In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries it seems to have been customary for the same member to occupy the Chair on several occasions, especially when he was conspicuous among the Aldermen of the City of London. Thus, between the years 1485 and 1600 only thirty-nine members served the office, of whom the most frequent occupants of the Chair were:—
Sir William Martyn, 5 times, the first being in 1485, and the last in 1502.
Sir Thomas Mirfine, 5 times, the first being in 1509, and the last in 1516.
Geoffrey Walkeden, 5 times, the first being in 1561, and the last in 1577.
Sir John Champneys, 6 times, the first being in 1527, and the last in 1539.
Sir Andrew Judd, 6 times, the first being in 1533, and the last in 1555.
Sir Wolstan Dixie, 7 times, the first being in 1573, and the last in 1592.
Alderman Philip Gunter, 8 times, the first being in 1556, and the last in 1582.
Seven others served for four years each within the same period.
After the sixteenth century the practice of re-election became nearly obsolete, and at the present day it is never adopted except in the case of the death or retirement of the Master, or one of the five members in the succession to the Chair, in which event a Past-Master has to be elected in order to avoid dislocating the ordinary course of the Company. Only eight re-elections took place during the whole of the nineteenth century; and there are at the present time only two double Past-Masters in existence. On leaving the Chair for the second time, a double Past-Master regains his original precedence.