Common Serjeant of London
The Common Serjeant of London (full title The Serjeant-at-Law in the Common Hall) is an ancient British legal office, first recorded in 1291, and is the second most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court after the Recorder of London, acting as deputy to that office, and sitting as a judge in the trial of criminal offences.
He is also one of the High Officers of the City of London Corporation, and must undertake certain civic obligations alongside his judicial duties: each Midsummer he presides at the election of Sheriffs in the Guildhall, and each Michaelmas he plays a key role in the ceremonial election of the Lord Mayor.[1] He presents the Sheriffs to the Queen's Remembrancer at the annual Quit Rents ceremony, and is in attendance on most other major ceremonial occasions.[2]
The Common Serjeant is appointed by the Crown on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor.
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 and the Court of Aldermen 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[3]
The 81st incumbent is His Honour Judge Richard Marks, QC, who was appointed on 3 March 2015.
Incomplete List of Common Serjeants
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Gallery
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Sir Robert Broke.jpg
Sir Robert Broke, Common Serjeant of London in 1536
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Judge George Jeffreys, Common Serjeant of London in 1671
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Sir John Silvester.jpg
Sir John Silvester, Common Serjeant 1790-1803
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Lord Denman, Common Serjeant of London 1822 - 1830
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W T Charley.jpg
William Thomas Charley, Common Serjeant of London in 1878
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Forrest Fulton Vanity Fair 9 July 1903.jpg
Sir Forrest Fulton by 'Spy' in Vanity Fair (1903)
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Frederick-Albert-Bosanquet-1901.jpg
Sir Frederick Bosanquet as Common Serjeant of London. Caricature by 'Spy' from Vanity Fair (1901)
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Judge-brian-barker.jpg
Judge Brian Barker QC, Common Serjeant of London 2005 to 2013
References
- ↑ Order of Ceremonial, 2013
- ↑ Job description
- ↑ The Book of Dignities: Containing Rolls of the Official Personages of the British Empire ... from the Earliest Periods to the Present Time ... Together with the Sovereigns of Europe, from the Foundation of Their Respective States; the Peerage of England and Great Britain ... by Joseph Haydn and Joseph Timothy Haydn Published by Longmans, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1851
- ↑ Dickens, Henry Fielding The Recollections of Sir Henry Dickens, KC William Heinemann Ltd, London (1934) pg 277
- ↑ Cohen, Herman A History Of The English Bar And Attornatus To 1450 The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd, Clark, New Jersey (2005) pg 251 Google Books
- ↑ John Strype's Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Thomas Chambers (MP)
- ↑ Beazley's appointment as Common Serjeant London Gazette 23 October 1942
- ↑ Hawke's appointment as Common Serjeant London Gazette 4 December 1953
- ↑ British Army Officers 1939–1945
- ↑ Obituary in The Telegraph
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- EngvarB from September 2014
- Use dmy dates from September 2014
- Law in London
- English law
- Law in the United Kingdom
- Common law
- Common Serjeants of London
- Legal professions
- Historical legal occupations
- Lists of judges in the United Kingdom
- English judges
- Central Criminal Court of England and Wales