Old Bailey and the Central Criminal Court: Criminal Trials

Legal Records Information 27

1. Most Pre-1834 Records Elsewhere

London and Middlesex sessions before 1834 were held before the lord mayor acting as chief justice together with other commissioners acting as judges. In practice most cases were held by legal officers, notably the Recorder and Common Serjeant of London. Records of Guildhall Sessions, relating to the City, are held by the Corporation of London Record Office, Guildhall, London, EC2P 2EJ. Records of Old Bailey sessions for the rest of London and Middlesex are at the London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London, EC1R OAB. The Old Bailey proceedings for the period 1674-1913 are now available online in a fully searchable format at www.oldbaileyonline.org

2. Some Early Records and finding aids in The National Archives

Criminal Registers listing those charged with indictable offences at Middlesex Sessions, giving verdict and sentence, for 1791-1849 are in HO 26 ; For early printed Old Bailey Proceedings see Section 6 below. Lists of prisoners for trial at the Old Bailey 1815-1849 in HO 16 and Newgate Gaol calendars for 1782-1853 in HO 77 . London and Middlesex cases removed by writs of certiorari to the Court of King's Bench are described in the Research Guide King's Bench (Crown Side): 1675-1875. In addition to these original sources, the National Archives Library holds printed calendars of Middlesex sessions records for 1549-1688 in Middlesex County Records edited by J C Jeaffreson (1886-1892); for 1612-1616 in W le Hardy's Calendar to the Sessions Records (1935-1937) and indexed typescript calendars of Sessions Rolls and Books for 1607-1612 and 1638-1751. It also holds A Knapp and W Baldwin's Newgate Calendar, 4 vols. (1824-1828) describing 'notorious' cases 1700-1825 and a popular history in W Eden Hooper's History of Newgate and the Old Bailey (1935).

3. The Central Criminal Court

The Central Criminal Court was established in 1834 by the Central Criminal Court Act ( 4 & 5 Will. V cap. 36) and empowered to try treasons, murders, felonies, and misdemeanors committed in London and Middlesex and certain parts of Essex, Kent, and Surrey. It was also empowered to try offences committed on the high seas or elsewhere abroad previously tried at the Admiralty sessions. In 1964, this act was repealed and the Central Criminal Court's area of jurisdiction was defined as being the Greater London area. After assize courts were abolished and replaced by crown courts, in 1971 the title Central Criminal Court was retained for the crown court sitting in London. Under the Central Criminal Court Act of 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. cap 16) the court could also hear cases outside its ordinary jurisdiction to ensure a fair trial where local prejudice existed or where, due to its frequent sessions, it could offer an early trial and so avoid the delay in waiting for the next assizes. The power of the court to hear cases outside its ordinary jurisdiction was further extended by the Jurisdiction in Homicides Act of 1862 (25 & 26 Vict. cap 65).

The records of the Central Criminal Court are arranged chronologically and are not indexed by personal name - you must have an approximate date of trial to begin a search.

4. After Trial Calendars

After Trial Calendars of prisoners from 1855, giving details of prisoners tried, charges on the indictment against them, verdict and sentence are in CRIM 9 (some yearly volumes closed for 75 or 100 years) and also in HO 140 , from 1868-1968 subject to 75-100 year closures and 1969-1971 which are open. Those in HO 140 for London and Middlesex cover Quarter Sessions as well as the Central Criminal Court cases and for 1868-1897 have separate sections for the City, Middlesex, Essex, Kent, Surrey and Admiralty jurisdictions. After 1898 they have separate sections for London (North of the Thames), London (South of the Thames) and Middlesex.

5. Printed Shorthand Notes of Proceedings

The proceedings of the Old Bailey for the years 1674-1913, the printed accounts, including for many trials an account of what was said in court, are now available online in a fully searchable format at www.oldbaileyonline.org. They were not produced after April 1913 but contemporary newspaper reports often record proceedings in great detail and may be consulted at the British Library's Newspaper Library, Colindale Avenue, London, NW9 5HE. British Trials 1660-1900 (it includes a few trials 1901-1908) is available on microfilm and includes additional contemporary pamphlet accounts of trials as well as reproducing many of the Old Bailey Proceedings. There are separate indexes including by name of defendant.

The same printed proceedings or narrative accounts of trials for London and Middlesex sessions for 1801-1904 are in PCOM 1 . Duplicates of these volumes are also in CRIM 10 covering the period 1834-1912. The Old Bailey Proceedings 1714-1834 are also available on microfilm. Some transcripts of proceedings in cases where the Treasury Solicitor or Director of Public Prosecutions had an interest are in DPP 4 for 1846-1958) and for 1812-1963 in TS 36 . Shorthand notes may also survive for cases that were referred to the Court of Criminal Appeal (after 1945) in J 82 . Transcripts are also held within other files. You will be able to identify the existence of a file by searching by the name of the accused on The National Archives Online Catalogue.

6. Depositions

Depositions 1839-1971 are in CRIM 1 and in J 267 from 1972 for cases more than 30 years old, although there are also a few earlier cases in this latter series. All those in murder, sedition, treason, riot and political conspiracy trials, as well as those held to be of historical interest have been preserved, with a 2% random sample of other trials. They are listed chronologically and by name of defendant. Some depositions include plans and photographs. Some are closed for 75-100 years. After 1923, there are alphabetical indexes of depositions in cases sent up from coroners and police courts in CRIM 2 .

7. Indictments

Indictments, which are the formal statement of the charge against the accused, are in CRIM from 1834-1971. The Indictment files in this series can contain other documents - gaol deliveries, coroner's inquests, jury summonses and recognisances. They are indexed by calendars in CRIM 5 which run from 1833 and are arranged in alphabetical order of surname, giving the name of the accused, the number of the indictment within the bundle, the offence charged, the date of conviction, the date of sentence and the results of any appeal. Indictments from 1972-1974 are in J 268 and are indexed by J 336 , which covers 1972-1980. Indictments beyond 1974 have not yet been transferred to The National Archives. For further information about these records contact Departmental Record Officer, Ministry of Justice, Records Management Services, 5th Floor, Millbank, London SW 1P 4XB.

8. Court Books

Court Books are in CRIM 6 and run in chronological series from 1834 to 1949 - those from 1950 to 1971 have not survived. These books are closed for 75 years. They contain brief entries of cases heard and note the plea, verdict and sentence. They are not indexed by personal name.

9. Appeals, Criminal Petitions, Transportation

Appeals, against verdict or sentence, were heard by the Court of Criminal Appeal after 1907, the registers of which are in J 81 . Appeals to the Court for the Consideration of Crown Cases Reserved on points of law, 1848-1893, are in CRIM 11 , with orders of the Court in CRIM 12 for 1848-1908. In 1907 the Court of Criminal Appeal was established - see Supreme Court: Appeal Cases After 1875.

Further information on particular cases may sometimes be found, particularly among the records of the Director of Public Prosecutions - Home Office (State Papers to 1782), the Prison Commission and the Metropolitan Police. See Convicts and Prisons 1100-1986, Sources in The National Archives and Transportation to America and the West Indies, 1615-1776 and Transportation to Australia 1787-1868 for description of the relevant records series.

(ri2245) Last updated: 8 August 2008 | © Crown Copyright 1999