The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the third most senior judge of England and Wales, the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain traditionally being first and the Lord Chief Justice second. With the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 removing the Lord Chancellor from the judiciary and designating the Lord Chief Justice head of the judiciary in England and Wales, the Master of the Rolls may be said to rank after him and the Senior Law Lord, who will take the title President of the Supreme Court. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal and since the 2005 reforms is known as the Head of Civil Justice.

The title of the office derives from the fact that originally, the office-holder was a clerk responsible for keeping the "Rolls", or records, of the Chancery court. The post eventually evolved into a judicial one, but the Master still retained his clerical functions by serving as the nominal head of the Public Record Office up until 1958. However the Public Records Act of that year transferred responsibility for the PRO from the Master of the Rolls to the Lord Chancellor.

The Master of the Rolls is also responsible for registering solicitors, who are officers of the Supreme Court.

The present Master of the Rolls is Sir Anthony Clarke, who succeeded Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, now Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, on 1 October 2005.

[edit] Masters of the Rolls, 1286-present

John Langton (2 September 1286–1 October 1295)
Adam Osgodby (1 October 1295–19 August 1316)
William de Ayremynne (19 August 1316–26 May 1324)
Richard de Ayremynne (26 May 1324–4 July 1325)
Henry de Clyff (4 July 1325–20 January 1334)
Michael de Wath (20 January 1334–28 April 1337)
John de St Paul (28 April 1337–10 January 1341)
Thomas de Evesham (10 January 1341–21 February 1341)
John de Thoresby (21 February 1341–2 July 1346)
David de Wollore (2 July 1346–28 March 1371)
William Burstall (28 March 1371–8 September 1381)
John de Waltham (8 September 1381–24 October 1386)
John de Burton (24 October 1386–22 July 1394)
John de Scarle (22 July 1394–11 September 1397)
Thomas Stanley (11 September 1397–24 September 1402)
Nicholas de Bubbewyth (24 September 1402–2 March 1405)
John de Wakering (2 March 1405–3 June 1415)
Simon de Gauntsede (3 June 1415–28 October 1423)
John Fraunke (28 October 1423–13 November 1438)
John Stopynden (13 November 1438–29 March 1447)
Thomas de Kirkeby (29 March 1447–23 December 1461)
Robert Kirkeham (23 December 1461–12 February 1471)
William Morland (12 February 1471–29 April 1471)
John Alcock (29 April 1471–16 March 1472)
John Morton (16 March 1472–9 January 1479)
Robert Morton (9 January 1479–22 September 1483)
Thomas Barrow (22 September 1483–22 August 1485)
Robert Morton (22 August 1485–26 February 1487)
David William (26 February 1487–5 May 1492)
John Blyth (5 May 1492–13 February 1494)
William Warham (13 February 1494–1 February 1502)
William Barnes (1 February 1502–13 November 1504)
Christopher Bainbridge (13 November 1504–22 January 1508)
John Yonge (22 January 1508–12 May 1516)
Cuthbert Tunstall (12 May 1516–20 October 1522)
John Clarke (20 October 1522–9 October 1523)
Thomas Hannibal (9 October 1523–26 June 1527)
John Taylor (26 June 1527–8 October 1534)
Thomas Cromwell (8 October 1534–10 July 1536)
Christopher Hales (10 July 1536–1 July 1541)
Sir Robert Southwell (1 July 1541–13 December 1550)
John de Beaumont (13 December 1550–18 June 1552)
Sir Robert Bowes (18 June 1552–18 September 1553)
Sir Nicholas Hare (18 September 1553–5 November 1557)
Sir William Cordell (5 November 1557–30 May 1581)
Sir Gilbert Gerard (30 May 1581–10 April 1594)
Sir Thomas Egerton (10 April 1594–18 May 1603)
Edward Bruce (18 May 1603–14 January 1611)
Sir Edward Phelips (14 January 1611–1 September 1614)
Sir Julius Caesar (1 September 1614–18 April 1636)
Sir Humphrey May was granted the Mastership of the Rolls on 10 April 1629 but died before he could be sworn in; Sir Julius Caesar continued in office
Sir Dudley Digges (18 April 1636–30 March 1639)
Sir Charles Caesar (30 March 1639–28 January 1643)
Sir John Colepeper, 1st Baron Colepeper (royalist) (28 January 1643–3 November 1660)
William Lenthall (parliamentary) (10 November 1643–14 May 1659)
Sir Harbottle Grimston (3 November 1660–12 January 1685)
Sir John Churchill (12 January 1685–20 October 1685)
Sir John Trevor (20 October 1685–13 March 1689)
Sir Henry Powle (13 March 1689–13 January 1693)
Sir John Trevor (13 January 1693–13 July 1717)
Sir Joseph Jekyll (13 July 1717–9 October 1738)
John Verney (9 October 1738–5 November 1741)
William Fortescue (5 November 1741–11 January 1750)
Sir John Strange (11 January 1750–29 May 1754)
Sir Thomas Clarke (29 May 1754–4 December 1764)
Sir Thomas Sewell (4 December 1764–30 March 1784)
Sir Lloyd Kenyon (30 March 1784–4 June 1788)
Sir Richard Pepper Arden (4 June 1788–27 May 1801)
Sir William Grant (27 May 1801–6 January 1818)
Sir Thomas Plumer (6 January 1818–5 April 1824)
Robert Gifford, 1st Baron Gifford (5 April 1824–14 September 1826)
Sir John Singleton Copley (14 September 1826–3 May 1827)
Sir John Leach (3 May 1827–29 September 1834)
Sir Charles Christopher Pepys (29 September 1834–16 January 1836)
Henry Bickersteth, 1st Baron Langdale (16 January 1836–28 March 1851)
John Romilly, 1st Baron Romilly (28 March 1851–30 August 1873)
Sir George Jessel (30 August 1873–21 March 1883) (died in office)
William Baliol Brett, 1st Baron Esher (3 April 1883–19 October 1897)
Sir Nathaniel Lindley (19 October 1897–9 May 1900)
Richard Everard Webster, 1st Baron Alverstone (9 May 1900–24 October 1900)
Sir Archibald Levin Smith (24 October 1900–24 October 1901)
Sir Richard Henn Collins (24 October 1901–6 March 1907) (became a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary)
Sir Herbert Cozens-Hardy (1st Baron Cozens-Hardy from 1 July 1914) (6 March 1907–3 May 1918)
Sir Charles Swinfen Eady (3 May 1918–3 November 1919) (retired, created Baron Swinfen)
William Pickford, 1st Baron Sterndale (3 November 1919–16 August 1923) (died in office)
Sir Ernest Pollock (1st Baron Hanworth from 28 January 1926) (11 October 1923–7 October 1935) (retired, created Viscount Hanworth)
Robert Wright, Baron Wright (7 October 1935–26 April 1937) (became a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary)
Sir Wilfred Greene (1st Baron Greene from 16 July 1941 (26 April 1937–1 June 1949) (became a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary)
Sir Raymond Evershed (1st Baron Evershed from 20 January 1956) (1 June 1949–19 April 1962) (became a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary)
Tom Denning, Baron Denning (19 April 1962–30 July 1982) (retired)
Sir John Donaldson (Baron Donaldson of Lymington from 15 February 1988) (30 July 1982–1 October 1992) (retired)
Sir Thomas Bingham (1 October 1992–4 June 1996) (became Lord Chief Justice, created Baron Bingham of Cornhill)
Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf (4 June 1996–6 June 2000) (became Lord Chief Justice)
Nicholas Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers (6 June 2000–3 October 2005) (became Lord Chief Justice)
Sir Anthony Clarke (3 October 2005–present)

[edit] References

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