1223 Neville was ordered by Pope Honorius III to cease using the Great Seal on the command of the justiciar or other members of the minority council, but instead to do so only at the king's command, essentially ending the royal minority. But it did not finally end until December 1223, and even then, as the king had not yet been officially declared of age, the ban on grants without a fixed time limit remained in force. Lord Chancellor Neville was named Lord Chancellor of England on 17 May 1226. The appointment was made by the great council during the minority of King Henry III, and Neville obtained a grant of the office for life. Unlike Hubert de Burgh, who lost his offices when Henry III attained his majority and took control of the government, Neville remained chancellor with only slight disagreements until 1238, although a confirmation of the lifetime nature of his tenure was made in 1232. Under Neville, the first signs that the chancery was becoming a department of the government, rather than just a royal department that was part of the royal household, began to emerge. The contemporary writer Matthew Paris praised Neville for his actions as chancellor, claiming that he treated all equally and was transparent in discharging his duties, which was important, as the chancellor's office controlled access to the king. Neville oversaw a number of changes in chancery procedures, splitting off the liberate rolls from the letters close in 1226 and reviving the keeping of the Charter Rolls in 1227. He also issued writs on his own authority, the so-called writs de cursu. Neville received a number of gifts and privileges from the king while chancellor, including the right of exemption from the seizure of his possessions by any royal or other secular official. The king also agreed not to interfere with the execution of Neville's last will and testament. Surviving letters from the precentor of Chichester Cathedral beg the bishop to come to Chichester over Easter to celebrate the Easter Mass and to deal with pressing issues in the diocese. Neville's duties as chancellor kept him from attending to much of the business of his diocese, but he employed clerics to administer the ecclesiastical offices of his diocese and in general his relationship with his cathedral chapter appears to have been good. He employed a teacher of theology for his cathedral, and supported