visitor

Officer or superior whose duty it is to visit an English corporation, civil or ecclesiastical, in order to see that its rules and regulations are being observed, and that there is no serious default.

The visitation of civil corporations is the work of the Crown, which acts through the medium of the Court of Queen's Bench. The bishop is the visitor of his or her diocese. On account of the number of parishes, however, the visitation is usually left to the archdeacons.