Collection GB 0074 CLC/309 - COURTS GENERAL: SMALL COLLECTIONS

35 production items.

GB 0074 CLC/309 1500-1899 Collection 35 production items. Various.

The Court of King's Bench (or Queen's Bench, depending on the monarch) was founded circa 1200 to hear common pleas, although it came to specialise in pleas of special interest and concern to the king, such as those which involved his own property interests, or breach of his peace, or an error of judgment by another royal court. By 1675 the King's Bench was the highest court of common law in England and Wales, with jurisdiction over both civil and criminal actions. Civil business was conducted on the 'Plea Side' and criminal business on the 'Crown Side'. It was absorbed into the High Court in 1875 (source of information: The National Archives Research Guides Legal Records Information 34 and Legal Records Information 36).

The Court of Exchequer originated after the Norman Conquest as a financial committee of the Curia Regis (the King's Court). By the reign of Henry II it had become separate, and was responsible for the collection of the king's revenue as well as for judging cases affecting the revenue. By the 13th century the court proper and the exchequer or treasury began to separate. The court's jurisdiction over common pleas now steadily increased, to include, for example, money disputes between private litigants. A second Court of Exchequer Chamber was set up in 1585 to amend errors of the Court of the King's Bench. These were amalgamated in 1830 when a single Court of Exchequer emerged as a court of appeal intermediate between the common-law courts and the House of Lords. In 1875 the Court of Exchequer became, by the Judicature Act of 1873, part of the High Court of Justice, and in 1880 was combined with the Court of Common Pleas (source of information: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008).

The Lord Chancellor and his deputies sat in the Court of Chancery to hear disputes about inheritance and wills, lands, trusts, debts, marriage settlements, apprenticeships and so on. As an equity court, Chancery was not bound by the stricter rules of common law courts. Please see The National Archives Research Guides Legal Records Information 22, Legal Records Information 42 and Legal Records Information 28 for more information (all available online).

The Star Chamber was a special court which sat in the Palace of Westminster. It was intended to ensure that prominent and powerful individuals could be tried. Sessions were held in secret with no jury or witnesses. The system was vulnerable to corruption.

Deposited in the Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section, which merged with the London Metropolitan Archives in 2009.

Collection of documents relating to courts and legal proceedings in London, including notes on jurisdiction and procedures; historical notes; reports on cases; briefs, case notes and proceedings; correspondence and financial accounts for various courts including the Court of Star Chamber, the Court of Exchequer, the Court of Chancery, the Court of King's Bench and Queen's Bench, and legal institutions such as Furnival's Inn, the King's Bench Prison, the Old Bailey and Marshalsea Prison.

Records arranged by MS number, assigned during cataloguing at the Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section.

These records are open for public inspection.

Copyright to this collection rests with the depositor.

English

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.

August to October 2010. Court of Kings Bench Chancery courts Prisons Court of the Exchequer Penal sanctions Penal institutions Law Legal documents Records and correspondence Records (documents) Court records Administration of justice Courts Court of Queen's Bench Information sources Documents Legal case records Chancery proceedings Court of King's Bench x Court of Queen's Bench Court of Chancery Court of Exchequer Court of Star Chamber Marshalsea Prison King's Bench Prison Old Bailey London England UK Western Europe Europe

Deposited in the Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section, which merged with the London Metropolitan Archives in 2009.

Collection of documents relating to courts and legal proceedings in London, including notes on jurisdiction and procedures; historical notes; reports on cases; briefs, case notes and proceedings; correspondence and financial accounts for various courts including the Court of Star Chamber, the Court of Exchequer, the Court of Chancery, the Court of King's Bench and Queen's Bench, and legal institutions such as Furnival's Inn, the King's Bench Prison, the Old Bailey and Marshalsea Prison.

Records arranged by MS number, assigned during cataloguing at the Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section.

These records are open for public inspection.

Copyright to this collection rests with the depositor.

• anglais

• latin

English

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.

• anglais