County palatine

2025-10-16T14:08:12Z

2601:281:CF7F:A8D0:2D6F:3DE4:F0AB:85A4: /* Durham, Chester, and Lancaster */

{{Short description|Area with special autonomy from the rest of a kingdom or empire}}
{{about|the palatine counties of England and Ireland||Palatinate (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Lancashire 1610 Speed Hondius - Restoration.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.4|[[John Speed]]'s map of the County Palatine of Lancaster 1610]]

In [[England]], [[Wales]] and [[Ireland]] a '''county palatine''' or '''palatinate'''<ref>"Palatine" is an adjective used in conjunction with the noun county; "Palatinate" is a noun used alone (''[[Collins English Dictionary]]'').</ref> was an area ruled by a hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and autonomy from the rest of a [[Monarchy|kingdom]]. The name derives from the [[Latin]] adjective ''palātīnus'', "relating to the palace", from the noun ''palātium'', "[[palace]]".<ref>''Collins Dictionary of the English Language'', London, 1986</ref><ref>''Cassell's Latin Dictionary'', ed. Marchant & Charles</ref> It thus implies the exercise of a ''quasi''-[[royal prerogative]] within a [[county]], that is to say, a [[jurisdiction]] ruled by an [[earl]], the English equivalent of a [[count]]. A '''duchy palatine''' is similar but is ruled over by a [[duke]], a nobleman of higher [[Order of precedence|precedence]] than an earl or count.

The nobleman swore allegiance to the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|monarch]] yet had the power to rule the county largely independently of the king. It should therefore be distinguished from the [[English feudal barony|feudal barony]], held from the king, which possessed no such independent authority. Rulers of counties palatine created their own feudal baronies, to be held directly from them ''[[in capite]]'', such as the [[Barony of Halton]].<ref>Sanders, I.J., ''English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086–1327'', Oxford, 1960. Sanders excludes "Lordships" such as the [[Barons of Halton|Barony of Halton]] which are situated within Counties Palatine from his lists of feudal baronies.</ref> County palatine jurisdictions were created in England under the rule of the [[House of Normandy|Norman dynasty]], while in [[continental Europe]] they have an earlier date.

In general, when a palatine-type autonomy was granted to a lord by the sovereign, it was in a district on the periphery of the kingdom, at a time when the district was at risk from disloyal armed insurgents who could retreat beyond the borders and re-enter. For the English sovereign in Norman times, this applied to northern England, [[Wales]] and [[Ireland]]. As the authority granted was hereditary, some counties palatine legally survived well past the end of the feudal period.

==History==
===Durham, Chester, and Lancaster===
{{See also|County Palatine of Durham}}
Palatinates emerged in England in the decades following the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman conquest]], as various earls or bishops were granted palatine ("from the palace") powers, i.e. powers of a sort elsewhere exercised by the king. In some places this may have been in part a defensive measure, enabling local authorities to organise the defence of vulnerable frontier areas at their own discretion, avoiding the delays involved in seeking decisions from the court and removing obstructions to the coordinated direction of local resources at the discretion of a single official. However, palatine powers were also granted over areas such as the [[Isle of Ely]] which were not near any frontier.

[[File:Durham Palatinate.JPG|thumb|right|Plaque commemorating the former site of the exchequer and chancery of the [[County Palatine of Durham]] on [[Palace Green]], near the [[Durham Castle and Cathedral|castle and cathedral]].]]
Palatine powers over [[Cheshire]] were acquired by the [[earls of Chester]], a title which has since 1254 been reserved for the [[heir apparent]] to the throne (apart from a brief tenure in 1264–1265 by [[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester|Simon de Montfort]], who had seized control of the government from [[Henry III of England|Henry III]]). Chester had its own parliament, consisting of barons of the county, and was not represented in [[List of Parliaments of England|Parliament]] until 1543,<ref>Harris, B.E. [ed.] (1979). page 98.</ref> while it retained some of its special privileges until 1830.<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Palatine |volume=20 |pages=595–596 |inline=1 |first=Arthur William |last=Holland}}</ref>

Exceptional powers were also granted to the [[bishops of Durham]], who during the aftermath of the Norman conquest had been put in charge of secular administration in what became [[County Durham]]. The autonomous power exercised by these bishops over the [[County Palatine of Durham]] was particularly enduring: Durham did not gain parliamentary representation until 1654, while the bishops of Durham retained their temporal jurisdiction until 1836.

[[File:EnglandLancashireTrad.png|thumb|180px|right|[[Historic counties of England|Boundary]] of the County Palatine of Lancaster within England]]
Palatine powers over [[Lancashire]] were conferred on the first [[duke of Lancaster]] in 1351, at the same time as his promotion from the status of earl. This was only the second dukedom created in England, following that of [[Duchy of Cornwall|Cornwall]] in 1337, which also became associated with palatine powers. The dukedom was united with the Crown on the accession of [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]] in 1399, but the vast estates of the [[Duchy of Lancaster]] were never assimilated into the [[Crown Estate]], continuing even today to be separately administered for the monarch as Duke of Lancaster. The rights exercised through the Duchy, rather than the Crown, included its palatine powers over Lancashire, the last of which were revoked only in 1873. In the county palatine of Lancaster, the [[loyal toast]] is to "the King, Duke of Lancaster".<ref>{{cite web |title=The loyal toast |series=Official functions |quote=The trusted source on British social skills, etiquette, and style-Debrett's |website=Debrett's |language=en-GB |url=http://www.debretts.com/forms-of-address/hierarchies/official-functions/the-loyal-toast.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091231041920/http://www.debretts.com/forms-of-address/hierarchies/official-functions/the-loyal-toast.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 December 2009 |access-date=2016-08-26}}</ref>

The king's writs did not run in these three palatine counties until the nineteenth century<ref>Yates (1856), pp. 3–5.</ref><ref>The [[Law Terms Act 1830]]</ref> and, until the 1970s, Lancashire and Durham had their own courts of [[Court of equity|chancery]]<ref name=EB1911/><ref>[[Courts Act 1971]], section 41</ref> (see [[Court of Chancery of the County Palatine of Lancaster]] and [[Court of Chancery of the County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge]]).

The appeal against a decision of the county court of a county palatine had, in the first instance, to be to the [[court of common pleas]] of that county palatine.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Jewett v. Summons |title=The Law Journal for the Year 1825 |year=1825 |volume=III |page=220 |series=Court of King's Bench |language=en-GB |via=Google Books |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NEJKAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA220}}</ref>

The [[Bailiwick]] of [[Ennerdale, Cumbria|Ennerdale]] may be the last liberty ever fully alienated by the Crown and government, retaining quasi-palatinate powers. Whereas historic palatinates like Durham and Chester exercised delegated royal authority, Ennerdale’s 1822 conveyance by Crown and Parliament [https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-2055-1/dissemination/pdf/Article_Level_Pdf/tcwaas/002/1931/vol31/tcwaas_002_1931_vol31_0021.pdf] transferred those powers outright in [[fee simple]] creating a liberty and bailiwick that functioned “in its own name.” Unlike other medieval autonomies later absorbed by the state, Ennerdale’s statutory autonomy was never rescinded. Thus, it stands as a unique constitutional relic as the only royal forest and bailiwick privately sold with [[court leet]], court baron, liberty, and enforcement rights intact.

{{Blockquote|There are two kings in England, namely, the lord king of England wearing a crown and the lord bishop of Durham wearing a mitre in place of a crown ...| William de St Botolph (1302)<ref>{{cite web |title=Durham: Echoes of Power |publisher=[[British Library]] |website=collectbritain.co.uk |url=http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/galleries/durham/}}</ref>}}

===Other counties palatine in England===
At various times in history, the following areas had palatinate status: [[Shropshire]], [[Kent]], the [[Isle of Ely]] and [[Hexhamshire]] in [[Northumberland]].

Although not formally categorised as a palatinate, in [[Cornwall]] many of the rights associated with palatinates were conferred on the [[Duke of Cornwall]], a title created in 1337 and always held by the [[heir apparent]] to the throne.

===Outside England===

====Wales====
In the history of [[Wales]] in the Norman era, the term most often used is [[Marcher Lord]], which is similar to, but not strictly the same as, a Palatine Lord. Nevertheless, a number of strictly Palatine jurisdictions were created in Wales. One example was the [[Earldom of Pembroke]]<ref name=EB1911/> (until the passing of the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542|Laws in Wales Act 1535]]).

====Ireland====
There were several palatine districts in [[Ireland]] of which the most notable were those of the [[Earls of Desmond]] and the [[Earl of Ormond (Irish)|Earls of Ormond]] in [[County Tipperary]]. The latter continued in existence until it was abolished by the [[County Palatine of Tipperary Act 1715]].

====Scotland====
In [[Scotland]], the earldom of [[Strathearn]] was identified as a county palatine in the fourteenth century, although the title of [[Earl of Strathearn]] has usually been merged with the crown in subsequent centuries and there is little indication that the status of Strathearn differed in practice from other Scottish earldoms.

====American Colonies====
In the colonies, the historic [[Province of Avalon]] in [[Colony of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]] was granted palatine status, as was [[Maryland]] under [[Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hall|first=Clayton Colman|title=Narratives of Early Maryland, 1633–1684 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|year=1910|page=[https://archive.org/details/narrativesofearl00hall/page/103 103]|url=https://archive.org/details/narrativesofearl00hall|quote=grant, cecilius calvert.|access-date=December 4, 2008}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Marcher Lord]]—very similar to a palatine lord in the Middle Ages.
*[[Margrave]]—very similar to a palatine lord in the Middle Ages.
*[[Count palatine]]—sometimes similar to a palatine lord, but this term was not in use in Britain
*[[Duchy of Lancaster]]
*[[Justice of Chester]]
*[[Honour (feudal land tenure)]]
*[[English feudal barony]]
*[[Scottish feudal barony]]
*[[Irish feudal barony]]
*[[Electoral Palatinate]]
*[[Vavasour]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite journal | title=Edward I of England and the Regalian Franchise of Durham | author=Fraser, C. M. | journal=[[Speculum (journal)|Speculum]] | year=1956 | pages=329–342 | volume=31 | doi=10.2307/2849417 | issue=2 | publisher=Medieval Academy of America | jstor=2849417| s2cid=161266106 }}
*{{cite book|editor-last=Harris|editor-first=B. E. |year=1979|title=The Victoria history of the county of Cheshire. Volume II|publisher=University of London Institute of Historical Research|location=London|isbn=978-0-19-722749-7}}
*{{cite book | first=Joseph Brooks | last=Yates | author-link=Joseph Brooks Yates |title=The Rights and Jurisdiction of the County Palatine of Chester, the Earls Palatine, the Chamberlain, and Other Officers | publisher=Charles Simms & Co | url=https://archive.org/details/rightsandjurisd00yategoog | access-date=2007-05-04 | page=308 | year=1856}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20031212122000/http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/galleries/durham/ Durham: Echoes of Power] at the [[British Library]] website

[[Category:Counties of England]]
[[Category:English law]]
[[Category:Norman conquest of England]]

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County palatine