Sources for the History of Crime and the Law in England

Legal Records Information 18

These notes briefly describe the unpublished sources noted in the National Register of Archives (NRA), the Manorial Documents Register (MDR), the principal relevant repositories with strong collections relating to criminal and legal history, and general works of reference.

1. Indexes to the National Register of Archives

The indexes to the NRA are indexes to the creators of records. It is possible to search for the records of corporate bodies for example, professional societies and solicitors' firms or the papers of families and individuals such as judges and lawyers, and for groups of letters from prominent individuals which are to be found in collections other than their own. It is not possible to use the indexes to search for single letters or papers relating to a certain theme, e.g. murder.

Users can access the indexes to the National Register of Archives online at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra. Guidelines on how to undertake searches are available on the search pages.

2. Accessions to repositories

Each year The National Archives contacts approximately 250 of the principal record repositories in the British Isles in order to discover which major and unusual accessions have been received. This information is added to the indexes to the National Register of Archives. It is also edited and used to produce thirty-three thematic digests, including one relating to legal history. The digests are made available online and distributed for publication in a number of learned journals and newsletters. Further information is available at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/accesssions.

3. Manorial Documents Register

The Manorial Documents Register (MDR) is maintained within The National Archives as an index to the nature and location of surviving manorial records. These include court rolls and books with other papers relating to the administration of courts baron and courts leet during the medieval and early modern periods. Further information is available at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mdr.

4. Relevant repositories

The following provides details of repositories and institutions that hold major collections relating to criminal and legal history.

The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU

TNA holds extensive records of the Central Criminal Court (CRIM ), Chancery (C ), the Court of King's Bench (KB ), itinerant justices (JUST ), the Court of Common Pleas (CP ), the Supreme Court of Judicature (J ), the Assize (ASSI ) and the King's Bench, Fleet and Marshalsea prisons (PRIS ). The National Archives also holds some papers of individuals and records, 15th-19th cent, relating to Clement's Inn (PRO 30/26/74/1 -PRO 30/26/74/11 ).

Also in The National Archives are records of the Home Office (HO ), the Lord Chancellor's Office (LCO ), the Prison Commission (PCOM ), the Reformatory Inspector's Office (also HO ) and other areas of government concerned with law and order or the containment and rehabilitation of offenders, including the Metropolitan Police (MEPO ).

The National Archives produces a number of information research guides about the series of legal records in its possession. You can see the full list of guides on the Research Guides Index Page.

London School of Economics Library, Archives Division, Lionel Robbins Building, 10 Portugal Street, London WC2A 2HD

Holds extensive papers relating to individuals and organisations involved in social and political reform. Among the collections are the papers of Sir Joshua Jebb, Surveyor-General of Convict Prisons.

Canterbury Cathedral Archives, The Precincts, Canterbury CT1 2EH

Holds papers relating to various church courts of the Canterbury province, including the Consistory Court, the Court of Arches and the Provincial Court.

Parliamentary Archives, Houses of Parliament,London,SW1A 0PW

The House of Lords is the court of appeal for civil cases in the whole of Great Britain (in Scotland since 1707) and for criminal cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Records relating to this and other judicial functions of the House of Lords are retained at HLRO. This repository holds extensive records relating to the creation and implementation of the law, in addition to the papers of numerous Members of Parliament and political figures, for example, Thomas Wilde, Lord Chancellor, and William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Lord Beaverbrook. See Maurice F Bond, Guide to the Records of Parliament (HMSO, 1971).

Lambeth Palace Library, London SE1 7JU

Has much material relating to benefit of clergy and various courts which came under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, such as the Court of Arches.

University College London, Manuscripts Room, Library Services, 140 Hampstead Road, London NW1 2BX

Among other individuals, the Library holds the papers of Jeremy Bentham.

Warwick University Modern Records Centre, University Library, Coventry CV4 7AL

Holdings include records of the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NACRO) and the Howard League for Penal Reform.

Gray's Inn Library, 5 South Square, London WC1R 5ET

Collections include the papers of a number of judges and legal professionals.

Inner Temple Library, Inner Temple London EC4Y 7DA

Collections include papers relating to the Marshalsea and those of a number of individuals including Robert Bowyer, Clerk of Parliament, John Freeman-Mitford, Lord Chancellor, and Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury.

Lincoln's Inn Library, Lincolns Inn, London WC2A 3TN

Holdings include papers of numerous members of the judiciary and legal profession, including Sir Matthew Hale, judge, and Alexander Wedderburn, Lord Chancellor. Appointments should be made in advance by contacting the Archivist.

Middle Temple Library, Middle Temple Lane, London EC4Y 9BT

Includes records of New Inn and numerous members of the judiciary and legal profession.

Law Society Library, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL

In addition to its own records the Society has information relating to other legal bodies and the Joseph Mendham collection. It can also assist with tracing information about past solicitors.

Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Charles Clore House, 17 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DR

Holds records relating to a number of organisations concerned with legal education.

Galleries of Justice, Shire Hall, High Pavement, Lace Market, Nottingham NG1 1HN

The wide ranging collections include a small amount of records, such as those of the Rainer Foundation.

5. Police Archives

Many collections of police records have not yet been transferred to a record office. Researchers should consult Ian Bridgeman and Clive Emsley, A Guide to the Archives of the Police Forces of England and Wales (1989) for information on the availability of police archives.

6. Local Record Offices

Local record offices are generally the places of deposit for records relating to Quarter and Petty Sessions, County Courts and other courts with local jurisdictions. Papers relating to parish constables can sometimes be found amongst parish records, also to be found in local record offices. Except in instances where records remain at the prisons (for details see D Hawking, Criminal Ancestors), prison records are to be found at the most appropriate local authority record office.

7. Useful Links

Access to Archives (A2A) (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a)

A2A aims to create a virtual national archives catalogue, bringing together a critical mass of information about the rich national archival heritage and making that information available globally from one source via the World Wide Web. The records are held in geographically dispersed archives offices in England.

Archives Hub (www.archiveshub.ac.uk)

The Archives Hub provides a single point of access to descriptions of archives held in UK universities and colleges. At present these are primarily at collection-level, although where possible they are linked to complete catalogue descriptions. The Archives Hub forms one part of the UK's National Archives Network, alongside related networking projects.

Archives in London and the M25 area (AIM25) (www.aim25.ac.uk/index.stm)

AIM25 is a major project to provide electronic access to collection level descriptions of the archives of over fifty higher education institutions and learned societies within the greater London area.

Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) (www.scan.org.uk)

The Scottish Archive Network was established: to create an electronic network and search room linking the catalogues of nearly 50 Scottish archives; to provide a range of additional electronic services including a Knowledge Base of Frequently Asked Questions on Scottish history, together with exhibitions, publications, discussion groups, all of which will enhance and encourage the use of Scottish archives; to create a computerised index to the wills of Scots from 1500 to 1875, and to link this to digital images of the wills, thus opening up a vast historical resource.

8. Bibliography

(ri2236) Last updated: 24 November 2009 | © Crown Copyright 2002