Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

The Clerk of the Crown in Chancery in Great Britain 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 the courts and the judicial process, as well as functions relating to the electoral process for House of Commons elections, to the keeping of the Roll of the Peerage, and to the preparation of royal documents such as warrants required to pass under the royal sign-manual, fiats, letters patent, etc.

History

The position evolved from the mediaeval office of the Chancery. The first individual known to be designated as Clerk of the Crown in Chancery was Benedict Normanton in 1331. After 1384, it became common for two persons to hold the clerkship in two separate offices, and in some cases two persons held one of the offices in survivorship.

From 1885 onwards, the office of Clerk of the Crown in Chancery has always been held by the Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department (now the Ministry of Justice). The Clerk of the Crown is formally appointed by the monarch under the royal sign-manual;Great Seal (Offices) Act 1874, section 8 they must take an oath before assuming the office, which is now administered by the Lord Chancellor.

Responsibilities

Since 1885, the office of Clerk of the Crown in Chancery has been combined with that of Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department (now the Ministry of Justice). The Clerk of the Crown in Chancery is appointed by the Monarch under the royal sign-manual.

All formal royal documents (such as warrants to be signed by the monarch; letters patent, both those that are signed by the King himself and those that are approved by warrant; and royal charters) are prepared by the Crown Office.

The Crown Office is also responsible for sealing with the Great Seal of the Realm all documents that need to pass under that seal, once the authority for the use of the seal is signified by the Sovereign (authorisation to use the Seal is granted either by the monarch signing a warrant that approves the draft text of letters patent, directs that they be prepared and authorises them to be sealed and issued; or by the Sovereign directly signing the letters patent that are to pass under the great seal, as is necessary in some cases, such as with letters patent that grant Royal Assent to bills passed by Parliament and with instruments of consent relating to royal marriages).

The Clerk of the Crown in Chancery discharges his or her functions regarding the use of the Great Seal and the preparation of royal warrants, letters patent, etc., under the direction of the Lord Chancellor, who is the keeper of the Great Seal of the Realm.

The Crown Office is also responsible for maintaining and updating the Roll of the Peerage. The Secretary of State for Justice is the keeper of the Peerage Roll, and his duties in that regard are daily discharged by a Registrar of the Peerage and a Deputy Registrar, who work within the Crown Office and are therefore under the supervision of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery. The duties of the Ministry of Justice regarding the keeping and maintenance of the Roll of the Peerage are discharged in collaboration with the Garter King of Arms and Lord Lyon King of Arms, regarding their respective heraldic jurisdictions. The Crown Office also compiles the Official Roll of the Baronetage.

The Crown Office also has duties relating to the elections for the House of Commons. The Clerk of the Crown in Chancery initiates a parliamentary election in a constituency by sending an election writ to the returning officer of the constituency, and historically received all ballot papers and ballot stubs after the election was completeMemorandum on Electoral Law and Administration though they are now kept locally by the registration officer for each area (and retained for a year).Representation of the People Act 1983, Schedule 1, rule 55

The Clerk issues election writs to the relevant returning officer for each constituency, whenever the King makes a proclamation dissolving parliament, and issues an election writ to a specific constituency whenever that constituency's seat is certified as vacant. The Clerk then receives the completed election writs, from the returning officer, after the results are declared. These completed writs are used to create a Return Book, listing the names of all those who are returned as members of the House of Commons in a general election, and delivers that book to the Clerk of the House of Commons on the first day of a new parliament.

List of Clerks of the Crown

+ Clerk of the Crown in Chancery # Portrait Name Term of office Office Concurrent office(s) 1 Benedict Normanton 1331 1350 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 2 John (de) Tamworth 1350 13741376 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 3 Geoffrey Martin 1376 1396 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 4 Edmund Brudenell 1380 1385 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 1384 1385 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery 5 James (de) Billingford 1385 1396 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 1396 1409 Chief Clerk of the Crown in Chancery 6 John Clerk Secondary Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 1409 1415 Clerks of the Crown in Chancery 7 William Champneys 1415 — 8 Richard Sturgeon 1415 1415 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 1415 1449 Clerks of the Crown in Chancery 9 Sir Thomas Haseley 1448 — 1448 1449 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery 10 Thomas Ive 1461 — 1461 1481 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery 11 William Rous 1449 1470 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 12 John Bagot 1470 1499 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 13 Richard Ive 1481 1485 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 1485 1487 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery 14 Gilbert Bacheler 1485 — 1487 1500 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery 15 Clement Clerk 1504 — 16 William Porter 1504 1522 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 17 Ralph Pexall 1522 1537 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 18 Sir Thomas Pope 1537 1538 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 1538 1544 Clerks of the Crown in Chancery 19 John Lucas — 20 Edmund Martin 1544 1546 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 1546 1579 Clerks of the Crown in Chancery 21 Thomas Powle (I) 1601 — 22 Sir George Coppin 1601 1620 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 23 Sir Thomas Edmondes 1620 1629 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 24 Thomas Willis 1629 1646 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 25 John Bolles 1643 1654 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 26 Nathaniel Taylor 1655 16591660 Clerk of the Commonwealth — 27 Valentine Willis 1660 1660 Clerk of the Commonwealth — 1660 1660 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery 28 Henry Barker 1660 1692 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 29 Thomas Chute 1692 1701 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 30 George Wright 1701 1725 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — Clerk of the Crown in Chancery 31 Stephen Bisse 1725 1746 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 32 Thomas Bray 1737 33 Charles Yorke 1746 1770 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery 34 John Yorke 1801 — 35 Henry Bathurst3rd Earl Bathurst 1801 1834 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery 36 Apsley Bathurst 1816 — 37 Sir Denis Le Marchant 1834 1834 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery — 38 Leonard Edmunds 1834 1848 Clerk of the Crown — 39 Charles Edward Pepys'' held courtesy title as Viscount Crowhurst as heir to the Earldom of Cottenham ; he later succeeded as the 2nd Earl of Cottenham .}} | 1848 | 1851 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery | —

| 40 | | Charles Romilly| 1851 | 1880 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery | —

| 41 | |Ralph Charlton Palmer| 1880 | 1885 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery | —

| 42 | | Sir Kenneth Muir Mackenzie | 1885 | 1915 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery | rowspan=9 | Permanent Secretary

| 43 | | Sir Claud Schuster | 1915 | 1944 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

| 44 | | Sir Albert Napier | 1944 | 1954 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery | — |- | 45 | | Sir George Coldstream | 1954 | 1968 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

| 46 | | Sir Denis Dobson | 1968 | 1977 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

| 47 | | Sir Wilfrid Bourne | 1977 | 1982 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

| 48 | | Sir Derek Oulton | 1982 | 1989 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

| 49 | | Sir Thomas Legg | 1989 | 1998 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

| 52 | | Sir Suma Chakrabarti | 2007 | 2012 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery | rowspan=3 | Permanent Secretary

| 53 | | Dame Ursula Brennan | 2012 | 2015 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

| 54 | | Sir Richard Heaton | 2015 | 2020 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

| — | | Ceri King| 2020 | 2020 | Acting Clerk of the Crown in Chancery | | — |- | 55 | | Dame Antonia Romeo | 2021 | 2025 | Clerk of the Crown in Chancery | Permanent Secretary

| — | | Amy Rees| 2025 | 2025 | Acting Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

| 56 | | Jo Farrar''' 2025 present Clerk of the Crown in Chancery Permanent Secretary

Canadian Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

The office of Clerk of the Crown in Chancery was carried over to Canada. From 1791 to 1866, there were Clerks for both Lower Canada and Upper Canada. They carried out electoral functions similar to the British Clerk. Following Confederation in 1867, the federal government established the position of Clerk of the Crown to oversee elections. The office was amalgamated into the position of Chief Electoral Officer in 1920.Library and Archives Canada: LAC Collection on Politics and Government.

Notes

References

External links

Parliamentary Archives, Records of the Clerk of the Crown

Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

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