Lord Chancellor
From British Offices and Honours
This page lists both Lord Chancellors and Lord Keepers
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herfast | 1068 | 1070 | ||
| Osmund | 1070 | 1078 | ||
| Maurice, Archdeacon of Le Mans | 1078 | 1085 | ||
| Gerard, Preceptor of Rouen | 1085 | 1092 | ||
| Robert Blouet | 1092 | 1093 | ||
| William Giffard | 1093 | 1101 | ||
| Roger | 1101 | 1102 | ||
| Waldric | 1102 | 1107 | ||
| Ranulf | 1107 | 1123 | ||
| Geoffrey Rufus | 1123 | 1133 | ||
| Robert de Sigillo | 1133 | 1135 | ||
| Roger le Poer | 1135 | 1139 | ||
| Philip de Harcourt, Dean of Lincoln | 1139 | 1140 | ||
| Robert of Ghent, Dean of York | 1140 | 1141 | ||
| William FitzGilbert | 1141 | 1142 | ||
| William de Vere | 1142 | 1142 | ||
| Robert of Ghent, Dean of York | 1142 | 1154 | ||
| Thomas Becket, Archdeacon of Canterbury | 1155 | 1162 | ||
| Geoffrey Ridel, Archdeacon of Canterbury | 1162 | 1173 | ||
| Ralph de Warneville, Treasurer of York | 1173 | 1181 | ||
| Geoffrey the Bastard | 1181 | 1189 | ||
| William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely | 1189 | 1197 | ||
| Eustace, Dean of Salisbury | 1197 | 1198 | ||
| Eustace, Bishop of Ely | 1198 | 1199 | ||
| Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury | 1199 | 1205 | ||
| Walter de Gray | 1205 | 1214 | ||
| Richard Marsh | 1214 | 1226 | ||
| Ralph Neville | 1226 | 1240 | ||
| Richard le Gras, Abbot of Evesham | 1240 | 1242 | ||
| Ralph Neville | 1242 | 1244 | ||
| Silvester de Everdon, Archdeacon of Chester | 1244 | 1246 | ||
| John Maunsell, Provost of Beverley | 1246 | 1247 | ||
| Sir John Lexington | 1247 | 1248 | ||
| John Maunsell | 1248 | 1249 | ||
| Sir John Lexington | 1249 | 1250 | ||
| William of Kilkenny | 1250 | 1255 | ||
| Henry Wingham | 1255 | 1260 | ||
| Nicholas of Ely, Archdeacon of Ely | 1260 | 1261 | ||
| Walter de Merton, Archdeacon of Bath | 1261 | 1263 | ||
| Nicholas of Ely, Archdeacon of Ely | 1263 | 1263 | ||
| John Chishull, Archdeacon of London | 1263 | 1264 | ||
| Thomas Cantilupe, Archdeacon of Stafford | 1264 | 1265 | ||
| Ralph Sandwich | 1265 | 1265 | ||
| Walter Giffard, Bishop of Bath and Wells | 1265 | 1266 | ||
| Godfrey Giffard, Archdeacon of Wells | 1266 | 1268 | ||
| John Chishull, Dean of St Paul's | 1268 | 1269 | ||
| Richard Middleton, Archdeacon of Northumberland | 1269 | 1272 | ||
| Walter de Merton, Archdeacon of Bath | 1272 | 1274 | ||
| Robert Burnell, Bishop of Bath and Wells | 1274 | 1292 | ||
| John Langton, Canon of Lincoln | 1292 | 1302 | ||
| William Greenfield, Dean of Chichester | 1302 | 1305 | ||
| William Hamilton, Dean of York | 1305 | 1307 | ||
| Ralph Baldock, Bishop of London | 1307 | 1307 | ||
| John Langton, Bishop of Chichester | 1307 | 1310 | ||
| Walter Reynolds, Bishop of Worcester | 1310 | 1314 | ||
| John Sandall | 1314 | 1318 | ||
| John Hotham, Bishop of Ely | 1318 | 1320 | ||
| John Salmon, Bishop of Norwich | 1320 | 1323 | ||
| Robert Baldock, Archdeacon of Middlesex | 1323 | 1327 | ||
| William Airmyn, Bishop of Norwich | 1327 | 1328 | ||
| Henry Burghersh, Bishop of Lincoln | 1328 | 1330 | ||
| John Stratford, Bishop of Winchester | 1330 | 1334 | ||
| Richard Bury, Bishop of Durham | 1334 | 1335 | ||
| John Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury | 1335 | 1337 | ||
| Robert Stratford, Bishop of Chichester | 1337 | 1338 | ||
| Richard Bintworth, Bishop of London | 1338 | 1339 | ||
| John Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury | 1340 | 1340 | ||
| Sir Robert Bourchier | 1340 | 1341 | ||
| Sir Robert Parving | 1341 | 1343 | ||
| Sir Robert Sadington | 1343 | 1345 | ||
| John Offord, Dean of Lincoln | 1345 | 1349 | ||
| John Thoresby, Bishop of Worcester | 1349 | 1356 | ||
| William Edington, Bishop of Winchester | 1356 | 1363 | ||
| Simon Langham, Bishop of Ely | 1363 | 1367 | ||
| William Edington, Bishop of Winchester | 1367 | 1371 | ||
| Sir Robert Thorp | 1371 | 1372 | ||
| Sir John Knyvet | 1372 | 1377 | ||
| Adam Houghton, Bishop of St David's | 1377 | 1378 | ||
| The Lord Scrope of Bolton | 1378 | 1380 | ||
| Simon Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury | 1380 | 1381 | ||
| Hugh Segrave | 1381 | 1381 | ||
| William Courtenay, Bishop of Lincoln | 1381 | 1381 | ||
| The Lord Scrope of Bolton | 1381 | 1382 | ||
| Robert Braybrook, Bishop of London | 1382 | 1383 | ||
| The Earl of Suffolk | 1383 | 1386 | ||
| Thomas Arundel, Bishop of Ely | 1386 | 1389 | ||
| William Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester | 1389 | 1391 | ||
| Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of York | 1391 | 1396 | ||
| Edmund Stafford, Bishop of Exeter | 1396 | 1399 | ||
| Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury | 1399 | 1399 | ||
| John Scarle, Archdeacon of Lincoln | 1399 | 1401 | ||
| Edmund Stafford, Bishop of Exeter | 1401 | 1403 | ||
| Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Lincoln | 1403 | 1405 | ||
| Thomas Langley, Dean of York | 1405 | 1407 | ||
| Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury | 1407 | 1410 | ||
| Sir Thomas Beaufort from 1411, the Earl of Dorset | 1410 | 1412 | ||
| Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury | 1412 | 1413 | ||
| Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester | 1413 | 1417 | ||
| Thomas Langley, Bishop of Durham | 1417 | 1424 | ||
| Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester | 1424 | 1426 | ||
| John Kemp, Archbishop of York | 1426 | 1432 | ||
| John Stafford, Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1443, Archbishop of Canterbury | 1432 | 1450 | ||
| John Kemp, Archbishop of York | 1450 | 1454 | ||
| The Earl of Salisbury | 1454 | 1455 | ||
| Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury | 1455 | 1456 | ||
| William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester | 1456 | 1460 | ||
| George Neville, Bishop of Exeter | 1460 | 1467 | ||
| Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells | 1467 | 1470 | ||
| George Neville, Archbishop of York | 1470 | 1471 | ||
| Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells | 1471 | 1473 | ||
| Laurence Booth, Bishop of Durham | 1473 | 1475 | ||
| John Alcock, Bishop of Rochester | 1475 | 1475 | ||
| Thomas Rotheram, Bishop of Lincoln | 1475 | 1483 | ||
| John Russell, Bishop of Lincoln | 1483 | 1 August 1485 | ||
| Thomas Rotheram, Archbishop of York | 1 August 1485 | 22 August 1485 | Lord Keeper | |
| John Alcock, Bishop of Worcester | 22 August 1485 | 6 March 1486 | later Bishop of Ely | |
| John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury | 6 March 1486 | September 1500 | ||
| Richard Nikke | 16 September 1500 | 13 October 1500 | Lord Keeper | |
| Henry Deane, Bishop of Salisbury | 13 October 1500 | 27 July 1502 | later Archbishop of Canterbury | |
| William Barnes | 27 July 1502 | 11 August 1502 | Lord Keeper | |
| William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury | 11 August 1502 | 22 December 1515 | ||
| Cardinal Wolsey, Archbishop of York | 22 December 1515 | 17 October 1529 | ||
| Sir Thomas More | 25 October 1529 | 20 May 1532 | ||
| Sir Thomas Audley from 1538, the Lord Audley of Walden | 20 May 1532 | 22 April 1544 | Lord Keeper to 26 January 1533 | |
| The Lord Wriothesley from 1547, the Earl of Southampton | 22 April 1544 | 25 March 1547 | Lord Keeper to 3 May 1544 | |
| The Lord St John | 25 March 1547 | 23 October 1547 | Lord Keeper | |
| The Lord Rich | 23 October 1547 | 22 December 1551 | ||
| Thomas Goodrich, Bishop of Ely | 22 December 1551 | 23 August 1553 | Lord Keeper to 19 January 1552 | |
| Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester | 23 August 1553 | 12 November 1555 | ||
| Nicholas Heath, Archbishop of York | 1 January 1556 | 18 November 1558 | ||
| Sir Nicholas Bacon | 22 December 1558 | 20 February 1579 | Lord Keeper | |
| Sir Thomas Bromley | 26 April 1579 | 12 April 1587 | ||
| Sir Christopher Hatton | 29 April 1587 | 20 November 1591 | ||
| in commission | 22 November 1591 | 28 May 1592 | ||
| Sir John Puckering | 28 May 1592 | 30 April 1596 | Lord Keeper | |
| Sir Thomas Egerton from 1603, the Lord Ellesmere; from 1616 the Viscount Brackley | 6 May 1596 | 15 March 1617 | Lord Keeper to 24 July 1603 | |
| Sir Francis Bacon from 1618, the Lord Verulam; from 1621, the Viscount Saint Albans | 7 March 1617 | 1 May 1621 | Lord Keeper to 4 January 1618 | |
| in commission | 1 May 1621 | 10 July 1621 | ||
| John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln | 10 July 1621 | 30 October 1625 | Lord Keeper | |
| Sir Thomas Coventry from 1629, the Lord Coventry | 1 November 1625 | 13 January 1640 | Lord Keeper | |
| The Lord Finch | 17 January 1640 | 19 January 1641 | Lord Keeper | |
| The Lord Lyttelton | 19 January 1641 | 21 May 1642 | Lord Keeper | |
| Great Seal held by the King | 21 May 1642 | 25 October 1645 | ||
| Sir Richard Lane | 25 October 1645 | 1650 | Lord Keeper | |
| Sir Edward Herbert | 5 April 1653 | June 1654 | Lord Keeper | |
| Sir Edward Hyde from 1660, the Lord Hyde; from 1661, the Earl of Clarendon | 13 January 1658 | 30 August 1667 | Lord Keeper to 29 January 1658 | |
| Sir Orlando Bridgeman | 30 August 1667 | 17 November 1672 | Lord Keeper | |
| The Earl of Shaftesbury | 17 November 1672 | 9 November 1673 | ||
| Sir Heneage Finch from 1674,the Lord Finch; from 1681, the Earl of Nottingham | 9 November 1673 | 18 December 1682 | Tory | Lord Keeper to 19 December 1675 |
| Sir Francis North from 1683, the Lord Guilford | 18 December 1682 | 5 September 1685 | Tory | Lord Keeper |
| The Lord Jeffreys | 28 September 1685 | December 1688 | Tory | |
| in commission | 4 March 1689 | 23 March 1693 | ||
| John Somers from 1697, the Lord Somers | 23 March 1693 | 5 May 1700 | Whig | Lord Keeper to 22 April 1697 |
| Sir Nathan Wright | 21 May 1700 | 11 October 1705 | Tory | Lord Keeper |
| The Lord Cowper | 11 October 1705 | 25 September 1710 | Whig | Lord Keeper to 4 May 1707 |
| The Lord Harcourt | 19 October 1710 | 21 September 1714 | Tory | Lord Keeper to 7 April 1713 |
| The Lord Cowper | 21 September 1714 | 18 April 1718 | Whig | |
| The Earl of Macclesfield | 12 May 1718 | 4 January 1725 | Whig | |
| in commission | 7 January 1725 | 1 June 1725 | ||
| The Lord King | 1 June 1725 | 29 November 1733 | Whig | |
| The Lord Talbot of Hensol | 29 November 1733 | 21 February 1737 | Whig | |
| The Lord Hardwicke from 1754, the Earl of Hardwicke | 21 February 1737 | 9 November 1756 | Whig | |
| in commission | 9 November 1756 | 20 June 1757 | ||
| Sir Robert Henley from 1760, the Lord Henley; from 1764, the Earl of Northington | 20 June 1757 | 30 July 1766 | Whig | Lord Keeper to 16 January 1761 |
| The Lord Camden | 30 July 1766 | 17 January 1770 | Whig | |
| Charles Yorke | 17 January 1770 | 20 January 1770 | Whig | would have been Lord Morden, but killed himself before he was so created |
| in commission | 21 January 1770 | 23 January 1771 | ||
| The Lord Apsley from 1775, the Earl Bathurst | 23 January 1771 | 3 June 1778 | Tory | |
| The Lord Thurlow | 3 June 1778 | 9 April 1783 | Tory | |
| in commission | 9 April 1783 | 23 December 1783 | ||
| The Lord Thurlow | 23 December 1783 | 15 June 1792 | Tory | |
| in commission | 15 June 1792 | 28 January 1793 | ||
| The Lord Loughborough | 28 January 1793 | 14 April 1801 | Tory | |
| The Lord Eldon | 14 April 1801 | 7 February 1806 | Tory | |
| The Lord Erskine | 7 February 1806 | 1 April 1807 | Whig | |
| The Lord Eldon from 1821, the Earl of Eldon | 1 April 1807 | 2 May 1827 | Tory | |
| The Lord Lyndhurst | 2 May 1827 | 22 November 1830 | Tory | |
| The Lord Brougham | 22 November 1830 | 14 November 1834 | Whig | |
| The Lord Lyndhurst | 21 November 1834 | 8 April 1835 | Tory | |
| in commission | 23 April 1835 | 16 1836 | ||
| The Lord Cottenham | 16 January 1836 | 30 August 1841 | Whig | |
| The Lord Lyndhurst | 3 September 1841 | 27 June 1846 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Cottenham | 30 June 1846 | 19 June 1850 | Whig | |
| in commission | 19 June 1850 | 15 July 1850 | ||
| The Lord Truro | 15 July 1850 | 21 February 1852 | Whig | |
| The Lord St Leonards | 27 February 1852 | 17 December 1852 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Cranworth | 28 December 1852 | 21 February 1858 | Whig | |
| The Lord Chelmsford | 26 February 1858 | 11 June 1859 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Campbell of St Andrews | 18 June 1859 | 26 June 1861 | Liberal | |
| The Lord Westbury | 26 June 1861 | 7 July 1865 | Liberal | |
| The Lord Cranworth | 7 July 1865 | 26 June 1866 | Liberal | |
| The Lord Chelmsford | 6 July 1866 | 29 February 1868 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Cairns | 29 February 1868 | 1 December 1868 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Hatherley | 9 December 1868 | 15 October 1872 | Liberal | |
| The Lord Selborne | 15 October 1872 | 17 February 1874 | Liberal | |
| The Lord Cairns from 1878, the Earl Cairns | 21 February 1874 | 21 April 1880 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Selborne from 1882, the Earl of Selborne | 28 April 1880 | 9 June 1885 | Liberal | |
| The Lord Halsbury | 24 June 1885 | 28 January 1886 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Herschell | 6 February 1886 | 20 July 1886 | Liberal | |
| The Lord Halsbury | 3 August 1886 | 11 August 1892 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Herschell | 18 August 1892 | 21 June 1895 | Liberal | |
| The Lord Halsbury from 1898, the Earl of Halsbury | 29 June 1895 | 4 December 1905 | Conservative/Unionist | |
| The Lord Loreburn from 1911, the Earl of Loreburn | 10 December 1905 | 10 June 1912 | Liberal | |
| The Viscount Haldane | 10 June 1912 | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | |
| The Lord Buckmaster | 25 May 1915 | 5 December 1916 | Liberal | |
| The Lord Finlay | 10 December 1916 | 10 January 1919 | Unionist | |
| The Lord Birkenhead | 10 January 1919 | 19 October 1922 | Unionist | |
| The Viscount Cave | 24 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | |
| The Viscount Haldane | 22 January 1924 | 3 November 1924 | Labour | |
| The Viscount Cave | 6 November 1924 | 28 March 1928 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Hailsham | 28 March 1928 | 4 June 1929 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Sankey from 1932, the Viscount Sankey | 7 June 1929 | 7 June 1935 | Labour/National Labour | |
| The Viscount Hailsham | 7 June 1935 | 9 March 1938 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Maugham | 9 March 1938 | 3 September 1939 | Non-party | |
| The Viscount Caldecote | 3 September 1939 | 12 May 1940 | Conservative | |
| The Viscount Simon | 12 May 1940 | 26 July 1945 | National Liberal | |
| The Lord Jowitt from 1947, the Viscount Jowitt | 27 July 1945 | 26 October 1951 | Labour | |
| The Viscount Simonds | 30 October 1951 | 18 October 1954 | Conservative | |
| The Viscount Kilmuir | 18 October 1954 | 13 July 1962 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Dilhorne | 13 July 1962 | 16 October 1964 | ||
| The Lord Gardiner | 16 October 1964 | 19 June 1970 | Labour | |
| The Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone | June 1970 | March 1974 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Elwyn-Jones | March 1974 | May 1979 | Labour | |
| The Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone | May 1979 | June 1987 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Havers | June 1987 | October 1987 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Mackay of Clashfern | October 1987 | May 1997 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Irvine of Lairg | May 1997 | June 2003 | Labour | |
| The Lord Falconer of Thoroton | June 2003 | 27 June 2007 | Labour | |
| Jack Straw | 28 June 2007 | incumbent | Labour |
