Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England
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The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the
Civil Division Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...
of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Head of Civil Justice. As a judge, the Master of the Rolls is second in seniority in England and Wales only to the Lord Chief Justice. The position dates from at least 1286, although it is believed that the office probably existed earlier than that. The Master of the Rolls was initially a clerk responsible for keeping the "Rolls" or records of the Court of Chancery, and was known as the Keeper of the Rolls of Chancery. The Keeper was the most senior of the dozen Chancery clerks, and as such occasionally acted as keeper of the
Great Seal of the Realm The Great Seal of the Realm or Great Seal of the United Kingdom (known prior to the Treaty of Union of 1707 as the Great Seal of England; and from then until the Union of 1801 as the Great Seal of Great Britain) is a seal that is used to sym ...
. The post evolved into a judicial one as the Court of Chancery did; the first reference to judicial duties dates from 1520. With the
Judicature Act 1873 The Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 (sometimes known as the Judicature Act 1873) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1873. It reorganised the English court system to establish the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and ...
, which merged the Court of Chancery with the other major courts, the Master of the Rolls joined the Chancery Division of the High Court and the Court of Appeal, but left the Chancery Division by the terms of the Judicature Act 1881. The Master of the Rolls had also been warden of the little-used
Domus Conversorum The ''Domus Conversorum'' ('House of the Converts'), later Chapel of the Master of the Rolls, was a building and institution in London for Jews who had converted to Christianity. It provided a communal home and low wages. It was needed because, u ...
for housing Jewish converts, which led to the house and chapel being used to store legal documents and later becoming the location of the Public Record Office. He retained his clerical functions as the nominal head of the Public Record Office until the Public Records Act 1958 transferred responsibility for it to the Lord Chancellor. One residual reminder of this role is the fact that the Master of the Rolls of the day continues to serve, ''
ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...
'', as President of the British Records Association. The Master of the Rolls was also previously responsible for registering solicitors, the officers of the Senior Courts. One of the most prominent people to hold the position was Thomas Cromwell, a highly influential figure during the reign of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
; more recently, Lord Denning held the position for 20 years, from 1962 to 1982, and made sweeping changes in the common law. On 3 October 2016,
Sir Terence Etherton Terence Michael Elkan Barnet Etherton, Baron Etherton, (born 21 June 1951) is a British retired judge and member of the House of Lords. He was the Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice from 2016 to 2021 and Chancellor of the High Court ...
succeeded
Lord Dyson John Anthony Dyson, Lord Dyson, (born 31 July 1943) is a former British judge and barrister. He was Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice, the second most senior judge in England and Wales, from 2012 to 2016, and a Justice of the Supr ...
as Master of the Rolls. In July 2020, it was announced that
Sir Geoffrey Vos Sir Geoffrey Charles Vos (born 22 April 1955) is a British judge. Since January 2021, he has held the position of Master of the Rolls, the head of civil justice in the court system of England and Wales. Early life Vos was born on 22 April 1955 ...
was to be appointed as his replacement from 11 January 2021.


List of Masters of the Rolls


Gallery

File:Cromwell,Thomas(1EEssex)01.jpg, alt=A Tudor man in a large coat and hat, possibly of fur, sitting at a desk, Thomas Cromwell, a highly influential figure during the reign of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
File:Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley from NPG.jpg, alt=An elderly gentleman dressed in a black coat and hat, with a white ruff around his neck. He has a pointed, grey beard, and is holding a red bag with a coat of arms on it., Sir Thomas Egerton, who served as Lord Keeper and Lord Chancellor for 21 years File:Sir John Trevor - detail.jpg, alt=A middle-aged, slightly overweight man. He has long, curled hair, possibly a wig, and a heavy, decorated robe., Sir John Trevor, the last
Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: *Speaker of ...
to resign in over 300 years until the resignation of Michael Martin in 2009 File:LordLindley cropp.jpg, alt=A man sitting relaxed and facing the right. He is in full judicial dress, with a wig, suit and heavy robe., Sir Nathaniel Lindley, who made key judgments in a variety of important cases and was the last Serjeant-at-Law appointed, the last to sit as a judge and the last surviving. File:Lord Bingham.jpg, alt=An elderly gentleman walking along. He is wearing a suit with grey trousers, over which is draped a heavy robe and a gold change. A black hat with a large white plume sits on his head. In the background stands a police woman separated from a group of people by a white cordon.,
Sir Thomas Bingham Sir Thomas Henry Bingham, Baron Bingham of Cornhill, (13 October 193311 September 2010), was an eminent British judge who was successively Master of the Rolls, Lord Chief Justice and Senior Law Lord. He was described as the greatest lawyer ...
, who helped establish the
UK Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...


Peerages created for the Master of the Rolls


See also

* :Masters of the Rolls


References


Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Master of the Rolls Ceremonial officers in the United Kingdom Judges of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales) Courts of England and Wales English civil law Lists of judges in the United Kingdom