Common Serjeant of London
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
legal office
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, first recorded in 1317, and is the second most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
after the Recorder of London, acting as deputy to that office, and sitting as a judge in the trial of criminal offences.
The Common Serjeant is appointed by the Crown
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
.
The Common Serjeant aids the Recorder at the Central Criminal Court, acts as judge at the Mayor
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
's Court and legal adviser and counsel to the City of London Corporation, and performs certain functions at the election of city officers.
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
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
and the Court of Aldermen
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
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
The present Common Serjeant is His Honour Judge Brian Barker
Brian Barker
His Hon. Judge Brian John Barker, QC is a British judge and the current Common Serjeant of London, the second most senior judge at the Old Bailey....
QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, who is the 79th person to hold that office.
Incomplete List of Common Serjeants
- William de Ford (1333-1353)
- John Wentbrigg (c.1353-1362)
- Ralph StrodeRalph StrodeRalph Strode , English schoolman, was probably a native of the West Midlands.He was a fellow of Merton College, Oxford, before 1360, and famous as a teacher of logic and philosophy and a writer on educational subjects...
(c.1375-1385) - John Tremayne (c.1389)
- John Wilton
- Robert Danvers
- Richard Moyle
- Thomas Bylling
- John Nedeham
- Thomas Urswyck
- Robert Ingelton
- Guy Fairfax
- Thomas Rigby
- Thomas BryanThomas Bryan (Chief Justice)Sir Thomas Bryan KS KB was a British justiceHe was born to common blood, most likely to the son of John Bryan, who was a fishmonger, although Thomas assumed the arms of Guy Bryan when he became a person of some importance...
(1460-1463) - John Baldwyn
- Robert Molyneux, Gent.
- John Haugh, Gent.
- Richard Higham
- Thomas FrowykThomas FrowykSir Thomas Frowyk KS was an English justice.He was the son of Sir Thomas Frowyk, a Mercer, and grandson of Henry Frowyk, who had served as Lord Mayor of the City of London...
(1486-1496) - Thomas Marowe
- John Greene
- Henry White
- William Walsingham
- John Onely
- Edward Hall
- Robert Southwell
- Robert Brooke
- Thomas Atkyns
- John Marshe (born 1547- died 1563)
- Bernard Randolph
- Thomas Kirton (born 1537 - died 1601)
- Richard Wilbraham
- Richard Wheeler of Lincoln's Inn, Esq
- Daniel Hills, of Lincoln's Inn, Esq
- Thomas Jones of Grey's Inn
- Ralph Latham
- Sir Robert BrokeRobert BrokeSir Robert Broke SL was a British justice, politician and legal writer. He was the eldest son of Thomas Broke of Claverley, Shropshire and his wife Margaret. He studied at Strand Inn, and from there was admitted to Middle Temple at some point between 1525 and 1528 and studying pleading with the...
(1536-1545) - Henry Proby (died 1660)
- Sir Richard Browne
- George JeffreysGeorge Jeffreys, 1st Baron JeffreysGeorge Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem, PC , also known as "The Hanging Judge", was an English judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor .- Early years and education :Jeffreys was born at the family estate of Acton Hall, near Wrexham,...
(1671 - 1678) - Henry Crispe (c.1678)
- Duncan Dee (c.1700)
- John Lingard (c.1720)
- Thomas Garrard (c.1729)
- Thomas Nugent (c.1758)
- John Silvester (c.1790)
- Newman Knowlys (c.1803)
- Thomas Denman, 1st Baron DenmanThomas Denman, 1st Baron DenmanThomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman PC KC was a British 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 Denman...
(1822-1830) - John Mirehouse (1833-1850)
- Hon. Charles Ewan Law (c.1833)
- Sir William Thomas CharleyWilliam Thomas CharleySir William Thomas Charley was a British judge and Conservative Party politician.Charley was born in Woodbourne, County Antrim in the north of Ireland in 1833, and was the youngest son of Matthew Charley and Anne Roberts. He was educated at Elstree House School, Lee, Kent and St John's College,...
(1878 - 1892) - Sir Forrest FultonForrest FultonSir Forrest Fulton was a British judge and Conservative politician.-Early life:Born in Ostend, Belgium, he was the youngest son of Lieutenant-Colonel James Fuller Fulton and his wife, Fanny née Jessopp....
(1892-1900) - Sir Frederick Albert Bosanquet, MA, KC, JP (1900-1917)
- Sir Henry Fielding Dickens KCHenry Fielding DickensSir Henry Fielding Dickens, KC was the eighth of ten children born to British author Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. The most successful of all of Dickens's children, he was a barrister, a KC and Common Serjeant of London, a senior legal office which he held for over 15 years.-Early...
(1917-1932) - Cecil WhiteleyCecil WhiteleyJudge George Cecil Whiteley KC MA DL JP , was Common Serjeant of London from 1933 to 1942 and a Judge at the Mayor's and City of London Court....
(1934-1942) - Sir Carl Douglas Aarvold (1959-1964)
- Mervyn Griffith-JonesMervyn Griffith-JonesJohn Mervyn Guthrie Griffith-Jones, CBE MC QC was a British judge and former barrister. He is most famous for leading the prosecution of Penguin Books in the obscenity trial in 1960 following the publication of D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover...
CBECBECBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
MCMilitary CrossThe Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
QCQueen's CounselQueen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(1964-1979) - Sir John Leonard (1979-1993)
- Neil Denison QC (1993-2001)
- Peter Beaumont QC (2001-2004)
- Brian BarkerBrian BarkerHis Hon. Judge Brian John Barker, QC is a British judge and the current Common Serjeant of London, the second most senior judge at the Old Bailey....
QCQueen's CounselQueen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(2005-present)