Diocesan Registries

Stone King’s Registry Team

Stone King has three Diocesan Registries working out of its offices in London and Bath. 

Lee Coley is Diocesan Registrar for the Dioceses of Bristol and Leicester; and Christopher D Jones is the Diocesan Registrar for the Diocese of Bath & Wells.

What is a Diocesan Registrar?

A Diocesan Registrar is one of the two legal officers of a Diocese. A Diocese is an area under the care of a Bishop. In the Church of England, a Diocesan Registrar is appointed by a Diocesan Bishop to act as their legal advisor.

A Diocesan Registrar has functions under statute and canon law. Canon law of the Church of England is a set of rules drawn up over time, governing, amongst other things, licensing of clergy, conduct of worship, life events and ecumenical relationships. The Diocesan Registrar is also an officer of the Consistory Court. 

What is the Consistory Court?

The other of the two legal officers of a Diocese is usually known as the Diocesan Chancellor. Each Church of England Diocese has a court of the Bishop, which is usually known as the Consistory Court. A Diocesan Chancellor is appointed by a Diocesan Bishop to act as an independent judge of the Diocesan Consistory Court. Other titles that may be associated with a Chancellor are ‘Official Principal of the Bishop’ and ‘Vicar General’.

A Chancellor may, with the Bishop’s consent, appoint someone to act as their Deputy Chancellor. A Deputy Chancellor has the same powers and duties as the Chancellor. The Chancellor and their Deputy Chancellor act independently of the Bishop who appointed them or consented to their appointment. They are usually barristers working out of chambers.

The Diocesan Registrar has functions under statute and canon law as Registrar of the Consistory Court.

What is the Registry?

The Registry is the office of the Registrar, where matters are filed and recorded and from which advice on Church of England ecclesiastical matters is given to clergy and church officers in the Diocese, as well as, in some cases, members of the public.

Who is the Registry team?

The Registry team assist the Diocesan Registrars in their work. A Diocesan Registrar may appoint a Deputy Registrar in the same way a Chancellor appoints a Deputy Chancellor. They are also assisted by others who are sometimes referred to as Registry Clerks. 

In addition to the Registrars, the Stone King Registry Team are:

Bath & Wells

Sarah Williams, Registry Manager (email: SarahWilliams@StoneKing.co.uk, telephone: 01225 324406)

Bristol and Leicester

Frances Reynolds, Registry Manager (email: FrancesReynolds@StoneKing.co.uk, telephone: 020 7324 1525)

Davinia Davies, Registry Apprentice Solicitor (email: DaviniaDavey@StoneKing.co.uk, telephone: 01225 324458)

What type of work does the Registry team do? 

The Diocesan Registry services include:

• giving advice to the bishops, archdeacons and all clergy licenced in the Diocese on legal matters arising from the carrying out of their offices;
• giving advice to churchwardens and Parochial Church Council (PCC) secretaries on legal matters arising from their duties or official business;
• attending meetings such as diocesan synod, bishops council, and diocesan boards;
• keeping records and searching those records at the request of clergy, churchwardens and PCC secretaries;
• giving advice to members of the public on questions of the law of marriage, baptism, confirmations and burials according to the rites of the Church of England;
• acting as registrar of the Consistory Court – so dealing with faculty applications submitted to the Registry, submitting them to the Chancellor, co-ordinating any directions and ultimately issuing and sealing faculties granted;
• drafting documents such as clergy licences, licences of buildings to be used for public worship, orders relating to banns of marriage, and agreements forming conventional districts;
• acting for bishops and archdeacons in relation to the consecration of churches and burial grounds and licensing buildings for weddings;
• maintaining the patronage register;
• reviewing applications and issuing of Church of England wedding licences;
• dealing with enquiries and applications from the public in relation to memorials, grave space reservations and exhumations.

The Diocesan Registry team may also be involved in matters of clergy discipline, safeguarding, data protection and licences under faculty.

Find out more about our wider Church of England services