Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the
History
The seal was adopted by Edward the Confessor, and its custody was at first entrusted to a chancellor. The office of chancellor from the time of Thomas Becket onwards varied much in importance. The holder being a churchman, he was not only engaged in the business of his diocese, but was sometimes away from England. Consequently, it became not unusual to place the personal custody of the great seal in the hands of a vice-chancellor or keeper; this was also the practice followed during a temporary vacancy in the chancellorship.[2]
This office gradually developed into a permanent appointment, and the lord keeper acquired the right of discharging all the duties connected with the great seal. He was usually, though not necessarily, a
The last lord keeper was
See also
- Chafe-wax
- Great Seal of Scotland (held by the First Minister since 1999)
- Great Seal of Northern Ireland (held by the Secretary of State since 1973)
- Welsh Seal (held by the First Minister since 2011)
- List of lord chancellors and lord keepers
- Lord Chancellor
- Lord Privy Seal
References
- ISBN 978-1-84954-480-1. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lord Keeper of the Great Seal". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 5.
- ^ Drummond, Francis Maurice; Lindsay, William Alexander (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 267.
