Welsh Journals

Search over 450 titles and 1.2 million pages

A DEPUTY LIEUTENANT'S COMMISSION OF 1618 By W. H. HOWSE, F.S.A. Nowadays the office of Deputy Lieutenant of a county is more honourable than onerous, except insofar as the holder may be called upon to deputise for the Lord Lieutenant. Even the latter office is far from carrying the responsibility attached to it in former times, and we are accustomed to think the principal function of the holder, apart from representing his county on special occasions such as royal visits, as that of Custos Rotulorum, i.e. custodian of the rolls and records belonging to the Sessions of the Peace. That matters were very different when these offices were first created is clearly shown in two original documents in the collection of Major J. R. H. Harley. These are a commission issued in 1618 by William, Lord Compton, Lord Lieutenant of Wales etc., (see below) to Sir Robert Harley, to be a Deputy Lieutenant of Herefordshire, with a copy of the royal Letters Patent appointing Lord Compton as Lord Lieutenant. Sir Robert (born 1579, died 1656) was the well-known Puritan and iconoclast who supported the Parliament side in the Civil War up to the time of the King's trial, when he was imprisoned for his opposition to Cromwell and subsequently held aloof from the struggle. He had been M.P. for Radnor Boroughs 1604-11, and subsequently held several important positions, including that of Master of the Mint. Lord Compton was created Earl of Northampton later in 1618 he held the position of Lord Lieutenant from 1617 to 1631. Before proceeding to give the texts of the documents, which largely speak for themselves, some explanation should be given as regards the Lord Lieutenancy in Wales. The exact date of the first creation of the office appears to be unknown. Professor David Williams in A History of Modern Wales says it occured in the reign of Mary Tudor, and that this new official took over the military duties which had formerly been carried out by the Sheriff. The Council of Wales and the Marches was already functioning, and it was laid down that the Lord President of this Council should by a separate Commission be created Lord Lieutenant of Wales and the Marches, and that he should be helped in his duties in each county by Deputy Lieutenants appointed by him, not exceeding six in any county. There is some uncertainty about the dates of appointment of the various Lord Lieutenants and their activities in the early part of the reign of Elizabeth I, and the authentic list usually starts with the Earl of Pembroke, Lord Lieutenant from 1587 to 1601. From a letter dated 26 June, 1598, written by the above Earl relative to the appointment that year of John Bradshaw of Presteigne