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{{Short description|Judicial position in England and Wales}}
{{Other uses|The Remembrancer (disambiguation){{!}}The Remembrancer}}
{{about|the English office|the Scottish office|King's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}

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. The post was created in  1154 by [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]] as the chief official in the [[Exchequer of pleas|Exchequer Court]], whose purpose was "to put the Lord Treasurer and the Barons of Court in remembrance of such things as were to be called upon and dealt with for the benefit of the Crown",{{Quotew|date=March 2018}} a primary duty being to keep records of the taxes, paid and unpaid.

The first King's Remembrancer was [[Richard of Ilchester]], a senior servant of the Crown and later [[Bishop of Winchester]]. The King's Remembrancer continued to sit in the Court of the Exchequer until its abolition in 1882. The post of King's Remembrancer is held by the [[Judiciary of England and Wales#High Court Justices, Masters and Insolvency and Companies Court Judges|Senior Master of the King's Bench Division]] of the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]].

==Quit Rents ceremonies==
{{seealso|Quit-rent}}

The Exchequer Court is reconstituted every year for the three ancient ceremonies of the "Rendering of the [[Quit-Rent|Quit Rents]] to the Crown" by the [[City of London]] at the Royal Courts of Justice.

The oldest dates from 1211, where the City pays service for two pieces of land, of which the oldest is ''The Moors'' near [[Bridgnorth]] in [[Shropshire]], for which the City must pay two knives, one blunt and one sharp.<ref name = AtlasObscura>{{cite web | url = http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/london-is-still-paying-rent-to-the-queen-on-a-property-leased-in-1211 | author = Sarah Laskow | date = October 17, 2016 | publisher = Atlas Obscura | title = London Is Still Paying Rent to the Queen on a Property Leased in 1211}}</ref>

The second oldest has been made, entered in the [[Great Roll of the Exchequer]], since 1235, for 'The Forge' in Tweezer's Alley, just south of [[St Clement Danes]], near the [[Strand, London|Strand]] in London, for which the City must pay six horseshoes and 61 horseshoe nails – these are over 550 years old, since after being rendered to the King's Remembrancer they are preserved in his office, and with the permission of the Crown they are loaned to the Corporation of London to be rendered again the following year.<ref name = AtlasObscura/>

These two quits are paid together as one ceremony, during which a black-and-white chequered cloth is spread out – it is from this that the word "[[Exchequer]]" derives – combined with the introduction to the Remembrancer of the City's newly elected [[sheriffs]].

The [[Comptroller]] and [[Solicitor]] of the [[City of London Corporation|City of London]] presents the horseshoes and nails and counts them out to the Remembrancer who then pronounces "Good number." The knives are tested by the King's Remembrancer by taking a [[hazel]] stick, one [[cubit]] in length, and bending it over the blunt knife and leaving a mark, and the stick is split in two with the sharp knife. This practice stems from the creation of [[tally stick]]s where a mark was made on a stick with a blunt knife for each payment counted. When payment was complete the stick was split down the middle, leaving each party with half of the marked stick and creating a receipt (or foil and counter-foil). After the knives are tested the Remembrancer pronounces "Good service".

The third quit rent dates from 1327, and is for £11 in regard to the reserved interest of the Crown for the 'town of [[Southwark]]'. In that year the City was granted its fourth-oldest Royal Charter to acquire Southwark from [[Edward III]] for this annual payment. It was specifically retained by [[Edward VI]] in the 1550 charter to the City, which extended its jurisdiction over the outlying parts of Southwark. This quit is rendered by the Foreman of the City's [[Court Leet]] Jury of the "Town and Borough of Southwark", alias [[Guildable Manor]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guildablemanor.org/|title=Guildable Manor of Southwark |website=www.guildablemanor.org |access-date=29 November 2020}}</ref> which is the area as defined in 1327. The continuation of this body is sanctioned under the Administration of Justice Act 1977. The ceremony takes place in the Cathedral library, the Glaziers' Hall or London's City Hall.<ref>[http://www.london.gov.uk/city-hall Mayor of London London assembly], ''www.london.gov.uk'' {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218184910/http://www.london.gov.uk/city-hall |date=February 18, 2010 }}</ref> This sum is rendered onto the Exchequer Cloth in the form of [[Crown (British coin)|Crowns]] (five [[shilling]] pieces, equivalent to 25 new pence), which remain legal tender. The Remembrancer pronounces "Good service" and this is witnessed by the Clerk of the City's Chamberlain's Court and the [[Manorialism|manor]] [[juror]]s to note that the payment has been made.

==Trial of the Pyx==
{{main|Trial of the Pyx}}
The ''Trial of the Pyx'' is a ceremony dating from 1249, formerly held in the Exchequer Court, now in [[Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths|Goldsmiths' Hall]]. The King's Remembrancer swears in a jury of 26 [[Goldsmith]]s who then count, weigh and otherwise measure a sample of 88,000 gold coins produced by the [[Royal Mint]]. The term "Pyx" refers to the name of the box in which the coins are kept.

==Forest of Dean==
In 1688, [[James II of England|King James II]] directed the King's Remembrancer to appoint commissioners to supervise the planting of trees in the [[Forest of Dean]]. The Forest was an important source of iron, coal and timber to the Monarch, but had been neglected during the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]].

==Other responsibilities==
The King's Remembrancer is responsible for nomination of the [[high sheriff]]s to each [[county]] of England and Wales (except [[Cornwall]], who are selected by the [[Duchy of Cornwall|Duke of Cornwall]] (i.e. the eldest son of the [[monarch|sovereign]]), and [[Greater Manchester]], [[Lancashire]] and [[Merseyside]], who are selected by the [[Duchy of Lancaster|Duke of Lancaster]] (i.e. the [[monarch|sovereign]])), via the [[High sheriff#Pricking|Pricking]] ceremony.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highsheriffgloucestershire.org.uk/queen.htm|title=The Queen's Remembrancer and High Sheriffs|access-date=2008-09-01|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512215153/http://www.highsheriffgloucestershire.org.uk/queen.htm|archive-date=2014-05-12}}</ref>

The Remembrancer presents the [[Lord Mayor of the City of London]] to the [[Lord Chief Justice]], [[Master of the Rolls]] and other [[Judiciary of England and Wales|High Court judge]]s at the [[Royal Courts of Justice]] on [[Lord Mayor's Day]].

The King's Remembrancer presents newly appointed [[Sheriff]]s of the City with a [[Writ]] of [[wikt:Special:Search/approbation|Approbation]] from the [[monarch]], sealed with the Great Silver [[Seal (emblem)|Seal]] of the [[Exchequer]]. This takes place at the same time as the [[Quit Rents ceremonies|Quit Rents]].

==List of Remembrancers==
{{Expand list|date=August 2008}}
*[[Richard of Ilchester]] (appointed 1154)
*[[John Troutbeck (MP)|John Troutbeck]] and Thomas Daniel of Frodsham (appointed 1447)
*John FitzHerbert (d.&nbsp;1502), father-in-law of [[John Port (judge)#Marriages and issue|John Port]], [[Justice of the King's Bench]]
*John Jessop, 22 April 1513 – 21 April 1514<ref>[https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7756780 Jessop, John: Nottingham] nationalarchives.gov.uk</ref>
*William Forman, 22 April 1538 – 21 April 1540<ref>nationalarchives.gov.uk</ref>
*[[Christopher More|Sir Christopher More]], 1542–1549<ref>ODNB</ref>
*[[Thomas Saunders (died 1565)|Thomas Saunders]], 1549–1565 <ref>R. Sewell and E. Lane, ''The Free Men of Charlwood'' Crawley, Sussex: Reprographic Centre, 1979, pp.&nbsp;51–73.</ref>
*[[Henry Fanshawe (1506–1568)|Henry Fanshawe]], 1565–1568 <ref name=HoP1566/>
*[[Thomas Fanshawe (remembrancer of the exchequer)|Thomas Fanshawe]], 1568–1601 <ref name= NA/>
*Sir [[Henry Fanshawe (1569–1616)|Henry Fanshawe]], 1601–1616 <ref name= NA/>
*[[Christopher Hatton (died 1619)|Christopher Hatton]], 1616–1619 <ref name= HoP1616/>
*[[Thomas Fanshawe, 1st Viscount Fanshawe|Sir Thomas Fanshawe]] 1619–1641 <ref name= NA/>
*[[Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet|Richard Fanshawe]] 1641 – c.&nbsp;1642 (deprived of office by Parliament as a Royalist)<ref name= NA/>
*[[Humphrey Salwey]], 28 September 1644 – 6 December 1652
*[[John Dodington (lawyer)|John Dodington]], 29 July 1658 – c.&nbsp;1659
*[[Thomas Fanshawe, 1st Viscount Fanshawe]], 7 August 1660 – 26 March 1665<ref name= NA/>
*[[Thomas Fanshawe, 2nd Viscount Fanshawe]], 26 March 1665 – 19 May 1674<ref name= NA/>
*[[Vere Bertie]], 19 May 1674 – 4 June 1675
*[[Henry Ayloffe]], 4 June 1674 – 13 September 1708
*Henry Stevens, 23 October 1708 – 25 June 1709. Temporarily appointed by the Barons of Exchequer while the rights of [[Charles Fanshawe, 4th Viscount Fanshawe]] and [[Simon Fanshawe, 5th Viscount Fanshawe|Simon Fanshawe]] to the office were settled; Charles, who had the next reversion, was a [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] and would not subscribe to the oaths required
*[[Simon Fanshawe, 5th Viscount Fanshawe]], 13 September 1708 – 23 October 1716 (appointment retroactive)
*[[Samuel Masham, 1st Baron Masham]], 23 October 1716 – 16 October 1758
*[[Samuel Masham, 2nd Baron Masham]], 16 October 1758 – 14 June 1776
*[[Felton Hervey|Felton Hervey and his son Felton Lionel Hervey]], 14 June 1776 – 9 September 1785
*[[Edward James Eliot]], 4 October 1785 – 20 September 1797
*[[Thomas Steele (British politician)|Thomas Steele]], 2 November 1797 – 8 December 1823
*[[Henry William Vincent]], 18 December 1823 – 1 February 1858
*[[William Henry Walton]], 1858–1874
*[[Sir William Frederick Pollock, 2nd Baronet]], 1874–1886
*[[George Frederick Pollock]], 1886 – December 1901
*[[Robert St John Fitzwalter Butler, 16th Baron Dunboyne]], December 1901 – 1905
*[[James Robert Mellor]], 1905–1912
*Sir [[John Macdonell (jurist)|John Macdonell]], 1912–1920
*[[Sir Thomas Chitty, 1st Baronet|Thomas Willes Chitty]], 1920–1927
*Sir [[Sir George Albert Bonner|George A. Bonner]], 1927–1937
*[[Ernest Arthur Jelf]], 1937–1943
*[[W. Valentine Ball]], 1943–1947
*[[Sir Percy Reginald Simner]], 1947–1950
*[[Sir Frederick Arnold-Baker]], 1951–1957
*Sir [[Richard Frank Burnand]], 1958–1960?
*Sir Anthony Highmore King, 1960–1962
*Claude Herbert Grundy, 1962–1965
*B.A. Harwood, 1965–1970
*[[Sir (William) Russell Lawrence]], 1970–1975
*[[Jack Jacob|Sir Jack Jacob]], 1975–1980
*John Ritchie, 1980–1982
*John Bullen Elton, 1982–1983<ref>"Obituary", ''The Times'' [London, England] 19 October 1983:  pg. 14. The Times Digital Archive; accessed 9 July 2013.</ref>
*J. R. Bickford-Smith, 1983–1987
*[[Ian Warren]], 1988–1990±<ref>Letter from Chief Clerk to the Queen's Remembrancer dated 23 January 2014</ref>{{full citation needed|reason=Was this published? Where? What does "±" mean?|date=January 2020}}
*[[Keith Topley]], 1990–1996
*[[Robert Lockley Turner]], 1996 – 1 October 2007
*[[Steven Dixon Whitaker]], 2 October 2007 – February 2014 (resigned from office after misconduct was proven in his work diary scheduling)<ref>{{cite press release | publisher = [[Judicial Conduct Investigations Office]] | date = 14 March 2014 | title = Senior Master Steven Whitaker | url = http://judicialconduct.judiciary.gov.uk/documents/Senior_Master_Whitaker_press_statement__2_.pdf | access-date = 2014-03-20 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140320205111/http://judicialconduct.judiciary.gov.uk/documents/Senior_Master_Whitaker_press_statement__2_.pdf | archive-date = 20 March 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | newspaper = [[The Law Society Gazette]] | date = 14 March 2014 | first = John | last = Hyde | title = 'Serious misconduct' finding against senior judge | url = http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/practice/serious-misconduct-finding-against-senior-judge/5040391.article | access-date = 2014-03-20 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | newspaper = [[The Lawyer]] | date = 17 March 2014 | first = Joanne | last = Harris | title = E-discovery guru Whitaker resigns from judicial post after diary investigation | url = http://www.thelawyer.com/news/practice-areas/litigation-news/e-discovery-guru-whitaker-resigns-from-judicial-post-after-diary-investigation/3017712.article | access-date = 2014-03-20 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>
*John Leslie, February 2014 – 19 October 2014 (Acting Queen's Remembrancer pending appointment of a permanent Remembrancer)
*[[Barbara Fontaine]], 20 October 2014 – September 2023
*Jeremy David Cook, 16 September 2023 –  present

==See also==
*[[King's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer]] – successor to the Queen's/King's Remembrancer of the Court of Exchequer in Scotland
*[[City Remembrancer]] – a senior officer of the [[City of London Corporation]]

==Citations==
FANSHAWE, Henry I (c.1506-68), of London.<ref name=HoP1566>{{cite web|url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/fanshawe-henry-i-1506-68|title=FANSHAWE, Henry I (c.1506-68), of London.|publisher=History of Parliament Trust|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref>

HENRY FANSHAWE, QUEEN'S REMEMBRANCER<ref name=NA>{{cite web|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C81423|title=HENRY FANSHAWE, QUEEN'S REMEMBRANCER |publisher=The National Archives|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref>

HATTON, Christopher II (c.1581-1619), of Clay Hall, Barking, Essex and Kirby Hall, Northants.<ref name=HoP1616>{{cite web|url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/hatton-christopher-ii-1581-1619|title=HATTON, Christopher II (c.1581-1619), of Clay Hall, Barking, Essex and Kirby Hall, Northants.|publisher=History of Parliament Trust|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
*[[John Sainty (civil servant)|J. C. Sainty]] (comp.), ''Officers of the Exchequer'' (List and Index Society, Special Series 18, 1983), 40.

==External links==
*[http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/rcj-rolls-building/queens-bench/queens-remembrancer King's Remembrancer]
*[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/DisplayCatalogueDetails.asp?CATID=5150&CATLN=3&Highlight=&EncodedRef=E%25%24%40%2A%28%21%404%25%24%40%2A%28%21%40159%25%24%40%2A%28%21%40%25%24%40%2A%28%21%40%25%24%40%2A%28%21%40%25%24%40%2A%28%21%40%25%24%40%2A%28%21%40&DTN=2 King`s Remembrancer: Memoranda Rolls and Enrolment Books] online records of [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]
*[http://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/about-the-company/the-trial-of-the-pyx/ The Trial of the Pyx]

{{English Exchequer}}

[[Category:Judiciary of England and Wales]]
[[Category:Ceremonial officers in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Exchequer offices]]
[[Category:1154 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Forest of Dean]]
[[Category:Henry II of England]]