Showing 226 results

Records of Uxbridge Petty Sessional Division, 1855-1986, including court registers; court minutes; juvenile court registers; minutes of Probation and After-Care Committee and of Justices' Meetings and committals registers. Court registers record the date of the hearing, the name of the informant or complainant (often the police), the name of the defendant, a brief note of the offence and the decision of the magistrate. Court minute books or notebooks are rough notes of the proceedings recording the gist of the evidence given.

Calendars of prisoners for various Courts of Law, 1881-1961, including:

Rochester Sessions;
Central Criminal Court;
Middlesex Sessions;
Surrey Sessions;
Surrey Assizes;
Kent Sessions;
Kent Assizes;
County of London Sessions;
Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire Sessions;
Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire Assizes;
Essex Sessions;
Essex Assizes;
Gravesend Sessions;
Maidstone Sessions;
Tenterden Sessions;
West Ham Borough Sessions;
Croydon Borough Sessions;
Guildford Borough Sessions;
City of London Sessions;
Hertford, Saint Albans and Saffron Walden Assizes.

Please note that some of these calendars are closed under the Data Protection Act.

Copy of the will of Robert Thomas de Veil, 22 May 1747, addressed to Catherine, wife of Philip De La Port. Includes applied seal.

Copies of court judgements of the Verwaltungsgerichtshof, Vienna, 1954-1956, including judgement in which the appeal of David Lustig (former inmate of a camp in Italy) against an earlier court decision denying his claim of nazi-victim status is upheld, 16 Sep 1954 and judgement in which the appeal of Dr Jacques Karl Wechsler against an earlier court decision denying his claim of nazi-victim status is upheld on account of his detention in camps in Italy and loss of earnings and pension which resulted therefrom, 21 Jun 1956.

Papers relating to the proceedings of the trial of von Manstein for war crimes by a British Military Court, Curio House, Hamburg, Germany, Aug-Dec 1949, including typescript 'Index of the proceedings upon the trial of Fritz Erich von Lewinski, called von Manstein', 1949; typescript index of the summing-up by Judge Advocate Hon Charles Arthur Collingwood, Dec 1949; typescript charge sheet listing the seventeen charges of war crimes against von Manstein, amended as served, 14 Jul 1949; typescript opening speech for the prosecution by Sir Arthur Strettell Comyns-Carr, KC, 24 Aug 1949; typescript proceedings for the sixty one days of von Manstein's trial for war crimes (two days proceedings excluded as they were held in camera), 23 Aug-16 Dec 1949; twelve bound indexed volumes of typescript documents referred to by counsel and used as evidence in von Manstein's trial, 1949; typescript bound transcript of Commission Hearing, Landsberg Prison, Landsberg, Germany, by Special Commissioner Lt Col W St John C Tayleur, Barrister at Law, Office of the Deputy Judge Advocate General, Headquarters BAOR (British Army of the Rhine), appointed by Lt Gen Sir Charles Keightley, Commander-in-Chief, BAOR (British Army of the Rhine), to take evidence on commission relating to von Manstein, 10 Jan 1949; forty four printed maps relating to Wehrmacht operations on the Eastern Front against the USSR, Jun 1941-Mar 1944; typescript 'Synopsis of the retreat of the German Army (Army Group South) from southern Russia with regard to operations of Field Marshal von Manstein', with copies of fourteen printed maps relating to the Eastern Front, USSR, 1941-1944; typescript copy of letter from B Acht, Polish Military Mission, Berlin, Germany, to Lt Gen Sir Frank (Ernest Wallace) Simpson, President of the Court, relating to his withdrawal as Polish official observer to von Manstein's trial due to his perception of the defence counsel's positive portrayal of von Manstein's character, Nov 1949; typescript copies of papers relating to evidence taken and presented at the trial, 1949; four copies of sketches of the court and of von Manstein in court, 1949; article by Cyril Bentham Falls, Chichele Professor of the History of War, Oxford, entitled 'The trial of Field Marshal von Manstein' from The Illustrated London News, 13 Aug 1949; newspaper cuttings relating to the trial, 1949; obituary for von Manstein from The Times, 13 Jun 1973.

Photocopy of a transcript of the trial of William Walker in Trujillo, Honduras.

Records of Wandsworth County Court, 1911-1968, including ordinary summons books; default summons books; defended default books; judgement summons books and funds ledgers.

Records of Wandsworth Petty Sessional Division, 1870-1950, comprising court minute books; court registers; licensing registers and licensing transfers. Court registers record the date of the hearing, the name of the informant or complainant (often the police), the name of the defendant, a brief note of the offence and the decision of the magistrate. Court minute books or notebooks are rough notes of the proceedings recording the gist of the evidence given.

War crimes trials: trial papers including detailed indictments and verdicts of various post-World War Two war crimes trials; reports on trials by observers; copy statements and other papers, 1947-1967.

Papers relating to the case Irving v Penguin Books and Lipstadt, 1996, and papers relating to Nazi gold, including the London Conference on Nazi Gold held at Lancaster House, 2-4 December 1997.

Records of West London County Court, 1847-1948, including minute books; ledger of equity proceedings; plaint book; default summons books; ordinary summons books; bankruptcy administration ledger; Workmen's Compensation Act register; judge's register; register of agreements and committal summons book.

Records of West London Magistrates Court, 1877-2001, including court registers; registers for means enquiries, Small Tenement Act cases, civil debt cases, ex-parte cases, and licence renewals; Married Women Act orders; bastardy orders; domestic court proceedings; maintenance registers and Guardianship of Infants Act orders.

Court registers record the date of the hearing, the name of the informant or complainant (often the police), the name of the defendant, a brief note of the offence and the decision of the magistrate.

Domestic proceedings: a married woman under the provisions of the Summary Jurisdiction (Married Women) Act 1895 and subsequent Acts could go to a magistrates' court and apply for orders which in certain circumstances would enable her to separate from her husband, have custody of any children and receive maintenance from him. Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1844 a mother expecting a bastard child or who had given birth to one could obtain a maintenance order against the putative father.

Copy of a Court Roll made at the Court Baron of Sir John Brokett (Brockett), Lord of the Manor of Westington, containing a Surrender of copyhold by Richard Adams, customary tenant, of a tenement with croft adjacent containing one acre, another close containing about three acres, also three acres of arable land lying in Fynceley Churche Fylde, to the use of John Adams, his elder son. Also contains the Admission of John Adams for an annual rent of 7s.9d.

Copy of Court Roll made at the Court Baron of Sir John Brokett (Brockett), Lord of the Manor of Westington, containing a surrender by John Clerke (by the hands of John Cony and William Clerke, customary tenants) of a copyhold property and the admission of John Adams, his heir, for a fine of 16s. The property consists of 3 acres known as Grene Croft. Signed by Thomas Walkenden, steward.

Documents relating to the Westminster Bridge inquisitions, 1739-1746. The documents relate to the acquisition of land in Westminster. For each case there is a precept for summoning a jury, a list of jurymen and their resulting inquisition. The list records the general location of the property and the owner or leaseholder concerned.

Records of Westminster Magistrates Court, 1896-1943, including court registers; rates registers; means enquiry summonses; summonses indexes; Married Women Act orders; bastardy complaints and letter book.

Court registers record the date of the hearing, the name of the informant or complainant (often the police), the name of the defendant, a brief note of the offence and the decision of the magistrate. Court minute books or notebooks are rough notes of the proceedings recording the gist of the evidence given.

Domestic proceedings: A married woman under the provisions of the Summary Jurisdiction (Married Women) Act 1895 and subsequent Acts could go to a magistrates' court and apply for orders which in certain circumstances would enable her to separate from her husband, have custody of any children and receive maintenance from him. Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1844 a mother expecting a bastard child or who had given birth to one could obtain a maintenance order against the putative father.

Document relating to a plea heard at Westminster, 1807: Crichton Horne and Edward Finch, (plaintiffs) v John Moore.

Letter from Charles, 2nd Viscount Townsend, to Lord Delaware, chairman of the sessions of the peace for Westminster, announcing the decision that the Treasury Solicitor will in future defend all constables and other peace officers of Westminster in actions brought against them 'for searching houses where Felons and other disorderly Persons resort' by warrant of the justices. Dated 26 October 1728.

Records of the Westminster Quarter Sessions of the Peace, 1619-1860, including lists of prisoners awaiting trial; lists of prisoners already tried; lists and rolls of fines; court minutes; lists and registers of charges; sessions papers; sessions rolls; writs of venire facias and trial process records.

Note on the Quarter Sessions records: Although Westminster has fewer surviving records than Middlesex, the City's sessions would have produced similar records to those of the County, but they would have been smaller in quantity, and have included less administrative material. Also, as with all Quarter Sessions records, "seeing that the Custos Rotulorum was a private gentleman or nobleman and the Clerk of the Peace an attorney with a private practice it is likely that many county records were (if not lost or destroyed) handed down to their families or their professional successors" and many may still remain to be found in private hands (Emmison and Gray, County Records, 1987). Those records that have survived are often difficult to read or understand because of the handwriting, use of Latin (until 1733), or legal jargon and abbreviations; although standardised legal formats were used and printed pro formas introduced by the nineteenth century.

For the Middlesex and Westminster records there may also be confusion over the records' arrangement resulting from the attempts at classification by previous generations of archivists which have left many records split up into unnatural groupings. Originally they would not have been sorted into any cohesive arrangement. These were records that were "kept for administrative convenience rather than as sources for future generations" (G. Jones, Quarter Sessions records in the Leicestershire Record Office).

Because of this overlapping between many classes of record, any study of the Westminster records should include consultation of those for Middlesex. There was in any case a lot of co-operation between the two courts during the period covered by the records. Judicial (Gaol Delivery Sessions for example) and administrative functions were shared, as were court personnel (including justices). Westminster prisoners could elect to be tried at the Middlesex sessions, as these were held more frequently than their own.

The sessions records are a very useful source for family history, studying trends in law and order, and the life of the City and its inhabitants over a relatively long period of time. The capital was an area with high levels of crime, the natural place for riot and conspiracy, and attracted a wide variety of people from the whole country and abroad. The main record of proceedings at the sessions will be found in the sessions rolls (MJ/SR and the uncatalogued WJ/SR - index in WJ/CB); the (partially uncatalogued) sessions books (WJ/SB, MJ/SB); and the (partially uncatalogued) sessions papers (WJ/SP, MJ/SP). City administrative work is in the records of the County Day sessions (WJ/O), and for one particular type, in the records of the street surveyors (WJ/SS). Records of judicial procedure are in the records of court fines (WJ/E), writs to summon juries (WJ/W), and the trial process (WJ/Y); Lists of prisoners made at various times during the trial process are in WJ/CC and WJ/CP.

Letter from William Wilberforce of Iver, Buckinghamshire to the [? Home Office], 2 Aug 1823. Asking for 'Mr. Peele' [i.e. the Home Secretary, Robert Peel, later Sir Robert Peel] to consider 'the application of several highly respectable people in favour of Geo. Fish [convicted at Hull] ... that instead of being transported for 7 years according to his sentence, he may be placed in the Penitentiary in the not unreasonable hope that the principles which were instilled into him in his childhood may there be reviv'd'. Requesting that any decision be communicated to him at Elmdon House near Coventry.

Autograph, with signature.

Records of courts within Willesden Petty Sessional Division, 1873-1986. Records include court registers for Harlesden Magistrates Court; court registers, juvenile court registers and court minute books for Willesden Magistrates Court; court registers, juvenile court registers and court minute books for Acton Magistrates Court and licensing registers for Willesden, Acton and Chiswick.

Court registers record the date of the hearing, the name of the informant or complainant (often the police), the name of the defendant, a brief note of the offence and the decision of the magistrate. Court minute books or notebooks are rough notes of the proceedings recording the gist of the evidence given.

Four wills, details as follows:

1. Probate copy of the will of William Batte of Shoreham, Kent, making 'my loving master John Baker' the overseer of his will, 27 Dec [1615]. Lacking letters of probate and seal.
2. Probate copy of the will of Joseph Wright of Maidstone, Kent, 'practitioner of physick', 12 May 1701. Lacking letters of probate and seal.
3. Copy of the will of John Streatfield of Maidstone, Kent, 12 Apr 1766, with a note of probate on 4 Nov 1768, 'Extracted from the registry of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. The will mentions bequests to the Charity School of Maidstone and monies to be distributed to the poor of the parished of Maidstone, Hever, Mayfield (Sussex), Tonbridge and Penshurst.
4. Copy of the will dated 11 Oct 1777, with a codicil of 28 Mar 1781, of Robert Streatfield of Burwack [Burwash], Sussex, with a note of probate on 19 Mar 1782. The will was extracted from the registry of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.

The collection covers Lord Moran's life and career. It includes papers (committee minutes, correspondence, notes, printed material, ephemera, articles, parliamentary papers, etc.) re his position as Dean of St Mary's Hospital Medical School, 1920-1945; as President at the Royal College of Physicians, 1941-1950; his role in negotiations over the establishment and structure of the NHS, 1942-1960; as Chairman of the Awards Committee, 1948-1962. His other professional activities are covered in general correspondence files; a series of medical records, including material on Winston Churchill, 1944-1965; subject files relating to his role on various government, educational and medical bodies, including the commission to determine whether Rudolph Hess was mentally fit to stand trial in 1945. The collection includes drafts and papers re Anatomy of Courage (including photocopies of his World War I army notebooks), and Winston Churchill: Struggle for Survival. There is also a section of unpublished writings and speeches, 1921-1970. Papers consulted by Professor Lovell in Australia while writing his biography of Lord Moran, were returned in two batches, the first in April 1990, when he helped with the initial sorting and listing of the papers, and the second in April 1991. Some of these papers have been returned to the main body of the collection, however most have been kept in a separate section in the list (section L). The collection also contains personal and family material, photographs, press cuttings and ephemera, and a section comprising personal and professional papers of Lord Moran's wife Dorothy, Lady Moran (d.1983).

Papers of Sir William James Erasmus Wilson, 1845-1888, comprising correspondence with Thomas Stone and the Royal College of Surgeons Of England, and notes on 'Cleopatra's Needle', 1845-1884; Wilson's Will and Codicil, 1882-1883; and correspondence between his executors, solicitors, the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and the accountant charged with organising Wilson's estate on the College's behalf, 1885-1888.

Records of Woolwich County Court, 1872-1995, including minute book; ordinary summons books; ordinary actions books; judges' note books; bills of sale and court service expenditure ledger.

Records of Woolwich Magistrates Court, 1898-1979, including court registers; court minute books; Married Women Act orders; Guardianship of Infants Act orders and bastardy complaints.

Court registers record the date of the hearing, the name of the informant or complainant (often the police), the name of the defendant, a brief note of the offence and the decision of the magistrate. Court minute books or notebooks are rough notes of the proceedings recording the gist of the evidence given.

Domestic proceedings: A married woman under the provisions of the Summary Jurisdiction (Married Women) Act 1895 and subsequent Acts could go to a magistrates' court and apply for orders which in certain circumstances would enable her to separate from her husband, have custody of any children and receive maintenance from him. Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1844 a mother expecting a bastard child or who had given birth to one could obtain a maintenance order against the putative father.