Microbial Methods

Venality at court: some preliminary thoughts on the sale of household office, 1660-1800

“…This statute essentially reasserted and extended the provisions of Edward VI's act. 116 What little evidence we have for the household itself suggests a similar persistence veiled by an attitude of 'don't ask, don't tell'. For example, when in March 1801 the lords of the treasury inquired about purchase among the undermarshals of the household -officers appointed by the knight marshal and stationed at the gates of royal residences to maintain order -the master of the household's evasive reply was 'I have it not in my power to lay before your Lordships any official Information upon these Points'.…”