The Chamberlain of North Wales was a financial official of the

Principality of Wales The Principality of Wales ( cy, Tywysogaeth Cymru) was originally the territory of the native Welsh princes of the House of Aberffraw from 1216 to 1283, encompassing two-thirds of modern Wales during its height of 1267–1277. Following the co ...

during the medieval period. The

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

controlled the provincial

Exchequer In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's '' current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government revenu ...

located at

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

Background

With the final defeat of the Welsh Princes of Gwynedd in 1282,

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

"annexed and united" North Wales to the English crown although it did not become part of the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, ...

but was the king's personal fief. The governance and constitutional position of the principality after its conquest was set out in the

Statute of Rhuddlan The Statute of Rhuddlan (12 Edw 1 cc.1–14; cy, Statud Rhuddlan ), also known as the Statutes of Wales ( la, Statuta Valliae) or as the Statute of Wales ( la, Statutum Valliae, links=no), provided the constitutional basis for the government of ...

of 1284. The new administration comprised a number of royal officials appointed at the King's pleasure, including the

of North Wales.

Responsibilities

Based at

, the Chamberlain managed the Principality of Wales's finances for the North Wales counties under the control of the

Justiciar of North Wales The Justiciar of North Wales was a legal office concerned with the government of the three counties in north-west Wales during the medieval period. Justiciar was a title which had been given to one of the monarch's chief ministers in both England a ...

. The counties within his remit were

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

, and

Caernarfonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

and he accounted for the revenues of the provincial exchequer at Caernarfon to the

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

. They also kept the Great Seal of North Wales, and when leases of land were needed to be sealed or the seal applied to documents authorizing payments, the Chamberlain's advice was sought. The Chamberlains used their office to enrich themselves: for example, Tomas Barneby, Chamberlain from 1406 to 1414 was dismissed by

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...

for embezzlement and extortion.

Notable Chamberlains

* Thomas Walton *

Henry Norris (courtier) Henry Norris (or Norreys) (c. 1482 – 17 May 1536) was an English courtier who was Groom of the Stool in the privy chamber of King Henry VIII. While a close servant of the King, he also supported the faction in court led by Queen Anne Boleyn, ...

* Richard de Abyndon *

Robert le Poer Robert le Poer (died c.1346) was an Irish judge and Crown official who held the offices of Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. Family Francis Elrington Ball, in his definitive study of the pre-1921 Irish judi ...

* Lewis ap Owen

References

{{Reflist Medieval Wales