Master of the Faculties
Encyclopedia
The Master of the Faculties is a functionary in the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury
and has some important powers in English law
, in particular the appointment and regulation of public notaries. The position is always held by the Dean of Arches
.
. This regulatory function is now subject to the statutory
provisions of the Public Notaries Acts 1801 and 1843, and the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
. The Master of Faculties will become an approved regulator under the Legal Services Act 2007
. It will be the sole relevant approved regulator for notaries but will also be a relevant approved regulator for certain dealings in land registration
and real property
, and for probate
and the administration of oath
s.
The Master of Faculties also has responsibility for the issue of special licenses for marriage
in England and Wales, and for Lambeth degrees.
Public notaries in some Commonwealth
jurisdiction
s, such as New Zealand
and Queensland, Australia, are still appointed through the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, though in all other Australia
n States and Territories they are appointed by the relevant Supreme Court
.
, the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533, s.3 gave the Archbishop, or "hys commissarie", power to issue "suche licences dispensacions composicions faculties delegacies rescriptes instrumentes or wrytynges have byn accustomed to be had, at the See of Rome". This included the power to appoint notaries in the ecclesiastical courts and the office of commissarie developed into that of the Master of the Faculties.
The Master was formerly the principal officer of the Court of Faculties
, one of the ecclesiastical court
s, and also had the power, under the 1533 Act to:
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
and has some important powers in English law
English law
English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...
, in particular the appointment and regulation of public notaries. The position is always held by the Dean of Arches
Dean of Arches
The Dean of Arches is the judge who sits at the ecclesiastical court of the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. This appeal court is commonly called the Arches Court....
.
Functions
The Master of Faculties has retained his historical responsibility with respect to public notaries in England and WalesEngland and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
. This regulatory function is now subject to the statutory
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
provisions of the Public Notaries Acts 1801 and 1843, and the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the legal profession and Courts of England and Wales...
. The Master of Faculties will become an approved regulator under the Legal Services Act 2007
Legal Services Act 2007
The Legal Services Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that seeks to liberalise and regulate the market for legal services in England and Wales, to encourage more competition and to provide a new route for consumer complaints...
. It will be the sole relevant approved regulator for notaries but will also be a relevant approved regulator for certain dealings in land registration
Land registration
Land registration generally describes systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession or other rights in land can be recorded to provide evidence of title, facilitate transactions and to prevent unlawful disposal...
and real property
Real property
In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
, and for probate
Probate
Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...
and the administration of oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
s.
The Master of Faculties also has responsibility for the issue of special licenses for marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
in England and Wales, and for Lambeth degrees.
Public notaries in some Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
s, such as New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Queensland, Australia, are still appointed through the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, though in all other Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n States and Territories they are appointed by the relevant Supreme Court
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
.
History
Following the English ReformationEnglish Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
, the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533, s.3 gave the Archbishop, or "hys commissarie", power to issue "suche licences dispensacions composicions faculties delegacies rescriptes instrumentes or wrytynges have byn accustomed to be had, at the See of Rome". This included the power to appoint notaries in the ecclesiastical courts and the office of commissarie developed into that of the Master of the Faculties.
The Master was formerly the principal officer of the Court of Faculties
Court of Faculties
Under English ecclesiastical law, the Court of Faculties is a tribunal of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and is attached to the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury....
, one of the ecclesiastical court
Ecclesiastical court
An ecclesiastical court is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages in many areas of Europe these courts had much wider powers than before the development of nation states...
s, and also had the power, under the 1533 Act to:
- Create rights as to pewPewA pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s, monuments, and rights of burialBurialBurial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
places; or - Grant licenses such as a facultyFaculty (instrument)A faculty is a legal instrument or warrant in canon law, especially a judicial or quasi-judicial warrant from an ecclesiastical court or tribunal.In the Roman Catholic Church, it is "the authority, privilege, or permission, to perform an act or function...
to erect an organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
in a parish churchParish churchA parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, to level a churchyardChurchyardA churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language or Northern English language this can also be known as a kirkyard or kirkyaird....
, or to exhume bodies buried in a church cemeteryCemeteryA cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
.
List of Masters of the Faculties
- Sir Charles CaesarCharles CaesarSir Charles Caesar , of Benington in Hertfordshire, was an English judge who served as Master of the Rolls in the period leading up to the outbreak of the English Civil War; his father Sir Julius Caesar had held the same office for many years.Caesar entered Magdalen College, Oxford aged 12 in 1602,...
(1638–1642) - Robert AylettRobert AylettRobert Aylett was an English lawyer and religious poet.-Life:He was born in Rivenhall, Essex and was educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, graduating B.A. in 1605, M.A. in 1608, and LL.D in 1614. Living at Feering, he acted for the archdeacon of Colchester and as justice of the peace...
(1642-?) - ...
- Sir John BirkenheadJohn BirkenheadSir John Birkenhead or Berkenhead was a British political writer and journalist, imprisoned several times during the Commonwealth for his obtrusive royalism....
- ...
- Henry PamanHenry Paman-Life:Son of Robert Paman, he was born at his father's estate of Chevington, Suffolk. He entered as a sizar at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, on 22 June 1643, where William Sancroft was his tutor. They became friends for life. He migrated to St. John's College, on 22 July 1646, graduated B.A. the...
(1684–1689) - Sir Charles HedgesCharles HedgesSir Charles Hedges , of Compton Bassett, Wiltshire, an English lawyer and politician, was a judge in Admiralty Court who later served as one of Queen Anne's Secretaries of State.-Life:...
(1689–1714) - ...
- Rt Revd Samuel Halifax (1770–1790)
- Lord Stowell (1790-?)
- ...
- John NicollJohn Iltyd NichollJohn Nicholl was a Welsh Member of Parliament and was, for a very short time in 1835, a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury. His father was Sir John Nicholl, who like his son was a judge and politician.-Personal history:...
(1838–1841) - Sir John Dodson (1841–1857)
- Stephen LushingtonStephen Lushington (judge)Stephen Lushington was a Doctor of Civil Law, a judge, a Member of Parliament and a radical for the abolition of slavery and capital punishment.-Early life and education:...
(1858–1873) - Sir Robert Phillimore QC (1873–1875)
- Lord Penzance (1875–1898)
- Sir Arthur CharlesArthur CharlesArthur Charles received his religious training at the Christ the King Seminary and was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi.From 2005 to 2009 he served as assistant parish priest at St. Jude's Parish, Karachi....
(1898–1903) - Sir Lewis Dibdin QC (1903–1934)
- Sir Philip Wilbraham-Baker (1934–1955)
- Sir Henry WillinkHenry WillinkSir Henry Urmston Willink, 1st Baronet PC, MC, KC , was a British politician and public servant.He is best known for his service in the Conservative Party as Minister of Health from 1943-1945 in the wartime Coalition Government of the United Kingdom...
QC (1955–1971) - Walter Wigglesworth QC (1971–1972)
- Sir Harold(Pecker) Kent QC (1972–1976)
- Revd Kenneth Elphinstone QC (1977–1980)
- Sir John Owen QC (1980–2000)
- Sheila CameronSheila CameronSheila Morag Clark Cameron, CBE, QC, DCL , is a British lawyer. She was Dean of the Arches and Official Principal of the Arches Court of Canterbury from 2000 to 2009, and was therefore the senior ecclesiastical judge of the Church of England in that period. Since 1983 she has been Vicar-General of...
QC (2000 to 2009) - Charles George, QC 2009–