Law Lords

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Members of the House of Lords who are qualified to deal with the judicial business of the House, i.e. the Lord High Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, and such peers as are holding or have held high judicial office.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “Law Lords” mean?

Members of the House of Lords who are qualified to deal with the judicial business of the House, i.e. the Lord High Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, and such peers as are holding or have held high judicial office.

Is “Law Lords” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.