Secretary of State (England)
Encyclopedia
In the Kingdom of England
, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
(1558–1603), the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary.
From the time of Henry VIII
, there were always two secretaries. After the restoration of the monarchy of 1660, the two posts were specifically designated as the Secretary of State for the Northern Department
and the Secretary of State for the Southern Department
. Both dealt with Home Affairs and they divided Foreign Affairs between them.
servant, at first known as their Clerk, later as their Secretary. The primary duty of this office was carrying on the monarch's official correspondence, but in varying degrees the holder also advised the Crown
. Until the reign of King Henry VIII
(1509–1547), there was usually only one such Secretary at a time, but by the end of Henry's reign there was also a second Secretary. At about the end of the reign of Henry's daughter Elizabeth I
(1558–1603), the Secretaries began to be called "Secretary of State".
After the Restoration of 1660, the two posts came to be known as the Secretary of State for the Northern Department
and the Secretary of State for the Southern Department
. Both of the Secretaries dealt with internal matters, but they also divided Foreign Affairs between them. One dealt with northern Europe (the mostly Protestant states) and the other with southern Europe. Following the Glorious Revolution
of 1688, the Cabinet
took over the practical direction of affairs previously undertaken by the Privy Council, and the two Secretaries of State gained ever more responsible powers.
For the subsequent period see:
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
(1558–1603), the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary.
From the time of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, there were always two secretaries. After the restoration of the monarchy of 1660, the two posts were specifically designated as the Secretary of State for the Northern Department
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782. Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of State's responsibilities were in relation to the English government, not the British. Even after the Union, there was...
and the Secretary of State for the Southern Department
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782.Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two British Secretaries of State were divided not based on the principles of modern ministerial divisions, but...
. Both dealt with Home Affairs and they divided Foreign Affairs between them.
History
The sovereigns of England had a clericalClergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
servant, at first known as their Clerk, later as their Secretary. The primary duty of this office was carrying on the monarch's official correspondence, but in varying degrees the holder also advised the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
. Until the reign of King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
(1509–1547), there was usually only one such Secretary at a time, but by the end of Henry's reign there was also a second Secretary. At about the end of the reign of Henry's daughter Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
(1558–1603), the Secretaries began to be called "Secretary of State".
After the Restoration of 1660, the two posts came to be known as the Secretary of State for the Northern Department
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782. Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of State's responsibilities were in relation to the English government, not the British. Even after the Union, there was...
and the Secretary of State for the Southern Department
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782.Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two British Secretaries of State were divided not based on the principles of modern ministerial divisions, but...
. Both of the Secretaries dealt with internal matters, but they also divided Foreign Affairs between them. One dealt with northern Europe (the mostly Protestant states) and the other with southern Europe. Following the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688, the Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
took over the practical direction of affairs previously undertaken by the Privy Council, and the two Secretaries of State gained ever more responsible powers.
List of officeholders
- John MaunsellJohn MaunsellSir John Maunsell , also Sir John Mansel, Provost of Beverley, was king's clerk, and a judge. He served as chancellor to King Henry III and was England's first secretary of state.-Life:...
(1253) - John de BenstedeJohn de BenstedeSir John de Benstede was a prominent member of the English royal household in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was Prebendary of Sandiacre from 3 February 1297 until, presumably, 1308, when he married...
(1299) - William de Melton (1308)
- Robert BraybrookeRobert BraybrookeRobert Braybrooke was a medieval Dean of Salisbury and Bishop of London.Braybrooke was the son of Sir Gerard Braybrooke of Horsenden, Buckinghamshire & Colmworth, Bedfordshire and his wife, Isabella, the daughter of Sir Roger Dakney of Clophill...
(1379) - John Profit (1402-1412)
- John Stone (1415-c.1420)
- John CastellJohn CastellJohn Castell was a Master of University College, Oxford, and later a Chancellor of the University of OxfordCastell was a Fellow of University College. He became Master of the College in circa 1408. He also held preferment in the Diocese of York with his mastership...
(1420) - William AlnwickWilliam AlnwickWilliam Alnwick was an English Catholic clergyman. He was Bishop of Norwich and Bishop of Lincoln .Educated at Cambridge, Alnwick was Archdeacon of Salisbury before being named Keeper of the Privy Seal on 19 December 1422...
(c.1420-c.1422) - William Hayton (?-1432)
- Thomas BeckingtonThomas BeckingtonThomas Beckington was the Bishop of Bath and Wells and King's Secretary in medieval England.-Life:...
(1439-1443) - Thomas ManningThomas ManningThomas Manning is considered the first lay Chinese studies scholar in Europe and was the first Englishman to enter Lhasa, the holy city of Tibet.-Life:...
(1460-1464) - William Hatcliffe (1464-1480)
- Oliver KingOliver KingOliver King was a Bishop of Exeter and Bishop of Bath and Wells who restored Bath Abbey after 1500.-Life:Educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, King became a priest and was appointed Bishop of Exeter on 1 October 1492, consecrated on 3 February 1493. He was then translated to the see of...
(1480-1483) - John KendalJohn KendalJohn Kendal was secretary to King Richard The Third of England, and killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 whilst fighting in the King's army.Believed to be born in Appleby, Westmoreland, England...
(1483-1485) - Richard FoxeRichard FoxeRichard Foxe was an English churchman, successively Bishop of Exeter, Bath and Wells, Durham, and Winchester, Lord Privy Seal, and founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford.-Life:...
(1485-1487) - Oliver KingOliver KingOliver King was a Bishop of Exeter and Bishop of Bath and Wells who restored Bath Abbey after 1500.-Life:Educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, King became a priest and was appointed Bishop of Exeter on 1 October 1492, consecrated on 3 February 1493. He was then translated to the see of...
(1487-1492) (probably) - Thomas Routhall (1500-1516)
- Richard PaceRichard PaceRichard Pace was an English diplomat of the Tudor period. He was educated at Winchester College under Thomas Langton, and later at Padua, at Bologna, and probably at the University of Oxford...
(1516-1526) - William Knight (1526-1528)
- Stephen GardinerStephen GardinerStephen Gardiner was an English Roman Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I of England.-Early life:...
(1528-1531) - Thomas Cromwell (1533-1536)
- Thomas WriothesleyThomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of SouthamptonThomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, KG , known as The Lord Wriothesley between 1544 and 1547, was a politician of the Tudor period born in London to William Wrythe and Agnes Drayton....
(1536 - January 1544)
- Wriothesley was the first secretary to share the office with a colleague.
- Sir Ralph SadlerRalph SadlerSir Ralph Sadler, PC, Knight banneret was an English statesman of the 16th century, and served as a Secretary of State for King Henry VIII.-Background:...
(April 1540 - 23 April 1543) - Sir William PauletWilliam Paulet, 1st Marquess of WinchesterSir William Paulet was an English Secretary of State and statesman who attained several peerages throughout his lifetime: Baron St John , Earl of Wiltshire , and Marquess of Winchester .-Family origins and early career in Hampshire:William Paulet was eldest son of Sir John Paulet of...
(23 April 1543 - April 1548) - Sir William PetreWilliam PetreSir William Petre was a secretary of state to Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I.Educated as a lawyer at Oxford, he became a public servant, probably through the influence of the Boleyns, one of whom, George, he had tutored at Oxford and another of whom, Anne, was married to the king...
(January 1544 - March 1557) - Sir Thomas SmithThomas Smith (diplomat)Sir Thomas Smith was an English scholar and diplomat.He was born at Saffron Walden in Essex. He was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he became a fellow in 1530, and in 1533 was appointed a public reader or professor. He lectured in the schools on natural philosophy, and on Greek in...
(17 April 1548 - 15 October 1549) - Nicholas WottonNicholas WottonNicholas Wotton was an English diplomat-Life:He was a son of Sir Robert Wotton of Boughton Malherbe, Kent, and a descendant of Nicholas Wotton, lord mayor of London in 1415 and 1430, and member of parliament for the city from 1406 to 1429.He early became vicar of Boughton Malherbe and of Sutton...
(15 October 1549 - 5 September 1550) - Sir William CecilWilliam Cecil, 1st Baron BurghleyWilliam 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...
(5 September 1550 - July 1553) - Sir John ChekeJohn ChekeSir John Cheke was an English classical scholar and statesman, notable as the first Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge University....
(served as a third Secretary of State June 1553 - July 1553) - Sir John BourneJohn BourneJohn Bourne is a British artist and painter, living and working in Wales, and a member of the Stuckists art movement. He founded the Wrexham Stuckists group in 2001 and has been exhibited in the group's shows since then, including The Stuckists Punk Victorian. He has also taken part in Stuckist...
(July 1553 - April 1558) - John BoxallJohn BoxallJohn Boxall was an English churchman and secretary of state to Mary I of England.-Life:He was a native of Bramshot in Hampshire. After studying at Winchester School he was admitted a perpetual fellow of New College, Oxford, in 1542, where he took his degrees in arts...
(March 1557 - November 1558) - Sir William CecilWilliam Cecil, 1st Baron BurghleyWilliam 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...
(November 1558 - 13 July 1572) - Sir Thomas SmithThomas Smith (diplomat)Sir Thomas Smith was an English scholar and diplomat.He was born at Saffron Walden in Essex. He was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he became a fellow in 1530, and in 1533 was appointed a public reader or professor. He lectured in the schools on natural philosophy, and on Greek in...
(13 July 1572 - 12 August 1577) - Sir Francis WalsinghamFrancis WalsinghamSir Francis Walsingham was Principal Secretary to Elizabeth I of England from 1573 until 1590, and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence methods both for espionage and for domestic security...
(December 1573 - April 1590) - Thomas WilsonThomas Wilson (rhetorician)Thomas Wilson was an English diplomat, judge, and privy councillor in the government of Elizabeth I. He is now remembered for his Logique and The Arte of Rhetorique , an influential text...
(12 November 1577 - 16 June 1581) - William Davison (September 1586 - February 1587)
- Sir Robert CecilRobert Cecil, 1st Earl of SalisburyRobert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, KG, PC was an English administrator and politician.-Life:He was the son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and Mildred Cooke...
(5 July 1590 - 24 May 1612) - John HerbertJohn Herbert (Secretary of State)Sir John Herbert was a Welsh lawyer, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1586 and 1611. He was Secretary of State under Elizabeth I and James I.-Life:...
(10 May 1600 - 9 July 1617) - Sir Ralph WinwoodRalph WinwoodSir Ralph Winwood was an English diplomat and politician.-Life:He was born at Aynhoe in Northamptonshire and educated at St John's College, Oxford....
(29 March 1614 - 27 October 1617) - Sir Thomas LakeThomas LakeSir Thomas Lake was Secretary of State to James I of England. He was a Member of Parliament in 1604, 1614, 1625 and 1626....
(3 January 1616 - 16 February 1619) - Sir Robert NauntonRobert NauntonSir Robert Naunton was an English writer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1606 and 1626.-Life:...
(8 January 1618 - 14 January 1623) - Sir George CalvertGeorge Calvert, 1st Baron BaltimoreSir George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, 8th Proprietary Governor of Newfoundland was an English politician and colonizer. He achieved domestic political success as a Member of Parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I...
(16 February 1619 - January 1625) - Sir Edward ConwayEdward Conway, 1st Viscount ConwayEdward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway PC was an English soldier and statesman.-Life:He was the son and heir of Sir John Conway of Arrow, and his wife Ellen or Eleanor, daughter of Sir Fulke Greville of Beauchamp's Court, Warwickshire....
(14 January 1623 - 14 December 1628) - Sir Albertus MortonAlbertus MortonSir Albertus Morton was an English diplomat and Secretary of State.-Life:Born about 1584, he was youngest of the three sons of George Morton of Eshere in Chilham, Kent, by Mary, daughter of Robert Honywood of Charing in the same county...
(9 February 1625 - 6 September 1625) - Sir John CokeJohn CokeSir John Coke was an English politician.Coke, the son of Richard and Mary Coke of Trusley, Derbyshire, was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge...
(9 September 1625 - 3 February 1640) - Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount DorchesterDudley Carleton, 1st Viscount DorchesterDudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester was an English art collector, diplomat and Secretary of State.-Early life:He was the second son of Antony Carleton of Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, and of Jocosa, daughter of John Goodwin of Winchendon, Buckinghamshire...
(14 December 1628 - 15 February 1632) - Sir Francis WindebankFrancis WindebankSir Francis Windebank was an English politician who was Secretary of State under Charles I.The only son of Sir Thomas Windebank of Hougham, Lincolnshire, who owed his advancement to the Cecil family, Francis entered St John's College, Oxford, in 1599, coming there under the influence of the...
(15 June 1632 - December 1640) - Sir Henry VaneHenry Vane the ElderSir Henry Vane, the elder was an English politician and secretary of state.-Origins and education:Vane was born on 18 February 1589, the eldest son of Henry Vane or Fane of Hadlow, Kent, by his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Roger Twysden of East Peckham, Kent...
(3 February 1640 - December 1641) - Sir Edward NicholasEdward NicholasSir Edward Nicholas was an English statesman.-Life:He was the eldest son of John Nicholas, a member of an old Wiltshire family.He was educated at Salisbury grammar school, Winchester College and Queen's College, Oxford...
(27 November 1641 - 1646 when he left England; he was reappointed by King Charles IICharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
September 1654 - 2 October 1662) - Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount FalklandLucius Cary, 2nd Viscount FalklandLucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland was an English author and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1642...
(8 January 1642 - 20 September 1643) - George Digby, 2nd Earl of BristolGeorge Digby, 2nd Earl of BristolGeorge Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he was raised to the House of Lords...
(28 September 1643 - 1645)
- Sir Ralph Sadler
For the subsequent period see:
- Secretary of State for the Northern DepartmentSecretary of State for the Northern DepartmentThe Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782. Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of State's responsibilities were in relation to the English government, not the British. Even after the Union, there was...
- Secretary of State for the Southern DepartmentSecretary of State for the Southern DepartmentThe Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782.Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two British Secretaries of State were divided not based on the principles of modern ministerial divisions, but...
Further reading
- Renton, Alexander Wood, ed. Encyclopædia of the laws of England with forms and precedents (1908) Volume 13 p 202 online edition