England Court Records: Difference between revisions

There are many English courts. Those described here (except for the Chancery Court and the Court of the Exchequer) generally pertain to the poorer classes. If your ancestor was wealthy, search the records described in the "[[England Land and Property|Land and Property]]" section of this outline.  

=== Quarter Session Courts  ===

From the 16th century on, Quarter Session courts dealt with many issues, including crime, land, licensing, oaths of denization, militia, county rates, roads and bridges, taxes, religion, social welfare, lunatics, and so on. Many middle class and poor people are mentioned.  

ENGLAND, [COUNTY] - COURT RECORDS  

=== Manorial Courts  ===

Records of these courts give information about the day-to-day life on a manor (an estate held by a lord), including petty crimes, land transfers, manorial appointments, customs, rental fees, and so on. The court regulated the responsibilities and interrelationship of the manorial lord, his steward and bailiff (law officer), and the village people. Manorial court records began in 1066 and ended in the early 1900s.  

Manorial court records in England can be found in many different repositories. For more information on the location of manor records in:  

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| Cumberland  

| Yorkshire (all three Ridings)

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consult the '''[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mdr/searches/advancedsearch.asp Manorial Documents Register].'''  

=== Assize Courts  ===

These circuit courts usually dealt with the more serious criminal cases from the 13th century to 1971. The records mention many middle class and poor people. [[Assize Court Records|'''Assize court records''']] can be found at the National Archives (see the "[[England Archives and Libraries|Archives and Libraries]]" section of this outline for the address).  

=== Chancery Court  ===

What is a Chancery? A simple definition says "Chancery Proceedings record disputes over inheritance, land, debts, etc., from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries"(Gibbons). FitzHugh states, "Chancery as a court of law dates from about 1348. It was a court of equity based on Roman Law to deal with cases for which the Common Law made no provision, and later with cases remediable under Common Law but in which the plaintiff would have found himself under a legal disadvantage. It was absorbed into the Supreme Court of Judicature in 1873"(FitzHugh, 65)<br><br>Garrett explains, "Originally, all cases were oral. . . [the] plaintiff and the defendant appeared before the Judge, and indulged in an altercation on the spot. Later, however, the practice grew up of setting down the initial proceedings in writing"(Garrett, 1). Garrett continues by explaining the different types of documents and the general order in which they were made.<br><br>There are two divisions in the Court of Chancery, being the court of Common Law and the court of Equity. This paper discusses only the court of Equity. The primary documents are of two kinds: a) Proceedings; and b) Registers.<br><br>Proceedings consist of the following documents:<br><br>1) Bill of Complaint<br>2) Writ of Subpoena<br>3) Answer by the defendant, or Plea to reject the Bill<br>4) Replication, or Exception, by the plaintiff<br>5) Rejoinder by the defendant<br>6) Rebuttal by the plaintiff (sometimes)<br>7) Surebuttal by the defendant (sometimes)<br>8) Interrogatories<br>9) Depositions by witnesses<br>10) Bill of Revival<br><br>Registers consist of the following types of documents:<br><br>1) Orders and Decrees<br>2) Awards and Agreements<br><br>The Family History Library has no original records from the court of Chancery. The collection consists of calendars, abstracts, and indexes. To find Chancery Court records, look in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:  

Chancery Court records are held at The National Archives.  

Some of the Chancery court records have been indexed. See the article by Ron Hill in the “Helpful Guides” section below to see a list of indexes for different time periods. Also, two of The National Archives Research Guides “Chancery Proceedings: Equity Suits from 1558" and “Chancery Proceedings: Equity Suits before 1558” list the records and what records have been&nbsp;indexed.<br><br>The&nbsp;National Archives website has available the “[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/equity/ Equity Pleadings Database]”, which includes part of the C6 class of records and is searchable by name or place. Also, some of these records have been indexed in The National Archives [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/Default.asp?j=1 Catalogue]. Search the Catalogue on the National Archives website with an ancestor's surname in the "Word or Phrase" field and the letter C in the "Department or Series code" field. <br><br>Two men, Charles Allen Bernau and George Frederick Tudor Sherwood, have both complied calendars and indexes to chancery material. Family History Library has the&nbsp;Bernau Collection and Sherwood Collection. You may search the Family History Library Catalog by Place under&nbsp;England - Court Records - Indexes or England - Court Records or do a Keyword search for Bernau and Sherwood.  

==== Chancery Proceedings and Depositions Indexes and Published Records  ====

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| Use IND 1/16748 to IND 1/16752

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=== Court of the Exchequer  ===

This court also dealt with matters of the wealthy. Beginning early in the 12th twelfth century, it became an administrative body for collecting the royal revenue and performing the accompanying judicial business. As time went by, the court gained jurisdiction over suits between two individuals. The Public Record Office keeps the records from the Court of the Exchequer. The Family History Library&nbsp;has an index to&nbsp;43,635 "Exchequer Depositions"&nbsp;on: [http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=651788&disp=Exchequer+deponents&columns=*,0,0 '''FHL BRITISH Film <br>104399 Items 3-6'''].  

The National Archives in England has a [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=226 Research Guide to some of the tax records] from the Exchequer court, which includes links to a searchable database to locate some tax records.  

=== Ecclesiastical Courts  ===

These courts helped regulate religious affairs. The records are in the respective county record office or diocesan archive in England.  

Other court records are:  

**Probate records, discussed in the "[[England Probate Records|Probate Records]]" section of this outline.  

[[Category:England]]