The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a sinecure office in the British government.

History

Originally he was the chief officer in the daily management of the Duchy of Lancaster (a former county palatine merged into the Crown in 1399), but that estate is now run by a deputy, leaving the position of Chancellor to serve in effect as an alternative Minister without Portfolio. The position has often been given to a junior Cabinet minister with responsibilities in a particular area of policy for which there is no department with an appropriate portfolio.

Most recently, ownership of the title has been combined with serving as one of the Ministers for the Cabinet Office. This is true of Alan Milburn, who was given the title by Labour PM Tony Blair in 2004 and at the same time rejoined the Cabinet. Some have suggested that this was a means to allow Milburn to be a member of the Cabinet but without a demanding government job, so that he could be at the heart of government but able to devote much of his time to the Labour Party's campaign for re-election in the 2005 general election.

The post was vacant after from November 2, 2005 until 5 May, 2006, This was the longest period that the post has been left unfilled since at least 1687. The current Chancellor, Liam Byrne, was appointed on October 3, 2008, also serving as Minister for the Cabinet Office. In recent times, the Chancellor's duties, administrative, financial and legal, have been said to occupy an average of one day a week.

Since 1491 there has been a Vice Chancellor. He is now the Chancery Division Judge in the north-west, and no longer appointed to that position as legal officer of the Duchy.

List of Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster

• Sir Henry de Haydock (1361 - 1373)
• Ralph de Ergham (1373 - April 16, 1377)
• Thomas de Thelwall (April 16, 1377 - 1378)
• Sir John De Yerborough (1378 - November 10, 1382)
• Sir Thomas Stanley (November 10, 1382 -November 29, 1382) (pro tem)
• Sir Thomas Scarle (November 29, 1382-October, 1383)
• Sir William Okey (October, 1383 - 1400)
• John de Wakering (1400 - 1400)
• William Burgoyne (1400 - May 15, 1404)
• Sir Thomas Stanley (May 15, 1404 - March 30, 1410)
• John Springthorpe (March 30, 1410 - April 4, 1413)
• John Wodehouse (April 4, 1413 - June 10, 1424)
• William Troutbecke (June 10, 1424 - February 16, 1431)
• Walter Sherington (February 16, 1431 - July 3, 1442)
• William Tresham (July 3, 1442 - June 10, 1449)
• John Say (June 10, 1449 - June 10, 1462)
• Sir Richard Fowler (June 10, 1462 - November 3, 1477)
• Sir John Say (November 3, 1477-April 2, 1478)
• Thomas Thwaites (April 2, 1478 - July 7, 1483)
• Thomas Metcalfe (July 7, 1483 - September 13, 1486)
• Sir Reginald Bray (September 13, 1486 - June 24, 1503)
• Sir John Mordaunt (June 24, 1503 - October 3, 1505)
• Sir Richard Empson (October 3, 1505 - May 14, 1509)
• Sir Henry Marney (May 14, 1509 - April 14, 1523)
• Sir Richard Wingfield (April 14, 1523 - December 31, 1525)
• Sir Thomas More (December 31, 1525 - November 3, 1529)
• Sir William Fitzwilliam (November 3, 1529 - May 10, 1533)
• Sir John Gage (May 10, 1533 - July 1, 1547)
• Sir William Paget, 1st Baron Paget (1549) (July 1, 1547 - July 7, 1552)
• Sir John Gates (July 7, 1552 - 1553)
• Sir Robert Rochester (1553 - 1557)
• Sir Edward Waldegrave (June 22, 1558 - 1559)
• Sir Ambrose Cave (1559 - May 16, 1568)
• Sir Ralph Sadler (May 16, 1568 - June 15, 1587)
• Sir Francis Walsingham (June 15, 1587 - 1590)
• Sir Thomas Heneage (1590 - October 7, 1595)
• Seal in commission (1595 - 1597)
• Sir Robert Cecil (October 8, 1597 - 1599)
• Seal in commission (1599 - September 16, 1601)
• Sir John Fortescue (September 16, 1601 - 1601)
• Seal in commission (1601 - 1601)
• Sir John Fortescue (1601 - 1607)
• Sir Thomas Parry (1607 - June 5, 1616)
• Sir John Dacombe (May 27, 1615 - 1618) (joint with Sir Thomas Parry, May 27, 1615 - June 5, 1616)
• Seal in commission (1618 - March 23, 1618)
• Sir Humphrey May (March 23, 1618 - April 16, 1629)
• Edward Barrett, 1st Lord Barrett of Newburgh (April 16, 1629 - February 10, 1644)
• Francis Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Trowbridge (for the king) (1644 - 1645)
• William, 1st Lord Grey of Warke and William Lenthall (for parliament) (February 10, 1644 - 1648)
• Sir Gilbert Gerrard (1648 - August 1, 1649)
• John Bradshaw (August 1, 1649 - 1653)
• John Bradshaw and Thomas Fell (commissioners) (1653 - 1654)
• Thomas Fell (1654 - 1658)
• John Bradshaw (1658 - 1659)
• William Lenthall (1659 - 1659)
• Sir Gilbert Gerrard (May 14, 1659 - July 9, 1660)
• Francis Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Trowbridge (July 9, 1660 - July 21, 1664)
• Sir Thomas Ingram (July 21, 1664 - February 22, 1672)
• Sir Robert Carr (February 22, 1672 - November 21, 1682)
• Sir Thomas Chicheley (November 21, 1682 - 1687)
• Seal in commission (1687 - 1687)
• Robert Phelipps (1687 - March 21, 1689)
• Robert Bertie, 16th Baron Willoughby of Eresby (March 21, 1689 - May 4, 1697)
• Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford (May 4, 1697 - May 12, 1702)
• Sir John Leveson-Gower, 1st Baron Gower of Stittenham (1703) (May 12, 1702 - June 10, 1706)
• James Stanley, 10th Earl of Derby (June 10, 1706 - September 21, 1710)
• William Berkeley, 4th Lord Berkeley of Stratton (September 21, 1710 - November 6, 1714)
• Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Aylesford (November 6, 1714 - March 12, 1716)
• Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarborough (March 12, 1716 - June 19, 1717)
• Nicholas Lechmere, 1st Baron Lechmere (June 19, 1717 - July 17, 1727)
• John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland (July 17, 1727 - May 21, 1735)
• George Cholmondeley, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley (May 21, 1735 - December 22, 1742)
• Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Lord Edgcumbe of Mount Edgcumbe (December 22, 1742 - February 27, 1759)
• Thomas Hay, 9th Earl of Kinnoull (February 27, 1759 - December 13, 1762)
• James Stanley, Lord Strange (December 13, 1762 - June 14, 1771)
• Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon (June 14, 1771 - April 17, 1782)
• John Dunning, 1st Baron Ashburton (April 17, 1782 - August 29, 1783)
• Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby (August 29, 1783 - December 31, 1783)
• Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon (December 31, 1783 - September 6, 1786)
• Charles Jenkinson, 1st Lord Hawkesbury, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1796) (September 6, 1786 - November 11, 1803)
• Thomas Pelham, Lord Pelham (November 11, 1803 - June 6, 1804)
• Henry Phipps, 3rd Baron Mulgrave (June 6, 1804 - January 14, 1805)
• Robert Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire (January 14, 1805 - July 10, 1805)
• Dudley Ryder, 2nd Lord Harrowby (July 10, 1805 - February 12, 1806)
• Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby (February 12, 1806 - March 30, 1807)
• Spencer Perceval (March 30, 1807 - May 23, 1812)
• Robert Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire (May 23, 1812 - June 23, 1812)
• Charles Bathurst (June 23, 1812 - February 13, 1823)
• Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley (February 13, 1823 - January 26, 1828)
• George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (January 26, 1828 - June 2, 1828)
• Charles Arbuthnot (June 2, 1828 - November 25, 1830)
• Henry Richard Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland (November 25, 1830 - November 14, 1834)
• Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn (December 26, 1834 - April 8, 1835)
• Henry Richard Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland (April 23, 1835 - October 31, 1840)
• George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (October 31, 1840 - June 23, 1841)
• Sir George Grey, Bt (June 23, 1841 - August 30, 1841)
• Lord Granville Charles Henry Somerset (September 3, 1841 - June 27, 1846)
• John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell of St Andrews (July 6, 1846 - March 6, 1850)
• George William Frederick Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle (March 6, 1850 - February 21, 1852)
• Robert Adam Christopher (March 1, 1852 - December 17, 1852)
• Edward Strutt (January 3, 1853 - June 21, 1854)
• Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (June 21, 1854 - January 30, 1855)
• Dudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby (March 31, 1855 - December 7, 1855)
• Matthew Talbot Baines (December 7, 1855 - February 21, 1858)
• James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose (February 26, 1858 - June 11, 1859)
• Sir George Grey, Bt (June 22, 1859 - July 25, 1861)
• Edward Cardwell (July 25, 1861 - April 7, 1864)
• George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (April 7, 1864 - November 3, 1865)
• George Joachim Goschen (January 26, 1866 - June 26, 1866)
• William Reginald Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon (July 10, 1866 - June 26, 1867)
• John Wilson-Patten (June 26, 1867 - November 7, 1868)
• Thomas Edward Taylor (November 7, 1868 - December 1, 1868)
• Frederick Temple Blackwood, 5th Lord Dufferin, 1st Earl of Dufferin (1871) (December 12, 1868 - August 9, 1872)
• Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (August 9, 1872 - September 30, 1873)
• John Bright (September 30, 1873 - February 17, 1874)
• Thomas Edward Taylor (March 2, 1874 - April 21, 1880)
• John Bright (April 28, 1880 - July 25, 1882)
• John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (July 25, 1882 - December 28, 1882)
• John George Dodson (December 28, 1882 - October 29, 1884)
• George Otto Trevelyan (October 29, 1884 - June 9, 1885)
• Henry Chaplin (June 24, 1885 - January 28, 1886)
• Edward Heneage (February 6, 1886 - April 16, 1886)
• Sir Ughtred James Kay-Shuttleworth (April 16, 1886 - July 20, 1886)
• Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Viscount Cranbrook (August 3, 1886 - August 16, 1886)
• Lord John Manners (August 16, 1886 - August 11, 1892)
• James Bryce (August 18, 1892 - May 28, 1894)
• Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth (May 28, 1894 - June 21, 1895)
• Richard Assheton Cross, 1st Viscount Cross (June 29, 1895 - July 4, 1895)
• Sir Henry James, 1st Baron James of Hereford (1895) (July 4, 1895 - August 8, 1902)
• Sir William Hood Walrond (August 8, 1902 - December 4, 1905)
• Sir Henry Hartley Fowler (December 10, 1905 - October 13, 1908)
• Edmond Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Baron FitzMaurice (October 13, 1908 - June 25, 1909)
• Herbert Samuel (June 25, 1909 - February 14, 1910)
• Joseph Albert Pease (February 14, 1910 - October 23, 1911)
• Sir Charles Edward Henry Hobhouse (October 23, 1911 - February 11, 1914)
• Charles Masterman (February 11, 1914 - February 3, 1915)
• Edwin Samuel Montagu (February 3, 1915 - May 25, 1915)
• Winston Churchill (May 25, 1915 - November 25, 1915)
• Herbert Samuel (November 25, 1915 - January 11, 1916)
• Edwin Samuel Montagu (January 11, 1916 - July 9, 1916)
• Thomas McKinnon Wood (July 9, 1916 - December 10, 1916)
• Sir Frederick Cawley (December 10, 1916 - February 10, 1918)
• William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (February 10, 1918 - November 4, 1918)
• William Hayes Fisher, 1st Baron Downham (November 4, 1918 - January 10, 1919)
• David Alexander Edward Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford and 10th Earl of Balcarres (January 10, 1919 - April 1, 1921)
• William Robert Wellesley, 2nd Viscount Peel (April 1, 1921 - April 7, 1922)
• Sir William Sutherland (April 7, 1922 - October 19, 1922)
• James Edward Hubert Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury (October 24, 1922 - May 25, 1923)
• J. C. C. Davidson (May 25, 1923 - January 22, 1924)
• Josiah Wedgwood (January 22, 1924 - November 3, 1924)
• Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood (November 10, 1924 - October 19, 1927) (resigned)
• Ronald John McNeill, 1st Baron Cushendun (October 19, 1927 - June 4, 1929)
• Sir Oswald Mosley, Bt (June 7, 1929 - May 19, 1930) (resigned)
• Clement Attlee (May 23, 1930 - March 13, 1931)
• Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede (March 13, 1931 - August 24, 1931)
• Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian (August 25, 1931 - November 10, 1931)
• J. C. C. Davidson (November 10, 1931 - May 28, 1937)
• Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton (May 28, 1937 - January 29, 1939)
• William Shepherd Morrison (January 29, 1939 - April 3, 1940)
• George Clement Tryon, 1st Baron Tryon (April 3, 1940 - May 14, 1940)
• Maurice Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey (May 14, 1940 - July 20, 1941)
• Alfred Duff Cooper (July 20, 1941 - November 11, 1943)
• Ernest Brown (November 11, 1943 - May 25, 1945)
• Sir James Salter (May 25, 1945 - July 26, 1945)
• John Burns Hynd (August 4, 1945 - April 17, 1947)
• Francis Aungier Pakenham, 1st Baron Pakenham (April 17, 1947 - May 31, 1948)
• Hugh Dalton (May 31, 1948 - February 28, 1950)
• Lord Alexander of Hillsborough (February 28, 1950 - October 26, 1951)
• Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Viscount Swinton (October 31, 1951 - November 24, 1952)
• Frederick James Marquis, 1st Baron Woolton (Viscount Woolton 1953) (November 24, 1952 - December 20, 1955)
• George Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk (December 20, 1955 - January 13, 1957)
• Charles Hill (January 13, 1957 - October 9, 1961)
• Iain Macleod (October 9, 1961 - October 20, 1963)
• John Hugh Hare, 1st Viscount Blakenham (October 20, 1963 - October 16, 1964)
• Douglas Houghton (October 18, 1964 - April 6, 1966)
• George Morgan Thomson (April 6, 1966 - January 7, 1967)
• Frederick Lee (January 7, 1967 - October 6, 1969)
• George Morgan Thomson (October 6, 1969 - June 19, 1970)
• Anthony Barber (June 20, 1970 - July 28, 1970)
• Geoffrey Rippon (July 28, 1970 - November 5, 1972)
• John Davies (November 5, 1972 - March 4, 1974)
• Harold Lever (March 5, 1974 - May 4, 1979)
• Norman Arthur Francis St John-Stevas (May 5, 1979 - January 5, 1981)
• Francis Pym (January 5, 1981 - September 14, 1981)
• Janet Mary Young, Baroness Young (September 14, 1981 - April 6, 1982)
• Cecil Parkinson (April 6, 1982 - June 11, 1983)
• Francis Cockfield, Baron Cockfield (June 11, 1983 - September 11, 1984)
• Alexander Patrick Greysteil Ruthven, 2nd Earl of Gowrie (September 11, 1984 - September 3, 1985)
• Norman Tebbit (September 3, 1985 - June 13, 1987)
• Kenneth Clarke (June 13, 1987 - July 25, 1988)
• Tony Newton (July 25, 1988 - July 24, 1989)
• Kenneth Baker (July 24, 1989 - November 28, 1990)
• Chris Patten (November 28, 1990 - April 10, 1992)
• William Waldegrave (April 10, 1992 - July 20, 1994)
• David Hunt (July 20, 1994 - July 5, 1995)
• Roger Freeman (July 5, 1995 - May 2, 1997)
• David Clark (May 3, 1997 - July 27, 1998)
• Jack Cunningham (July 27, 1998 - October 11, 1999)
• Mo Mowlam (October 11, 1999 - June 11, 2001)
• Gus Macdonald, Baron Macdonald of Tradeston (June 11, 2001 - June 13, 2003)
• Douglas Alexander (June 13, 2003 - September 8, 2004)
• Alan Milburn (September 8, 2004 - May 6, 2005)
• John Hutton (May 6, 2005 - November 2, 2005)
• Vacant (November 2, 2005 - May 5, 2006)
• Hilary Armstrong (May 5, 2006 - June 27, 2007)
• Ed Miliband (June 28, 2007 - October 3, 2008)
• Liam Byrne (October 3, 2008 -)

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