Custos Rotulorum
(Keeper of the Rolls)
At least from the fifteenth century
one Justice of the Peace 'especially picked out either for wisdom,
countenance or credit' (William Lambarde, Eirenarcha) served as the
Chief of the County Bench with the title Custos Rotulorum, or
Keeper of the Rolls. The Rolls in question were the records of the
Court of Quarter Sessions, an administrative as well as judicial
body.
It was the Custos Rotulorum who
appointed the Clerk of the Peace, the professional lawyer who
advised the County Bench on points of law and originally lead for
the Crown in criminal trials.
In many ways this position is parallel
to the Office of Master of the Rolls, the original function of
which was the Superintendence of the Rolls of Chancery. As the
Chancery developed from the Royal Secretariat into a Court of Law
the Office itself developed from an administrative to a judicial
one.
The military Office of
Lord-Lieutenant, originally an occasional one to which individuals
were appointed when danger threatened, was grafted onto the older
Office in the reign of William and Mary as a way of giving the now
permanent Lord-Lieutenant the senior seat on the Bench of
Magistrates.
Master of the Rolls have an
outstanding archival record. Their custody has been excellent - the
Rolls survive almost unbroken from the 1190s. Lord Denning took a
particular interest in the work of the Historical Manuscripts
Commission, the Public Record Office and the British Records
Association.
Keepers of the Rolls have a more mixed
record, but the Sussex incumbents have done better than most - we
have records of the Court of Quarter Sessions from 1594.
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Deputy Lieutenants
History
The first official recognition of the
office of Deputy Lieutenant occurred in 1569, when for the first
time the Lord-Lieutenant's commission carried a deputation clause
enabling him to appoint deputies to view and train local levies.
Initially two deputies were the usual allowance per county, but the
number soon increased.
At the time of the Armada, Deputy
Lieutenants enforced watch and ward beacons that were kept ready to
give warning of invasion. The duties of Deputy Lieutenants were
increased to command the militia, training and checking of
equipment, obtaining 'Volunteers' for service abroad and also
arranging for the billeting of the militia when on exercise or
called out against the threat of invasion.
In the late nineteenth century the
Militia was removed from the Lord-Lieutenant's direct control, and
in 1921 he finally lost the power to call on all able bodied men of
the county to fight in case of need. The Militia's successor was
the Territorial Army, organised through county associations of
which the Lord-Lieutenant was President. In 1940 it was natural for
the Lord-Lieutenant and his deputies should take a prominent part
in the formation of the Home Guard and in building it up as an
effective force.
Currently the Lord-Lieutenant is
required to appoint up to forty-seven Deputy Lieutenants for the
county of West Sussex. They are appointed at the Lord-Lieutenant's
discretion, subject only to Her Majesty The Queen not disapproving
of the granting of the commission.
Under the terms of the Lieutenancy Act
a person may be appointed a Deputy Lieutenant if:
- He or she is shown to have rendered appropriate service: such
service includes service as a member of, or in a civil capacity in
connection with, the armed forces, and other suitable public
service; and he or she has a place of residence in, or within seven
miles from the boundary of the relevant county.
The aim is that within each county the Deputy Lieutenants should be
widely representative of its life in social range, gender,
community background, ethnic mix and service to the community. A
Deputy Lieutenant is not required to be a British subject.
The holders of the office of Deputy
Lieutenant formally accept the obligation to assist the
Lord-lieutenant. In his absence the more important assignments are
dealt with by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant, but from time to time a
Deputy Lieutenant is asked to carry out a particular function.
Current examples are:
- Representing the Lord-Lieutenant on the arrival or departure of
dignitaries at Gatwick Airport
- Supporting the Lord-Lieutenant at presentations of Queen's
Award ceremonies, Queen's Award for Voluntary Service or local
investitures
- Assessment of local honours nominations
- Assessment of Queen's Award for Voluntary Service
nominations
- Attendance at Remembrance Day services
- Recommendations of local people for attendance at Royal Garden
Parties
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Current Vice Lord-Lieutenant
Vice Lord-Lieutenant - Mr Gordon Tregear, DL
To see a list of all the current
Deputy Lieutenants please download the attachment below.
Supporting documents