{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/bishoprics-act-1878/section-5",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/bishoprics-act-1878/section-5.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/Vict/41-42/68",
  "legislation_title": "Bishoprics Act 1878",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/bishoprics-act-1878",
  "path": "section/5",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "5",
  "heading": "The number of bishops sitting in Parliament not to be increased.",
  "text": "The number of Lords Spiritual sitting and voting as Lords of Parliament shall not be increased by the foundation of a new bishopric after the year 1846 ; and whenever there is a vacancy among such Lords Spiritual by the avoidance of any of the sees of Canterbury, York, London, Durham, or Winchester, such vacancy shall be supplied by the issue of a writ of summons to the bishop acceding to the see so avoided; and if such vacancy is caused by the avoidance of any see other than one of the five sees aforesaid, such vacancy shall be supplied by the issue of a writ of summons to that bishop of a see in England who having been longest bishop of a see in England has not previously become entitled to such writ:\nProvided, that where a bishop is translated from one see to another, and was at the date of his translation actually sitting as a Lord of Parliament, he shall not thereupon lose his right to receive a writ of summons to Parliament.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words substituted by Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1973 (c. 39), Sch. 2 para. 1"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/41-42/68/section/5",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T12:45:04.286704+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}