Lord Chamberlain,

Lord Chamberlain, officer of the British Royal Household under whom the Master of the Revels was first appointed in 1494 to supervise Court entertainments. After the Restoration in 1660 the Lord Chamberlain himself began to intervene directly in the regulation of theatres and in censorship, mainly in relation to political and religious issues, his powers being legally formulated by the Licensing Act of 1737. These powers, particularly in regard to the licensing of theatres, were modified by the Theatres Act of 1843. New plays, and new matter added to existing plays, had to be submitted to the Lord Chamberlain's office for scrutiny by the Examiner of Plays. At the time of the abolition of his powers the Lord Chamberlain had three English readers and one Welsh, who reported on the work submitted, with particular reference to indecency, impropriety, profanity, seditious matter, and the representation of living persons. Plays written before the passing of the 1843 Act could be suppressed under Section 14 of the Act. Play-producing societies and theatre clubs came within the Lord Chamberlain's powers, although it was customary to treat bona fide societies with lenience. His power to withhold or withdraw a licence was absolute and he was under no legal obligation to disclose the reasons; but in practice the Lord Chamberlain's office was normally ready to indicate changes in the text that would enable a licence to be issued. There was no appeal against his decision. The Theatres Act of 1968 took all theatrical matters out of the hands of the Lord Chamberlain, vesting theatre licensing in local authorities and abolishing theatrical censorship, since when stage plays have been subject to common law such as those Acts pertaining to obscenity, blasphemy, libel, and breach of the peace.