Ecclesiastical Patronage Records

Division within LCO

1930-1988

Ecclesiastical patronage records relating to responsibilities for certain Church of England appointments.

Registered files on ecclesiastical patronage are in LCO 55 and personal files of clergymen are in LCO 54

Public Record(s)

English

• Lord Chancellor's Department, Ecclesiastical Patronage, 1972-1972
• Lord Chancellor's Office, Ecclesiastical Patronage, 1534-1972

2 series

Topics

Religions

In 1539, following the Reformation, King Henry VIII directed that a list should be made of all the Church of England livings then extant in England and Wales together with information as to their value and the name of the patron. He directed that this catalogue of church benefice should be compiled in two chapters, those livings with more than twenty crowns a year to be listed in chapter one and those less than twenty crowns a year in chapter 2. Two copies were made of this book, the Liber Regis, which is probably the greatest register of property since the compilation of Domesday Book.

This book is still referred to whenever a living lapses to the Crown as it indicates in which chapter the living was included at the time of the survey ordered by Henry VIII. If the living appears in chapter 2, the right of presentation for that turn falls to the Lord Chancellor. However, there are changes from time to time when occasionally livings are bequeathed to the Lord Chancellor by private patrons; there can be a decrease too, as the result of pastoral reorganisation. In approximately half of the five hundred Lord Chancellor's livings, patronage is shared with one or more patrons

Responsibility for the administration of livings worth more than twenty crowns a year fell to the Lord High Steward, but he was not allowed to appoint to them without the King's permission. Whenever an avoidance in any of these livings occurred the King made the appointment himself but the Lord High Steward was allowed to put forward a name if he so wished. When the Lord High Steward's office became obsolete these responsibilities were assumed by the First Lord of the Treasury who can still only put a suggestion to the Sovereign when there is a vacancy in one of these livings and the Sovereign herself appoints.

When the Church in Wales was disestablished all the livings in Wales which were in the gift of the Sovereign were transferred to the Welsh Diocesan Bishops and the Sovereign's patronage (Lord Chancellor and First Lord of the Treasury) then assumed its present size.

The Lord Chancellor's patronage covers the whole country, but the livings are not evenly spread. The heaviest concentration is in the eastern part of England. Some dioceses like Chelmsford, Lincoln, Norwich and St Edmundsbury and Ipswich contain substantial numbers, while others like Carlisle, Chester, Liverpool and Wakefield have none and Ripon and Bradford retain one each. The majority of parishes are in rural or semi rural locations.

The livings encompass every tradition and fashion within the Church of England. Approximately 20% are Catholic, 20% Evangelical and the remaining 60% broadly central.

The role of the patron in the Church today is limited. He does three things. First, he appoints the incumbent when there is a vacancy. Second, he has to give his agreement to pastoral reorganisation affecting parishes within the parsonage. Third, he has to be consulted about major changes to the benefice house such as purchase of a new house or sale of an existing one. Most of this work is reactive to situations as they develop in the church. As Patron however the Lord Chancellor exercises an element of Royal Prerogative and he can use this to bring some extra pressure to bear for the good of the parish, or the incumbent, or to assist the parish.

In a pastoral role a general eye is kept on the parishes through a system of parish visits by the two Ecclesiastical Secretaries. Each of the 500 benefices is visited about every six or seven years. These visits are particularly important with country parishes which feel remote from the centre.

The Ecclesiastical Patronage Offices of the Lord Chancellor and the Prime Minister remained separate until 1964 when they were united in No10 Downing Street.

The law of patronage, the method by which a new incumbent is appointed to a benefice, has been changed by the Patronage (Benefices) Measure 1986. The Measure repeals much of the old law and provides that a new appointment should be a matter for the registered patron, the bishop and two parish representatives appointed by the parochial church council.