The household below stairs: Harbingers 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: Harbingers 1660-1782', in Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 11 (Revised), Court Officers, 1660-1837, (London, 2006) pp. 462-468. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol11/pp462-468 [accessed 25 March 2024]

In this section

Harbingers 1660–1782

The harbingers were responsible for reserving accommodation for the court when it was on progress. The establishment of the harbingers consisted of gentlemen and yeomen, appointed by lord steward's warrant. (fn. 1) Two gentlemen were appointed in 1660. Three served from 1661. In 1662 the remuneration was fixed at wages of £11 8s 1½d and board wages of £60 16s 8d, reduced in 1680 to £38 10s 11½d. In 1685 one gentleman was appointed with a salary of £50. In 1689 the number rose to two with wages of £11 8s 1½d and board wages of £48 11s 10½d. In 1714 it fell to one whose salary was fixed at £60 in 1761. Supernumerary gentlemen harbingers were appointed between 1672 and 1685. (fn. 2)

As many as seven yeomen harbingers appear to have been appointed in 1660. Four were established in ordinary, two supernumerary at wages of £5 and board wages of £36 5s, apiece, in 1662. Board wages rose to £40 for ordinary yeoman harbingers, but fell to £20 for three supernumeraries in 1664. Six ordinary yeomen were named in 1668 at roughly 1662 levels of remuneration. Board wages rose to £45 12s 6d in 1674, then fell to £35 in 1680. James II reduced the number and wages of the yeoman harbingers to three at £30 in salary, but by 1689 this had climbed to five at £5 wages and £45 board wages. Their number fell again to three in 1702, rose to four in 1704, then to five in 1727, before falling to three at £50 per annum in 1761. This number rose to five again by the Establishment of 24 May 1769. (fn. 3) Yeoman harbingers were allowed fees of honour, yielding about £21 per annum for all officers under Queen Anne. (fn. 4)

This office, labelled a sinecure by Gilbert, was finally abolished in 1782. (fn. 5)

Gentlemen 1660–1685

(no account of rank taken)

1660 22 May Woodgate, N.
1660 14 July Collins, R.
1661 9 Mar. Watson, P.
1673 15 Sept. Cotton, W.
1673 1 Dec. Perrin, G.
1678 5 May Evans, T.
1681 23 Dec. Tozer, W.

Gentleman 1685–1688

1685 13 Apr. Carlton, E.

First Gentleman 1689–1715

1689 30 Mar. Perrin, G.
1689 1 Aug. Tozer, W.
[1701 c. 4 Apr. Whitfield, M.]
1702 30 June La Roach, P.

Second Gentleman Harbinger 1689–1714

1689 30 Mar. Tozer, W.
1689 23 July Whitfield, M.
1701 1 Apr. Rowe, T.

Third Gentleman Harbinger 1702–1704

1702 1 July Whitfield, M.

Gentleman Harbinger 1715–1782

1715 25 July La Roach, P.
1746 2 June Gibbon, C.
1760 15 Dec. Secker, J.
1761 1 July Rivett, J.
1763 21 Oct. Baird, J.
1768 1 June Willis, T.

Supernumerary Gentlemen

(1662–1668; 1672–1673; 1675–1681; 1682–1685; 1686–1688)

1662 1 Dec. [?] (fn. 6)
1664 1 Oct. Collins, R.
1664 1 Oct. Watson, P.
1672 26 Jan. Cotton, W.
1672 21 Feb. Perrin, G.
1675 30 Aug. Evans, T.
1678 23 July Tozer, W.
1682 2 Aug. Price, W.
1686 1 Feb. Tozer, W.

Yeomen Harbingers 1660–1685

(no account of rank taken)

[1660] 23 Aug. Brereton, T.
[1660] 29 Aug. Cotton, W.
[1660] 29 Aug. Binding, H.
[1660] 4 Sept. House, T.
1660 7 Nov. Withers, J.
1660 7 Nov. Mont-d, J.
1660 30 Nov. Sambourne, T.
1661 23 Dec. Wetherall, T.
1662 9 July Webb, R.
1662 30 Dec. Cooper, H., sen.
1668 1 Oct. Sambourne, T.
1668 1 Oct. Wetherall, T.
1672 26 Jan. Cotton, N.
1673 13 May Quarles, W.
1678 22 May Cooper, H., jun.
1680 1 Jan. De Locke, N.
1680 3 Sept. Cocke, J.
1680 12 Nov. Jones, H.
1684 23 June La Roach, P.

Supernumerary Yeomen Harbingers 1662–1701

1662 1 Dec. ? (fn. 6)
1662 1 Dec. ? (fn. 6)
1664 1 Oct. Wetherall, T.
1664 1 Oct. Sambourne, T.
1664 1 Oct. House, T.
1674 28 May Cooper, H., jun.
1678 1 Aug. De Locke, (sup?)
1680 9 Jan. Cocke, J. (sup?)
1680 6 Nov. Jones, H. (sup?)
1681 5 Sept. Gregory, E.
1683 6 Mar. La Roach, P.
1684 10 Aug. Massen, J.
1685 1 July Cooper, H., sen.
1686 1 Feb. Cooper, H., jun.
1693 7 Mar. Verhaest, J.

First Yeoman Harbinger 1685–1782

(rankings confused in Household records from c. 1761).

1685 22 Apr. Perrin, G.
1689 24 April Wall, W.
1717 28 Mar. Courant, F.
1720 1 Oct. Darington, L.
1743 16 May Parsons, R.
By 1780 Stones, T.

Second Yeoman Harbinger 1685–1705; 1707–1782

1685 22 Apr. Cocke, J.
1689 26 Mar. Jones, H.
1702 3 July Merritt, W.
1707 7 May Courant, F.
1717 28 Mar. Darington, L.
1720 1 Oct. Parsons, R.
1727 1 July Sheen, J.
1729 20 Oct. Gibbons, C.
By 1743 Parsons, R.
1743 16 May Gibbons, C.
1746 3 June Stones, T.
1768 1 Jan. Basset, H.
1780 1 May Bright, H.

Third Yeoman Harbinger 1685–1782

1685 28 June Jones, H.
1689 26 Mar. La Roach, P.
1702 1 July Courant, F.
1707 ?9 May Kelynge, C.
1707 8 Nov. Darington, L.
1727 1 July Parsons, R.
By 1735 Campbell, J.
1735 1 Sept. Gibbons, C.
1743 16 May Blondeau, L. A.
1750 1 July Basset, H.
1760 15 Dec. Bright, H.
1761 1 July Bassett, H.
1780 26 Aug. Elliot, R.

Fourth Yeoman Harbinger 1689–1702; 1704–1782

1689 26 Mar. Tye, J.
1701 1 Apr. Verhaest, J.
1701 19 Aug. Hoyte, S.
1704 25 Mar. Kelynge, C.
1705 28 Apr. Sherborne, D.
1715 24 Feb. Brough, R.
1717 28 Mar. Parsons, R.
1720 1 Oct. Campbell, J.
1724 15 June Stewart, C.
1727 1 July Campbell, J.
By 1735 Gibbons, C.
1735 1 Sept. Rutter, J.
1742 1 Jan. Bright, H.
1760 15 Dec. Dobson, W.
1761 1 July Bright, H.
1780 1 May Bassett, J.

Fifth Yeoman Harbinger

(1689–1702; 1727–1760; 1761–1782)

1689 8 May Merritt, W.
1727 1 July Stewart, C.
1731 4 Oct. Rutter, J.
1735 1 Sept. Jackson, L.
1747 1 Apr. Tyler, J.
1748 9 Mar. Dobson, W.
1760 15 Dec. Bassett, H.
1761 1 July Dobson, J.
1764 9 Nov. Willis, T.
1768 3 June Basset, J.
1780 1 May Sinclair, A.

NB: There seem to be a number of missing warrants for these positions, leaving gaps. Several harbingers are listed in LS 13/266 as 'promoted', but it is not clear to which position they were preferred. (prob. higher harbinger's positions, but no proof so far).

Footnotes

  • 1. PSBC, p. 14; Beattie, p. 48.
  • 2. LS 13/31, f. 13; LS 13/34, f. 12v; LS 13/35, f. 13; LS 13/37, f. 12; LS 13/38, LS 13/39, p. 23; LS 13/44, f. 14; LS 13/55.
  • 3. LS 13/7 f. 12; LS 13/31, ff. 13, 17; LS 13/34, ff. 12v, 26v; LS 13/35, f. 13; LS 13/36, f. 14v; LS 13/37, f. 12; LS 13/38, f. 11v (In 1685 three Supernumeraries are listed at £20 apiece: LS 13/38, f. 14); LS 13/39, p. 23; LS 13/43, f. 14; LS 13/258, f. 32; LS 13/44, f. 14; LS 13/49, p. 34; LS 13/55; LS 13/57.
  • 4. Sources as for Bucholz, pp.318–19, n. 102.
  • 5. LS 13/180, ff. 98, 104v, 144; LS 13/62.
  • 6. The Establishment of 1 Dec. 1662 lists, but does not name, one supernumerary gentleman and two supernumerary yeomen harbingers: LS 13/31, f. 17.