Lord High Steward

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.

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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