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
Records from the Chancery Court begin in 1199 and relate to wealthier people. This court heard disputes about such things as land, property rights, debts, inheritance, trusts, and frauds.
Chancery Court records are at the National Archives. A partial index to these records is available. 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.
A helpful guide is:
Garrett, R. E. F. Chancery and Other Legal Proceedings. Oakhill, Somerset, England: The Oakhill Press, 1968. (FHL book 942 P2ga.)
The Family History Library has microfilm copies of some records. To find Chancery Court records, look in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:
ENGLAND - COURT RECORDS
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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 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.