Titles Which Are Deep in Our History

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 31, 5 August 1933, Page 16

Titles Which Are Deep in Our History

The death of the Hereditary Lord High Admiral of the Wash comes as a reminder of" the numerous titles of honour still existent in England which today remain no more than titles, though they represented real and responsible duties in the dim past, writes Charles Benham in ,the "Daily Mail." Most people know of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, or the Captain of Deal Castle, partly because these offices are held in turn by a succession of eminent men, partly because the main attribute of each position is a delightful ayd picturesque castle set beside a silver sea. The stewardships of the Chiltern Hundreds and the manor of Northstead, once upon a time very real things, have moved definitely into the realm of phantoms, resuming only a fitful glimmer of life when, as actual offices under the Crown, their bestowal signifies a member's resignation from the House of Commons. But it is at the time of a coronation when the English world is made aware of the antiquity of its history as displayed by the living holders of ancient titles;. Those of us a little over middle life have had at least two opportunities of seeing, and remembering, the splash of colour in the coronation procession made by the scarlet cloaks of the

Bavons of the Cinque Ports. But none can remember the time w^ien they still carried a canopy of cloth of gold over the Sovereign. And it is at coronation time that the great hereditary- offices come into prominence, though, as in the case of the Earl Marshal of England ' (the ,Duke of Norfolk) and the Lord Great Chamberlain of England, the ceremonial duties are in evidence on State occasions throughout a reign. But the Lord High Constable' of England, the Lord High Steward of Scotland, the hereditary standard-bearers of the various countries which make up the Union, aro names which blossom most at the passing of the Crown, and, those who are interested in the hereditary titles that come down to us, from feudal times, and never die, should study the reports of the cases in the Court of Claims that ushers in each coronation. Thus, at the time that the late King Edward was" crowned, what more vivid glimpse of feudal times could bo obtained than in the rival claims of two great noblemen to provide a glove for the King's right hand, and support his Majesty's right arm while he is holding the Sceptre? The decision . went in favour of tho peer who'*'was the Lord of the Manor of Worksop, because tho Court was satisfied that tho Lords of the Manor of Worksop had performed those duties in the past.