ABSTRACT
Dispensations were part and parcel of the ecclesiastical law in pre-Reformation England. The development of such dispensations up to the sixteenth century gave certain dispensing powers to bishops in their dioceses, but the granting of dispensations in more serious matters was reserved to the Holy See. The Pope’s power in these matters was habitually exercised by papal legates. During the Reformation appeals for dispensations that were habitually referred to Rome were henceforth to be referred to the Archbishop of Canterbury. New dispensations or dispensations that were previously to be had for a fee greater than £4 needed the sanction of the King in Council. The areas in which such dispensations were granted have also been explored above and can generally be described as either strictly ecclesiastical (e.g. dispensations concerning ordination, presentation to benefices, etc.) or at least touching the internal life of the Church (e.g. dispensations concerning marriage without which communicant status could have been affected). The Ecclesiastical Licences Act did not confer on the Archbishop of Canterbury a power generally to dispense with the law of England.
