Abstract

In the United Kingdom the right of universities and other institutions to confer degrees is strictly controlled by legislation.1 Lambeth degrees, also occasionally and perhaps misleadingly called Canterbury degrees (as in ‘DMus Cantuar’) are still awarded by the archbishop of Canterbury under the general authority of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533–1534,3 although he is not a university nor an educational institution per se. The continued specific authority for the archbishop to grant degrees can however be found in the Education Reform Act 1988,4 and the Education (Recognised Bodies) (England) Order 2003.5 But unlike other degreegranting bodies, the archbishop of Canterbury does not prescribe a distinct set of academical dress for the recipient of his degrees. Instead the academic dress is either that Oxford or Cambridge. This is due, at least in part, to the history and nature of the degrees which he confers. [Excerpt].

Keywords: Academical dress, Origins of university costume, History of academic dress, Academic cap and gown

How to Cite:

Cox, N., (2005) “Lambeth Degree Academic Dress”, Transactions of the Burgon Society 5(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.4148/2475-7799.1040