The household below stairs: Porters at Somerset House

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: Porters at Somerset House', in Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 11 (Revised), Court Officers, 1660-1837, (London, 2006) pp. 554-555. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol11/pp554-555 [accessed 19 March 2024]

In this section

Groom Porters at Somerset House 1672–1685

The groom porters at Somerset House were appointed by lord steward's warrant.

Groom Porters 1672–1685

1672 20 July Beare, H.
1672 14 Sept. Roberts, N.
1678 24 Dec. Willson, J.
1679 28 Dec. Moloy, N.
1683 25 Sept. Salmon, R.

Supernumerary Groom Porter 1675–1685

1675 8 Feb. Smith, W.

Porters at Somerset House 1706–1776

The porters at Somerset House were appointed by warrant of the lord steward. As established in 1706, the three porters made £40, £30 and £20 per annum respectively. In March 1707 they received an additional £10 apiece for firing and candles. All three positions were abolished by Lady Day 1776. (fn. 1)

First Porter (Porter at the Gate) 1706–1775

1706 24 Sept. Frost, R.
1713 10 July Salmon, R.
1717 27 Feb. Dunkerley, A.
1729 15 Jan. Meakins, J.
1734 15 Apr. Mason, H.
1766 24 Apr. Evans, D.

Porters of the Watergate [Second Porter] 1706–1775

1706 24 Sept. Salmon, R.
1713 10 July Allen, J.
1715 16 Nov. Dunckerley, A.
1717 27 Feb. Meakins, J.
1729 15 Jan. Tournay, R.
1747 20 Nov. Rogers, B.
1768 27 Jan. Stephenson, W. [?pos. First Porter]

Under-Porter and Lamplighter [Third Porter] 1706–1776

1706 24 Sept. Allen, J.
1713 10 July Monk, A.
1715 1 Feb. Dunckerley, A.
1715 16 Nov. Meakins, J.
1717 27 Feb. Pinckney, H.
1723 17 Sept. Greengrass, T.
1726 29 Oct. Pococke, C.
1742 10 May Matthews, F.
1764 26 Oct. Stephenson, W.
1768 27 Jan. Rosser, E.
1769 25 May Eaton, J.
1770 20 July Younger, A.
1773 23 Oct. Girkin, J.

Footnotes

  • 1. LS 13/258, ff. 49–50; LS 13/180, f. 50v. However, according to LS 2/6, these officers were paid only to 30 Sept. 1775