Upon its medieval creation The Chancellor of the Duchy was responsible for:
Managing land revenues and estates Overseeing legal proceedings in the Duchy’s courts Acting as a liaison between the Duke of Lancaster and the Crown.
The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a sinecure office in the government of the United Kingdom.
Louise Haigh has been chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster since 20 July 2026.
Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster (1361–1644)
Name(Birth–Death) Term of office Sir Henry de Haydock 1355TNA SC1/51/9 “ John de Winwick, keeper of the Privy Seal, to Henry de Haydock, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster: the affair of Lancaster priory granted to him. Dated at Northallerton. 1373 Ralph de ErghamBishop of Sarum(–1400) Served as Bishop of Sarum from 1375. 1373 16 April1377 Thomas de Thelwall(–1382) 16 April1377 1378 Sir John De Yerborough 1378 10 November1382 Sir Thomas Stanleypro temp. 10 November1382 29 November1382 Sir Thomas Scarle 29 November1382 October1383 Sir William Okey October1383 1400 John de Wakering 1400 1400 William Burgoyne 1400 15 May1404 Sir Thomas Stanley 15 May1404 30 March1410 John Springthorpe 30 March1410 4 April1413 John Wodehouse 4 April1413 10 June1424 William Troutbecke 10 June1424 16 February1431 Walter Sherington 16 February1431 3 July1442 William TreshamMP for Northamptonshire(1404–1450) 3 July1442 10 June1449 John SayMP for Cambridgeshire(–1478) 10 June1449 10 June1462 Sir Richard FowlerChancellor of the Exchequer(c. 1425–1477) Served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1469 to c. April 1471. 10 June1462 3 November1477 Sir John SayMP for Cambridgeshire(–1478) 3 November1477 2 April1478 Thomas ThwaitesChancellor of the Exchequer(c. 1435–1503) 2 April1478 7 July1483 Thomas Metcalfe(–c. 1504) 7 July1483 13 September1486 Sir Reginald Bray(c. 1440–1503) 13 September1486 24 June1503 Sir John Mordaunt(–c. 1505) 24 June1503 3 October1505 Sir Richard Empson(c. 1450–1510) 3 October1505 14 May1509 Sir Henry Marney(c. 1447–1523) 14 May1509 14 April1523 Sir Richard Wingfield(c. 1469–1525) 14 April1523 31 December1525 Sir Thomas More(1478–1535) 31 December1525 3 November1529 Sir William Fitzwilliam(c. 1490–1542) 3 November1529 10 May1533 Sir John Gage(1479–1556) 10 May1533 1 July1547 William Paget1st Baron PagetSecretary of State(1506–1563) Served as Secretary of State until 1548. Created Baron Paget in the peerage of England in 1549. 1 July1547 7 July1552 Sir John GatesMP for Essex(1504–1553) 7 July1552 1553 Sir Robert RochesterMP for Essex(c. 1516–1561) 1553 1557 Sir Edward WaldegraveMP for Essex(c. 1516–1561) 22 June1558 1559 Sir Ambrose CaveMP for Warwickshire(–1568) 1559 16 May1568 Sir Ralph SadlerMP for Hertfordshire(1507–1587) 16 May1568 15 June1587 Sir Francis WalsinghamSecretary of State(c. 1532–1590) 15 June1587 1590 Sir Thomas HeneageMP for Essex(1532–1595) 1590 7 October1595 Seal in commission 1595 1597 Sir Robert CecilSecretary of StateLord Privy Seal(1563–1612) Served as Lord Privy Seal from 1598. 8 October1597 1599 Seal in commission 1599 16 September1601 Sir John FortescueChancellor of the ExchequerMP for Middlesex(c. 1531–1607) Served as Chancellor of the Exchequer until 1603. MP for Middlesex during 1601 Parliament. 16 September1601 23 December1607 Sir Thomas ParryMP for Berkshire(1541–1616) MP for Berkshire during the 1614 Parliament. December1607 May1616 Sir John Dacombe(1570–1618) 27 May1616 January1618 Sir Humphrey MayMP for Leicester(1573–1630) Elected to Parliament as MP for Lancaster in 1621 and 1625, and as MP for Leicester in 1624 and 1626. 23 March1618 16 April1629 Edward Barrett1st Baron Barrett of Newburgh(1581–1645) 16 April1629 10 February1644 Francis Seymour1st Baron Seymour of Trowbridge(c. 1590–1664) Royalist appointee during the Oxford Parliament, re-appointed Chancellor in 1660 after the Restoration. 1644 1645
Chancellors serving Parliament and the Commonwealth
William Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Werke& William Lenthall(commission) (Lenthall) 10 February 1644 1648 Gilbert Gerard 1648 1 August 1649 John Bradshaw 1 August 1649 1653 John Bradshaw& Thomas Fell(commissioners) (Bradshaw) 1653 1654 Thomas Fell 1654 1658 John Bradshaw 1658 1659 William Lenthall 1659 1659 Gilbert Gerard 14 May 1659 9 July 1659
Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster (1660–present) 17th century
Portrait Name Term of office Francis Seymour1st Baron Seymour of Trowbridge 1660 1664 Sir Thomas Ingram 1664 1672 Sir Robert Carr 1672 1682 Sir Thomas Chicheley 1682 1687 Robert Phelips 1687 1689 Robert BertieBaron Willoughby de Eresby 1689 1697 Thomas Grey2nd Earl of Stamford 1697 1702
18th century Portrait Name Term of office Party John Leveson-Gower1st Baron Gower MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme until 1703; thereafter elevated to the peerage of England as Baron Gower. 1702 1706 Tory James Stanley10th Earl of Derby 1706 1710 — William Berkeley4th Baron Berkeley of Stratton 1710 1714 — Heneage Finch1st Earl of Aylesford 1714 1716 Tory Richard Lumley1st Earl of Scarbrough 1716 1717 — Nicholas Lechmere1st Baron Lechmere MP for Tewkesbury until 1721; thereafter elevated to the peerage of Great Britain as Baron Lechmere. 1717 1727 — John Manners3rd Duke of Rutland 1727 1735 Whig George Cholmondeley3rd Earl of Cholmondeley 1735 1742 Whig Richard Edgcumbe1st Baron Edgcumbe 1742 1758 — Thomas Hay9th Earl of Kinnoull 1759 1762 Whig James Smith-Stanley Commonly styled with the courtesy title Lord Strange, however neither James Smith-Stanley or his father has any right to it. 1762 1771 — Thomas Villiers1st Earl of Clarendon Baron Hyde since 1756; elevated in the peerage of Great Britain as Earl of Clarendon from 1776. 1771 1782 Whig John Dunning1st Baron Ashburton 1782 1783 Whig Edward Smith-Stanley12th Earl of Derby 1783 1783 Whig Thomas Villiers1st Earl of Clarendon 1783 1786 Whig Charles Jenkinson1st Earl of Liverpool Baron Hawkesbury since August 1786; elevated in the peerage of Great Britain as Earl of Liverpool from May 1796. 1786 1803 —
19th–21st centuries Minister in the House of CommonsMinister in the House of Lords