Royal Charter of 1662

Royal Charter of 1662
Name	Royal Charter of 1662
Date	1662
Location	London
Issued by	Charles II of England
Related legislation	Act of Uniformity 1662
Subject	Church of England

Royal Charter of 1662 The Royal Charter of 1662 was a formal grant issued during the reign of Charles II of England that reshaped institutional authority and ecclesiastical arrangements in the aftermath of the English Restoration. It intersected with the Act of Uniformity 1662, the Cathedral system, and the re-establishment of Anglicanism across England, Wales, Ireland and colonial possessions, involving leading figures such as Gilbert Sheldon, John Cosin, and William Sancroft. The charter influenced relations among Crown of England, Convocation of Canterbury, Convocation of York, and prominent dioceses including Canterbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.

Background and Context

The 1662 grant emerged after the collapse of the Commonwealth of England and the return of Charles II of England from exile following the Stuart Restoration. It followed episodes including the English Civil War, the Trial of Charles I, and the governance of Oliver Cromwell under the Protectorate. The settlement involved negotiators and clerics such as Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, Gilbert Sheldon, William Laud, and Richard Baxter, responding to crises like the Great Plague of London and the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The document addressed disputes seen at the Humble Petition and Advice and in the post-Restoration parliaments, while aligning with treaties such as the later Treaty of Dover in matters of state religion and royal prerogative.

Drafting and Granting

Drafting drew on precedent from charters and patents used by Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and James I of England to regulate ecclesiastical corporations and collegiate foundations like Magdalene College, Cambridge, Christ Church, Oxford, and Trinity College, Dublin. Key drafters included Gilbert Sheldon and John Cosin, with input from legal minds linked to the Court of Chancery, the Star Chamber’s legacy, and the Attorney General of the realm. The patent was sealed at Whitehall Palace and promulgated alongside instruments such as the Declaration of Breda and the Act of Indemnity and Oblivion to secure restoration settlement. Its issuance was recorded in registers associated with the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and transmitted to bishops in Canterbury and York.

Legal Provisions and Content

The charter incorporated provisions referencing the Act of Uniformity 1662 and statutes governing collegiate churches, cathedral chapters, and episcopal appointments, echoing earlier measures like the Statute of Praemunire. It detailed corporate structure for cathedrals such as Salisbury Cathedral, York Minster, Durham Cathedral, and St Paul’s Cathedral, prescribing rights for deans, prebendaries, and chapters linked to offices formerly regulated under the Court of Exchequer and the Lord Chancellor. The document clarified patronage rights involving families such as the Percys, Howards, and Seydons and institutions such as Lincoln College, Oxford and guilds like the Worshipful Company of Grocers. It referenced procedures for visitation by metropolitan authorities like the Archbishop of Canterbury and canonical instruments rooted in Canon Law shaped by figures including William Laud and later commentators such as John Selden.

Impact on Governance and Church Polity

The charter altered governance within established sees, affecting offices at Canterbury Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral, Exeter Cathedral, and monastic successor institutions like Eton College. It reinforced episcopal supremacy in dioceses administered by bishops such as Robert Sanderson and John Dolben, while influencing parliamentary politics in the Cavalier Parliament and administrative practice at the Board of Trade and Colonial Office where Anglican chaplaincies expanded in Virginia (colony), Massachusetts Bay Colony and Barbados. The measure shaped relationships between the Crown of England and corporate bodies such as the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, and affected legal interpretation by judges on the King's Bench and Common Pleas like Sir Matthew Hale.

Reactions and Controversies

Reactions ranged from support by high church figures such as Gilbert Sheldon and John Cosin to opposition from nonconformists including Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, and congregations in Scotland represented by leaders like Samuel Rutherford. The charter and its companion laws provoked episodes such as the Great Ejection of 1662 and petitions presented in the House of Commons of England and the House of Lords. Debates engaged pamphleteers like Jeremy Collier and polemicists aligned with Presbyterianism, Baptists, and Quakers including George Fox, and reverberated in colonial disputes in New England and Jamaica. Legal challenges reached courts influenced by jurists like Edward Coke’s legacy and commentators such as William Blackstone in later interpretations.

Long-term Legacy and Repeal/Amendments

Over ensuing centuries the charter’s provisions were modified by statutes, judicial decisions, and administrative reforms such as the Cathedrals Measure 1999 in the Church of England and earlier clarifications by Parliament including the Toleration Act 1689 and the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829. The 19th-century reforms of bishops and cathedral chapters under figures like William Gladstone and legislative acts debated in the Reform Act 1832 era altered patronage and representation. Legal scholars from F. W. Maitland to A. V. Dicey assessed its constitutional significance; antiquarians at institutions such as the Bodleian Library and the British Museum preserved related rolls. Elements remained influential until Victorian ecclesiastical commissions and modern measures by the General Synod of the Church of England replaced or amended specific clauses, while historiography by Christopher Hill and Patrick Collinson situates the charter within Restoration settlement debates.

Category:1662 Category:Church of England