Lord High Steward

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The position of Lord High Steward of England, not to be confused with the Lord Steward, a court functionary, is the first of the Great Officers of State. Although initially the position was largely an honorary one, over time it grew in importance until its holder became one of the most powerful men of the kingdom. From the late 12th century, the office was considered to be bound with the Earldom of Leicester. When the House of Lancaster ascended the throne in 1399, Henry IV made his second son, Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence, Lord High Steward, but following the latter's death in 1421 the office has generally remained vacant, except at coronations and during the trial of peers, when the Lord High Steward presides. In general, the Lord Chancellor was appointed to act as Lord High Steward in the latter situation. The trial of peers by their peers in the House of Lords was abolished in 1948.

The Lord High Steward of Ireland in contrast is a hereditary title, also known as the Hereditary Great Seneschal, vested in the Earl of Shrewsbury, Waterford and Talbot, who is the Premier Earl of Ireland Chetwynd-Talbot. His Deputy is the Vice Great Seneschal of Ireland, a hereditary position vested in the Lord Steward or Hereditary Seneschal for Tyrconnell.

Lord High Stewards of England, 1186-1421

Robert, 2nd Earl of Leicester 1154-1168
Robert Blanchemains, 3rd Earl of Leicester 1168-1190
Robert FitzPernel, 4th Earl of Leicester 1190-1204
Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester 1206-1218
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester 1218-1265
Edmund, 1st Earl of Lancaster 1265-1296
Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster 1296-1322
Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster 1324-1345
Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster 1345-1361
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster 1362-1399
Henry of Bollingbroke, 2nd Duke of Lancaster 1399
Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence 1399-1421

Lord High Stewards of England at coronations, 1422-present

Lord High Stewards of England at the Trials of Peers, 1422-present

incomplete before 1660
The Duke of Buckingham, at the trial of The Duke of Clarence, 1478
The Earl of Oxford, at the trial of The Earl of Warwick, 1499
The Duke of Norfolk, at the trial of The Duke of Buckingham, 1521
The Duke of Norfolk, at the trial of Anne Boleyn, 1536
The Lord Audley of Walden, at the trial of Lord Montagu and the Marquess of Exeter, 1538
The Lord Audley of Walden, at the trial of Lord Dacre, 1541
The Marquess of Northampton, at the trial of Lord Wentworth, 1559
The Earl of Shrewsbury, at the trial of The Duke of Norfolk, 1571
The Earl of Derby, at the trial of The Earl of Arundel and Surrey, 1589
The Lord Buckhurst, at the trial of The Earl of Essex, 1601
The Earl of Arundel and Surrey, at the trial of The Earl of Strafford, 1641
The Earl of Clarendon, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Lord Morley, 1666
The Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Lord Cornwallis, 1676
The Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Pembroke
The Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Danby, 1679
The Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Powis; The Viscount Stafford; The Lord Arundell of Wardour; The Lord Petre; and The Lord Belasyse, 1679
The Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Viscount Stafford, 1680
The Lord Jeffreys, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Lord Delamere, 1685
The Marquess of Carmarthen, Lord President of the Council, at the trial of The Lord Mohun, 1699
The Lord Somers, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Warwick; and of The Lord Mohun, 1699
The Lord Cowper, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Derwentwater; The Lord Widdrington; The Earl of Nithsdale; The Earl of Carnwath; The Viscount Kenmure; and The Lord Nairne, 1716
The Lord Cowper, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Winton, 1716
The Lord Cowper, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, 1717
The Lord King, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl of Macclesfield, 1725
The Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of The Earl of Kilmarnock; The Earl of Cromartie, and The Lord Balmerinoch, 1746
The Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of The Lord Lovat, 1747
The Lord Henley, Lord Keeper, for the trial of The Earl Ferrers, 1760
The Earl of Northington, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of The Duchess of Kingston, 1765
The Lord Thurlow, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of Warren Hastings, 1788-1793
The Lord Loughborough, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of Warren Hastings 1793-1795
The Lord Erskine, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of The Viscount Melville 1806
The Lord Denman, Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, for the trial of The Earl of Cardigan, 1841
incomplete after 1841
The Earl of Halsbury, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of The Earl Russell, 1901

The last trial of a peer in the Lords was of the Lord de Clifford for vehicular manslaughter in 1935.

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