Manor of Northstead - Steward and Bailiff

Steward and Bailiff

Appointment to the office of Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead is a procedural device to effect resignation from the House of Commons, since a British MP is not permitted simply to resign his seat. However, under the Act of Settlement 1701, a Member of Parliament who accepts an office of profit under the Crown must give up his or her seat, and the Stewardship of Northstead is nominally such an office.

Most references say that it was first used in this way on 20 March 1844 to allow Sir George Henry Rose, Member for Christchurch, to resign his seat. But the official book recording appointments to the various Stewardships (lodged in the National Archives under catalogue reference E 197/1) indicates that Patrick Chalmers, MP for Montrose Burghs, was appointed to Steward of the Manor of Northstead on 6 April 1842. The writ of election for a replacement was moved as if Chalmers had been appointed to the Chiltern Hundreds. In more recent years, resigning MPs have alternated between the Manor of Northstead and the Chiltern Hundreds.