Roll of the Peerage
Encyclopedia
The Roll of the Peerage is a public record registering peers in the peerages of England
, Scotland
, Ireland
, Great Britain
and the United Kingdom
. It was created by Royal Warrant of Queen Elizabeth II dated 1 June 2004, is maintained by the Crown Office
within the United Kingdom's Ministry of Justice
, and is published by the College of Arms
.
received the Royal Assent
and took effect, removing the automatic right of hereditary peers
to a seat in the House of Lords
. Until that date anyone succeeding to a title in the peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain or the United Kingdom and proving succession received a writ of summons to Parliament. All peers receiving such writs were enrolled in the Register of Lords Spiritual and Temporal, a document maintained by the Clerk of Parliaments.
The Register of Lords Spiritual and Temporal was not a complete roll of the peerage. Succession to a title in the Peerage of Ireland had never conferred an automatic right to a writ of summons in the United Kingdom Parliament, although from 1801 to 1922 elected representative peers from the Irish peerage did receive writs. A similar system of representation operated for peers of Scotland from 1707 to 1963, when the right to a writ of summons was extended to all peers of Scotland. However, the Register was an officially compiled roll recording a large proportion of the hereditary peerages of the United Kingdom and its constituent kingdoms.
Under the House of Lords Act 1999, the only peers receiving writs of summons to Parliament are life peers
and 92 representatives of the hereditary peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Ninety of these representatives are elected by and among the hereditary peers themselves; the remaining two, the Duke of Norfolk
and the Marquess of Cholmondeley
, have automatic seats in virtue of their offices of state as Earl Marshal
and Lord Great Chamberlain
respectively. These 92 and any other hereditary peers who may wish to stand and vote in by-elections for the 90 elected representative seats are the only hereditary peers currently recorded for parliamentary purposes. This falls considerably short of the coverage achieved by the old Register of Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and shorter still of being a full register of hereditary peers.
, achieved by Royal Warrant of Edward VII on 8 February 1910, and established an analogous Roll for recording peers of all five peerages recognized in the United Kingdom. The Warrant was published in the London Gazette
on 11 June 2004.
, acting in consultation with Garter Principal King of Arms
and Lord Lyon King of Arms
. On the closure of the Department for Constitutional Affairs in 2007 the duty was transferred, along with the other functions of that department, to the Secretary of State for Justice. Maintenance of the Roll is carried out by an official in the Crown Office known as the Registrar of the Peerage and assisted by an Assistant Registrar.
From November 2010 the most recent version of the Roll has been published in pdf
on the website of the College of Arms together with the text of the Royal Warrant, information on the creation and maintenance of the Roll, and copies of guidance notes and forms for those wishing to apply to be entered on it.
, a genealogist, a legal practitioner or the Registrar of the Peerage.
, who appears as Lord Brodrick on the Roll, the title to which he has proved succession, with the statement that he is customarily known as Viscount Midleton and a cross-reference from 'Midleton'.
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....
, Scotland
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
, Ireland
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
, Great Britain
Peerage of Great Britain
The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Act of Union 1707 but before the Act of Union 1800...
and the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
. It was created by Royal Warrant of Queen Elizabeth II dated 1 June 2004, is maintained by the Crown Office
Clerk of the Crown in Chancery
In the Government of the United Kingdom, the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery is a senior civil servant who is the head of the Crown Office. The Crown Office, a section of the Ministry of Justice, has custody of the Great Seal of the Realm, and has certain administrative functions in connection with...
within the United Kingdom's Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Justice is a ministerial department of the UK Government headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, who is responsible for improvements to the justice system so that it better serves the public...
, and is published by the College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
Background
On 11 November 1999 the House of Lords Act 1999House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
received the Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
and took effect, removing the automatic right of hereditary peers
Hereditary peer
Hereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over seven hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but since the House of Lords Act 1999 only ninety-two are permitted to do so...
to a seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. Until that date anyone succeeding to a title in the peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain or the United Kingdom and proving succession received a writ of summons to Parliament. All peers receiving such writs were enrolled in the Register of Lords Spiritual and Temporal, a document maintained by the Clerk of Parliaments.
The Register of Lords Spiritual and Temporal was not a complete roll of the peerage. Succession to a title in the Peerage of Ireland had never conferred an automatic right to a writ of summons in the United Kingdom Parliament, although from 1801 to 1922 elected representative peers from the Irish peerage did receive writs. A similar system of representation operated for peers of Scotland from 1707 to 1963, when the right to a writ of summons was extended to all peers of Scotland. However, the Register was an officially compiled roll recording a large proportion of the hereditary peerages of the United Kingdom and its constituent kingdoms.
Under the House of Lords Act 1999, the only peers receiving writs of summons to Parliament are life peers
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
and 92 representatives of the hereditary peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Ninety of these representatives are elected by and among the hereditary peers themselves; the remaining two, the Duke of Norfolk
Duke of Norfolk
The Duke of Norfolk is the premier duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier earl. The Duke of Norfolk is, moreover, the Earl Marshal and hereditary Marshal of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the...
and the Marquess of Cholmondeley
Marquess of Cholmondeley
Marquess of Cholmondeley is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for George Cholmondeley, 4th Earl of Cholmondeley. Each Marquess of Cholmondeley is a descendant of Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
, have automatic seats in virtue of their offices of state as Earl Marshal
Earl Marshal
Earl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England...
and Lord Great Chamberlain
Lord Great Chamberlain
The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable...
respectively. These 92 and any other hereditary peers who may wish to stand and vote in by-elections for the 90 elected representative seats are the only hereditary peers currently recorded for parliamentary purposes. This falls considerably short of the coverage achieved by the old Register of Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and shorter still of being a full register of hereditary peers.
The Royal Warrant of 2004
The Royal Warrant of 1 June 2004 had the express aim of remedying this situation as far as possible, stating in the preamble the desirability of a full record of the peerage. It cited as its model the creation of the Official Roll of the BaronetageOfficial Roll of the Baronetage
The Official Roll of the Baronetage is an official list of baronets compiled by the Crown Office, a section of the Ministry of Justice, and published by the Standing Council of the Baronetage. It was first published 23 February 1914...
, achieved by Royal Warrant of Edward VII on 8 February 1910, and established an analogous Roll for recording peers of all five peerages recognized in the United Kingdom. The Warrant was published in the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
on 11 June 2004.
Maintenance and Publication of the Roll
The Warrant imposes the duty of creating and maintaining the Roll on the Secretary of State for Constitutional AffairsSecretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
The Secretary of State for Justice is a senior position in the cabinet of the United Kingdom. It was created in 2007 replacing the abolished Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, which was originally intended to fulfil those functions of the office of Lord Chancellor which related to the...
, acting in consultation with Garter Principal King of Arms
Garter Principal King of Arms
The Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. He is therefore the most powerful herald within the jurisdiction of the College – primarily England, Wales and Northern Ireland – and so arguably the most powerful in the world...
and Lord Lyon King of Arms
Lord Lyon King of Arms
The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, the oldest...
. On the closure of the Department for Constitutional Affairs in 2007 the duty was transferred, along with the other functions of that department, to the Secretary of State for Justice. Maintenance of the Roll is carried out by an official in the Crown Office known as the Registrar of the Peerage and assisted by an Assistant Registrar.
From November 2010 the most recent version of the Roll has been published in pdf
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
on the website of the College of Arms together with the text of the Royal Warrant, information on the creation and maintenance of the Roll, and copies of guidance notes and forms for those wishing to apply to be entered on it.
Method of Enrollment
Enrollment is automatically consequent upon creation as a peer, and can be applied for by way of proving succession to a peerage to the satisfaction of the Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Justice. Essential items in proving succession are a formal petition and a statutory declaration made by a person other than the applicant. Guidance notes are produced by the Crown Office to assist with simple proof, as where for instance the applicant is closely related to his or her predecessor. More complex succession, where the relationship is distant, may require specific professional assistance from an officer of armsOfficer of arms
An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate armorial matters*to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state...
, a genealogist, a legal practitioner or the Registrar of the Peerage.
Effect of Enrollment
According to the Royal Warrant any person not entered on the Roll shall not be entitled to the precedence of a peer or addressed or referred to as a peer in any official document. However a peer who is enrolled in a junior title (not having proved a senior title) is nonetheless noted in the Roll as 'customarily styled' by the superior title in question, which is then named—even though succession to this title has not been proved. One example of many is Viscount MidletonViscount Midleton
Viscount Midleton, of Midleton in the County of Cork, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1717 for Alan Brodrick, 1st Baron Brodrick, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland and former Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. He had already been created Baron Brodrick, of Midleton in the...
, who appears as Lord Brodrick on the Roll, the title to which he has proved succession, with the statement that he is customarily known as Viscount Midleton and a cross-reference from 'Midleton'.