Recorder of London
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The recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The recorder is appointed by the Crown on the recommendation of the City of London Corporation with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor. The recorder's deputy is the Common Serjeant of London, appointed by the Crown on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. The recorder of London is, since 14 April 2020, Mark Lucraft.[1]
The first recorder of London was appointed in 1298. Originally it seems likely that the recorder would have recorded pleas in the court of the Lord Mayor and the aldermen and delivered their judgments. A charter granted by Henry VI in 1444 appointed the recorder ex officio a conservator of the peace. The recorder increasingly exercised judicial functions thereafter, eventually becoming the principal judge in the City of London.
The recorder became a judge at the Central Criminal Court when it was created by Parliament in 1834. The Central Criminal Court became part of the Crown Court under the Courts Act 1971, but the recorder maintained their position when the office of recorder in other cities became honorary.