The household below stairs: Cofferer of the Household 1660-1782

Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 11 (Revised), Court Officers, 1660-1837. Originally published by University of London, London, 2006.

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'The household below stairs: Cofferer of the Household 1660-1782', in Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 11 (Revised), Court Officers, 1660-1837, ed. R O Bucholz( London, 2006), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol11/pp400-402 [accessed 26 November 2024].

'The household below stairs: Cofferer of the Household 1660-1782', in Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 11 (Revised), Court Officers, 1660-1837. Edited by R O Bucholz( London, 2006), British History Online, accessed November 26, 2024, https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol11/pp400-402.

"The household below stairs: Cofferer of the Household 1660-1782". Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 11 (Revised), Court Officers, 1660-1837. Ed. R O Bucholz(London, 2006), , British History Online. Web. 26 November 2024. https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol11/pp400-402.

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Cofferer of the Household 1660–1782

The cofferer of the household was the principal accounting officer of the Household Below Stairs and paid the wages and board wages of all servants below stairs and in the stables, and many in the chamber as well. He was appointed by royal warrant. (fn. 1) The remuneration amounted to £500 consisting of wages of £100 and board wages of £400. This officer was also allowed lodgings and the right to take poundage of 6d. in the pound on the bills and salaries which passed through his office. Early in the eighteenth century this came to over £2,000 per annum. (fn. 2) The office was abolished in 1782. (fn. 3)

The office of deputy cofferer, which was in the gift of the cofferer, developed from that of cofferer's clerk and was first accorded official recognition during the reign of George I. It was largely remunerated by fees and was valued at £500 to £600 in 1754. (fn. 4)

Cofferer 1660–1782

1660 20 June Ashburnham, W.
1679 9 Dec. Brouncker, Hon. H.
1685 18 July Apsley, Sir P.
1689 2 May Newport, 1st Viscount
1702 22 Apr. Bathurst, Sir B.
1704 1 May Godolphin, Hon. F.
1711 13 May Masham, S.
1714 21 Oct. Godolphin, 2nd Earl of
1723 27 May Pulteney, W.
1725 31 May Lincoln, 7th Earl of
1728 7 Sept. Office vacant
1730 2 May Walpole, H.
1741 25 Apr. Winnington, T.
1744 1 Jan. Sandys, 1st Lord
1744 22 Dec. Waller, E.
1747 1 Jan. Lincoln, 9th Earl of
1754 2 Apr. Lyttelton, Sir G.
1756 1 Jan. Leeds, 4th Duke of
1761 19 Mar. Grenville, Hon. J.
1761 27 Nov. Thomond, 1st Earl of
1765 12 July Scarbrough, 4th Earl of
1766 10 Dec. Stanley, H.
1774 9 Mar. Dyson, J.
1776 18 Sept. Stanley, H.
1780 2 Feb. Beauchamp, Viscount

Deputy Cofferer 1714–1782

1714 Oct. Edwards, S.
1723 May Merrill, J.
1725 May Sloper, W.
1743 Jan. Wynn, J.
1743 Dec. Ord, R.
By 1749 Pelham, J.
1754 Lyttelton, W.H.
1755 Brudenell, Hon. J.
1761 Mar. Grenville, J.
1761 27 Nov. Williams, G.J.
1765 12 July Fitzroy Scudamore, C.
1769 Oct. Sloane, H.
1780 Oct. Seymour Conway, Hon. H.

Footnotes

  • 1. PSBC, p. 7; Beattie, pp. 70–2.
  • 2. LS 13/38, f. 10; LS 13/39, p. 18; Bucholz, p. 128; Beattie, p. 212. In the case of Viscount Newport, who combined the offices of treasurer and cofferer 1689–1702, the cofferer's board wages were paid to Lord Herbert of Cherbury until his death in 1691 (LS 13/257, p. 71).
  • 3. 22 Geo. III, c. 82.
  • 4. Beattie, pp. 72–3. Between 1768 and 1781 the deputy cofferer received a fixed allowance of £43 3s 4d (LS 2/4, 8).
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