Wardrobe (government)
Encyclopedia
The wardrobe, along with the chamber, made up the personal part of medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 government known as the king's household. Its chief officer went under the title of Master or Keeper of the Great Wardrobe. As a result, the wardrobe often appropriated large funds from the exchequer
Exchequer
The Exchequer is a government department of the United Kingdom responsible for the management and collection of taxation and other government revenues. The historical Exchequer developed judicial roles...

, the main financial government office. During the reign of Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

, Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...

 and Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

, there were several conflicts over the confusion of authority between these two offices. The conflict was largely resolved in the mid-fourteenth century when William Edington, as treasurer
Lord High Treasurer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Act of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third highest ranked Great Officer of State, below the Lord High Chancellor and above the Lord President...

 under Edward III, brought the wardrobe in under the financial oversight – if not control – of the exchequer.

In the sixteenth century the wardrobe lost much of its former importance. This was due both to the growing sophistication and size of government making it less mobile, and to the lower frequency of military campaigns led by the king in person.

Keepers or Masters of the Great Wardrobe

The Master of the Great Wardrobe was a position in the British Royal Household
Royal Household
A Royal Household in ancient and medieval monarchies formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and his relations....

. The holders were responsible for running the Great Wardrobe, an office which provided clothing and textiles to the British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...

. Below is a list of known holders until the abolition of the office in 1782.
  • c1200: Robert of Braybrooke
    Robert of Braybrooke
    Robert of Braybrooke or Robert le May was a medieval landowner, justice and sheriff.He was born at Braybrooke, Northamptonshire the son of justiciar Ingebald de Braybrooke and his wife Albreda de Neumarche....

  • 1264: Ralph Sandwich
    Ralph Sandwich
    Sir Ralph Sandwich was an English administrator and justice. He was Mayor of London from 1285 to 1293....

  • 13??: William de Retford (later made Baron of the Exchequer in 1354)
  • 13??: Thomas de Brantingham
    Thomas de Brantingham
    Thomas de Brantingham was an English clergyman who served as Lord Treasurer to Edward III and on two occasions to Richard II, and as bishop of Exeter from 1370 until his death...

    , later Lord Treasurer
    Lord High Treasurer
    The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Act of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third highest ranked Great Officer of State, below the Lord High Chancellor and above the Lord President...

     on three occasions (1369-1371; 1377-1381; and 1389)
  • 14??: Sir John Norreys
    John Norreys (Keeper of the Wardrobe)
    Sir John Norreys was a high ranking Lancastrian, and the head of the branch of the Norreys family who became prominent under the reign of the House of Tudor. He served as Keeper of the Wardrobe for King Henry VI of England....

  • 1412: Thomas Ringwood (later made High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1419)
  • c1458–1460 John Wood
    John Wood (speaker)
    Sir John Wood was Speaker of the House of Commons of England between January 1483 and February 1483.He was probably born in Suddex, the son of another John Wood....

  • 15??: Thomas Maynman (Keeper of the Wardrobe at East Greenwich)
  • 1515: John Patey (Keeper of the Wardrobe at Richmond)
  • 1545: Sir Ralph Sadleir
  • 1563: Sir Hugh Underhill
    Sir Hugh Underhill
    Sir Hugh Underhill served as Keeper of the Wardrobe under Queen Elizabeth I and was highly regarded among members of the Royal Household.-Early Life:...

     (Keeper of the Wardrobe at East Greenwich)
  • 1603–1612?: George Home, 1st Earl of Dunbar
    George Home, 1st Earl of Dunbar
    George Home, 1st Earl of Dunbar, KG, PC was, in the last decade of his life, the most prominent and most influential Scotsman in England. His work lay in the King's Household and in the control of the State Affairs of Scotland and he was the King's chief Scottish advisor...

  • 1613–1618: James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle
    James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle
    James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle was a Scottish aristocrat.-Life:He was the son of Sir James Hay of Fingask , and of Margaret Murray, cousin of George Hay, afterwards 1st Earl of Kinnoull.He was knighted and taken into favor by James VI of Scotland, brought into England in 1603, treated as a "prime...

  • 1619–1622: William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh
    William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh
    William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh was an English naval officer and courtier.William Feilding was the son of Basil Fielding of Newnham Paddox in Warwickshire, , and of Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Walter Aston and his wife, Elizabeth Leveson.The descent of the Feildings from the house of Habsburg,...

  • 1660: Sir Edward Montagu
    Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich
    Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, KG was an English Infantry officer who later became a naval officer. He was the only surviving son of Sir Sidney Montagu, and was brought up at Hinchingbrooke House....

  • 1671: Sir Ralph Montagu
    Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu
    Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu was an English courtier and diplomat.-Life:He was the second son of Edward Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton and Anne Winwood, daughter of the Secretary of State Ralph Winwood...

  • 1685: Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston
    Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston
    Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston PC was an English politician and diplomat. He became a Jacobite conspirator, but his reputation in the Jacobite community suffered when he gave evidence against his co-conspirators in exchange for a pardon.-Origins and education:Graham was born at Netherby,...

  • 1688: Brig. Gen. Sir James Douglas-Hamilton , Earl of Arran
    James Douglas, 4th Duke of Hamilton
    Lieutenant General Sir James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton and 1st Duke of Brandon KG KT was aScottish nobleman, the Premier Peer of Scotland and Keeper of the Palace of Holyroodhouse...

  • 1689: Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu
    Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu
    Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu was an English courtier and diplomat.-Life:He was the second son of Edward Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton and Anne Winwood, daughter of the Secretary of State Ralph Winwood...

  • 1709: John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu
    John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu
    John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu, KG, KB, PC , styled Viscount Monthermer until 1705 and Marquess of Monthermer between 1705 and 1709, was a British peer...

  • 1749: Sir Thomas Robinson
    Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham
    Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham, KB, PC was a British diplomatist and politician. He was a younger son of Sir William Robinson, Bt...

  • 1754: William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington
    William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington
    William Wildman Shute Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington PC was a British politician best known for his two periods as Secretary at War during Britain's involvement in the Seven Years War and American War of Independence....

  • 1755: Sir Thomas Robinson
    Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham
    Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham, KB, PC was a British diplomatist and politician. He was a younger son of Sir William Robinson, Bt...

  • 1760: Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Gower
    Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford
    Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford PC , known as Viscount Trentham from 1746 to 1754 and as The Earl Gower from 1754 to 1786, was a British politician.-Background:...

  • 1763: Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer
    Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer
    Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer was an English rake and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer and founder of the Hellfire Club.-Early life:...

  • 1765: John Ashburnham, 2nd Earl of Ashburnham
    John Ashburnham, 2nd Earl of Ashburnham
    John Ashburnham, 2nd Earl of Ashburnham, PC , styled Viscount St Asaph from 1730 to 1737, was a British peer and courtier....

  • 1775: Thomas Pelham, 2nd Baron Pelham of Stanmer
    Thomas Pelham, 1st Earl of Chichester
    Thomas Pelham, 1st Earl of Chichester PC , known as the Lord Pelham of Stanmer from 1768 to 1801, was a British Whig politician.Pelham was the son of Thomas Pelham and his wife Annetta, daughter of Thomas Bridges...


Deputy Masters of the Great Wardrobe

The Deputy Master of the Great Wardrobe was a position in the British Royal Household, the chief subordinate to the Master of the Great Wardrobe. Holders enjoyed a salary of £200 (fixed in 1674), reduced to £150 in 1761. The post seems to have developed into a sinecure, and by 1765, the office of Assistant to the Deputy Master had become established. The post was abolished with the other offices of the Great Wardrobe in 1782.
  • 1660: Thomas Townshend
  • 1680: Robert Nott
  • 1685: Thomas Robson
  • 1689: Robert Nott
  • 1695: Charles Bland
  • bef. 1707: Thomas Dummer
  • 1750: William Robinson
  • 1754: Hon. Daines Barrington
    Daines Barrington
    Daines Barrington, FRS was an English lawyer, antiquary and naturalist.Barrington was the fourth son of the first Viscount Barrington. He was educated for the profession of the law, and after filling various posts, was appointed a Welsh judge in 1757 and afterwards second justice of Chester...

  • 1756: Sir William Robinson, Bt
  • 1760: Thomas Gilbert
  • 1763: Paul Whitehead
  • 1765–1782: William Ashburnham
    Sir William Ashburnham, 5th Baronet
    Sir William Ashburnham, 5th Baronet was a British politician.Baptised at St Anne's Church, Soho on 29 March 1739, he was the eldest surviving son of Reverend Sir William Ashburnham, 4th Baronet and his wife Margaret Pelham, daughter of Thomas Pelham. Ashburnham was educated at Corpus Christi...

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