Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1660-1920 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1.83 linear metres
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Until 1841, the legal status of being a bankrupt was confined to traders owing more than £100 (this was reduced to £50 in 1842). Debtors who were not traders did not qualify to become bankrupt, but stayed as insolvent debtors, who were held responsible for their debts but unable to pay them, they remained subject to common law proceedings and indefinite imprisonment, if their creditors so wished. The legal definition of 'trader' came to include all those who made a living by buying and selling and included all those who bought materials, worked on them and then re-sold them. Those who wished to qualify as bankrupts, and thus avoid the awful fate of an insolvent debtor, sometimes gave a false or misleadingly general description of their occupations: "dealer and chapman" was very common.
The Bankruptcy Act of 1571 allowed commissioners of bankrupts to be appointed; so that a bankrupt could discharge his debts by sale of his assets, and then begin trading again with his debts cleared. The bankrupt's creditors would petition the Lord Chancellor to allow a commission of bankruptcy. These Commissioners were independent assessors who would decide whether the debtor was eligible for bankruptcy proceedings, and oversee the sale of his assets and repayment of his creditors. In 1832 the Court of Bankruptcy was established.
Source of information: The National Archives Research Guide "Legal Records Information 5: Bankrupts and Insolvent Debtors: 1710-1869" (available online).
Repository
Archival history
GB 0074 ACC/0549 1660-1920 Collection 1.83 linear metres Court of King's Bench x Court of Queen's Bench
Court of Exchequer
Court of Bankruptcy
Until 1841, the legal status of being a bankrupt was confined to traders owing more than £100 (this was reduced to £50 in 1842). Debtors who were not traders did not qualify to become bankrupt, but stayed as insolvent debtors, who were held responsible for their debts but unable to pay them, they remained subject to common law proceedings and indefinite imprisonment, if their creditors so wished. The legal definition of 'trader' came to include all those who made a living by buying and selling and included all those who bought materials, worked on them and then re-sold them. Those who wished to qualify as bankrupts, and thus avoid the awful fate of an insolvent debtor, sometimes gave a false or misleadingly general description of their occupations: "dealer and chapman" was very common.
The Bankruptcy Act of 1571 allowed commissioners of bankrupts to be appointed; so that a bankrupt could discharge his debts by sale of his assets, and then begin trading again with his debts cleared. The bankrupt's creditors would petition the Lord Chancellor to allow a commission of bankruptcy. These Commissioners were independent assessors who would decide whether the debtor was eligible for bankruptcy proceedings, and oversee the sale of his assets and repayment of his creditors. In 1832 the Court of Bankruptcy was established.
Source of information: The National Archives Research Guide "Legal Records Information 5: Bankrupts and Insolvent Debtors: 1710-1869" (available online).
Deposited in 1956.
Legal documents presented to Bankruptcy Courts, including mortgages, assignments, leases, abstract of title, wills and probates, grants, copies of court rolls, admissions, releases, conveyances, agreements, covenants to surrender, letters of administration, deeds of partnership, bills of costs, indentures of fines and marriage settlements; all for premises in Middlesex. Also records of pleas before the King's Bench, Queen's Bench, the Court of Exchequer and the Exchequer of Pleas; all for Middlesex.
Bundles 01 - 81: Bankruptcy Court documents; Bundles 82a - c: King's Bench, Queen's Bench, the Court of Exchequer and the Exchequer of Pleas.
Available for general access.
Copyright to these records rests with the Corporation of London.
English
Fit
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
November 2009 to February 2010 Financial administration Bankruptcy Legal history Documents Court of the Exchequer Law Legal documents Information sources Records and correspondence Records (documents) Court records Courts Court of Queen's Bench Administration of justice Legal procedure Appeals Bankruptcy appeals Finance Legal systems Court of Kings Bench Court of King's Bench x Court of Queen's Bench Court of Exchequer Court of Bankruptcy Middlesex England UK Western Europe Europe
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited in 1956.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Legal documents presented to Bankruptcy Courts, including mortgages, assignments, leases, abstract of title, wills and probates, grants, copies of court rolls, admissions, releases, conveyances, agreements, covenants to surrender, letters of administration, deeds of partnership, bills of costs, indentures of fines and marriage settlements; all for premises in Middlesex. Also records of pleas before the King's Bench, Queen's Bench, the Court of Exchequer and the Exchequer of Pleas; all for Middlesex.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Bundles 01 - 81: Bankruptcy Court documents; Bundles 82a - c: King's Bench, Queen's Bench, the Court of Exchequer and the Exchequer of Pleas.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Available for general access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright to these records rests with the Corporation of London.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English