Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act 1840

In the chapter of Christchurch in Oxford the first vacant canonry, not being one of the two canonries which are respectively annexed to regius professorships in the university of Oxford, shall immediately become and be permanently annexed and united to the lady Margaret’s professorship of divinity in the said university, and shall and may be held by the present and every future lady Margaret’s professor of divinity therein; and upon such annexation as aforesaid the canonry in the cathedral church of Worcester, which is now annexed to the last-mentioned professorship, shall be ipso facto detached therefrom, and shall become vacant; and the canonry secondly-vacant in the said chapter of Christchurch shall be subject to the provisions herein-after contained respecting the endowment of archdeaconries by the annexation of canonries thereto.

And whereas her Majesty has graciously intimated to Parliament her royal will and intention to found two new professorships in the said university of Oxford, and it is expedient that the same should be competently endowed: the two canonries in the said chapter of Christchurch (not being either of them a canonry annexed or to be annexed to any of the professorships already founded in the said university) which shall be thirdly and fourthly vacant, shall, upon the vacancies thereof respectively, and the foundation of such professorships respectively, become and be permanently annexed and united thereto, in such order as her Majesty shall, in and by her royal letters patent founding such professorships, direct and appoint; and if either of such last-mentioned canonries be vacant before the foundation of such professorships, the same shall not be filled up until after such foundation; and after such annexation the said canonries shall and may be held by the holders of such professorships respectively for the time being; provided that if the member of any college or hall in the said university except Christchurch shall hereafter accept any professorship to which a canonry of Christchurch is or shall be annexed, he shall thereby cease to be a member of such other college or hall.

Except as herein particularly specified, nothing in this Act contained shall in any manner affect or apply to the cathedral church of Christ in Oxford.

The deanery of every cathedral and collegiate church upon the old foundation, except in Wales, and the three existing canonries in the cathedral church of Saint Paul in London, shall henceforth be in the direct patronage of her Majesty, who shall and may, upon the vacancy of any such deanery or canonry, appoint, by letters patent, a spiritual person to be dean or canon, as the case may be, who shall thereupon be entitled to installation as dean or canon of the church to which he may be so appointed.

No person shall hereafter be capable of receiving the appointment of dean F69... F8, archdeacon, or canon, until he shall have been six years complete in F9holy orders and, in the case of a dean F69 ... or archdeacon, be in priest’s orders at the time of the appointment, except in the case of a canonry annexed to any professorship, headship, or other office in any university.

The rectory of the parish of Saint Margaret in the city of Westminster shall immediately become and be permanently annexed and united to the canonry in the said collegiate church of Saint Peter Westminster held by Henry Hart Milman clerk, master of arts, and the rectory of the parish of Saint John in the same city shall immediately become and be permanently annexed and united to the canonry in the same church held by John Jennings clerk, master of arts; and the said Henry Hart Milman and his successors, and the successors of the said John Jennings, in the said respective canonries, shall, as canons of the said church, become ipso facto rectors of the said respective parishes and the parish churches thereof, to all intents and purposes; and the said parishes shall become and be part of the province of Canterbury of the diocese of London, and of the archdeaconry of Middlesex; and the said parishes, and the rectors and other ministers and officers thereof, shall, in ecclesiastical matters, be subject only to the jurisdiction of the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop of London, and the archdeacon of Middlesex respectively, in the same manner as other parishes in the said province, diocese, and archdeaconry are respectively subject thereto, and be exempted and relieved from all other ecclesiastical jurisdiction whatsoever: Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall in any manner affect or prejudice any of the rights, customs, or claims of the parishioners of the said parish of Saint Margaret, or the vestry or churchwardens thereof for the time being, nor render them liable to or chargeable with the repairs of the said Broadway chapel further or otherwise than as they now are or may become liable thereto by any law in force at the time of the passing of this Act.

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In the construction of this Act the said free chapel of Saint George in Windsor shall be held to be included in the term collegiate church; and immediately upon the first vacancy of the deanery of the said free chapel so much of an Act passed in the reign of Queen Anne, for annexing the rectory or parsonage of Haseley to the deanery of the said free chapel, as relates to the rectory, parsonage, and parish of Haseley, shall be repealed, and the rectory of Haseley in the county of Oxford shall be absolutely detached and dissevered from the said deanery, and, subject to such appropriation of the revenues thereof as shall be determined on by the authority herein-after provided, shall be in the patronage of the chapter of the said chapel: . . . . . . F23

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The F30Church Commissioners shall, for the purpose of enforcing payment of all profits and emoluments to be paid to them, and of obtaining possession of all lands, tithes, or other hereditaments vested in or accruing to them as aforesaid, and of recovering the rents and profits thereof, have and enjoy all rights, powers, and remedies, at law and in equity, which belonged or belong, or would belong or have belonged, to the holder of the deanery, canonry, prebend, dignity, or office, or the rector of the rectory, in respect of which such profits and emoluments, lands, tithes, and other hereditaments and endowments respectively are by or under the provisions of this Act to be paid or to accrue to and be vested in the said commissioners.

Except as herein otherwise specified, all the monies and revenues to be paid to the F39Church Commissioners, and all the rents and profits of the lands, tithes, and other hereditaments vested and to be vested in them the said commissioners by and under the authority of this Act, together with all accumulations of interest produced by and arising therefrom, shall be from time to time carried over by the said commissioners to F39their general fund, and by payments or investments made out of such fund, or, if in any case it be deemed more expedient, by means of an actual conveyance and assignment of such lands, tithes, or other hereditaments, or of a portion thereof, additional provision shall be made F40. . . for the cure of souls in parishes where such assistance is most required, in such manner as shall F40. . . be deemed most conducive to the efficiency of the Established Church: F62...

By the authority herein-after provided, and for the purpose of fully carrying into effect any of the provisions of this Act or of the said first-recited Act, any sum of money which shall have been invested in the public funds, or in other security or securities, in trust for any ecclesiastical body corporate, aggregate or sole, may, upon an application in writing to the F41Church Commissioners, under the hand and seal of such body corporate, and, in the case of any chapter, with the consent of the visitor thereof, be directed to be sold, and the same shall be sold accordingly; and the produce of such sale shall be applied to such purpose and in such manner as shall appear most conducive to the permanent benefit of such body corporate; and also, for any like purpose, and by the like authority, any arrangement may from time to time be made, with the consent in writing under the corporate seal of any bishop or chapter, for the sale, transfer, or exchange of any lands, tithes, or other hereditaments, belonging to the see of such bishop or to such chapter, or for the purchase of other lands, tithes, or other hereditaments in lieu thereof, or for substituting in any case any lands, tithes, or other hereditaments for any money payment.

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In the construction of this Act the term “canon” shall be construed to mean only every residentiary member of chapter, except the dean, heretofore styled either prebendary canon, canon residentiary, or residentiary; F55. . ..