The first Clerk of Works mentioned on record was Nicholas de Tykhull in 1316 who was Clerk of Works to the Palace of Westminster.

Ralph de la More was Clerk of Works at Windsor Castle in 1327.

Geoffrey Chaucer was Clerk of the King's Works in 1389 for the Palace of Westminster and The Tower of London.
Lawrence Spencer was appointed Paymaster and Clerk of Works (which perhaps helps to show where 'clerk' came from) by Sir Christopher Wren to build St. Paul's Cathedral in 1685 following the Great Fire of London.   The Cathedral was the largest building project in Europe costing three quarters of a million pounds and was completed in 1713.