ECR 60 04

ECR 60 04

Appointment of Provosts

Series

The Provost is the head of the College. The Founder's Statutes ordered that he was to be a priest, at least thirty years old, a Fellow of either Eton or King's or a former member of either, a Master of Arts and also a Master or Bachelor of Theology or a Doctor of Canon Law. He was to be nominated by the Eton Fellows and the successful candidate was to be presented to the College Visitor, the Bishop of Lincoln, for confirmation. The Bishop then presented him to his position; this ecclesiastical step was necessary because the Provost was also Rector of Eton, involving a cure of souls. In 1871 the requirement that he should be in orders was dropped, although he was still expected to be a member of the Church of England (subsequently amended to being a member of a church in communion with it); he had to be a Master of Arts from the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge. In 1973 this was extended to allow a qualification deemed comparable. The original Statutes make no mention of nomination of the Provost by the Crown, shown so clearly here but on occasions when the Fellows attempted to assert their independence they were often thwarted by the reluctance of the non-approved candidate. The 1871 Statutes definitely placed the right of nomination with the Crown. These papers are mainly of a formal nature, relating to the election and admission of the Provost. A document of c.1695 (60/4/7) describes the procedure, which is reflected in the archives. Admission by the Bishop of Lincoln was followed by a mandate from him to the Vice-Provost to induct the new Provost, by the swearing of the necessary oaths and subscription to the Thirty-Nine Articles, and certificates that this had been done. Also included are papers relating to the eligibility of certain candidates, notably Sir Thomas Smith, who as a layman required a dispensation to hold a cure of souls.

1660 - 2000

Records of individual Provosts are listed as COLL/P. Their elections and the records of their oaths on appointment can be found in the registers (ECR 60/3). Records of Provosts' funerals and installations will mainly be found in the papers of individual Provosts and in the records of the Bursar, Junior Bursar and Works department.