Gate, 10, 1 1 
 
 Stourton, William, Speaker in 1413, 
 xxiii, xxxvii, 63, 356 
 
 Strangers in the House, temp. Eliza- 
 beth, 156 
 
 Strangeways, Sir James, Speaker in 
 1461, xxxvii, 89, 366 
 
 Strangways, Colonel, 223 
 
 Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, 1st 
 Earl of, 183, 189 
 
 Stratford, John, Archbishop of Can- 
 terbury, 37 
 
 Strange, John, 1 15 
 
 Strode, William, 166, 190 
 
 Sturgis, Russell, Mr., 334 
 
 Sturmy, or Esturmy, Sir William, 
 Speaker in 1404, xxxvii, 69, 
 
 354 
 Subsidy Bills, disputes between Lords 
 
 and Commons in 1593, 152 ; as to 
 
 preamble of the Bill of Supply in 
 
 1628, 178 
 Suffolk, Duchess of, daughter of 
 
 Speaker Chaucer, 72 
 Suffolk, Duke of, William de la Pole, 
 
 79 
 
 Supplies, granting of, to follow re- 
 dress of grievances, temp. Henry 
 IV, 66 
 
 Supply, modern procedure of, fore- 
 shadowed in 1380, 54 
 
 Supply, Bills of, 73 ; disputes between 
 Lords and Commons in connection 
 with, 152, 178 
 
 Sutton Street, Soho Square, 257 
 
 Swift, Jonathan, 240, 246 
 
 Symonds, John, 119 
 
 "Tacking," temp. William III, 
 
 235 
 
 Talbot, Gilbert, 37 
 Tanfield, Sir Lawrence, owner of 
 
 Burford Priory, 206 
 Tariff Reform in the reign of Queen 
 
 Anne, 247 
 Taunton, Lord, 326 
 Taxes on House and Land Property, 
 
 unpopularity of, in the Middle 
 
 Ages, 43, 66 
 Taylor, Michael Angelo, a possible 
 
 candidate for the Chair, 287 
 Temple Bar, 16, 17 
 Temple Church, burial place of 
 
 Speaker Hare, 127 
 Temple Gate, The New Gallows 
 
 beyond, 75 
 Temporary Chambers for Lords and 
 
 Commons, improvised after the 
 
 great fire of 1834, 313 
 Tenants in Chief, Lesser, become 
 
 merged in the Knights of the 
 
 Shire, 23 
 Tewkesbury, Battle of, two former 
 
 Speakers killed at, 86, 365, 
 
 367 
 Thames Ditton, former residence of 
 
 Speaker Arthur Onslow, 273 
 Thirty-nine Articles, The, legalised 
 
 by Parliament of 1571, 162 
 Thomas, Sir Alfred, 229 
 Thomond, Murrough O'Brien, 1st 
 
 Earl of, 128 
 
 Thompson, Mr. H. Y. , xl 
 Thomson, William, Archbishop of 
 
 York, 332 
 Thorney Island, Westminster, 10, 
 
 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 46 
 Thornhill, Sir James, xxxiv, 234 
 Thorpe, Thomas, Speaker in 1452- 
 
 53, xxxvi, xxxvii, 83, 364 
 Thorpe, William (Chief Justice), 41, 
 
 344 
 
 Thurloe, John, 212 
 Thurlow, Lord, 279 
 Tierney, George, 290, 301 
 Tillotson, John, Archbishop of 
 
 Canterbury, 230 
 Times, The, Editor of, (John Delane), 
 
 on qualifications for the Speaker's 
 
 office, 324 ; on Speaker Denison's 
 
 retirement, 327
 
 INDEX 
 
 453 
 
 Times Office, Blackfriars, 120, 123 
 Tiptoft, Sir John, (Lord Tiptoft), 
 Speaker in 1405-06, 34, 69, 70, 
 
 354 
 Tiptoft, Sir John, (Earl of Worcester), 
 
 son of the Speaker of that name, 
 
 xxxiii, xxxvii, 69, 70, 71 ; called 
 
 "The butcher of England," 
 
 70 
 Tong, Shropshire, burial place of 
 
 Speaker Vernon, xxxvi, 360 
 Tooke, John Home, 278 
 Torel, William, sculptor, 58 
 Torregiano's medallion portrait of 
 
 Speaker Lovell, now in Henry VII's 
 
 Chapel, xxii, 105, 420 
 Tory and Whig, early growth of two 
 
 parties so called, 225, 227 
 Tothill Fields, n, 17, 21 
 Tower Hill, 71 
 Tower of London, 26, 57, 83, 167, 
 
 282 
 Townshend, Thomas, the Rt. Hon., 
 
 277, 283 
 
 Trafalgar Square, proposed recon- 
 struction of, 112, 113 
 Treasury, Royal, in Westminster, 
 
 42, 58 ; at Winchester, 7 
 "Tree of Commonwealth," 331 
 Trenchard, Sir Thomas, of Wolfeton, 
 
 Dorset, 77 
 Tresham, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 
 
 1459, xxxvi, xxxvii, 80, 366 
 Tresham, William, Speaker in 1439, 
 
 1441-42, 1446-47, and 1449, xxxvi, 
 
 xxxvii, 79 
 
 Trevor, Arthur, 229 
 Trevor, Sir John, Speaker in 1685 
 
 and 1689-90, xxx, 136, 229, 230, 
 
 390 
 
 Triennial Bill of 1640, 189 
 Triers of Petitions, 17 
 Trussell, William, xxxvii, 33, 40, 342, 
 
 344 ; his tomb in Westminster 
 
 Abbey, 40 
 
 Tumour, Sir Edward, Speaker in 
 1661, xxviii, xxx, 216, 217, 218, 
 
 219, 388 
 Turvey, Beds, burial place of Speaker 
 
 Mordaunt, xxvi, 371 
 Tyburn, 10 
 
 Tydder, Cadwallader, Clerk of the 
 House of Commons, temp. Eliza- 
 beth, 160 
 Tylney, Lord, 256 
 
 Tyrrell, Sir John, Speaker in 1427, 
 1430-31, and 1436-37, xxxvii, 360 
 
 U 
 
 Uniformity, Act of, 1549, 132 
 
 Union of Scotland, the Scotch mem- 
 bers sit at Westminster for the first 
 time, 240 
 
 Up Ottery, Devon, seat of Lord Sid- 
 mouth, 293 
 
 Utopia, by Sir Thomas More, 331 
 
 Utrecht, Treaty of, 247 
 
 Valence, Aymer de, Bishop-Elect of 
 
 Winchester, and half-brother to 
 
 King Henry III, 34, 343 
 Vandyck, Anthony, portrait by, at 
 
 Raby Castle, xxviii, xxxi, 123 
 Vemon, Sir Richard, Speaker in 
 
 1425-26, xxvi, 360 
 Vertue, Robert, architect of Henry 
 
 VII's Chapel, Westminster Abbey, 
 
 109 
 
 Victoria Tower, Palace of West- 
 minster, designed by Sir Charles 
 
 Barry, 9 
 Votes and Proceedings of the House 
 
 of Commons, earliest issue of, 268 
 Vyne, The, Hampshire, property of 
 
 Speaker Chute, 213 
 
 W 
 
 Wadham College, Oxford, xxxv 
 Wake, William, Archbishop of 
 
 Canterbury, 14 
 Wakefield, Battle of, 85, 86 
 Walbrook, 106 
 Waldegrave, Earl, xl 
 Waldegrave, Sir Richard, Speaker in 
 
 1381, xxxvii, 33, 54, 55, 348 
 Wall, Rev. R., xl 
 
 Walpole, Horace, 270, 275, 278, 282 
 Walpole, Sir Rot>ert, 69, 100, 251, 
 
 255, 260, 261, 262, 271 ; portrait 
 
 of, xxxiv 
 Walter, John, founder of The Times, 
 
 123 
 Walsingham, Sir Francis, 143, 144, 
 
 146 
 Walton, or Wauton, Sir Thomas, 
 
 Speaker in 1425, xxxvii, 78, 360
 
 454 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Warden of the Fleet Prison, 167 
 
 Ware, Richard, Abbot of West- 
 minster, 42 
 
 Warfield, Berks, 40 
 
 Warham, William, Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, 113 
 
 "War Parliament" of 1511-12, 
 117 
 
 Wars of the Roses arrest constitu- 
 tional progress, 8 1 
 
 Warwick House, Cloth Fair, town 
 residence of Speaker Rich, 126 
 
 Warwick, the "King-maker," 86 
 
 Wauton, v. Walton 
 
 Webster, T. L., Second Clerk- 
 Assistant of the House of Com- 
 mons, xi 
 
 Wellington Church, Somerset, xxxiv 
 
 Wenlock, Sir John (Lord Wenlock), 
 Speaker in 1455, xxxvi, xxxvii, 
 8 1, 84, 364 
 
 Wentworth, Peter, 249 
 
 Westminster Abbey, x, xxii, xxvi, 
 xxviii, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 
 18, 19, 20, 21, 27, 36, 40, 41, 42, 
 
 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 58, 59, 
 
 62, 85, 94, 95, 105, 109, no, in, 
 
 118, 126, 135, 142, 173, 303 
 Westminster Hall, 8, 9, 64, 93, 
 
 338 . 
 Westminster Palace, great fires at, in 
 
 1512, 118; in 1834, 311 
 Westminster Stairs, 191 
 Westmorland, Earl of, Ralph Nevill, 
 
 100 
 
 Wharton, Lord, 234 
 Whig and Tory, early growth of 
 
 rival parties, 225, 227 
 " Whimsicals," The, 250 
 "Whip with six strings," 127 
 White, Sir Thomas, xxix 
 White-Ridley, Sir Matthew, v. 
 
 Ridley 
 
 Whitehall, 14, 112, 199, 232 
 White Hall or Salle Blanche in the 
 
 old Palace of Westminster, 18, 42, 
 
 43 
 "White House" in Soho Square, 
 
 257 
 White Lodge in Richmond Park, 
 
 residence of Speaker Addington 
 
 when Lord Sidmouth, 293 
 Whitelocke, Bulstrode, Speaker in 
 
 !6s6-57> xxvii, 212, 213, 231, 
 
 386 
 
 Widdrington, Sir Thomas, Speaker 
 in 1656, xxvii, 211, 212, 384 
 
 Wilkes, John, 275, 281 
 
 William III, King of England, 224, 
 231, 234, 235, 236, 238 
 
 William IV, King of England, 311, 
 
 3*3. 315, 3i8 
 William of Colchester, Abbot of 
 
 Westminster, 46, 47, 48 
 Williams, Thomas, Speaker in 1 562- 
 
 63, 378 j epitaph on, xxv ; memo- 
 rial brass of, xxv 
 Williams, Sir William, Speaker in 
 
 1680 and 1680-81, xxx, 228, 229, 
 
 388, 390 
 Wilmington, Earl of, v. Compton, 
 
 Sir Spencer 
 Windsor, 93, 161 
 Wingfield, Major, xxix 
 Wingfield, Sir Humphrey, Speaker 
 
 in 1533, xxix, 124, 125, 374 
 Winnington Bridge, 202 
 Witley, Worcestershire, 232 
 Wolfeton, Dorset, seat of Sir Thomas 
 
 Trenchard, 77 
 
 Wolsey, Cardinal, 121, 122, 125 
 Wood, John, Speaker in 1482-83, 
 
 xxxvii, 93, 368 
 
 Woodfall, H. S., Printer of Parlia- 
 mentary debates etc. , 278 
 Woolley, Sir John, 149 
 Worcester, Earl of, John Tiptoft, 
 
 son of the Speaker of 1405-06, 
 
 xxxii, 70 ; execution of, xxxvi 
 Worsop, William, 115 
 Wraxall, Sir Nathaniel, on Speaker 
 
 Cornwall, 286 
 Wray, Sir Christopher, Speaker in 
 
 I57 1 , xxvii, xxviii, xxxi, 162, 
 
 3.78 
 
 Wright, John Michael, xxix 
 Wriothesley, Sir Thomas, ist Earl 
 
 of Southampton, 129 
 Writ of summons, origin of the 
 
 issue to Members of Parliament, 
 
 22 
 
 Wyatt, James, architect and Sur- 
 veyor - General to the Board of 
 
 Works, 300, 301 
 Wyndham, Sir William, 261 
 Wynn, Sir Watkin, 289, 305 
 Wynn, Williams, C., a candidate 
 
 for the Speakership in 1817, 
 
 305
 
 INDEX 
 
 455 
 
 Yarborough, Earl of, xxix 
 Yelverton, Sir Christopher, Speaker 
 
 in 1597, xxx, 158, 159, 382 
 York, 86 
 
 Archbishop of York, William 
 Thomson, 332 
 
 York- 
 Archbishops of, resident at White- 
 hall until the fall of Wolsey, 14 
 Parliaments held at, 32, 352, 356 
 York, Richard Duke of, 85, 86 
 "Young Cole," nickname bestowed 
 on Speaker Abercromby by Lord 
 Brougham, 317
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 ANATOLE FRANCE 
 
 has long been a reproach to 
 England that only one volume 
 by ANATOLE FRANCE 
 has been adequately rendered 
 into English ; yet outside this 
 country he shares with 
 TOLSTOI the distinction 
 of being the greatest and most daring 
 student of humanity living. 
 
 H There have been many difficulties to 
 encounter in completing arrangements for a 
 uniform edition, though perhaps the chief bar- 
 rier to publication here has been the fact that 
 his writings are not for babes but for men 
 and the mothers of men. Indeed, some of his 
 Eastern romances are written with biblical can- 
 dour. ** I have sought truth strenuously," he 
 tells us, " I have met her boldly. I have never 
 turned from her even when she wore an
 
 unexpected aspect.** Still, it is believed that the day has 
 come for giving English versions of all his imaginative 
 works, as well as of his monumental study JOAN OF 
 ARC, which is undoubtedly the most discussed book in the 
 world of letters to-day. 
 
 f MR. JOHN LANE has pleasure in announcing that 
 the following volumes are either already published or are 
 passing through the press. 
 
 THE RED LILY 
 
 MOTHER OF PEARL 
 
 THE GARDEN OF EPICURUS 
 
 THE CRIME OF SYLVESTRE BONNARD 
 
 BALTHASAR 
 
 THE WELL OF ST. CLARE 
 
 THAIS 
 
 THE WHITE STONE 
 
 PENGUIN ISLAND 
 
 THE MERRIE TALES OF JACQUES TOURNE 
 
 BROCHE 
 
 JOCASTA AND THE FAMISHED CAT 
 THE ELM TREE ON THE MALL 
 THE WICKER-WORK WOMAN 
 AT THE SIGN OF THE REINE PEDAUQUE 
 THE OPINIONS OF JEROME COIGNARD 
 MY FRIEND'S BOOK 
 THE ASPIRATIONS OF JEAN SERVIEN 
 LIFE AND LETTERS (4 vois.) 
 JOAN OF ARC (2 vols.) 
 
 f All the books will be published at 6/- each with the 
 exception of JOAN OF ARC, which will be 25/- net 
 the two volumes, with eight Illustrations. 
 
 1f The format of the volumes leaves little to be desired. 
 The size is Demy 8vo (9 X 5|), and they are printed from 
 Caslon type upon a paper light in weight and strong of 
 texture, with a cover design in crimson and gold, a gilt top, 
 end-papers from designs by Aubrey Beardsley and initials by 
 Henry Ospovat. In short, these are volumes for the biblio- 
 phile as well as the lover of fiction, and form perhaps the 
 cheapest library edition of copyright novels ever published, 
 for the price is only that of an ordinary novel. 
 
 V The translation of these books has been entrusted to 
 such competent French scholars as MR. ALFRED ALUNSON,
 
 THE WORKS OF ANATOLE FRANCE 
 
 MR. FREDERIC CHAPMAN, MR. ROBERT B. DOUGLAS, 
 MR. A. W. EVANS, MKS. FARLEY, MR. LAFCADIO HEARN, 
 MRS. W. S. JACKSON, MRS. JOHN LANE, MRS. NEWMARCH, 
 MR. C. E. ROCHE, MISS WINIFRED STEPHENS, and MISS 
 M. P. WILLCOCKS. 
 
 f As Anatole Thibault, dit Anatole France, is to most 
 English readers merely a name, it will be well to state that 
 he was born in 1844 in the picturesque and inspiring 
 surroundings of an old bookshop on the Quai Voltaire, 
 Paris, kept by his father, Monsieur Thibault, an authority on 
 eighteenth-century history, from whom the boy caught the 
 passion for the principles of the Revolution, while from his 
 mother he was learning to love the ascetic ideals chronicled 
 in the Lives of the Saints. He was schooled with the lovers 
 of old books, missals and manuscript ; he matriculated on the 
 Quais with the old Jewish dealers of curios and objets d'art; 
 he graduated in the great university of life and experience. 
 It will be recognised that all his work is permeated by his 
 youthful impressions ; he is, in fact, a virtuoso at large. 
 
 f He has written about thirty volumes of fiction. His 
 first novel was JOCASTA & THE FAMISHED CAT 
 (1879). THE CRIME OF SYLVESTRE BONNARD 
 appeared in 1881, and had the distinction of being crowned 
 by the French Academy, into which he was received in 1896. 
 
 f His work is illuminated with style, scholarship, and 
 psychology ; but its outstanding features are the lambent wit, 
 the gay mockery, the genial irony with which he touches every 
 subject he treats. But the wit is never malicious, the mockery 
 never derisive, the irony never barbed. To quote from his own 
 GARDEN OF EPICURUS : " Irony and Pity are both of 
 good counsel ; the first with her smiles makes life agreeable, 
 the other sanctifies it to us with her tears. The Irony I 
 invoke is no cruel deity. She mocks neither love nor 
 beauty. She is gentle and kindly disposed. Her mirth 
 disarms anger and it is she teaches us to laugh at rogues and 
 fools whom but for her we might be so weak as to hate." 
 
 H Often he shows how divine humanity triumphs over 
 mere asceticism, and with entire reverence ; indeed, he 
 might be described as an ascetic overflowing with humanity, 
 just as he has been termed a " pagan, but a pagan 
 constantly haunted by the pre-occupation of Christ." 
 He is in turn like his own Choulette in THE RED 
 LILY saintly and Rabelaisian, yet without incongruity.
 
 THE WORKS OF ANATOLE FRANCE 
 
 At all times he is the unrelenting foe of superstition and 
 hypocrisy. Of himself he once modestly said : " You will 
 find in my writings perfect sincerity (lying demands a talent 
 I do not possess), much indulgence, and some natural 
 affection for the beautiful and good." 
 
 11 The mere extent of an author's popularity is perhaps a 
 poor argument, yet it is significant that two books by this 
 author are in their HUNDRED AND TENTH THOU- 
 SAND, and numbers of them well into their SEVENTIETH 
 THOUSAND, whilst the one which a Frenchman recently 
 described as " Monsieur France's most arid book " is in its 
 FIFTY-EIGHT-THOUSAND. 
 
 11 Inasmuch as M. FRANCE'S ONLY contribution to 
 an English periodical appeared in THE YELLOW BOOK, 
 vol. v., April 1895, together with the first important English 
 appreciation of his work from the pen of the Hon. Maurice 
 Baring, it is peculiarly appropriate that the English edition 
 of his works should be issued from the Bodley Head. 
 
 ORDER FORM. 
 
 .. _ 190 
 
 To Mr _ : - 
 
 Bookseller. 
 
 Please send me the following works of Anatole France: 
 
 THAIS PENGUIN ISLAND 
 
 BALTHASAR THE WHITE STONE 
 
 THE RED LILY MOTHER OF PEARL 
 
 THE GARDEN OF EPICURUS 
 
 THE CRIME OF SYLVESTRE BONNARD 
 
 THE WELL OF ST. CLARE 
 
 THE MERRIE TALES OF JACQUES TOURNE- 
 
 BROCHE 
 
 THE ELM TREE ON THE MALL 
 THE WICKER WORK WOMAN 
 JOCASTA AND THE FAMISHED CAT 
 JOAN OF ARC (2 VOLS.) 
 
 for which 1 enclose _ 
 
 Name . 
 
 Address _.. _ _ 
 
 JOHN LANE, PUBLISHER. THE BODLEY HEAD, VIGO ST., LONDON.W.
 
 TICE 
 
 Those who possess old letters, documents, corre- 
 spondence, MSS., scraps of autobiography, and also 
 miniatures and portraits, relating to persons and 
 matters historical, literary, political and social, should 
 communicate ivith <Mr. 'John Lane, The Bodley 
 Head, Vigo Street, London, W., who will at all 
 times be pleased to give his advice and assistance, 
 either as to their preservation or publication.
 
 A CATALOGUE OF 
 
 MEMOIRS, ( BIOG ( KAPHIES, ETC. 
 
 WO^KS UPON ^APOLEON 
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 NAPOLEON'S CONQUEST OF PRUSSIA, 1806. 
 
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 Ralph Heathcote, ike tan o/nn English father anJ an Alsatian mother, n-as /or 
 tome time in the English diplomatic service as first secretary to Afr. /Invt Taylor, minister 
 at the Court o/ l/eise, ami on one occasion found himself very near to mating history, 
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 interesting material /or levtrt of old letters and journals.
 
 A CATALOGUE OF 
 
 MEMOIRS OF THE COUNT DE CARTRIE. 
 
 A record of the extraordinary events in the life of a French 
 Royalist during the war in La Vendee, and of his flight to South- 
 ampton, where he followed the humble occupation of gardener. 
 With an introduction by FREDERIC MASSON, Appendices and Notes 
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 tions, including a Photogravure Portrait of the Author. Demy STO. 
 I2s. 6J. net. 
 
 Daily News. "We have seldom met with a human document which has interested us so 
 much." 
 
 THE JOURNAL OF JOHN MAYNE DURING 
 A TOUR ON THE CONTINENT UPON ITS RE- 
 OPENING AFTER THE FALL OF NAPOLEON, 1814. 
 Edited by his Grandson, JOHN MAYNE COLLES. With 16 
 Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5^ inches), izs. 6J. net. 
 
 WOMEN OF THE SECOND EMPIRE. 
 
 Chronicles of the Court of Napoleon III. By FREDERIC LOLIEE. 
 With an introduction by RICHARD WHITEING and 53 full-page 
 Illustrations, 3 in Photogravure. Demy 8vo. zis. net. 
 
 Standard. " M. Frederic Loliee has written a remarkable book, vivid and pitiless in its 
 description of the intrigue and dare-devil spirit which flourished unchecked at the French 
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 LOUIS NAPOLEON AND THE GENESIS OF 
 
 THE SECOND EMPIRE. By F. H. CHEETHAM. With 
 Numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5^ inches). l6s. net. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF MADEMOISELLE DES 
 
 ECHEROLLES. Translated from the French by MARIE 
 CLOTHILDE BALFOUR. With an Introduction by G. K. FORTESCUE, 
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 Liverpool Mercury. ". . . this absorbing book. . . . The work has a very decided 
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 idiom." 
 
 JANE AUSTEN'S SAILOR BROTHERS. Being 
 
 the Life and Adventures of Sir Francis Austen, G.C.B., Admiral of 
 the Fleet, and Rear-Admiral Charles Austen. By J. H. and E. C. 
 HUBBACK. With numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 1 2s. 6J. net. 
 
 Morning Post. ". . . May be welcomed as an important addition to Austeniana . . .; 
 it is besides valuable for its glimpses of life in the Navy, its illustrations of the feelings 
 and sentiments of naval officers during the period that preceded and that which 
 followed the great battle of just one century ago, the battle which won so much but 
 which cost u Nelson."
 
 MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, ETC. 5 
 SOME WOMEN LOVING OR LUCKLESS. 
 
 By TEODOR DE WYZEWA. Translated from the French by C. H. 
 JEAFFRESON, M.A. With Numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo 
 (9x5! inches), js. 6et. net. 
 
 THE TRUE STORY OF MY LIFE: an Auto- 
 
 biography by ALICE M. DIEHL, Novelist, Writer, and Musician. 
 Demy 8vo. los. 6d. net. 
 
 GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO : A BIOGRAPHICAL 
 
 STUDY. By EDWARD HUTTON. With a Photogravure Frontis- 
 piece and numerous other Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5^ 
 inches). i6/. net. 
 
 MINIATURES : A Series of Reproductions in 
 
 Photogravure of Eighty-Five Miniatures of Distinguished Person- 
 ages, including the Queen Mother and the three Princesses of the 
 House. Painted by CHARLES TURRELL. The Edition is limited 
 to One Hundred Copies (many of which are already subscribed for) 
 for sale in England and America, and Twenty-five Copies for Pre- 
 sentation, Review, and the Museums. Each will be Numbered 
 and Signed by the Artist. Large Quarto. j 1 5 I 5-f. net. 
 
 COKE OF NORFOLK AND HIS FRIENDS: 
 
 The Life of Thomas William Coke, First Earl of Leicester of 
 the second creation, containing an account of his Ancestry, 
 Surroundings, Public Services, and Private Friendships, and 
 including many Unpublished Letters from Noted Men of his day, 
 English and American. By A. M. W. STIRLING. With 20 
 Photogravure and upwards of 40 other Illustrations reproduced 
 from Contemporary Portraits, Prints, etc. Demy 8vo. 2 vols. 
 32/. net. 
 
 Tkt Timei." We thank Mr\. Stirling for one of the raot interesting memoirs of recent 
 years." 
 
 Daily Ttltfrffk." A very remarkable literary performance. Mrs. Stirling has achieved 
 a resurrection. She has fashioned a pkture of a dead and forgotten past and brought 
 before our eyes with the vividness of breathing existence the life of our English ancestor* 
 of the eighteenth century." 
 
 Full MmJl Gattttt." A work of no common interest ; in fact, a work which may almost b 
 
 called unique." 
 Kvtninf Sttuuinf."On of the most interesting biographies we have read for yean."
 
 A CATALOGUE OF 
 
 THE LIFE OF SIR HALLIDAY MACART- 
 
 NEY, K.C.M.G., Commander of Li Hung Chang's trained 
 force in the Taeping Rebellion. Secretary and Councillor to 
 the Chinese Legation in London for thirty years. By DEMETRIUS 
 C. BOULGER, Author of the " History of China," the " Life of 
 Gordon," etc. With Illustrations. Demy 8vo. Price z\s. net. 
 
 Daily Graphic. " It is safe to say that few readers will be able to put down the book with- 
 out feeling the better for having read it ... not only full of personal interest, but 
 tells us much that we never knew before on some not unimportant details." 
 
 DEVONSHIRE CHARACTERS AND STRANGE 
 
 EVENTS. By S. BARING-GOULD, M.A., Author of " Yorkshire 
 Oddities," etc. With 58 Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 2U.net. 
 
 Daily News. " A fascinating series . . . the whole book is rich in human interest. It is 
 by personal touches, drawn from traditions and memories, that the dead men surrounded 
 by the curious panoply of their time, are made to live again in Mr. Baring-Gould's pages." 
 
 CORNISH CHARACTERS AND STRANGE 
 
 EVENTS. By S. BARING-GOULD, M.A., Author of " Devonshire 
 Characters and Strange Events," etc. With 62 full-page Illus- 
 trations reproduced from old prints, etc. Demy 8vo. zis. net. 
 
 ROBERT HERRICK : A BIOGRAPHICAL AND 
 CRITICAL STUDY. By F. W. MOORMAN, B.A., Ph. D., 
 Assistant Professor of English Literature in the University of 
 Leeds. With 9 Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches). 
 I2/. 6d. net. 
 
 THE MEMOIRS OF ANN, LADY FANSHAWE. 
 
 Written by Lady Fanshawe. With Extracts from the Correspon- 
 dence of Sir Richard Fanshawe. Edited by H. C. FANSHAWE. 
 With 38 Full-page Illustrations, including four in Photogravure 
 and one in Colour. Demy 8vo. i6s. net. 
 
 ** This Edition has been printed direct from the original manuscript in the possession 
 of the Fanshawe Family, and Mr. H. C. Fanshawe contributes numerous notes which 
 form a running commentary on the text. Many famous pictures are reproduced, includ- 
 ing paintings by Velazquez and Van Dyck. 
 
 THE LIFE OF JOAN OF ARC. By ANATOLE 
 
 FRANCE. A Translation by WINIFRED STEPHENS. With 8 Illus- 
 trations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches). 2 vols. Price z$s. net.
 
 MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, ETC. 7 
 THE DAUGHTER OF LOUIS XVI. Marie- 
 
 Therese-Charlotte of France, Duchesse D'Angouleme. By. G. 
 LENOTRE. With 13 Full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo. Price 
 io/. 6d. net. 
 
 WITS, BEAUX, AND BEAUTIES OF THE 
 
 GEORGIAN ERA. By JOHN FYVIE, author of" Some Famous 
 Women of Wit and Beauty," " Comedy Queens of the Georgian 
 Era," etc. With a Photogravure Portrait and numerous other 
 Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9x5^ inches), izs. 6d. net. 
 
 LADIES FAIR AND FRAIL. Sketches of the 
 
 Demi-monde during the Eighteenth Century. By HORACE 
 BLEACKLEY, author of " The Story of a Beautiful Duchess." 
 With I Photogravure and 1 5 other Portraits reproduced from 
 contemporary sources. Demy 8vo (9 x 5^ inches), izs. 6J. net. 
 
 MADAME DE MAINTENON : Her Life and 
 
 Times, 1635-1719. By C. C. DYSON. With i Photogravure 
 Plate and 1 6 other Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9x5^ inches). 
 izs. 6</. net. 
 
 DR. JOHNSON AND MRS. THRALE. By 
 
 A. M. BROADLEY. With an Introductory Chapter by THOMAS 
 SECCOMBE. With 24 Illustrations from rare originals, including 
 a reproduction in colours of the Fcllowes Miniature of Mrs. 
 Piozzi by Roche, and a Photogravure of Harding's sepia drawing 
 of Dr. Johnson. Demy 8vo (9 x 5$ inches). izs. 6</. net. 
 
 THE DAYS OF THE DIRECTOIRE. By 
 
 ALFRED ALLINSON, M.A. With 48 Full-page Illustrations, 
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 (9 x 5} inches). i6s. net. 
 
 A PRINCESS OF INTRIGUE : A Biography of 
 
 Anne Louise Benedicte, Duchesse du Maine. Translated from the 
 French of GENERAL DE PI?.PAPE by J. LEWIS MAY. With a 
 Photogravure Portrait and 16 other Illustrations. Demy 8vo 
 (9 x 5 J inches). I zt. 6/. net.
 
 8 A CATALOGUE OF 
 
 PETER THE CRUEL : The Life of the Notorious 
 
 Don Pedro of Spain, together with an Account of his Relations 
 with the famous Maria de Padilla. By EDWARD STORER. With 
 a Photogravure Frontispiece and 16 other Illustrations. Demy 
 STO (9 x 5f inches), \^s. 6d. net. 
 
 CHARLES DE BOURBON, CONSTABLE OF 
 
 FRANCE: "THE GREAT CONDOTTIERE." By 
 CHRISTOPHER HARE. With a Photogravure Frontispiece and 16 
 other Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9x5^ inches), izs. 6</. net. 
 
 HUBERT AND JOHN VAN EYCK : Their Life 
 
 and Work. By W. H. JAMES WEALE. With 41 Photogravure 
 and 95 Black and White Reproductions. Royal 410. $ 5*. net. 
 
 SIR MARTIN CONWAY'S NOTE. 
 
 Nearly half a century has passed since Mr. W. H. James Weale, then resident at 
 Bruges, began that long series of patient investigations into the history of Netherlandish 
 art which was destined to earn so rich a harvest. When he began work Memlinc was 
 still called Hem ling, and was fabled to have arrived at Bruges as a wounded soldier. 
 The van Eycks were little more than legendary heroes. Roger Van der Weyden was little 
 more than a name. Most of the other great Netherlandish artists were either wholly 
 f orgotten or named only in connection with paintings with which they had nothing to do. 
 Mr. Weale discovered Gerard David, and disentangled his principal works from Mem- 
 line's, with -which they were then confused. 
 
 VINCENZO FOPPA OF BRESCIA, FOUNDER OF 
 THE LOMBARD SCHOOL, His LIFE AND WORK. By CONSTANCE 
 JOCELYN FFOULKES and MONSIGNOR RODOLFO MAJOCCHI, D.D., 
 Rector of the Collegio Borromeo, Pavia. Based on research in the 
 Archives of Milan, Pavia, Brescia, and Genoa, and on the study 
 of all his known works. With over 100 Illustrations, many in 
 Photogravure, and 100 Documents. Royal 410. ^3 iu. 6J. net. 
 
 ** N complete Life of Vincenzo Foppa has ever been written : an omission -which 
 seems almost inexplicable in these days of over-production in the matter of bio- 
 graphies of painters, and of subjects relating to the art of Italy. The object tf the 
 authors of this book has been to present a true picture of the master's life based 
 upon the testimony of records in Italian archives. The authors have unearthed a large 
 amount of new material relating to Foppa, one of the most interesting facts brought tf 
 light being that he lived for twenty-three years longer than was formerly supposed. The 
 illustrations will include several pictures by Foppa hitherto unknown in the history of art. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF THE DUKES OF URBINO. 
 
 Illustrating the Arms, Art and Literature of Italy from 1440 to 
 1630. By JAMES DENNISTOUN of Dennistoun. A New Edition 
 edited by EDWARD HUTTON, with upwards of 100 Illustrations. 
 Demy 8vo. 3 vols. 42^. net. 
 
 ** For many years this great book has been out tj print, although it still remains the 
 chief authority upon the Duchy of Urbino from the beginning of the fifteenth century. 
 Mr. Hutton has carefully edited the whole work, leaving the text substantially the same, 
 but adding a large number f new notes, comments and references. Wherever possible 
 the reader is directed to original sources. tvery srt of work has been laid under 
 contribution to illustrate the text, and bibliographies have been supplied on many subjects. 
 Besides these nates the ioeJk acquires a new value on account of the mass of illustrations 
 which it now contains, thus adding a pictorial comment to an historical and critical one.
 
 MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, ETC. 9 
 SIMON BOLIVAR, "EL LIBERTADOR." A 
 
 Life of the Chief Leader in the Revolt against Spain in Venezuela, 
 New Granada and Peru. By F. LORAINK PETRE. Author of 
 " Napoleon and the Conquest of Prussia," " Napoleon's Campaign 
 in Poland," and " Napoleon and the Archduke Charles." With 
 2 Portraits, one in Photogravure, and Maps. Demy 8vo (9 x 5^ 
 inches). 125. 6</. net. 
 
 THE DIARY OF A LADY-IN-WAITING. By 
 
 LADY CHARLOTTE BURY. Being the Diary Illustrative of the 
 Times of George the Fourth. Interspersed with original Letters 
 from the late Queen Caroline and from various other distinguished 
 persons. New edition. Edited, with an Introduction, by A. 
 FRANCIS STEUART. With numerous portraits. Two Vols. 
 Demy 8vo. 2 is. net 
 
 THE LAST JOURNALS OF HORACE WAL- 
 
 POLE. During the Reign of George III from 1771 to 1783. 
 With Notes by DR. DORAN. Edited, with an Introduction, by 
 A. FRANCIS STEUART, and containing numerous Portraits (2 in 
 Photogravure) reproduced from contemporary Pictures, Engravings, 
 etc. 2 vols. Uniform with u The Diary of a Lady-in-Waiting." 
 Demy 8vo (9 x 5^ inches). 25*. net. 
 
 JUNIPER HALL: Rendezvous of certain illus- 
 trious Personages during the French Revolution, including Alex- 
 ander D'Arblay and Fanny Burney. Compiled by CONSTANCE HILL. 
 With numerous Illustrations by ELLEN G. HILL, and reproductions 
 from various Contemporary Portraits. Crown 8vo. 5*. net. 
 
 JANE AUSTEN : Her Homes and Her Friends. 
 
 By CONSTANCE HILL. Numerous Illustrations by ELLEN G. HILL, 
 together with Reproductions from Old Portraits, etc. Cr. Svo. 5*. net. 
 
 THE HOUSE IN ST. MARTIN'S STREET. 
 
 Being Chronicles of the Burney Family. By CONSTANCE HILL, 
 Author of Jane Austen, Her Homes and Her Friends," " Juniper 
 Hall," etc. With numerous Illustrations by ELLEN G. HILL, and 
 reproductions of Contemporary Portraits, etc. Demy Svo. 2is.net. 
 
 STORY OF THE PRINCESS DES URSINS IN 
 
 SPAIN (Camarera-Mayor). By CONSTANCE HILL. With 12 
 Illustrations and a Photogravure Frontispiece. New Edition. 
 Crown 8vo. 5;. net.
 
 K> A CATALOGUE OF 
 
 MARIA EDGEWORTH AND HER CIRCLE 
 IN THE DAYS OF BONAPARTE AND BOURBON. 
 By CONSTANCE HILL. Author of "Jane Austen : Her Homes 
 and Her Friends," "Juniper Hall," "The House in St. Martin's 
 Street," etc. With numerous Illustrations by ELLEN G. HILL 
 and Reproductions of Contemporary Portraits, etc. Demy 8vo 
 (9 x 5 1 inches), zis. net. 
 
 NEW LETTERS OF THOMAS CARLYLE. 
 
 Edited and Annotated by ALEXANDER CARLYLE, with Notes and 
 an Introduction and numerous Illustrations. In Two Volumes. 
 Demy 8vo. 25*. net. 
 
 Pall Mall Gazette. " To the portrait of the man, Thomas, these letters do really add 
 
 value ; we can learn to respect and to like him the more for the genuine goodness of his 
 
 personality." 
 Literary World. " It is then Carlyle, the nobly filial son, we see in these letters ; Carlyle, 
 
 the generous and affectionate brother, the loyal and warm-hearted friend, . . . and 
 
 above all, Carlyle as the tender and faithful lover of his wife." 
 Daify Telegraph. " The letters are characteristic enough of the Carlyle we know : very 
 
 picturesque and entertaining, full of extravagant emphasis, written, as a rule, at fever 
 
 heat, eloquently rabid and emotional.' 
 
 NEW LETTERS AND MEMORIALS OF JANE 
 
 WELSH CARLYLE. A Collection of hitherto Unpublished 
 Letters. Annotated by THOMAS CARLYLE, and Edited by 
 ALEXANDER CARLYLE, with an Introduction by Sir JAMES CRICHTON 
 BROWNE, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S., numerous Illustrations drawn in Litho- 
 graphy by T. R. WAY, and Photogravure Portraits from hitherto 
 unreproduced Originals. In Two Volumes. Demy 8vo. 25^. net. 
 
 Westminster Gazette. " Few letters in the language have in such perfection the qualities 
 which good letters should possess. Frank, gay, brilliant, indiscreet, immensely clever, 
 whimsical, and audacious, they reveal a character which, with whatever alloy of human 
 infirmity, must endear itself to any reader of understanding." 
 
 World. "Throws a deal of new light on the domestic relations of the Sage of Chelsea. 
 They also contain the full text of Mrs. Carlyle's fascinating journal, and her own 
 ' humorous and quaintly candid ' narrative of her first love-affair." 
 
 THE LOVE LETTERS OF THOMAS CAR- 
 LYLE AND JANE WELSH. Edited by ALEXANDER CARLYLE, 
 Nephew of THOMAS CARLYLE, editor of " New Letters and 
 Memorials of Jane Welsh Carlyle," " New Letters of Thomas 
 Carlyle," etc. With 2 Portraits in colour and numerous other 
 Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9x5^ inches). 2 vols. 25*. net. 
 
 CARLYLE'S FIRST LOVE. Margaret Gordon 
 
 Lady Bannerman. An account of her Life, Ancestry and 
 Homes ; her Family and Friends. By R. C. ARCHIBALD. With 
 20 Portraits and Illustrations, including a Frontispiece in Colour. 
 Demy 8vo (9 x 5! inches). I oj. 6</. net
 
 MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, ETC, n 
 
 THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE NINE- 
 TEENTH CENTURY. By HOUSTON STEWART CHAMBER- 
 LAIN. A Translation from the German by JOHN LEES, M.A., 
 D.Litt. (Edin.). With an Introduction by LORD REDESDALE, 
 G.C.V.O., K.C.B. zvols. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches). 3 zs. net. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF THE MARTYR KING : being a 
 
 detailed record of the last two years of the Reign of His Most 
 Sacred Majesty King Charles the First, 1646-1648-9. Com- 
 piled by ALLAN FEA. With upwards of 100 Photogravure 
 Portraits and other Illustrations, including relics. Royal 410. 
 I05/. net. 
 
 Mr. M. H. SPIELMANN in The Academy. " The volume is a triumph for the printer and 
 
 publisher, and a solid contribution to Carolinian literature." 
 
 Pall Mall Gazette. " The present sumptuous volume, a storehouse of eloquent associations 
 . . comes as near to outward perfection as anything we could desire." 
 
 MEMOIRS OF A VANISHED GENERATION 
 
 1813-1855. Edited by MRS. WARRENNE BLAKE. With numerous 
 Illustrations. Demy 8vo. l6/. net. 
 
 ** Tkit work is compiled from diaries and letters dating front the time of the Regency 
 to the middle of the nineteenth century. The value of the work lies in its natural un- 
 embellished picture f the lift of a cultured and well-born family in a foreign environment 
 at a period so close to ur nun that it is far less familiar than periods much more remote. 
 There is an atmosphere of Jane Austen's novels about the lives of Admiral Knox and his 
 family, and a large number of well-known contemporaries are introduced into Mrs. Blake's 
 pages. 
 
 THE LIFE OF PETER ILICH TCHAIKOVSKY 
 
 (1840-1893). By his Brother, MODESTE TCHAIKOVSKY. Edited 
 and abridged from the Russian and German Editions by ROSA 
 NEWMARCH. With Numerous Illustrations and Facsimiles and an 
 Introduction by the Editor. Demy 8vo. js. 6J. net. Second 
 edition. 
 
 The Times. "A most illuminating commentary on Tchaikovsky's music" 
 Wrld. "One of the moat fascinating self-revelations by an artist which has been given to 
 the world. The translation is excellent, and worth reading for its own sake." 
 
 Ctntempti-ary Review." The book's appeal is, of course, primarily to the music-lover ; but 
 there is so much ol human and literary interest in it, such intimate revelation of a 
 singularly interesting personality, that many who have never come under the spell of 
 the Pathetic Symphony will I.e strongly attracted by what is virtually the spiritual 
 autobiography of its composer. High praise is due to the translator and editor for the 
 literary skill with which she has prepared the English version of this fascinating work . . . 
 There have been few collections of letters published within recent years that giv so 
 vivid a portrait of the writer as that presented to ui in these pages."
 
 12 A CATALOGUE OF 
 
 CESAR FRANCK : A Study. Translated from the 
 
 French of Vincent d'Indy, with an Introduction by ROSA NEW- 
 MARCH. Demy 8vo. js. 6d. net. 
 
 %* There is no purer influence in modern -music than that f Cesar Franck, for many 
 years ignored in every capacity save that of organist of Saint*Clotildc, in Paris, but now 
 recognised as the legitimate successor of Bach and Beethoven. His inspiration " rooted in 
 love and faith " has contributed in a remarkable degree to the regeneration of the musical 
 art in France and elsewhere. The now famous " Schola Cantorum," founded in Paris in 
 1 896, by A . Guilmant, Charles Bordes and Vincent d'Indy ', is the direct outcome ff his 
 influence. Among the artists who were in some strt his disciples were Paul Dukas, 
 Chabrier, Gabriel Faurt and the great violinist Ysayt. His pupils include such gifted 
 composers as Benott, Augusta Holmts, Chausson, Ropartz, and d" Indy. This book, 
 written with the devotion of a disciple and the authority of a master, leaves us with 
 a vivid and touching impression of the saint-like composer of " The Beatitudes." 
 
 GRIEG AND HIS MUSIC. By H. T. FINCK, 
 
 Author of Wagner and his Works," etc. With Illustrations. 
 Crown 8vo. js. 6d. net. 
 
 THE OLDEST MUSIC ROOM IN EUROPE : 
 
 A Record of an Eighteenth-Century Enterprise at Oxford. By 
 JOHN H. MEE, M.A., D.Mus., Precentor of Chichester Cathedral, 
 (sometime Fellow of Merton College, Oxford). With 25 full-page 
 Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches). io/. 6d. net. 
 
 EDWARD A. MACDOWELL: A Biography. 
 
 By LAWRENCE GILMAN, Author of " Phases of Modern Music," 
 " Straus's 'Salome'," "The Music of To-morrow and Other 
 Studies," etc. Profusely Illustrated. Crown 8vo. 5*. net. 
 
 THE KING'S GENERAL IN THE WEST, 
 
 being the Life of Sir Richard Granville, Baronet (1600-1659). 
 By ROGER GRANVILLE, M.A., Sub-Dean of Exeter Cathedral. 
 With Illustrations. Demy 8vo. los. 6d. net. 
 
 Westminster Gazette. " A distinctly interesting work ; it will be highly appreciated by 
 historical students as well as by ordinary readers." 
 
 THE SOUL OF A TURK. By MRS. DE BUNSEN. 
 
 With 8 Full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo. io/. 6</. net. 
 
 %* We hear of Moslem "fanaticism " and Christian " superstititn," but it is not easy 
 to find a book which goes to the heart of the matter. " Tht Soul of a Turk" is the 
 outcome of several journeys in Asiatic and European Turkey, notably one through the 
 Armenian provinces, down the Tigris on a raft to Baghdad and across the Syrian Desert 
 t Damascus. Mrs. de Bunsen made a special study of the various forms of religion 
 existing in those countries. Here, side by side -with the formal ceremtnial of the village 
 mosque and the Christian Church, is the resort to Magic and Mystery. 
 
 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF ROBERT 
 
 STEPHEN HAWKER, sometime Vicar of Morwenstow in Cornwall. 
 By C. E. BYLES. With numerous Illustrations by J. LEY 
 PETHYBRIDGE and others. Demy 8vo. js. 6J. net. 
 
 Dfily Telegraph. " ... As soon as the volume is opened one finds oneself in the presence 
 of a real original, a man of ability, genius and eccentricity, of whom one cannot know 
 too much. . . . No one will read this fascinating and charmingly produced book without 
 thanks to Mr. Byles and a desire to visit or revisit Morwenstow."
 
 MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, ETC. 13 
 THE LIFE OF WILLIAM BLAKE. ByAtEXANDER 
 
 GILCHRIST. Edited with an Introduction by W.GRAHAM ROBERTSON. 
 Numerous Reproductions from Blake's most characteristic and 
 remarkable designs. Demy 8vo. los. 6et. net. New Edition. 
 
 Birtningkam Pest. "Nothing seems at all likely ever to supplant the Gilchrist biography. 
 Mr. Swinburne praised it magnificently in his own eloquent essay on Blake, and there 
 should be no need now to point out its entire sanity, understanding keenness of critical 
 insight, and masterly literary style. Dealing with one of the most difficult of subjects, 
 it ranks among the finest things of its kind that we possess." 
 
 GEORGE MEREDITH : Some Characteristics. 
 
 By RICHARD LE GALLIENNE. With a Bibliography (much en- 
 larged) by JOHN LANE. Portrait, etc. Crown 8vo. 5*. net. Fifth 
 Edition. Revised. 
 
 Punch. "All Mereditbians must possess 'George Meredith; Some Characteristics,' by 
 Richard Le Gallienne. This book is a complete and excellent guide to the novelist and 
 the novels, a sort of Meredithian Bradsbaw, with pictures of the traffic superintendent 
 and the htad office at Boxhill. Even Philistines may be won over by the blandishments 
 of Mr. Le Gallienne." 
 
 LIFE OF LORD CHESTERFIELD. An Account 
 
 of the Ancestry, Personal Character, and Public Services of the 
 Fourth Earl of Chesterfield. By W. H. CRAIG, M.A. Numerous 
 Illustrations. Demy 8vo. I zs. 6d. net. 
 
 Times. " It is the chief point of Mr. Craig's book to show the sterling qualities which 
 Chesterfield was at too much pains in concealing, to reject the perishable trivialities of 
 his character, and to exhibit him as a philosophic statesman, not inferior to any of his 
 contemporaries, except Walpole at one end of his life, and Chatham at the other." 
 
 A QUEEN OF INDISCRETIONS. The Tragedy 
 
 of Caroline of Brunswick, Queen of England. From the Italian 
 of G. P. CLERICI. Translated by FREDERIC CHAPMAN. With 
 numerous Illustrations reproduced from contemporary Portrait* and 
 Prints. Demy 8 TO. 2 is. net. 
 
 Tht Daily Ttlegrafk. " It could scarcely be done more thoroughly or, on the whole, in 
 better taste than is here displayed by Professor Clerici. Mr Frederic Chapman himself 
 contributes an uncommonly interesting and well-informed introduction." 
 
 LETTERS AND JOURNALS OF SAMUEL 
 
 GRIDLEY HOWE. Edited by his Daughter LAURA E. 
 RICHARDS. With Notes and a Preface by F. B. SANBORN, an 
 Introduction by Mrs. JOHN LANE, and a Portrait. Demy 8vo 
 (9 x 5 ^ inches). i6s. net. 
 
 Outlook. " This deeply interesting record of experience. The volume is worthily produced 
 and contains a striking portrait of Howe." 
 
 THE WAR IN WEXFORD. An Account of the 
 
 Rebellion in the South of Ireland in 1798, told from Original 
 Documents. By H. F. B. WHKELKR and A. M. BROAOLEY, 
 Authors of '* Napoleon and the Invasion of England," etc. With 
 numerous Reproductions of contemporary portraits and engravings. 
 Demy 8 TO (9 x 5^ inches), in. 6J. net.
 
 14 A CATALOGUE OF 
 
 THE LIFE OF ST. MARY MAGDALEN. 
 
 Translated from the Italian of an Unknown Fourteenth-Century 
 Writer by VALENTINA HAWTREY. With an Introductory Note by 
 VERNON LEE, and 14 Full-page Reproductions from the Old Masters. 
 Crown 8vo. $/. net. 
 
 Daily News. " Miss Valentina Hawtrey has given a most excellent English version of this 
 pleasant work." 
 
 LADY CHARLOTTE SCHREIBER'S 
 
 JOURNALS : Confidences of a Collector of Ceramics and 
 Antiques throughout Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, 
 Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, and Turkey. From the Year 
 1869 to 1885. Edited by MONTAGUE GUEST, with Annotations 
 by EGAN MEW. With upwards of 100 Illustrations, including 
 8 in colour and 2 in photogravure. Royal 8vo. z Volumes. 
 42/. net. 
 
 WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY. A 
 
 Biography by LEWIS MELVILLE. With 2 Photogravures and 
 numerous other Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches). 25*. net. 
 
 ** In compiling this biography of Thackeray Mr. Lewis Melville, -who is admittedly 
 the authority on the subject, has been assisted by numerous Thackeray experts. Mr. 
 Melville's name has long been associated -with Thackeray, not only as founder of the 
 Titmarsh Club, but also as the author of" The Thackeray County " and the editor of the 
 standard edition of Thackeray's works and " Thackeray's Stray Papers." For many 
 years Mr. Melville has devoted himself to the collection of material relating to the life and 
 work of his subject. He has had access to many new letters, and much information has 
 come to hand since the publication of " The Life of Thackeray." JVow that everything 
 about the novelist is known, it seems that an appropriate moment has arrived for a new 
 biography. Mr. Melville has also compiled a bibliography of Thackeray that runs to 
 upwards 1.300 items, by many hundreds more than contained in any hitherto issued. 
 This section will be invaluable to the collector. Thackeray's speeches, including several 
 never before republished, have also been collected. There is a list of portraits of the 
 novelist, and a separate index to the Bibliography. 
 
 A LATER PEPYS. The Correspondence of Sir 
 
 William Weller Pepys, Bart., Master in Chancery, 1758-1825, 
 with Mrs. Chapone, Mrs. Hartley, Mrs. Montague, Hannah More, 
 William Franks, Sir James Macdonald, Major Rennell, Sir 
 Nathaniel Wraxall, and others. Edited, with an Introduction and 
 Notes, by ALICE C. C. GAUSSEN. With numerous Illustrations. 
 Demy 8vo. In Two Volumes. 32*. net. 
 
 DOUGLAS SLADEN in the Queen. "This is indisputably a most valuable contribution to the 
 literature of the eighteenth century. It is a veritable storehouse of society gossip, the 
 art criticism, and the mots of famous people." 
 
 MEMORIES OF SIXTY YEARS AT ETON, 
 
 CAMBRIDGE AND ELSEWHERE. By OSCAR BROWNING, 
 M. A., University Lecturer in History, Senior Fellow and sometime 
 History Tutor at King's College, Cambridge, and formerly Assistant 
 Master at Eton College. Illustrated. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches). 
 14/. net.
 
 MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, ETC. 15 
 RUDYARD KIPLING : a Criticism. By RICHARD 
 
 LE GALLIENNE. With a Bibliography by JOHN LANE. Crown 
 8vo. 3/. 6d. net. 
 
 Scotsman " It shows a keen insight into the essential qualities of literature, and analyses 
 Mr. Kipling's product with the skill of a craftsman . . . the positive and outstanding 
 merits of Mr. Kipling's contribution to the literature of his time are marshalled by hi* 
 critic with quite uncommon skill." 
 
 ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, AN ELEGY; 
 AND OTHER POEMS, MAINLY PERSONAL. By 
 RICHARD LE GALLIENNE. Crown 8vo. 4/. 6</. net. 
 
 Globe. "The opening Elegy on R. L. Stevenson includes some tender and touching 
 passages, and has throughout the merits of sincerity and clearness." 
 
 JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY AND HIS 
 
 FAMILY : Further Letters and Records. Edited by his daughter 
 and Herbert St John Mildmay, with numerous Illustrations. 
 Demy 8vo (9x5! inches). \6s. net. 
 
 THE LIFE OF W. J. FOX, Public Teacher and 
 
 Social Reformer, 1786-1864. By the late RICHARD GARNETT, 
 C.B., LL.D., concluded by EDWARD GARNETT. Demy 8vo. 
 (9 x 5$ inches.) i6/. net. 
 
 * If. J. Fox was a Prominent figure in futile life from iSao to /S6o. from a 
 weaver's boy he became M.P. for Oldha.ni (t&f!-l8t>t), and kt will always be remembered 
 for kis association witk South Place Chapel, inker* kit Radical opinions and fame as a 
 preacher and popular orator brought him in contact witk an advanced circle of thoughtful 
 people. He was the discoverer of tht youthful Robert Browning and Harriet Martineau, 
 and the friend of J. S. Mill, Home, John Forster, Macready, etc. At an Anti-Corn 
 Law orator, he swayed, by the power of kis eloquence, enthusiastic audiences. As a 
 politician, he was the unswerving champion of social reform and the cause of oppressed 
 nationalities, his mast celebrated speech being in support of his Bill for National Educa- 
 tion, 1850, a Bill which anticipated many of the features of the Education Bill of our 
 own time. He died in tSOj. The present Life has been compiled from manuscript 
 material entrusted to Dr. Garnet t l-y Mrs. Bride II Fox. 
 
 ROBERT DODSLEY: POET, PUBLISHER, 
 
 AND PLAYWRIGHT. By RALPH STRAUS. With a Photo- 
 gravure and 1 6 other Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5$ inches). 
 2 is. net. 
 
 THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MARTIN 
 
 BLAKE, B.D. (1593-1673), Vicar of Barnstaple and Preben- 
 dary of Exeter Cathedral, with some account of his conflicts with 
 the Puritan Lecturers and of his Persecutions. By JOHN 
 FREDERICK CHANTER, M.A., Rector of Parracombe, Devon. With 
 5 full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5 j inches). io/. 6<J. net. 
 
 WILLIAM HARRISON AINSWORTH AND 
 
 HIS FRIENDS. By S. M. ELLIS. With upwards of 50 
 Illustrations, 4 in Photogravure. 2 vols. Demy 8vo (9x5} 
 inches). 32;. net.
 
 16 MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, ETC. 
 
 THE SPENCER STANHOPES OF YORK- 
 SHIRE; FROM THE PAPERS OF A MACARONI 
 AND HIS KINDRED. By A. M. W. STIRLING, Author of 
 " Coke of Norfolk," etc. With numerous Illustrations reproduced 
 from contemporary prints, etc. 2 vols. Demy 8 TO. 32^. net. 
 
 THE SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF 
 
 COMMONS from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, 
 with a Topographical Account of Westminster at various Epochs, 
 Brief Notes on the Sittings of Parliament, and a Retrospect of 
 the principal Constitutional Changes during Seven Centuries. By 
 ARTHUR IRWIN DASENT, Author of "The Life and Letters of 
 JOHN DELANE," " The History of St. James's Square," etc. With 
 numerous Portraits. Demy STO. 2 is. 
 
 JUNGLE BY-WAYS IN INDIA : Leaves from 
 
 the Note-book of a Sportsman and a Naturalist. By E. P. 
 STEBBING, I.F.S., F.Z.S., F.R.G.S. With upwards of 100 Illustrations 
 by the Author and others. Demy 8vo (9 x 5^ inches). 1 2s. 6d. 
 net. 
 
 A TRAMP IN THE CAUCASUS. By STEPHEN 
 
 GRAHAM. With 16 full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f 
 inches). 1 2s. 6d. net. 
 
 SERVICE AND SPORT IN THE SUDAN : A 
 
 Record of Administration in the Anglo- Egyptian Sudan. With 
 some Intervals of Sport and Travel. By D. C. E. FF.COMYN, 
 F.R.G.S. (late of the Black Watch). With 16 full-page Illustrations 
 and 3 Maps. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches). I is. 6d. net. 
 
 FRENCH NOVELISTS OF TO-DAY : Maurice 
 
 Barres, Rene Bazin, Paul Bourget, Pierre de Coulevain, Anatole 
 France, Pierre Loti, Marcel Prevost, and Edouard Rod. Bio- 
 graphical, Descriptive, and Critical. By WINIFRED STEPHENS. 
 With Portraits and Bibliographies. Crown 8vo. 5/. net. 
 
 *,* The writer, who has lived much in France, is thoroughly acquainted with French 
 life and with the principal currents of French thought. The book is intended to be a 
 guide to English readers desirous to keep in touch with the best present-day French 
 fiction. Special attention is given to t>ie ecclesiastical, social, and intellectual problems 
 of contemporary France and their influence upon the works of French novelists of to-day. 
 
 MEN AND LETTERS. By HERBERT PAUL, M.P. 
 
 Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo. 5/. net. 
 
 Daily News. " Mr. Herbert Paul has done scholars ad the reading world in general a 
 high service in publishing this collection of his essays." 
 
 JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD, VIGO STREET, LONDON, W.
 

 
 Date Due 
 
 Libfiry Burnu Cjl. No 1137