Writ - Bishop's Writ of Summons to a New Parliament with the Praemunientes Clause [1866-07-06]

Dublin Core

Title

Writ - Bishop's Writ of Summons to a New Parliament with the Praemunientes Clause [1866-07-06]

Subject

Ecclesiastical
Parliament
Archbishops and Bishops

Description

Writ summoning the Bishop of Lichfield to a new Parliament on August 15, 1866.

Creator

Crown Office

Source

James Wayland Joyce, Acts of the Church 1531-1885: The Church of England Her Own Reformer (London, 1886), 381-382.

Date

1866-07-06

Contributor

Jason Loch

Writ Item Type Metadata

Transcript

Victoria by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen Defender of the Faith To the Right Reverend Father in God John Bishop of Lichfield Greeting Whereas by the advice and assent of Our Council for certain arduous and urgent affairs concerning Us the state and defence of Our said United Kingdom and the Church We have ordered a certain Parliament to be holden at Our City of Westminster on the Fifteenth day of August next ensuing and there to treat and have conference with the Prelates Great Men and Peers of Our Realm We strictly enjoining command you by the faith and love by which you are bound to Us that the weightiness of the said affairs and imminent perils considered waiving all excuses you be at the said day and place personally present with Us and with the said Prelates Great Men and Peers to treat and give your counsel upon the affairs aforesaid and this as you regard Us and Our honour and the safety and defence of the said United King dom and Church and dispatch of the said affairs in no wise do you omit Forewarning the Dean and Chapter of your Church of Lichfield and the Archdeacons and all the Clergy of your Diocese that they the said Dean and Archdeacons in their proper persons and the said Chapter by one and the said Clergy by two meet Proctors severally having full and sufficient authority from them the said Chapter and Clergy at the said day and place be personally present to consent to those things which then and there by the Common Counsel of Our said United Kingdom by the favour of the Divine clemency shall happen to be ordained Witness Ourselves at Westminster the Sixth day of July in the Twenty ninth Year of Our Reign

Ornamentation

The text of this instrument was printed in a book and so it does not reflect the formatting of the original.

Special Features

This writ features the praemunientes ("forewarning") clause which directed the bishop to bring representatives of his diocesan clergy to Parliament with him. The practice began in 1295, though the summons was no longer enforced after the 14th century since the clergy preferred to attend Convocation instead. However, the language remained in the bishops' writs of summons until it was removed by The Crown Office (Writs of Summons) Rules 1969.

In 1965, a clerical proctor from the Convocation of Canterbury attempted to take a seat in the House of Commons in order to protest the Prime Minister's role in selecting Church of England bishops.

Citation

Crown Office, “Writ - Bishop's Writ of Summons to a New Parliament with the Praemunientes Clause [1866-07-06],” Corpus of British Administrative Instruments, accessed October 20, 2026, https://cbaionline.org/corpus/items/show/203.

Output Formats