Lord Lieutenants

Back | Top

County’s Most Powerful Men 1250-1547

COUNTY’S ‘MOST-POWERFUL’ MEN being King’s favourite, or self-made before the
establishment of the Lieutenancy
1250-1299~1300 Sir William Bagot
1337-1380 Sir Richard de Stafford of Clifton Campville
1485-1505 Sir Humphrey Stanley
1512-1547 Sir John Giffard (d1556)
Walter Devereux, Lord Ferrers







LORD LIEUTENANTS
Lord Lieutenants are the Queen’s representative in the county and their duty is to uphold
the dignity of the crown. They are assisted by a Vice Lord Lieutenant and have a number
of Deputy Lieutenants. Lord Lieutenants appointed the Clerk of the Peace until the C19.
They were responsible for the maintenance of order and all military measures necessary
locally for defence. In 1871 the Militia was removed from their direct control. In 1921 they
lost the power to call on able bodied men of the county to fight in case of need (SLM Sept
2002 p34).

Lord Lieutenants 1547-1700

1547 Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury (responsible for seven counties)
1551 John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, afterwards Duke of Northumberland, KG, jointly with
William, Lord Paget. Lord Paget was discharged from of his offices in June 1552, and
John Dudley served alone, until beheaded 1553
1558 Lord Ferrers
1558 Henry, Lord Stafford (discharged from most of his offices 1559)
1563~4 George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury
1569 Walter Devereux, Viscount Hereford (d1576)
1576 inter-regnum
Nov 1580 Thomas Trentham (Custos Rotulorum only)
1585 George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury (d1590)
1590 inter-regnum
1594 Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (executed 1601)
1601 Sir Thomas Gerard (Custos Rotulorum only 1601-17)
1612 Robert Rich., afterwards Earl of Warwick, jointly with Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of
Essex (Custos Rotulorum only 1617-42 - SHC 1912 pp327n,332)
1625-7 Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
1627 Robert Carey, Earl of Monmouth
1628-46 Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
1640 Robert Greville, Lord Brooke
1642 Sir Edward Littleton (Custos Rotulorum only 1642-47)
1647 James Cranfield, Earl of Middlesex (d1651)
1647 Edward Montagu, Earl of Manchester (Custos Rotulorum only - SHC 1912 p333)
1651-60 inter-regnum (however, between Sept- Dec 1653 Major-General Thomas
Harrison appears to have been Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum)
1660-76 Robert Greville, 4th Baron Brooke (d1676) (with William Paget (d1678) as
Custos Rotulorum 1660-78 (SHC 1912 p337)
1677~8-9 James, Duke of Monmouth, KG
1679-87 Charles Talbot, 12th Earl of Shrewsbury (with Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of
Sutherland, as Custos Rotulorum, during his minority to 1681)
1687 Robert Shirley, Lord Ferrers (SHC 1912 p342)
1688 Walter Aston, 3rd Baron Aston of Forfar (both Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum, put in by James II being a Catholic)
1689 William Paget, 6th Baron Paget (d1713)

Lord Lieutenants 1700-2007

1713 Henry Paget, 7th Baron Paget (1st Earl of Uxbridge, 1714), resigned 30 Sept (SLM Sept 2002 p39).
1715-21 Henry Bridgeman, Viscount Newport (3rd Earl of Bradford, 1723), resigned on
taking up the Lord Lieutenancy of Salop in place of his father who had died 14 June
(SLM Sept 2002 p39).
1725 Washington Shirley, 2nd Earl Ferrers (d1729)
1742 John Leveson-Gower, 2nd Baron Gower (created 1746 1st Earl Gower)
1755 Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Gower, KG, afterwards 1st Marquis of Stafford
1800 George Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquis of Stafford, KG, afterwards 1st
Duke of Sutherland
1801 Henry Paget, 9th Baron Paget and 1st Earl of Uxbridge (2nd Creation)
1812 Charles Talbot, 2nd Earl Talbot, KG
1849 Henry William George Paget, 3rd Marquis of Anglesey
1854 Edward John Walhouse Littleton, 1st Baron Hatherton
1863 Thomas George Anson, 2nd Earl of Lichfield
1871 Arthur Wrottesley, 3rd Baron Wrottesley
1887 William Walter Legge, 5th Earl of Dartmouth
1891 William Heneage Legge, 6th Earl of Dartmouth, KC.ll
1927 John Herbert Dudley, 5th Earl of Harrowby
1949 Col Harold Wallace-Copeland
1968 Sir Arthur Bryan
1993 James Appleton Hawley

Back | Top