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The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales was, historically, the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor. However as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which removed the judicial functions from the office of Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice is now the head of the judiciary of England and Wales. He is also the presiding judge of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal. Until the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 came into force in 2006, the Lord Chief Justice was also the head of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court. There is now a separate post of President of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, currently held by Sir Igor Judge.

Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lord Chief Justice is now to be chosen by a specially appointed committee, convened by the Judicial Appointments Commission.

Originally, each of the three high common law courts - the King's Bench, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Court of the Exchequer - had its own Chief Justice. That of the Exchequer Court was styled as the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and that of the Common Pleas was Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, leaving the head of the King's (or Queen's) Bench to be known simply as the Lord Chief Justice. Although the Court of the King's (or Queen's) Bench had existed since 1234, the title of chief justice was not used until 1268. The courts, however, were combined in 1875, creating a single Lord Chief Justice of England.

There is also a Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. The Lord Chief Justice's equivalent in Scotland is the Lord President of the Court of Session, who also holds the post of Lord Justice-General in the High Court of Justiciary.

Presently the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, who succeeded Lord Woolf on October 1, 2005. He was the first Lord Chief Justice to act as head of the judiciary after the Lord Chancellor relinquished that role.

• Robert Bruce, 6th Lord of Annandale (1268 - November 6, 1269)
• Richard of Staines (November 6, 1269 - 1273)
• Martin of Littlebury (1273 - 1274)
• Ralph de Hengham (1274 - 1290)
• Gilbert de Thornton (1290 - 1296)
• Roger le Brabazon (1296 - March 1316)
• William Inge (judge) (March 1316 - June 15, 1317)
• Henry le Scrope (June 15, 1317 - September 1323)
• Hervey de Stanton (September 1323 - March 21, 1324)
• Geoffrey le Scrope (March 21, 1324 - May 1, 1329)
• Robert de Malberthorp (May 1, 1329 - October 28, 1329)
• Henry le Scrope (October 28, 1329 - December 19, 1330)
• Geoffrey le Scrope (December 19, 1330 - March 28, 1332)
• Richard de Willoughby (March 28, 1332 - September 20, 1332)
• Geoffrey le Scrope (September 20, 1332 - September 10, 1333)
• Richard de Willoughby (September 10, 1333 - 1337)
• Geoffrey le Scrope (1337 - October 1338)
• Richard de Willoughby (October 1338 - July 21, 1340)
• Sir Robert Parning (July 21, 1340 - January 8, 1341)
• Sir William Scott (January 8, 1341 - November 26, 1346)
• Sir William de Thorpe (November 26, 1346 - October 26, 1350)
• Sir William de Shareshull (October 26, 1350 - May 24, 1361)
• Sir Henry Green (May 24, 1361 - October 29, 1365)
• Sir John Knyvet (October 29, 1365 - July 15, 1372)
• John de Cavendish (July 15, 1372 - June 14, 1381) (murdered in the Peasants' Revolt)
• Sir Robert Tresylian (June 22, 1381 - January 31, 1388)
• Sir Walter de Cloptone (January 31, 1388 - November 15, 1400)
• Sir William Gascoigne (November 15, 1400 - March 29, 1413)
• Sir William Hankford (March 29, 1413 - January 21, 1424)
• Sir William Cheyne (January 21, 1424 - January 20, 1439)
• Sir John Ivyn (January 20, 1439 - April 13, 1440)
• Sir John Hody (April 13, 1440 - January 25, 1442)
• Sir John Fortescue (January 25, 1442 - May 13, 1461)
• Sir John Markham (May 13, 1461 - January 23, 1469)
• Sir Thomas Billing (January 23, 1469 - May 7, 1481)
• Sir William Hussey (May 7, 1481 - November 24, 1495)
• Sir John Fineux (November 24, 1495 - January 23, 1526)
• Sir John Fitz-James (January 23, 1526 - January 21, 1539)
• Sir Edward Montagu (January 21, 1539 - November 9, 1545)
• Sir Richard Lyster (November 9, 1545 - March 21, 1552)
• Sir Roger Cholmeley (March 21, 1552 - October 4, 1553)
• Sir Thomas Bromley (October 4, 1553 - June 11, 1555)
• Sir William Portman (June 11, 1555 - May 8, 1557)
• Sir Edward Saunders (May 8, 1557 - January 22, 1559)
• Sir Robert Catlyn (January 22, 1559 - November 8, 1574)
• Sir Christopher Wray (November 8, 1574 - June 2, 1592)
• Sir John Popham (June 2, 1592 - June 25, 1607)
• Sir Thomas Fleming (June 25, 1607 - October 25, 1613)
• Sir Edward Coke (October 25, 1613 - November 16, 1616)
• Sir Henry Montagu (November 16, 1616 - January 29, 1621)
• Sir James Ley (January 29, 1621 - January 26, 1625)
• Sir Ranulph Crewe (January 26, 1625 - February 5, 1627)
• Sir Nicholas Hyde (February 5, 1627 - October 24, 1631)
• Sir Thomas Richardson (October 24, 1631 - February 4, 1635; died in office)
• Sir John Brampston (April 14, 1635 - October 31, 1642)
• Sir Robert Heath (October 31, 1642 - October 1645)
• Henry Rolle (October 12, 1648 - June 15, 1655)
• John Glynne (June 15, 1655 - January 17, 1660)
• Sir Richard Newdigate (January 17, 1660 - October 1, 1660)
• Sir Robert Foster (October 1, 1660 - October 19, 1663)
• Sir Robert Hyde (October 19, 1663 - November 21, 1665)
• Sir John Kelynge (November 21, 1665 - May 18, 1671)
• Sir Matthew Hale (May 18, 1671 - April 12, 1676)
• Sir Richard Raynsford (April 12, 1676 - May 31, 1678)
• Sir William Scroggs (May 31, 1678 - April 11, 1681)
• Sir Francis Pemberton (April 11, 1681 - September 28, 1683)
• George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys (September 28, 1683 - October 23, 1685)
• Sir Edward Herbert (October 23, 1685 - April 22, 1687)
• Sir Robert Wright (April 22, 1687 - April 17, 1689)
• Sir John Holt (April 17, 1689 - March 11, 1710)
• Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield (March 11, 1710 - May 15, 1718)
• Sir John Pratt (May 15, 1718 - March 2, 1725)
• Sir Robert Raymond (March 2, 1725 - October 31, 1733)
• Philip Yorke, 1st Baron Hardwicke (October 31, 1733 - June 8, 1737)
• Sir William Lee (UK) (June 8, 1737 - May 2, 1754)
• Sir Dudley Ryder (May 2, 1754 - November 8, 1756)
• William Murray (November 8, 1756 - June 4, 1788) (Earl of Mansfield from 1776)
• Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon (June 4, 1788 - April 11, 1802)
• Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough (April 11, 1802 - November 2, 1818)
• Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden (November 2, 1818 - November 4, 1832)
• Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman (November 4, 1832 - March 5, 1850)
• John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell of St Andrews (March 5, 1850 - June 24, 1859)
• Sir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet (June 24, 1859 - November 1, 1875)

• Sir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet (November 1, 1875 - November 20, 1880) (died in office)
• John Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge (November 29, 1880 - June 14, 1894) (died in office)
• Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen (July 11, 1894 - August 10, 1900) (died in office)
• Richard Everard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone (October 24, 1900 - October 21, 1913)
• Rufus Isaacs, 1st Earl of Reading (October 21, 1913 - March 8, 1921)
• Alfred Tristram Lawrence, 1st Baron Trevethin (April 15, 1921 - March 2, 1922)
• Gordon Hewart, 1st Viscount Hewart (March 8, 1922 - October 12, 1940)
• Thomas Walker Hobart Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote (October 14, 1940 - January 23, 1946)
• Rayner Goddard, Baron Goddard (January 23, 1946 - September 29, 1958)
• Hubert Lister Parker, Baron Parker of Waddington (September 29, 1958 - April 20, 1971)
• John Passmore Widgery, Baron Widgery (April 20, 1971 - April 15, 1980)
• Geoffrey Dawson Lane, Baron Lane (April 15, 1980 - April 27, 1992)
• Peter Murray Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth (April 27, 1992 -June 4, 1996)
• Thomas Henry Bingham, Baron Bingham of Cornhill (June 4, 1996 - June 6, 2000)
• Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf (June 6, 2000 - September 30, 2005)
• Nicholas Addison Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers (September 30, 2005 - present)

• Information on the Lord Chief Justice from judiciary.gov.uk