Legal documents giving effect to the decisions of the
University as a corporate body require the application of the University's
seal. This exists in two forms, the Great Common Seal and the Common Seal. The
former is in the custody of the Vice-Chancellor and the Proctors, and the latter is held by the Vice-Chancellor (or designated Pro-Vice-Chancellor) and the Registrary.
Specific authority for the application of these seals
must come either from Statute or a regulation in Ordinances, or from a Grace,
and they must be applied in the presence of their custodians or their deputies.
A register of all sealings by the University is kept.
The design of the seal currently in use dates back to the
late 16th Century. Although it contains the University's armorial bearings, which
had been granted at around the same date, the main part is occupied by three figures in the
academical dress of the time; the Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor in the centre
and two Masters of Arts with books, possibly the Proctors, on either side.