This is a list of Keepers of the Records in the Tower of London. The position was medieval in origin, and ended in 1838 with the creation of the London Public Record Office. In the 16th century the distinction was made between Chancery Rolls from the reign of

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

onwards, which were under the direct control of the Master of the Rolls, and earlier Rolls that were kept in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, with a designated Keeper. The Masters of the Rolls wished to keep at least a theoretical control over the Keepers, but until 1604 and a judgement against

Sir Roger Wilbraham Sir Roger Wilbraham (4 November 1553 – 31 July 1616) was a prominent English lawyer who served as Solicitor-General for Ireland under Elizabeth I and held a number of positions at court under James I, including Master of Requests and surve ...

there was no case law to support the claim.

Keepers

*Under Elizabeth I:

Sir Henry Stafford Sir Henry Stafford (c. 1425 – 4 October 1471) was the second son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Lady Anne Neville, daughter of Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, and Lady Joan Beaufort. Henry's elder brother, al ...

. *1567: William Bowyer. *1576:

Michael Heneage Michael Heneage (1540–1600) was an English politician and antiquary. He was the Member of Parliament for Arundel, East Grinstead, Tavistock and Wigan. Life He was a younger brother of Thomas Heneage, and was elected Fellow of St John's Coll ...

and

Thomas Heneage Sir Thomas Heneage PC (1532 – 17 October 1595) was an English politician and courtier at the court of Elizabeth I. Early and personal life Thomas Heneage the Younger was born at Copt Hall, Epping, Essex, the son of Sir Robert Heneage and Lucy ...

jointly. *1601:

William Lambarde William Lambarde (18 October 1536 – 19 August 1601) was an English antiquarian, writer on legal subjects, and politician. He is particularly remembered as the author of ''A Perambulation of Kent'' (1576), the first English county history; ''E ...

, with Peter Proby. *1604–1612:

Robert Bowyer Robert Bowyer (; bap. 18 June 1758 – 4 June 1834) was a British miniature painter and publisher. Bowyer was born in Portsmouth to Amos and Betty Ann Bowyer and baptized on 18 June 1758. His first job was as a clerk to a merchant in Portsmouth ...

and

Henry Elsynge Henry Elsynge (c.1606 – 30 September 1656) was an English administrator, who acted as clerk of the House of Commons, and wrote on parliamentary procedure. Life Elsynge was the eldest son of Henry Elsynge and his wife Blanche Hyett; and was ba ...

jointly. *1623:

John Borough Sir John Borough, sometimes Burroughs, (died 21 October 1643) was the Garter Principal King of Arms 1633-43. Life He was grandson of William Borough, of Sandwich, Kent, by the daughter of Basil Gosall, of Nieuwkerk, Brabant, and son of John B ...

. *1643: John Selden, parliamentary appointee. The royalist choice was the

Lancaster Herald Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an English officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The title of Lancaster Herald first occurs in 1347 at Calais, and to begin with this officer was a servant to the noble house of Lancaster. As a ...

William Ryley William Ryley (died 1667) was an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He began his career as a clerk at the record office in the Tower of London under Sir John Borough, Garter king of arms. He entered the College of Arms as Rouge Ro ...

. Parliament took on Ryley, who had come to London, in 1644, who served as clerk of the records. *1651: The

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

decided that the Master of the Rolls should take over the post, with a clerk to look into the records. Ryley, who had been assistant to Selden, retained the post. *1660–1669:

William Prynne William Prynne (1600 – 24 October 1669), an English lawyer, voluble author, polemicist and political figure, was a prominent Puritan opponent of church policy under William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (1633–1645). His views were presbyter ...

. *1669–1686:

Algernon May Sir Algernon May (died 25 July 1704) was an English member of Parliament, for the constituency of Windsor, in the late 17th century. He was the fifth son of Sir Humphrey May of Carrow Priory in Norfolk, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 1618� ...

. *1686–1689: Robert Brady. *1689–1707?:

William Petyt William Petyt (or Petit) (1640/1641 – 3 October 1707) was an English barrister and writer, and a political propagandist in the Whig interest. Life Petyt was born in 1640 or 1641 in the village of Storiths, near Bolton Abbey, Skipton, Yorkshir ...

. *1707–1730:

Richard Topham Richard Topham (1671–1730) was an English landowner and politician, Member of Parliament for from 1698 to 1713. He is known also as a collector. Life He was son of John Topham, acting as serjeant-at-arms of the House of Commons from 1678 until ...

. *1712:

John Anstis John Anstis (29 August 1669 – 4 March 1744) was an English officer of arms, antiquarian and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1702 and 1722. He rose to the highest heraldic office in England and became Garter King of Arms in 1 ...

. *1730–1754:

David Polhill David Polhill (1674 – 15 January 1754), of Chipstead, Kent, was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1710 and 1754. He was one of the signatories of the Kentish petition in 1701. ...

. *1754–1755: William Hay. *1755–1783: John Shelley. *1783–?:

Thomas Astle Thomas Astle FRS FRSE FSA (22 December 1735 – 1 December 1803) was an English antiquary and palaeographer. He became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Society. Life Astle was born on 22 December 1735 at Yoxall on the bo ...

. *1803–1819:

Samuel Lysons Samuel Lysons (1763 – June 1819) was an English antiquarian and engraver who, together with his elder brother Daniel Lysons (1762–1834), published several works on antiquarian topics. He was one of the first archaeologists to investigate ...

. *1819–1840: Henry Petrie.

Notes

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