- Liberties of the Savoy
The Liberties of the Savoy were one of several areas in
London known as "liberties" in which the rule of law was different from the rest of London.In the case of the Liberties of the Savoy, the area was where the
Savoy Hotel andSavoy Theatre now stand. The land is owned by theDuchy of Lancaster , which is why the rule of law was different.The County of Lancaster is a "
county palatine ", which meant that it was ruled by a count palatine (or earl palatine) with special authority and autonomy from the rest of the kingdom. The earl palatine or duke was in this case the Duke of Lancaster, who owned this area of land in London: it was effectively part of the County Palatine of Lancaster. As a consequence of his ownership, the rule of law in this area stemmed from the duke's authority, and not the king's. The king's writs did not run in County of Lancaster until the nineteenth century, and until the 1970s Lancashire had its own Court of Chancery.As a consequence, someone being pursued for a debt in London could reside in the Liberties of the Savoy without fear of arrest by people acting under the King's authority. This unusual state of affairs is used in the Aubrey-Maturin novels of
Patrick O'Brian .ee also
*
Liberties of the Rolls
*Liberties of the Tower of London , also known as the Tower LibertyExternal links
*cite web
url=http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/1159.php#11225
title= The Savoy
accessdate=05 May
accessyear=2006
*cite web
url=http://www.wwnorton.com/pob/vol2ii.htm
title= The Patrick O'Brian Newsletter: Volume 2, Issue 2 October 1993
accessdate=08 May
accessyear=2006
*cite web
url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=41452
title= The early History of Piccadilly
accessdate=05 May
accessyear=2006
*cite web
url=http://www.oldlondonmaps.com/stowpages/towerlib.html
title= The Tower Liberty
accessdate=05 May
accessyear=2006
*cite web
url=http://www.oldlondonmaps.com/stowpages/towerlib02.html
title= The Tower Liberty: Marine Square, the Minories, Spitalfields
accessdate=05 May
accessyear=2006
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.