The Deputy Clerk of the Closet is the Domestic

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to the

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The office was created in 1677. Since 1931, the Deputy Clerk is also the sub-dean of the

Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also applie ...

(under the

Clerk of the Closet The College of Chaplains of the Ecclesiastical Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom is under the Clerk of the Closet, an office dating from 1437. It is normally held by a diocesan bishop, who may, however, remain in office after leavi ...

). The Deputy Clerk is the only full-time clerical member of the

Ecclesiastical Household The Ecclesiastical Household is a part of the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Reflecting the different constitutions of the churches of England and Scotland, there are separate households in each nation. England The Church ...

of the

Monarch of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government by which a hereditary monarchy, hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United ...

. From 1746 until 1903 there were three Deputy Clerks. By 1923 there was only one.

List of Deputy Clerks of the Closet

* Rev'd

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

Paul Wright 2015– * Rev'd

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

Bill Scott, CVO 2007–2015 * Rev'd

William Booth William Booth (10 April 182920 August 1912) was an English Methodist preacher who, along with his wife, Catherine, founded the Salvation Army and became its first "General" (1878–1912). His 1890 book In Darkest England and The Way Out outli ...

, CVO 1991–2007 * Rev'd

Anthony Caesar Anthony Douglass Caesar (3 April 1924 – 14 July 2018) was an English priest, organist and composer. Caesar was a boy chorister in the Winchester Cathedral Choir under Harold Rhodes, who directed choir rehearsals in the short street known as " ...

, CVO 1979–1991 * Rev'd

James Mansel, KCVO 1965–1979 * Rev'd Maurice Foxell, KCVO 1948–1965 * Rev'd Wallace Elliott 1941–1948 * Rev'd Launcelot Percival, KCVO 1931–1941 * Very Rev'd

Frederic William Farrar Frederic William Farrar (Bombay, 7 August 1831 – Canterbury, 22 March 1903) was a cleric of the Church of England (Anglican), schoolteacher and author. He was a pallbearer at the funeral of Charles Darwin in 1882. He was a member of the Cambr ...

, KCVO 1894–1931 (re-appointed 1901) * Rev'd Edgar Sheppard 1903–1910 * Rev'd

John Neale Dalton Canon John Neale Dalton (24 September 1839 – 28 July 1931) was a Church of England clergyman and author. He was a chaplain to Queen Victoria, a Canon of Windsor The Dean and Canons of Windsor are the ecclesiastical body of St George ...

, KCVO 1897– (re-appointed 1901) * Rev'd William Rowe Jolley, KCVO ca 1901–? * Hugh Pearson 1881– *

Arthur Penrhyn Stanley Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, (13 December 1815 – 18 July 1881), known as Dean Stanley, was an English Anglican priest and ecclesiastical historian. He was Dean of Westminster from 1864 to 1881. His position was that of a Broad Churchman and he wa ...

1863−1881 * John Merewether,

Dean of Hereford The Dean of Hereford is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of Hereford Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of Blessed Virgin Mary and St Eth ...

1837–1850 * Timothy Fish Foord-Bowes 1835–1837 * Frederick-William Blomberg 1827–1837 *

Charles Richard Sumner Charles Richard Sumner (22 November 179015 August 1874) was a Church of England bishop. Life Charles Sumner was a brother of John Bird Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury. Their father was Robert Sumner and their mother was Hannah Bird, a first co ...

1824–1826 (afterwards

Bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of a ...

) *

Robert James Carr Robert James Carr (1774–1841) was an English churchman, Bishop of Chichester in 1824 and Bishop of Worcester in 1831. Early life Born 9 May 1774 and christened 9 June at Feltham Feltham () is a town in West London, England, from Char ...

1821–1824(afterwards

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's seat ...

) *

James Stanier Clarke James Stanier Clarke (1766–1834) was an English cleric, naval author and man of letters. He became librarian in 1799 to George, Prince of Wales (later Prince Regent, then George IV). Early life The eldest son of Edward Clarke and Anne Grenfi ...

1816–1817 * Thomas Hughes 1808–1833 * William Cookson 1805–1820 * Edward Legge 1803–1805 (later

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft, following the confirmation of his electio ...

) * Charles Moss 1800–1806 (afterwards

) *

Henry Majendie Henry William Majendie (1754–1830) was an English Bishop of Chester and Bishop of Bangor. Life His grandfather André de Majendie was a Huguenot in exile who settled at Exeter. His father John James Majendie was a canon of Windsor and wa ...

1794–1800 (afterwards

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the C ...

) *

William Arnald William Arnald BD (died 5 August 1802) was a Canon of Windsor from 1779 - 1802. Family He was the son of Richard Arnald (died 1756) English clergyman and biblical scholar. Career He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge and graduated BA ...

1782–1787 * John Fisher 1781–1785 * William Buller 1764–1793 (afterwards

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

) *

Newton Ogle Newton Ogle (1726 – 1804) was a Church of England clergyman and member of the landowning Ogle family. The son of Nathaniel Ogle and Elizabeth Newton, he served as a prebendary of Durham Cathedral and from 1769 to 1804 as Dean of Winchester. His ...

1762–1781 * Charles Poyntz (1761–1808) * Hon

Frederick Keppel Frederick Keppel (19 January 1728 – 27 December 1777) was a Church of England clergyman, Bishop of Exeter. Background Keppel was the fifth and fourth surviving son of Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle and his wife Lady Anne Lenno ...

1759–1762 (afterwards

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

) * Edward Townshend 1748–1758 *

Jonathan Shipley Jonathan Shipley (1714 – 6 December 1788) was a clergyman who held offices in the Church of England (including Dean of Winchester from 1760 to 1769), who became Bishop of Llandaff from January to September 1769 and Bishop of St Asaph from Sept ...

1750–1760 (afterwards

Dean of Winchester The Dean of Winchester is the head of the Chapter of Winchester Cathedral in the city of Winchester, England, in the Diocese of Winchester. Appointment is by the Crown. The first incumbent was the last Prior, William Kingsmill, Catherine Ogle ...

) *

Lord James Beauclerk Lord James Beauclerk ( – 20 October 1787) was an Anglican clergyman who served as the Bishop of Hereford from 1746 to 1787. Education He was the eighth son of Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans and Lady Diana de Vere. He was educated ...

1745–1748 (afterwards

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...

) * John Head 1745–1760 *

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 ...

1741–1748 (afterwards

Bishop of St Asaph The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph. The diocese covers the counties of Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The Episcopal seat is loca ...

) *

Alured Clarke Sir Alured Clarke (24 November 1744 – 16 September 1832) was a British Army officer. He took charge of all British troops in Georgia in May 1780 and was then deployed to Philadelphia to supervise the evacuation of British prisoners of ...

Dean of Exeter The Dean of Exeter is the head of the Chapter of Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, England. The chapter was established by William Briwere, Bishop of Exeter (1224–44) who set up the offices of dean and chancellor of Exeter Cathedral ...

1734–1742 * Charles Naylor 1726–1738 * John Gilbert 1723–1738 (afterwards

. Clerk of the Closet 1752–57) * Gilbert Burnet 1723–1726 *

Henry Egerton Henry Egerton (10 February 1689 – 1 April 1746) was a British clergyman from the Egerton family. He was Bishop of Hereford between 1723 and his death in 1746. Life Egerton was a younger son of John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater, by his secon ...

1719–1723 (afterwards

. Clerk of the Closet 1735–46) * ---? Talbot 1718–1723 * ---? Torriano 1716–1718 *

William Wake William Wake (26 January 165724 January 1737) was a priest in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 until his death in 1737. Life Wake was born in Blandford Forum, Dorset, and educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He took ...

1689– * J. Montague 1684– *

Nathaniel Crew Nathaniel Crew, 3rd Baron Crew (31 January 163318 September 1721) was Bishop of Oxford from 1671 to 1674, then Bishop of Durham from 1674 to 1721. As such he was one of the longest-serving bishops of the Church of England. Crew was the son of Joh ...

1667–

References

* {{British Monarchy Household Positions within the British Royal Household Anglican ecclesiastical offices 1677 establishments in England