Definition of Master of the rolls

The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the third most senior judge of England and Wales, the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain traditionally being first and the Lord Chief Justice second. With the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 removing the Lord Chancellor from the judiciary and designating the Lord Chief Justice head of the judiciary in England and Wales, the Master of the Rolls may be said to rank after him and the senior Law Lord, who will take the title President of the Supreme Court. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal.