The office of Master of the Ceremonies was established by James VI and I. The Master's duties were to receive foreign dignitaries and present them to the monarch at court. Below is a list of known holders until the replacement of the office by the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps in 1920.
Masters of the Ceremonies 1603–1627: Sir Lewes Lewkenor 1627–1641: Sir John Finett 1641–1686: Sir Charles Cotterell 1686–1710: Sir Charles Lodowick Cotterell 1710–1758: Sir Clement Cottrell (later Cottrell-Dormer) 1758–1779: Sir Charles Cottrell-Dormer 1779–1796: Sir Clement Cottrell-Dormer 1796–1818: Sir Stephen (or Samuel) Cottrell 1818–1847: Sir Robert Chester 1847–1876: Sir Edward Cust, 1st Baronet 1876–1890: Sir Francis Seymour, 1st Baronet 1890–1893: Sir Christopher Teesdale 1893–1903: Sir William James Colville 1903–1907: Sir Douglas Dawson 1907–1920: Sir Arthur Walsh
Assistant Masters of the Ceremonies 1668–1672: Charles Cotterell 1672–1686: Charles Lodowick Cotterell 1686–1699: John Dormer 1699–1707: Clement Cotterell 1710–1740: John Inglis 1740–1758: Charles Cotterell 1758–1796: Stephen Cotterell 1796–1818: Robert Chester 1818–1822: Robert Chester (jnr.) 1822–1823: William John Crosbie 1823–1825: Henry Thomas Baucutt Mash 1825–1845: Thomas Seymour Hyde 1845–1847: Sir Edward Cust, 1st Baronet 1847–1855: William Henry Cornwall 1855–1881: Charles Bagot 1881–1887: Augustus Savile 1887–1901: William Chaine Marshals of the Ceremonies 1660: Amice Andros 1669: Thomas Sambourne 1673: Richard Le Bas 1704: John Inglis (also Assistant Master from 1710) 1740: Robert Cotterell 1745: Charles Cotterell (also Assistant Master since 1740) 1759: Thomas Wright 1761: Stephen Cotterell (also Assistant Master since 1758) 1796: Robert Chester, senior (also Assistant Master) 1818: Robert Chester, junior (also Assistant Master) 1822: William John Crosbie (also Assistant Master) 1823: Henry Thomas Baucutt Mash (also Assistant Master) 1825: Thomas Seymour Hyde (also Assistant Master) 1845: William Henry Cornwall 1847: Spencer Lyttelton 1877: Augustus Savile Lumley 1881: William Chaine 1887: Richard Charles Moreton 1913: Charles Hubert Montgomery Assistant Marshals of the Ceremonies 1699: Charles Sambourne Le Bas 1899: Sir Robert Follett Synge (retitled Deputy Marshal in 1902) References