The office was one of dignity, as we may see by Henry Machyn's diary, 1551-52: "The iiij day of Januarii was made a grett skaffold in chepe, hard by the crosse, agaynst the kynges lord of myssrule cummyng from Grenwyche and (he) landyd at Toure warff, and with hym yonge knyghts and gentyllmen a gret nombur on hosse bake sum in gownes and cotes and chaynes abowt ther nekes, and on the Toure hyll ther they went in order, furst a standard of yelow and grene sylke with Saint George, and then gounes and skuybes (squibs) and trompets and bagespypes, and drousselars and flutes, and then a gret company all in yelow and gren, and docturs declaryng my lord grett, and then the mores danse, dansyng with a tabret," etc. But so popular were these Lords of Misrule that every nobleman and person of position had one. Henry Percy, fifth Earl of Northumberland, had one certainly in 1512, whose fee was 30s. Nor did Sir Thomas More, when attached to the household of Cardinal Morton, object to "stepp in among the players." That they were usual adjuncts to great houses is evidenced by an extract from Churchyard's _Lamentacion of Freyndshypp_, a ballad printed about 1565:-- Men are so used these dayes wyth wordes, They take them but for jestes and boordes, That _Christmas Lordes_ were wont to speke. Stow tells us that, by an Act of Common Council, 12, Philip and Mary, for retrenching expenses, among other things it was ordered that the Lord Mayor or Sheriffs shall not keep any Lord of Misrule in any of their houses. But it still seems to have been customary for Sheriffs, at least, to have them, for Richard Evelyn, Esq. (father of the diarist), who kept his Shrievalty of Surrey and Sussex in 1634, in a most splendid manner, did not forego his Lord of Misrule, as the following shows:-- "Articles made and appoynted by the Right Wo^{ll} Richard Evelyn Esq., High Sheriffe and Deputie Leavetenaunt to the Kinge's Ma^{tie} for the Counties of Surrey and Sussex. "IMPRIMIS. I give free leave to Owen Flood my Trumpeter, gent. to be Lo^{d} of Misrule of all good Orders during the twelve dayes. And also I give free leave to the said Owen Flood to co[=m]and all and every person whatsoev^{r}, as well servants as others, to be at his co[=m]and whensoev^{r} he shall sound his Trumpett or Musick, and to do him good service as though I were present my selfe at their perills. "His Lo^{pp} commaunds every person or persons whatsoev^{r} to appeare at the Hall at seaven of the Clocke in the morninge, to be at prayers, and afterwards to be at his Lo^{pps} commaunds, upon paine of punishment, accordinge as his Lo^{pp} shall thinke fitt. "If any person shall sware any oath w^{th}in the precinct of the ... shall suffer punishment at his Lo^{pps} pleasure. "If any man shall come into the Hall, and sett at dinner or supper more than once, he shall endure punishment at his Lo^{pps} pleasure.