England Court Records

Court records will probably mention some of your ancestors as defendants, plaintiffs, jurors, or witnesses. Court records can establish family relationships and places of residence. They often provide occupations, descriptions of individuals, and other family information. They seldom provide birth, marriage, or death information.

Most researchers use court records after they have investigated other records. Court records tend to be difficult to use since few are indexed, the handwriting is hard to read, and they include unfamiliar legal terms. To interpret court records, you may need to consult a dictionary.

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 "Land and Property" section of this outline.

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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.

A more detailed discussion of these records is in:

Emmison, F. G., and Irvine Gray. County Records. Revised Edition. London, England: The Historical Association, 1973. (FHL book 942 H2ha no. 62 1973.)

A list of available records is in:

Gibson, J. S. W. Quarter Session Records for Family Historians: A Select List. Third Edition. Birmingham, England: Federation of Family History Societies Publications, Ltd., 1992. (FHL book 942 P23gjs 1992.)

The original records are in the respective county record offices. Copies of some Quarter Session records are in the Family History Library. They are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

ENGLAND, [COUNTY] - COURT RECORDS

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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.

To find the name of the manor, or if there was a manor for the locality where your ancestor lived, use a gazetteer such as The Imperial Gazetteer (see England Gazetteers).

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

 

Cumberland	Hampshire	Isle of Wight
Lancashire (north of Furness)	Norfolk	Surrey
Middlesex	Westmoreland	Yorkshire (all three Ridings)

 

consult the Manorial Documents Register.

Information is also accessible through the GENUKI Web site at: www.genuki.org.uk

If you do not have access to the Internet, or for counties other than those listed above you may write to the National Archives which maintains the register.

The Family History Library has some manorial court records. To find the records that are in the library, look in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

ENGLAND - COURT RECORDS

ENGLAND, [COUNTY] - COURT RECORDS

ENGLAND, [COUNTY], [PARISH] - COURT RECORDS

ENGLAND, [COUNTY], [MANOR] - COURT RECORDS

More detail is given in:

Park, Peter B. My Ancestors Were Manorial Tenants: How Can I Find Out More About Them? London, England: Society of Genealogists, 1990. (FHL book 942 D27pp.)

Ellis, Mary. Using Manorial Records. London, England: PRO Publications in association with The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, 1994. (FHL book 942 J77e.)

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 can be found at the National Archives (see the "Archives and Libraries" section of this outline for the address).

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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)

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.

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.

Proceedings consist of the following documents:

1) Bill of Complaint
2) Writ of Subpoena
3) Answer by the defendant, or Plea to reject the Bill
4) Replication, or Exception, by the plaintiff
5) Rejoinder by the defendant
6) Rebuttal by the plaintiff (sometimes)
7) Surebuttal by the defendant (sometimes)
8) Interrogatories
9) Depositions by witnesses
10) Bill of Revival

Registers consist of the following types of documents:

1) Orders and Decrees
2) Awards and Agreements

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:

ENGLAND - COURT RECORDS

Chancery Court records are held at The National Archives.

Chancery Calendars, Indexes and Abstracts

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 indexed.

The National Archives website has available the “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 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.

Two men, Charles Allen Bernau and George Frederick Tudor Sherwood, have both complied calendars and indexes to chancery material. Family History Library has the Bernau Collection and Sherwood Collection. You may search the Family History Library Catalog by Place under 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

Compiled from The National Archives Research Guides to Chancery Records and Ronald A. Hill's article “English Genealogical Research: Using Chancery Court Proceedings”. National Genealogical Society Quarterly. Volume 91, No. 2, June 2007. pp. 111-138.  Used with permission.

	Date Range	Class/ 'Bdle	Description	Indexes or Printed
	1377-1558	C1/1	Chancery Proceedings	Calendar of Proceedings in Chancery, vol. 1, pp. 1-cxlvii, FHL film 874093, item 1.  E A Lewis, An Inventory of the Early Chancery
	1377-1422	C1/2	Chancery Proceedings	Calendar of Proceedings in Chancery, vol. 2, pp. i-lxxvi,FHL film 874093, item 2.
	1385-1467	C1/3-37	Chancery Proceedings C1 documents were sorted in the 19th century into bundles according to the name of the chancellor to whom they were addressed.  In many cases, the chancellor was specifically named and suits can be dated to within a few ears.  In others, the address was such that more than one chancellor could be identified (e.g. 'the bishop of London, Lord Chancellor',when several bishops of London have been Chancellor in their time).  To narrow this down further, you will need to consult the tables given at the front of each of the published volumes mentioned in the Bibliography.  These are all on the open shelves at The National Archives.	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q942 B4pre no. 12; Harleian Society FHL British 942 B4h vols. 78 & 79 (FHL film 162077 items 3-4); Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index WP Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896) Many local record societies have published transcrips for their own county.  For a list of local record society publications, see E.C. Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983:  continued on www.hmc.gov.uk).  Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1433-1485	C1/38-75	Chancery Proceedings	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 16; Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896)  Many local record societies  have published transcripts for their own county.  For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983:  continued on www.humc.gov.uk).  Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1485-1500	C1/76-235	Chancery Proceedings	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 20; Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896)  Many local record socieities have published transcripts for their own county. For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983: continued on www.humc.gov.uk). Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1500-1515	C1/23 6-377	Chancery Proceedings	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 29; Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896) Many local record socieities have published transcripts for their own county. For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983: continued on www.humc.gov.uk). Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1515-1518	C1/37 8-457	Chancery Proceedings	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 38; Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896) Many local record socieities have published transcripts for their own county. For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983: continued on www.humc.gov.uk). Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1518-1529	C1/45 8-600	Chancery Proceedings	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 38; Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896) Many local record socieities have published transcripts for their own county. For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983: continued on www.humc.gov.uk). Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1529-1532	C1/60-1-694	Chancery Proceedings	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 48; Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896) Many local record socieities have published transcripts for their own county. For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983: continued on www.humc.gov.uk). Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1532-38	C1/69-4-771	Chancery Proceedings	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 48; Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896) Many local record socieities have published transcripts for their own county. For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983: continued on www.humc.gov.uk). Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1533-1538	C1/77 2-934	Chancery Proceedings	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 50; Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896) Many local record socieities have published transcripts for their own county. For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983: continued on www.humc.gov.uk). Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1538-1544	C1/93 5-1094	Chancery Proceedings	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 51; Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896) Many local record socieities have published transcripts for their own county. For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983: continued on www.humc.gov.uk). Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1544-1551	C1/10 95-1285	Chancery Proceedings	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 54; Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896) Many local record socieities have published transcripts for their own county. For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983: continued on www.humc.gov.uk). Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1551-1553	C1-12 86-1324	Chancery Proceedings	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 54; Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896) Many local record socieities have published transcripts for their own county. For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983: continued on www.humc.gov.uk). Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1553-1555	C1/13 25-1397	Chancery Proceedings	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 55; Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896) Many local record socieities have published transcripts for their own county. For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983: continued on www.humc.gov.uk). Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1556-1558	C1/13 98-1488	Chancery Proceedings	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 55; Bernau Index; Sherwood Slip Index W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896) Many local record socieities have published transcripts for their own county. For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983: continued on www.humc.gov.uk). Most are available in The National Archives library.
	(1386-1558)	C1/14 89-1519	Chancery Proceedings various dates, some early	Online in TNA Catalogue; Lists and Indexes, Early Chancery Proceedings FHL British Q 942 B4pre no. 55 W P Baildon ed., Select Cases in Chancery, A.D. 1364-1471 (Selden Society, 1896) Many local record socieities have published transcripts for their own county. For a list of local record society publications, see E C Mullins, Texts and Calendars (London, 2 vols, 1978, 1983: continued on www.humc.gov.uk). Most are available in The National Archives library.
	1558-1603	C2/Eli z/A.a.1-H.h.6	Chancery Proceedings:  Series 1 or the Regnal Series.  Several sequences of paper finding aids, including name and place indexes, at The National Archives.  *Some published catalogues; see Bibliography.	Not all are searchable online.  Some but not all are included in the Bernau Index.  Calendars of the Proceedings in Chancery in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth.  Vol 1 FHL film 8740093 item 1 or 1501916; prefaced by bundle 1.  Early Chancery Proceedings mentioned above.
	1558-1603	C2/Eli z/H.h. 7-R.r.12	Chancery Proceedings: Series 1 or the Regnal Series. Several sequences of paper finding aids, including name and place indexes, at The National Archives. *Some published catalogues; see Bibliography.	Not all are searchable online.  Some but not all are included in the Bernau Index.  Calendars of the Proceedings in Chancery in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth.  Vol 1 FHL film 874093 item 2 or 1501917; prefaced by bundle 2 Early Chancery Proceedings mentioned above.
	1558-1603	C2/Eli z/S.s. 1-Z.z.1	Chancery Proceedings: Series 1 or the Regnal Series. Several sequences of paper finding aids, including name and place indexes, at The National Archives. *Some published catalogues; see Bibliography.	Not all are searchable online.  Some but not all are included in the Bernau Index.   Calendars of the Proceedings in Chancery in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth.  Vol 1 FHL film 874094 or 1501918.
	1558-1603	C2/Eli z/Misc.   Bundl	Chancery Proceedings: Series 1 or the Regnal Series. Several sequences of paper finding aids, including name and place indexes, at The National Archives. *Some published catalogues; see Bibliography.	Not all are searchable online.  Some but not all are included in the Bernau Index.  Calendars of the Proceedings in Chancery in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth.  Vol 1 FHL film 874094 or 1501918.
	1603-1625	C2/James	Chancery Proceedings: Series 1 or the Regnal Series. Several sequences of paper finding aids, including name and place indexes, at The National Archives. *Some published catalogues; see Bibliography.	Not all are searchable online.  Some but not all are included in the Bernau Index.  Lists and Indexes, Index of Chancery Proceedings (Series I) James I, A-K only FHL Q 942 B4pre no. 47 (FHL film 924081 item 2) L-M only FHL Q 942 B4pre no. 32 (FHL film 916576 item 2 or 1501921 item 1) N-R only FHL Q 942 B4pre no. 33 (FHL film 916576 item 3 or 1501921 2) S-Z only FHL Q 942 B4pre no. 34 (FHL film 916576 item 4 and 916577 item 1 or 1501923 item 1) Some in Sherwood Slip Index
	1558-1603	C2/Chas	Chancery Proceedings: Series 1 or the Regnal Series. Several sequences of paper finding aids, including name and place indexes, at The National Archives. *Some published catalogues; see Bibliography.	Not all are searchable online.  Some but not alla re included int he Bernau Index.  Partial index found in The Index Library, A Calendar of Chancery Proceedings, Bills & Answers, Charles I. A-D only FHL 942 B4b Vol 2 (FHL film 962742 item 1) E-L only FHL 942 B4b Vol 5 (FHL film 962742 item 2) M-R only FHL 942 B4b Vol 6 (FHL film 962742 item 3) S-Z only FHL 942 B4b Vol. 14 (FHL film 564344 item 1) Some in the Sherwood Slip Index.
	1558-1579	C 3/1-202	Chancery Proceedings:  Series II. *	Searchable online for 1st plaintiff, 1st defendant and county.  Lists and Indexes, Index of Chancery Proceedings (Series II), FHL Q942 B4pre no. 7 (FHL film 1696603 item 10).  Indexed in Bernau Index and Sherwood Slip Index.
	1579-1621	C 3/203-329	Chancery Proceedings:  Series II. *	Searchable online for 1st plaintiff, 1st defendant and county. Lists and Indexes, Index of Chancery Proceedings (Series II), FHL Q942 B4pre no. 24. Indexed in Bernau Index and Sherwood Slip Index.
	1621-1660	C3/330-469	Chancery Proceedings:  Series II. *	Searchable online for 1st plaintiff, 1st defendant and county. Lists and Indexes, Index of Chancery Proceedings (Series II), FHL Q942 B4pre no. 30. Indexed in Bernau Index and Sherwood Slip Index.
	1558-1649	C3/470-485	Chancery Proceedings:  Series II. * Unsorted bundles.	Searchable online for 1st plaintiff, 1st defendant and county. FHL film 1501919 item 3.
		C4	Miscellaneous proceedings that have likely been detached for C1-C3; Not very accessible.	Partially searchable online; nothing available at FHL; An unpublished descriptive list of part of the series available at the TNA.
	1570-1714	C8	Six Clerks Series:  Mitford division**	Not searchable online.  TNA manuscript calendar Plaintiff A-C FHL film 824651 Plaintiff C-H FHL film 824652 Plaintiff H-N FHL film 824653 Plaintiff O-S  FHL film 824654 Plaintiff T-Z  FHL film 824655 Another Filming as follows: Plaintiff A-F FHL film 1501932 Plaintiff G-R  FHL film 1501933 Plaintiff S-Z  FHL film 1501934 Peter Coldham, Index to disputed estates in chancery, FHL
	1613-1714	C 5	Six Clerks Series:  Bridges	Searchable online for 1st plaintiff, 1st defendant and county.  Lists and Indexes, Index of Chancery Proceedings, Bridges Division 1613-1714. A-C only FHL Q942 B4pre no. 39 D-H only FHL Q942 B4pre no. 42 I-Q only FHL Q942 B4pre no. 44 R-Z only FHL Q942 B4pre no. 45 Included in Bernau Index and Sherwood Slip Index
	1620-1714	C 7	Six Clerks Series:  Hamilton**	Not searchable online. TNA manuscript calendars Plaintiff A-C FHL film 824644 Plaintiff D-G FHL film 824645 Plaintiff H-K FHL film 824646 Plaintiff L-O FHL film 824647 Plaintiff P-S FHL film 824648 Plaintiff S-V FHL film 8 24649 Plaintiff W-Z FHL film 824650 Another filming available: Plaintiff A-E FHL film 1501928 Plaintiff F-K FHL film 1501929 Plaintiff L-S FHL film 1501930 Plaintiff S-Z FHL film 1501931 Peter Coldham, Index to disputed estates in chancery, FHL ???????
	1625-1714	C 6	Six Clerks Series:  Collins**	See the Equity Pleadings Database on the national archives website. TNA manuscript calendars Plaintiff A-F FHL film 824637 Plaintiff G-N FHL film 824638 Plaintiff M-V FHL film 824639 Plaintiff W-Z FHL film 824640 item 3 Plaintiff A-K FHL film 824640 item 2 Plaintiff L-Z FHL film 824641 Another filming available: Plaintiff A-F, bundles 1-268 FHL film 1501925 item 2 Plaintiff G-R, bundles 1-268 FHL film 1501926 Plaintiff S-Z, bundles 1-268 FHL film 1501927 item 1 Plaintiff A-Z, bundles 1-269-355 FHL film 1501927 item 2 Index to Personal estates for bundles 1-268 only FHL film 824640 item 2 or 1501925 item 1 Single Bills calendar to bundles 356-610 only FHL film 824643 or 1501924 item 3
	1640-1714	C 10	Six Clerks Series:  Whittington.  Miscellaneous pleadings are listed at the end of the Whittington volume**	Searchable online for 1st plaintiff, 1st defendant and count for about half the series. TNA manuscript calendars Plaintiff A-C FHL film 824657 Plaintiff D-K FHL film 824658 Plaintiff L-P FHL film 824659 Plaintiff Q-S FHL film 824660 Plaintiff T-Z FHL film 824661 Another filming available Plaintiff A-C FHL film 1501935 Plaintiff D-M FHL film 1501936 Plaintiff N-Z FHL film 1501937 Peter Coldham, Index to disputed estates in chancery, FHL ?????
	1649-1714	C9	Six Clerks Series:  Reynardson	Searchable online for 1st plaintiff and 1st defendant.  The Index Library, Index of Chancery Proceedings (Reynardson's Division, 1649-1714) A-K only FHL 942 B4b Vol 29 (FHL film 990401) L-Z only FHL 942 B4b Vol 32 (FHL film 526491 item 3) Manuscript calendar for bundles 1-41 (out of 491 bundles) FHL film 8 24656 or 1501935 Sherwood Slip Index contains defendants surnames.

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 has an index to 43,635 "Exchequer Depositions" on: FHL BRITISH Film
104399 Items 3-6.

The National Archives in England has a Research Guide to some of the tax records from the Exchequer court, which includes links to a searchable database to locate some tax records.

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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 "Probate Records" section of this outline.
  • Inquisition post mortem records, discussed in the "Land and Property" section of this outline.
    
    

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)