History
Prior to the Royal Charter of 1528, Walter Devereux, Lord Ferrers of Chartley held the office of under the Crown. He also held office as Bailiff of the Manor, Keeper of the Rolls and Keeper of Coldfield Walk. The salaries for these posts, under a grant of 1525 were to be paid at the rate of £16 a year to him and his son Henry for life.
On the granting of the Charter the town was to be held by a Warden and Society (roughly equivalent to Mayor and Corporation) and the inhabitants of the town. The Charter granted the right to appoint a High Steward although this right was not exercised until 1547. The High Stewards were appointed for life and were to be entitled to a Deputy to assist in the High Steward's duty of holding courts. At least in the 16th century the High Steward was expected to have a knowledge of English law but the role soon became symbolic, the duties largely ceremonial and latterly the work was done entirely by Deputies.
The High Stewards were all persons of standing and mostly members of aristocratic Warwickshire and Staffordshire families.
In 1974 the Corporation of Sutton Coldfield merged with that of Birmingham and the office of High Steward became extinct.
Read more about this topic: High Steward Of Sutton Coldfield
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“It would be naive to think that peace and justice can be achieved easily. No set of rules or study of history will automatically resolve the problems.... However, with faith and perseverance,... complex problems in the past have been resolved in our search for justice and peace. They can be resolved in the future, provided, of course, that we can think of five new ways to measure the height of a tall building by using a barometer.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“The awareness that health is dependent upon habits that we control makes us the first generation in history that to a large extent determines its own destiny.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“The history is always the same the product is always different and the history interests more than the product. More, that is, more. Yes. But if the product was not different the history which is the same would not be more interesting.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)