The Custos Brevium was an official in the Court of Common Pleas

Court of Common Pleas (England)

The Court of Common Pleas, or Common Bench, was a common law court in the English legal system that covered "common pleas"; actions between subject and subject, which did not concern the king. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century after splitting from the Exchequer of Pleas, the Common...

 and Court of King's Bench

Court of King's Bench (England)

The Court of King's Bench , formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was an English court of common law in the English legal system...

. In the Court of Common Pleas the Custos Brevium served as Chief Clerk, in charge of the officials that supported the Justices of the Common Pleas in their business. In practice the position was a royal favour, and the actual clerking was done by the Custos Brevium's Deputy.

The Custos Brevium of the King's Bench is a much more obscure figure because he was not appointed by the King. The office of Custos Brevium of the King's Bench was combined with the Clerk of the Treasury and Clerk of the Warrants by the 17th century, and there is enough evidence to suggest this had probably occurred by the middle of the 15th century.

List of Custos Brevium of the Court of Common Pleas

Term as Custos Brevium	Name
23 September 1501 – 23 April 1509	Richard Decons
2 June 1506–July 1521	Richard Decons and Thomas Bonham
July 1521–18 June 1532	Thomas Bonham
24 June 1532 – 11 April 1548	John Wellysbourne
6 May 1548 – 27 January 1562	William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
27 January 1562 – 12 March 1591	John Lennard
2 February 1562 – 20 April 1586	Thomas Cecil
22 April 1586–1629	Thomas Spencer and Richard Spencer

List of Custos Brevium of the Court of King/Queen's Bench

Term as Custos Brevium	Name
19 January 1579 – 21 December 1608	William Davison
1626–1645	Robert Dewhurst and Justinian Paget