chancery

chancery, the secretariat of the Dublin government which issued letters and orders in the king's name, authenticated by the Irish great seal. The Irish chancery was established in 1232; before this, official documents had been authenticated by the justiciar's personal seal. The chancery issued letters patent, which were notifications of appointments, grants, and other matters of general interest, and letters close, addressed to individuals or groups of people, and mostly containing orders and instructions. The two types of letter were differentiated by the manner in which the seal was attached, letters patent having a seal hanging from a cord or strip of parchment at the base of the document, while the seal on letters close was attached after the letter was rolled up and had to be broken before the document could be read. Copies of outgoing letters were kept in the patent and close rolls. The chancery also kept files of warrants authorizing the issue of letters under the great seal, and inquisitions and other documents sent in by officials in response to chancery orders.

In addition to the chancellor, the officials of the chancery included the keeper of the rolls, responsible for the custody of the records, and the clerk of the hanaper, who received and accounted for fees paid for sealing documents with the great seal. There were frequent complaints about understaffing and the incompetence of the clerks. Several attempts at reform and reorganization were made but these met with little success. The lack of professionalism in the Irish chancery has been seen as one reason why it did not, like the English chancery, evolve as a court of equity in the 15th century. The chancery did not have any fixed location, but travelled around the country with the justiciar. An attempt in 1395 to provide a permanent base in Dublin was ineffective.

In 1534 chancery at length began an equity jurisdiction in line with its English counterpart. This proved popular. Not only were its procedures quicker than the Irish common law courts, where impartial verdicts were difficult to obtain from juries, but also its arbitration system suited brehon law cases emanating from newly incorporated Gaelic lordships.

In the 18th century much chancery work concerned inheritance, especially trusts which were not recognized in common law. In the early 19th century it became increasingly involved in dealing with bankrupt landlords: by 1844 receivers appointed by chancery were having to administer 874 Irish estates. The Encumbered Estates Act of 1849 empowered three commissioners of the court to order land sales.

In the 1850s the court was reformed and in 1878 it became one of the five divisions of the Supreme Court (see courts of law).

Philomena Connolly/ and Hiram Morgan