It gave me great pleasure to make a few observations at the conclusion of the conference, Magna Carta, Religion and the Rule of Law, convened in the historic setting of the Temple on 7 June 2014, the scholarly papers from which comprise a substantial part of this book. It brought a remarkable day's events to a close and I hope that my reflections might also serve as a modest epilogue to what will doubtless prove an equally remarkable publication. As Master of the Rolls, I am Chairman of the Magna Carta Trust, a body which, with the support of the then Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden, was established in 1956 by a number of institutions as successor to the Magna Carta Society. Its objects were and are the perpetuation of the principles of Magna Carta; the preservation for reverent public use of sites associated with Magna Carta; and the commemoration triennially, and on such special occasions as shall be determined by the Trust, of the grant of Magna Carta as the source of the constitutional liberties of all English-speaking peoples, and a common bond of peace between them.

As a nation, we love commemorations and we are rather good at them. We celebrate them with efficiency and, where appropriate, panache and even pomp. We love commemorating historical events, whether they are momentous or of a rather more specialist and limited interest. On any view, the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215 was a momentous historical event which changed the history of this country and has affected the lives of millions of people across the world. It was inevitable that the Magna Carta Trust would wish to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta. There will, for example, be major celebrations in the United Kingdom and the United States of America throughout 2015: the Temple Church conference, Magna Carta, Religion and the Rule of Law, and this resultant volume, constitutes a tasty hors d'oeuvre for that feast.