The Common Serjeant of London (full title The Serjeant-at-Law in the Common Hall) is an ancient British
legal office, first recorded in 1291, and is the second most senior permanent judge of the
Central Criminal Court after the
Recorder of London
The Recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The Recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The Recorder is appointed by the Cr ...
, acting as deputy to that office, and sitting as a judge in the trial of criminal offences.
He is also one of the High Officers of the
City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
, and must undertake certain civic obligations alongside his judicial duties: each Midsummer he presides at the election of
Sheriffs
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
in the
Guildhall
A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...
, and each Michaelmas he plays a key role in the ceremonial election of the
Lord Mayor. He presents the Sheriffs to the
King's Remembrancer
The King's Remembrancer (or Queen's Remembrancer) is an ancient judicial post in the legal system of England and Wales. Since the Lord Chancellor no longer sits as a judge, the Remembrancer is the oldest judicial position in continual existence ...
at the annual
Quit Rents ceremony, and is in attendance on most other major ceremonial occasions.
The Common Serjeant is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the
Lord Chancellor
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
.
Formerly, the Common Serjeant of London was a legal officer of the City Corporation of London. The Common Serjeant of London attended on the
Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...
and the
Court of Aldermen
The Court of Aldermen forms part of the senior governance of the City of London Corporation. It comprises twenty-five aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor (becoming senior alderman during his year of office). The Cou ...
on court days, and acted with them in council. He also attended the Court of Aldermen and
Common Council, and had charge of the Orphans' Estates
Judge Richard Marks, KC, was appointed the 81st Common Serjeant on 3 March 2015.
Incomplete list of Common Serjeants
*
Thomas Juvenal (1291–1309)
* Thomas de Kent (1309–c.1318)
* Gregory de Norton (c.1318–1329)
* William de Ford (1333–1353)
* John Wentbrigg (c.1353–1362)
*
Ralph Strode (c.1375–1385)
* John Tremayne (1388–1389)
*
John Fray
Sir John Fray (died 1461) was an English lawyer who was Chief Baron of the Exchequer and a Member of Parliament.
He was elected Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire in 1419 and 1420.
He served on a number of commissions before being appointe ...
(1421–1422)
* Alexander Anne (1424–?1435)
* John Wilton (1437–?1441)
* Robert Danvers (1441–1442)
* Richard Moyle (1441–?1443)
*
Thomas Billing
Sir Thomas Billing (died 1481) was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench.
Early life and career
Billing is said by Fuller to have been a native of Northamptonshire, where two villages near Northampton bear his name, and to have ...
(1443–1449)
* John Nedeham (1448–?1452)
* Thomas Urswick (1452–1455)
* Robert Ingleton (1454–1456)
* Guy Fairfax (1456–?1457)
* Thomas Rigby (1457–?1460)
*
Thomas Bryan (1460–1463)
* John Baldwyn (1463–1469)
* Robert Molyneux (1469–)
* John Haugh
* Richard Higham
*
Thomas Frowyk
Sir Thomas Frowyk KS (c. 1460 – 7 October 1506) was an English justice.
Family
Born at Gunnersbury, Middlesex, Thomas Frowyk was the son of a London mercer, Sir Thomas Frowyk, by his second wife, Jane Sturgeon, daughter of Richard Sturgeon. ...
(1486–1496)
* Thomas Marowe (1496–)
* John Greene (1495–)
* Henry White
* William Walsingham of Gray's Inn (1526–)
* John Onley (1530–1533)
*
Edward Hall
Edward Hall ( – ) was an English lawyer and historian, best known for his ''The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and Yorke''—commonly known as ''Hall's Chronicle''—first published in 1548. He was also sever ...
(1533–1535)
*
Robert Southwell (1535–1536)
* Thomas Atkyns
*
Sir Robert Broke
Sir Robert Broke SL (died 5 or 6 September 1558) was an English judge, politician and legal writer. Although a landowner in rural Shropshire, he made his fortune through more than 20 years' service to the City of London. MP for the City in fi ...
(1536–1546)
* John Marshe (1547–1563)
* Bernard Randolph (1563–1583)
* Thomas Kirton (1583–1601)
* Richard Wilbraham (died 1601)
*
Richard Wheler
Richard Wheler (died 1614) was the member of the Parliament of England for Great Bedwyn
Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of S ...
of Lincoln's Inn (1601–?1608)
* Daniel Hills of Lincoln's Inn
* Thomas Jones of Gray's Inn (died 1625 - Sergeant for 12 years)
* Ralph Latham (died 1641)
* Henry Proby (1643–) (died 1660)
*
Sir Richard Browne, 2nd Baronet
Sir Richard Browne, 2nd Baronet (before 1634 – September 1684) was a barrister and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660.
Browne was the son of Sir Richard Browne, 1st Baronet, and his wife Bridget Bryan. He was admitted as a ba ...
(1661–1671)
*
George Jeffreys (1671–1678)
* Henry Crispe (1678–1700)
* Duncan Dee (1700–1720)
* John Lingard (1720–1729)
* Thomas Garrard (1729–1758)
* Thomas Nugent (1758–1790)
*
John Silvester (1790–1803)
*
Newman Knowlys
Newman Knowlys (1758– 5 January 1836) was an English barrister and judge and the Common Serjeant of London and Recorder of London.
Knowlys was born in London, the fourth son of William Knowlys, a merchant of London. He was educated at Botesd ...
(1803–1811)
*
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman, (23 July 177926 September 1854) was an English lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord Chief Justice between 1832 and 1850.
Background and education
Denman was born in London, the son of Dr Thomas Den ...
(1822–1830)
* Hon.
Charles Ewan Law (1830–1833)
* John Mirehouse of Angle, Pembrokeshire (1833–1850)
* Edward Bullock (1850–1855)
*
Thomas Chambers (1857–1878)
*
Sir William Thomas Charley (1878–1892)
* Sir
Forrest Fulton
Sir (James) Forrest Fulton (12 July 1846 – 25 June 1926) was a British judge and Conservative politician.
Early life
Born in Ostend, Belgium, he was the youngest son of Lieutenant-Colonel James Forrest Fulton and his wife, Fanny née Jessopp. ...
(1892–1900)
* Sir
Frederick Albert Bosanquet, MA, KC, JP (1900–1917)
*
Sir Henry Fielding Dickens KC (1917–1932)
*
Henry Holman Gregory
Sir Henry Holman Gregory (30 June 1864 – 9 May 1947) was an English lawyer, judge and Liberal Party politician.
Family and education
Holman Gregory was born at Bath in Somerset, the son of H T Gregory a well-known Bath solicitor. He was educ ...
KC (1932–1934)
*
Cecil Whiteley
Judge George Cecil Whiteley King's Counsel, KC Master of Arts, MA Doctor of Law#United Kingdom, DL Justice of the Peace, JP (1875–1942), was Common Serjeant of London from 1933 to 1942 and a Judge at the Mayor's and City of London Court.
Cecil ...
(1934–1942)
* Sir
Hugh Loveday Beazley (1942–1953)
* Sir
Edward Anthony Hawke
Sir Edward Anthony Hawke (26 July 1895 – 25 September 1964) was a British judge and the Common Serjeant of London from 1954 to 1959 and Recorder of London from 1959 to 1964.Fred E. Pritchard, ‘Hawke, Sir (Edward) Anthony (1895–1964)’, rev. ...
(1954–1959)
* Sir
Carl Douglas Aarvold (1959–1964)
*
Mervyn Griffith-Jones
John Mervyn Guthrie Griffith-Jones (1 July 1909 – 13 July 1979) was a British judge and former barrister. He led the prosecution of Penguin Books in the obscenity trial in 1960 following the publication of D. H. Lawrence's ''Lady Chatterley' ...
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
MC QC (1964–1979)
*
Sir John Leonard (1979–1981)
Obituary
in ''The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
''
* Sir David Tudor-Price (1981–84)
* Thomas Herbert Pigot
Thomas Herbert Pigot, QC (19 May 1921 – 10 September 1998) was an English barrister and judge. He was Common Serjeant of London from 1984 to 1990.
Born in Wigan in 1921, the son of a company secretary and of a teacher, Pigot was educated at Ma ...
QC (1984–90)
* Robert Davison Lymbery QC (1990–1993)
* Neil Denison QC (1993–2001)
* Peter Beaumont QC (2001–2004)
* Brian Barker
Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world.
It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word m ...
QC (2005–2013)
* Nicholas Hilliard
Nicholas Hilliard () was an English goldsmith and limner best known for his portrait miniatures of members of the courts of Elizabeth I and James I of England. He mostly painted small oval miniatures, but also some larger cabinet miniatures, ...
QC (2013–2015) (80th Serjeant)
* Richard Leon Marks KC (2015–Present)
Gallery
Image:Sir Robert Broke.jpg, Sir Robert Broke
Sir Robert Broke SL (died 5 or 6 September 1558) was an English judge, politician and legal writer. Although a landowner in rural Shropshire, he made his fortune through more than 20 years' service to the City of London. MP for the City in fi ...
, Common Serjeant of London in 1536
Image:George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem by William Wolfgang Claret.jpg, Judge George Jeffreys, Common Serjeant of London in 1671
Image:Sir John Silvester.jpg, Sir John Silvester
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English language, English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist i ...
, Common Serjeant 1790-1803
Image:1stLordDenman.jpg, Lord Denman, Common Serjeant of London 1822 - 1830
Image:W T Charley.jpg, William Thomas Charley
Sir William Thomas Charley (5 March 1833 – 8 July 1904) was a British judge and Conservative Party politician.
Life
Charley was born in Woodbourne, County Antrim, Ulster in 1833, the youngest son of Matthew Charley and Anne Roberts.
He was ed ...
, Common Serjeant of London in 1878
File:Forrest Fulton Vanity Fair 9 July 1903.jpg, Sir Forrest Fulton
Sir (James) Forrest Fulton (12 July 1846 – 25 June 1926) was a British judge and Conservative politician.
Early life
Born in Ostend, Belgium, he was the youngest son of Lieutenant-Colonel James Forrest Fulton and his wife, Fanny née Jessopp. ...
by 'Spy' in '' Vanity Fair'' (1903)
Image:Frederick-Albert-Bosanquet-1901.jpg, Sir Frederick Bosanquet as Common Serjeant of London. Caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
by 'Spy' from '' Vanity Fair'' (1901)
Image:judge-brian-barker.jpg, Judge Brian Barker
Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world.
It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word m ...
QC, Common Serjeant of London 2005 to 2013
References
External links
Appointment of Common Serjeant of London
Common Serjeant of London on the Probert Encyclopaedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Common Serjeant of London
Law in London
English law
Common Serjeants of London
Legal professions
Historical legal occupations
Old Bailey