The Chancellor of the Order of the Garter is an officer of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

History of the office

When the Order of the Garter was founded in 1348 at

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gar ...

, by

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

three officers were initially appointed to serve them, the Prelate, the Register and the Usher. In 1477 Edward IV decreed that the further position of Chancellor should be created to be responsible for the seal and its use. Accommodation was to be provided in what came to be called the Chancellor's Tower. The position of Chancellor was to be second in seniority to the Prelate and was granted to Richard Beauchamp, Bishop of Salisbury, and his successors in that position. At that time Windsor Chapel lay geographically in the See of Salisbury, although as a royal chapel it did not come under the direct jurisdiction of the Bishop. The unbroken succession of Bishops of Salisbury came to an end in 1551 when

Sir William Cecil William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...

was made Chancellor by

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

, after which a succession of lay Chancellors were appointed. Following a number of petitions by successive Bishops of Salisbury, their right to hold the position was conceded in 1669 and on the death of Henry de Vic the honour reverted to the Bishops of Salisbury. In 1837 boundary changes made Windsor Castle fall in the diocese of Oxford and the Chancellorship was transferred to the Bishop of Oxford. A century later, the Bishop of Salisbury again challenged the loss of the office on the grounds that the Chancellorship had been attached to his office regardless of the diocese in which the chapel of the order lay and that, in any event, St George's Chapel, as a Royal Peculiar, was not under diocesan jurisdiction. The office of Chancellor was removed from the Bishop of Oxford (the outgoing bishop,

Thomas Banks Strong Thomas Banks Strong (24 October 1861 – 8 July 1944) was an English Anglican bishop and theologian. He served as Bishop of Ripon and Oxford. He was also Dean of Christ Church, Oxford and served as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University during ...

, had been outspoken in the

abdication crisis of Edward VIII In early December 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire arose when King-Emperor Edward VIII proposed to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and was pursuing the divorce of her secon ...

), and withheld from his successors. The office has since been held by one of the Knights Companion.

Chancellors of the Order of the Garter

Bishops of Salisbury

*1477–1481: Richard Beauchamp *1482–1484:

Lionel Woodville Lionel Woodville (1447 – 23 June 1484) was a Bishop of Salisbury in England. Life Woodville was a fourth son of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers and Jacquetta of Luxembourg; his siblings included Elizabeth Woodville, Queen Consort fr ...

*1485–1493:

Thomas Langton Thomas Langton (died 27 January 1501) was chaplain to King Edward IV, before becoming successively Bishop of St David's, Bishop of Salisbury, Bishop of Winchester, and Archbishop-elect of Canterbury. Early life Langton was born in Appleby-i ...

*1493–1499: John Blyth *1500–1501: Henry Deane *1502–1524:

Edmund Audley Edmund Audley (died 1524) was Bishop of Rochester, Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of Salisbury. Life Audley graduated BA in 1463 at University College, Oxford. He was appointed to the seventh stall in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle in 1 ...

Lay Chancellors

*1551–1553:

, Secretary of State *1553–1572:

Sir William Petre Sir William Petre (c. 1505 – 1572) (pronounced ''Peter'') was Secretary of State to three successive Tudor monarchs, namely Kings Henry VIII, Edward VI and Queen Mary I. He also deputised for the Secretary of State to Elizabeth I. Educate ...

, Secretary of State *1572–1577: Sir Thomas Smith, Secretary of State *1578–1587:

Sir Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wals ...

, Secretary of State *1587–1588: Sir Amias Paulet, Secretary of State *1589–1596: Sir John Wolley, Secretary for the Latin Tongue *1596–1607:

Sir Edward Dyer Sir Edward Dyer (October 1543 – May 1607) was an English courtier and poet. Life The son of Sir Thomas Dyer, Kt., he was born at Sharpham Park, Glastonbury, Somerset. He was educated, according to Anthony Wood, either at Balliol Col ...

*1607–1617: Sir John Herbert, Secretary of State *1617–1632: Sir George More *1632–1636:

Sir Francis Crane Sir Francis Crane ( 1579 – c. 1636) was the founder of Mortlake Tapestry Works at Mortlake on the south bank of the river Thames in South West London. Biography His parentage is obscure, but his family had close links to Cornwall, and bo ...

*1637-1644:

Sir Thomas Roe Sir Thomas Roe ( 1581 – 6 November 1644) was an English diplomat of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Roe's voyages ranged from Central America to India; as ambassador, he represented England in the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Empi ...

*1645–1658: Sir James Palmer *1658–1671: Sir Henry de Vic

Bishops of Salisbury

*1671–1689: Seth Ward *1689–1715: Gilbert Burnet *1715–1721: William Talbot *1721–1723: Richard Willis *1723–1734: Benjamin Hoadly *1734–1748:

Thomas Sherlock Thomas Sherlock (167818 July 1761) was a British divine who served as a Church of England bishop for 33 years. He is also noted in church history as an important contributor to Christian apologetics. Life Born in London, he was the son of the ...

*1748–1757: John Gilbert *1757–1761: John Thomas *1761: The Hon

Robert Hay Drummond Robert Hay (10 November 1711 – 10 December 1776), known later as Robert Hay-Drummond of Cromlix and Innerpeffray, was successively Bishop of St Asaph, Bishop of Salisbury, and, from 1761 until his death, Archbishop of York. Origins and birth ...

*1761–1766: John Thomas *1766–1782:

John Hume John Hume (18 January 19373 August 2020) was an Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the recent political history of Ireland, as one of the architects of the Northern Ire ...

*1782–1791:

Shute Barrington Shute Barrington (26 May 173425 March 1826) was an English churchman, Bishop of Llandaff in Wales, as well as Bishop of Salisbury and Bishop of Durham in England. Early life Barrington was born at Beckett Hall in Shrivenham in Berkshire (no ...

*1791–1807: John Douglas *1807–1825:

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Fisher was executed by o ...

*1825–1837: Thomas Burgess

Bishops of Oxford

*1837–1845: Richard Bagot *1845–1869:

Samuel Wilberforce Samuel Wilberforce, FRS (7 September 1805 – 19 July 1873) was an English bishop in the Church of England, and the third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his day.Natural Hi ...

*1870–1889:

John Mackarness John Fielder Mackarness (3 December 1820 – 16 September 1889) was a Church of England bishop. Life He was born in Islington (then in the county of Middlesex, now in Greater London) on 8 December 1820, the eldest son of John Mackarness, a Wes ...

*1889–1901:

William Stubbs William Stubbs (21 June 182522 April 1901) was an English historian and Anglican bishop. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford between 1866 and 1884. He was Bishop of Chester from 1884 to 1889 and Bishop of O ...

*1901–1911:

Francis Paget Francis Paget (20 March 18512 August 1911) was an English theologian, author and the 33rd Bishop of Oxford. Life He was the second son of the noted surgeon James, and brother of Luke (sometime Bishop of Stepney and of Chester). He was educa ...

*1911–1919:

Charles Gore Charles Gore (22 January 1853 – 17 January 1932) was a Church of England bishop, first of Worcester, then Birmingham, and finally of Oxford. He was one of the most influential Anglican theologians of the 19th century, helping reconcile the c ...

*1919–1925:

Hubert Burge Hubert Murray Burge (9 August 1862 – 11 June 1925) was an Anglican clergyman, headmaster of Winchester College, Bishop of Southwark, and Bishop of Oxford. Life Burge was born in 1862 and educated at Bedford School, Marlborough, and Univer ...

*1925–1937: Thomas Strong

Knights Companion Chancellors

*1937–1943: The Duke of Portland *1943–1959: The Earl of Halifax *1960–1972: The Marquess of Salisbury *1972–1977: The Viscount Cobham *1977–1994: The Marquess of Abergavenny *1994–2012: The Lord Carrington *2012–present: The Duke of Abercorn

References

{{Chancellors of the Order of the Garter Order of the Garter