A royal peculiar is a Church of England parish or church exempt from the jurisdiction of the diocese and the province in which it lies, and subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch.
Definition
The church parish system dates from the early Middle Ages, when most early churches were provided by the lord whose estate land coincided with that of the parish. A donative parish (or "peculiar") was one that was exempt from diocesan jurisdiction.
There are several reasons for peculiars but usually they were held by a senior churchman from another district, parish or diocese, and gave
Advowson (salaries or use of property) to those clergy chosen by the donor or donor's heir. They could include the separate or "peculiar" jurisdiction of the monarch, another archbishop or bishop, or the dean and chapter of a cathedral (also, the
Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller).
An
archbishop's peculiar is subject to the direct jurisdiction of an
archbishop and a
royal peculiar is subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch.
Most peculiars survived the Reformation but, with the exception of royal peculiars, were finally abolished during the 19th century by various Acts of Parliament and became subject to the jurisdiction of the diocese in which they lay, although a few non-royal peculiars still exist.[ The majority of royal peculiars that remain are within the Diocese of London.]
Present day
London
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The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, commonly known as Westminster Abbey, and containing the Henry VII Chapel, which is the chapel of the Order of the Bath.
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The chapels associated with the Chapel Royal, which refers not to a building but to an establishment in the Royal household, a body of priests and singers who explicitly serve the spiritual needs of the sovereign. Since the 18th century, because the Bishop of London is customarily appointed the Dean of the Chapel Royal, the bishop typically has authority of these chapels as dean, instead of as bishop even though they are geographically within the Diocese of London.
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The Chapel Royal, St James's Palace
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The Queen's Chapel, St James's Palace
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The Chapel Royal, Hampton Court
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The Chapel of St John the Evangelist in the White Tower of the Tower of London
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The Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in the Inner Ward of the Tower of London
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Savoy Chapel,
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The Chapel of St Mary Undercroft,
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The Royal Foundation of St Katharine
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Temple Church, built in the 1100s by the Knights Templar in the City of London
Edinburgh
Cambridge
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The Church of St Edward, King and Martyr
Windsor
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St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, the Chapel of the Order of the Garter
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Royal Chapel of All Saints (in the grounds of the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park)
Former royal peculiars
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St Michael's Collegiate Church, Penkridge near Wolverhampton
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St Michael and All Angels' Church, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton 1247–1548
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Canons of Dover Priory, until 1130
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Holy Trinity, Minories, London, until 1730
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St Mary and St Alkelda, Middleham, North Yorkshire, until 1856
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St Nicholas' Chapel, the free chapel of Tickhill Castle (West Riding of Yorkshire - now South Yorkshire). Founded by Eleanor of Aquitaine c1174. Dissolved in the reign of Edward VI (1547-1553)
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Wimborne Minster, Dorset, 1318–1846
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St Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton, 1479–1846
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The Deanery of St Buryan, Cornwall, comprising St Buryan's Church in St Buryan, St Sennen's Church, Sennen, and St Levan's Church, St Levan, until 1850, and was a peculiar under the jurisdiction of the Duchy of Cornwall with the dean appointed by the duke.
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The Deanery of Bridgnorth, Shropshire, until 1856
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Dorchester Abbey in Dorchester on Thames, Oxfordshire, 1536–1837
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The Collegiate Church and Royal Free Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, St Mary's Church, Shrewsbury, until 1856
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St Mary's Church, Stafford
Non-royal peculiars
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St Mary-le-Bow, City of London (until 1850)
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The Parish of Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales
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The Parish of Southwick, Hampshire (St James, Southwick and St Nicholas, Boarhunt)
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Charterhouse chapel, Islington, London
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The Peculiar (or Peculier) of Masham, North Yorkshire
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Church of St Mary the Virgin, Hornby, North Yorkshire
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Christ Church, Oxford
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All college chapels of the University of Oxford
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Christ Church, Bath, Somerset
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Chapel of St Lawrence, Warminster, Wiltshire; bought by the townspeople in 1574, administered by .
The following chapels of the Inns of Court are extra-diocesan, and therefore peculiars, but not royal:
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Lincoln's Inn Chapel
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Gray's Inn Chapel
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See also
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Exemption (Catholic canon law)
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Extra-parochial area
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Proprietary chapel
Related concepts in secular government
Notes
Citations
External links
