# List of speakers of the House of Commons of England

This is a list of the speakers of the House of Commons of England, up to 1707.
For speakers of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801, see List of speakers of the British House of Commons.

## List of parlours or prolocutors before 1377

Before 1377, the Speaker was referred to by terms such as the parlour and the prolocutor. Some of them presided, and Peter de Montfort and Peter de la Mare were certainly presiding officers of the Commons. The others named in this section were spokesmen. Some of them held judicial offices. It is not certain that they presided over the Commons.
The date given is that of the first meeting of the Parliament in question. Only Parliaments for which a presiding officer is known or supposed are included in the table.
| Parliament | Presiding officer | Constituency | Notes |
| First English Parliament, 11 June 1258 | Peter de Montfort | | First identified presiding officer of the English House of Commons, styled prolocutor |
| 27th of Edward II, 7 January 1327 | William Trussell | | Joint spokesman of Lords and Commons, styled procurator |
| 10th of Edward III, 16 March 1332 | Henry Beaumont | | ... |
| 11th of Edward III, 9 September 1332 | Geoffrey le Scrope | | ... |
| 26th of Edward III, 29 March 1340 | William Trussell | | ... |
| 30th of Edward III, 28 April 1343 | William Trussell | | Spokesman for the Commons alone |
| 33rd of Edward III, 1347 | William de Thorpe | | ... |
| 34th of Edward III, 1348 | William de Thorpe | | ... |
| 36th of Edward III, 9 February 1351 | William de Shareshull | | ... |
| 55th of Edward III, 28 April 1376 | Sir Peter de la Mare | Herefordshire | First term (second after 1377) |
* Source: Laundy The Office of Speaker

## Speakers of the House of Commons of England from 1377 to 1707

| From | Until | Speaker | Constituency | Notes |
| January 1377 | 2 March 1377 | Sir Thomas Hungerforde | Wiltshire | First presiding officer styled Speaker. 56th Parliament of Edward III. |
| October 1377 | 28 November 1377 | Sir Peter de la Mare | Herefordshire | Second term (first before 1377). 1st of Richard II. |
| 22 October 1378 | 16 November 1378 | Sir James Pickering | Westmorland | First term. 2nd of Richard II. |
| January 1380 | 6 December 1380 | Sir John Guildesborough | Essex | 4th and 5th of Richard II |
| 18 November 1381 | 25 February 1382 | Sir Richard Waldegrave | Suffolk | 6th of Richard II and possibly in the next two Parliaments |
| 23 February 1383 | 10 March 1383 | Sir James Pickering | Yorkshire | Second term. 9th of Richard II and possibly in several other Parliaments. |
| 1383 | 1389 | unknown | unknown | 10th to 21st of Richard II |
| 28 January 1394 | 1398 | Sir John Bussy | Lincolnshire | Styled Commune Parlour. 22nd, 23rd (probably), 24th and 25th of Richard II |
| 1398 | 1398 | none | none | 25th of Richard II adjourned to Shrewsbury on 28 January 1398. Its authority was transferred to a Committee of 12 peers and 6 commoners (including Bussy, who was executed in 1399) |
| 14 October 1399 | 15 October 1399 | Sir John Cheney (or Cheyne) | Gloucestershire | Resigned after two days as Speaker, 1st of Henry IV. |
| 15 October 1399 | 19 November 1399 | John Doreward | Essex | First term. 1st of Henry IV. |
| 21 January 1401 | 1402 | Sir Arnold Savage | Kent | First term. 2nd of Henry IV and possibly 3rd. |
| 3 October 1402 | 25 November 1402 | Sir Henry Redford | Lincolnshire | 4th of Henry IV |
| 15 January 1404 | 10 April 1404 | Sir Arnold Savage | Kent | Second term. 5th of Henry IV. |
| 7 October 1404 | 14 November 1404 | Sir William Esturmy (or Sturmy) | Devon | 6th of Henry IV |
| 2 March 1406 | 22 December 1406 | Sir John Tiptoft | Huntingdonshire | 7th of Henry IV. First Speaker created a peer (1st Baron Tiptoft, 1426). |
| 25 October 1407 | 19 December 1411 | Thomas Chaucer | Oxfordshire | First term. 8th-10th of Henry IV. |
| 1412 | 1413 | unknown | unknown | |
| 8 May 1413 | 3 June 1413 | William Stourton | Dorset | Styled parlour. 1st of Henry V. |
| 3 June 1413 | 9 June 1413 | John Doreward | Essex | Second term. 1st of Henry V. |
| 1 May 1414 | 29 May 1414 | Sir Walter Hungerford | Wiltshire | 2nd of Henry V. Created 1st Baron Hungerford, 1426. |
| 19 November 1414 | 1415 | Thomas Chaucer | Oxfordshire | Second term. 3rd of Henry V. |
| 5 November 1415 | 1415 | Sir Richard Redman (or Redmayne) | Yorkshire | 4th of Henry V |
| 18 March 1416 | May 1416 | Sir Walter Beauchamp | Wiltshire | Styled Prolocutor. 5th of Henry V. |
| October 1416 | November 1419 | Roger Flower | Rutland | First term. 6th-8th of Henry V. |
| 1420 | 1421 | Roger Hunt | Bedfordshire | First term. 9th of Henry V. |
| 1421 | 1421 | Thomas Chaucer | Oxfordshire | Third term. 10th of Henry V. |
| 3 December 1421 | 1422 | Richard Baynard | Essex | 11th of Henry V |
| 11 November 1422 | 18 December 1422 | Roger Flower | Rutland | Second term. 1st of Henry VI. |
| 21 October 1423 | 28 February 1424 | Sir John Russell | Herefordshire | First term. 2nd of Henry VI. |
| 2 May 1425 | 14 July 1425 | Sir Thomas Walton (or Wauton) | Bedfordshire | 3rd of Henry VI |
| 28 February 1426 | 1 June 1426 | Sir Richard Vernon | Derbyshire | 4th of Henry VI |
| 15 October 1427 | 25 March 1428 | Sir John Tyrrell | Hertfordshire | First term. 5th of Henry VI. |
| 23 September 1429 | 23 February 1430 | Sir William Alington | Cambridgeshire | 6th of Henry VI |
| 13 January 1431 | 20 March 1431 | Sir John Tyrrell | Essex | Second term. 7th of Henry VI. |
| 14 May 1432 | 17 July 1432 | Sir John Russell | Herefordshire | Second term. 8th of Henry VI. |
| 10 July 1433 | 21 December 1433 | Roger Hunt | Huntingdonshire | Second term. 9th of Henry VI. |
| 12 October 1435 | 23 December 1435 | John Bowes | Nottinghamshire | 10th of Henry VI |
| 23 January 1437 | March 1437 | Sir John Tyrrell | Essex | Third term. 11th of Henry VI. |
| 19 March 1437 | 27 March 1437 | William Burley (or Boerley) | Shropshire | First term. 11th of Henry VI. |
| 13 November 1439 | 27 May 1442 | William Tresham | Northamptonshire | First term. 12th and 13th of Henry VI. |
| 26 February 1445 | 9 April 1445 | William Burley (or Boerley) | Shropshire | Second term. Styled Prolocutor. 14th of Henry VI. |
| 11 February 1447 | 3 March 1447 | William Tresham | Northamptonshire | Second term. 15th of Henry VI. |
| 13 February 1449 | 16 July 1449 | Sir John Say | Cambridgeshire | First term. 16th of Henry VI. |
| 8 November 1449 | 8 November 1449 | Sir John Popham | Hampshire | Excused due to ill health. 17th of Henry VI. |
| 8 November 1449 | 1450 | William Tresham | Northamptonshire | Third term. 17th of Henry VI. |
| 7 November 1450 | May 1451 | Sir William Oldhall | Hertfordshire | 18th of Henry VI |
| 8 March 1453 | 16 February 1454 | Thomas Thorpe | Essex | 19th of Henry VI. Left chair when imprisoned. |
| 16 February 1454 | April 1454 | Sir Thomas Charlton | Middlesex | 19th of Henry VI |
| 10 July 1455 | January 1456 | Sir John Wenlock | Bedfordshire | Styled Prolocutor. 20th of Henry VI. Created 1st Baron Wenlock, 1461. |
| 21 November 1459 | 20 December 1459 | Sir Thomas Tresham | Northamptonshire | Styled Prolocutor. 21st of Henry VI. |
| 8 October 1460 | 1460 | John Green | Essex | 22nd of Henry VI |
| 5 November 1461 | 6 May 1462 | Sir James Strangeways | Yorkshire | Styled Prolocutor. 1st of Edward IV. |
| 30 April 1463 | 1468 | Sir John Say | Hertfordshire | Second term. 2nd-3rd of Edward IV. |
| 1469 | 1470 | unknown | unknown | 4th-5th of Edward IV |
| 7 October 1472 | 1478 | William Alington | Cambridgeshire | Grandson of the previous Speaker William Alington. 6th-7th of Edward IV. |
| 21 January 1483 | February 1483 | John Wood (or Wode) | Surrey | Styled Prolocutor. 8th of Edward IV. |
| 24 January 1484 | 20 February 1484 | William Catesby | Northamptonshire | 1st of Richard III |
| 8 November 1485 | 1486 | Sir Thomas Lovell | Northamptonshire | Styled Prolocutor. 1st of Henry VII. |
| 10 November 1487 | 1488 | Sir John Mordaunt | Bedfordshire | Styled Prolocutor. 2nd of Henry VII. |
| 14 January 1489 | 27 February 1490 | Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam | Lincolnshire | Styled Prolocutor. 3rd of Henry VII. |
| 18 October 1491 | March 1492 | Sir Richard Empson | Northamptonshire | Styled Prolocutor. 4th of Henry VII. |
| 15 October 1495 | 1495 | Sir Robert Drury | Suffolk | 5th of Henry VII |
| 19 January 1497 | 1497 | Sir Thomas Englefield | Berkshire | First term. 6th of Henry VII. |
| 25 January 1504 | 1504 | Edmond Dudley | Staffordshire | Styled Prolocutor. 8th of Henry VII. |
| 23 January 1510 | 23 February 1510 | Sir Thomas Englefield | Berkshire | Second term. Styled Prolocutor. 1st of Henry VIII. |
| 5 February 1512 | December 1513 | Sir Robert Sheffield | Lincolnshire | Styled Prolocutor. 2nd of Henry VIII. |
| 6 February 1515 | 22 December 1515 | Sir Thomas Nevill | Kent | Styled Prolocutor. 3rd of Henry VIII. |
| 16 April 1523 | 13 August 1523 | Sir Thomas More | Middlesex | Styled Prolocutor. 4th of Henry VIII. |
| 5 November 1529 | 26 January 1533 | Sir Thomas Audley | Essex | Styled Prolocutor. 5th of Henry VIII. Created 1st Baron Audley, 1538. |
| 9 February 1533 | 4 April 1536 | Sir Humphrey Wingfield | Great Yarmouth | 5th of Henry VIII. First Borough member to be Speaker. |
| 9 June 1536 | 18 July 1536 | Sir Richard Rich | Colchester | 6th of Henry VIII. Created 1st Baron Rich, 1547. |
| 28 April 1539 | 24 July 1540 | Sir Nicholas Hare | Norfolk | 7th of Henry VIII |
| 19 January 1542 | 28 March 1544 | Sir Thomas Moyle | Peterborough | 8th of Henry VIII |
| November 1545 | 15 April 1552 | Sir John Baker | Huntingdonshire | 9th of Henry VIII and 1st of Edward VI |
| 2 March 1553 | 31 March 1553 | Sir James Dyer | Cambridgeshire | 2nd of Edward VI |
| 5 October 1553 | 5 December 1553 | John Pollard | Oxfordshire | 1st of Mary I |
| 2 April 1554 | 5 May 1554 | Sir Robert Broke | City of London | 2nd of Mary I |
| 12 November 1554 | 16 January 1555 | Sir Clement Higham | West Looe | 3rd of Mary I |
| 21 October 1555 | 9 December 1555 | John Pollard | Chippenham | 4th of Mary I |
| 20 January 1558 | 17 November 1558 | Sir William Cordell | Suffolk | 5th of Mary I |
| 25 January 1559 | 8 May 1559 | Sir Thomas Gargrave | Yorkshire | 1st of Elizabeth I |
| 12 January 1563 | 10 April 1563 | Thomas Williams | Exeter | 2nd of Elizabeth I |
| 1 October 1566 | 2 January 1567 | Richard Onslow | Steyning | 2nd of Elizabeth I |
| 2 April 1571 | 29 May 1571 | Sir Christopher Wray | Ludgershall | 3rd of Elizabeth I |
| 8 May 1572 | 1576 | Sir Robert Bell | Lyme Regis | 4th of Elizabeth I |
| 18 January 1581 | 19 April 1583 | Sir John Popham | Bristol | 4th of Elizabeth I |
| 23 November 1584 | 14 September 1586 | Sir John Puckering | Bedford | 5th of Elizabeth I |
| 29 October 1586 | 23 March 1587 | Sir John Puckering | Gatton | 6th of Elizabeth I |
Source: Laundy The Office of Speaker
| From | Until | Speaker | Constituency | Notes |
| 1588 | 1589 | Sir Thomas Snagge | (Bedford) | |
| 1592 | 1593 | Sir Edward Coke | (Norfolk) | Solicitor-General for England and Wales |
| 1597 | 1598 | Sir Christopher Yelverton | (Northamptonshire) | |
| 1601 | | Sir John Croke | (City of London) | |
| 1603 | 1611 | Sir Edward Phelips | (Somerset) | |
| 1614 | | Sir Randolph Crewe | (Saltash) | |
| 1621 | 1622 | Sir Thomas Richardson | (St Albans) | |
| 1623 | 1625 | Sir Thomas Crewe | (Aylesbury) | |
| 1625 | 1626 | Sir Heneage Finch | (City of London) | |
| 1628 | 1629 | Sir John Finch | (Canterbury) | (Impeached by the Long Parliament, October 1640, and fled to Holland, but returned at the Restoration) |
| 1640 | | Sir John Glanville | (Bristol) | |
| 1640 | 1647 | William Lenthall | (Woodstock) | |
| 1644 | 1645 | Sir Sampson Eure | (Leominster) | Speaker in the Oxford Parliament (1644) |
| 1647 | | Henry Pelham | (Grantham) | (temporary during Lenthall's abandonment of the Speakership) |
| 1647 | 1653 | William Lenthall | (Woodstock) | (Lenthall was restored to the Chair by the Army and remained in office until Cromwell's dismissal of the Rump) |
| 1653 | | Rev. Francis Rous | (Devon) | |
| 1654 | 1655 | William Lenthall | (Oxfordshire) | |
| 1656 | 1658 | Sir Thomas Widdrington | (Northumberland) | |
| 1657 | 1657 | Bulstrode Whitelocke | (Buckinghamshire) | (temporary during Widdrington illness) |
| 1658 | 1659 | Chaloner Chute | (Middlesex) | |
| 1659 | | Sir Lislebone Long | (Wells) | (temporary during Chute's illness, but was himself taken ill after only five days in office} |
| 14 April 1659 | 22 April 1659 | Thomas Bampfylde | (Exeter) | |
| 1659 | 1660 | William Lenthall | (Oxfordshire) | |
| 1660 | | William Say | (Camelford) | (temporary during Lenthall illness) |
| 1660 | | Sir Harbottle Grimston | (Colchester) | |
| 1661 | 1671 | Sir Edward Turnour | (Hertford) | |
| 1672 | | Sir Job Charlton | (Ludlow) | |
| 1673 | | Sir Edward Seymour | (Totnes) | |
| 1678 | | Sir Robert Sawyer | (Wycombe) | ((Temporary during Seymour's illness) |
| 1678 | 1679 | Sir Edward Seymour | (Totnes) | |
| 1679 | | Sir William Gregory | (Weobley) | |
| 1680 | 1681 | Sir William Williams | (Chester) | |
| 1685 | 1687 | Sir John Trevor | (Denbigh) | |
| 1688 | 1689 | Henry Powle | (Windsor) | |
| 1689 | 1695 | Sir John Trevor | (Yarmouth, IoW) | (expelled for corruption) |
| 1695 | 1698 | Paul Foley | (Hereford) | |
| 1698 | 1700 | Sir Thomas Littleton | (Woodstock) | |
| 1701 | 1705 | Robert Harley | (New Radnor) | |
| 1705 | 1707 | John Smith | (Andover) | |
For speakers of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801, see List of speakers of the British House of Commons.