Bankruptcy division, Board of Trade

From 1884 the Board of Trade supervised the official receivers, who acted as interim administrators of the bankrupt´s assets, pending or in default of the appointment of a trustee or trustees. If the assets were less than £300 the receiver normally acted as trustee. Board of Trade registers in BT 293, covering the period 1884 to 1923, contain entries for all persons served with a petition for bankruptcy. They cover London and the counties. Not all petitions actually resulted in formal bankruptcy. An incomplete series of Estate Ledgers in BT 294, covering from 1884 to c.1950, arranged by surname may show how the assets were distributed.

Deeds of Arrangement

Deeds of Arrangement, private agreements between debtor and creditors, became compulsory from 1888 and registers are in BT 39 from 1888 to 1947, with a small selection in BT 221 from 1897 to 1915. There are a selection of Deeds of Assignment covering various dates between 1899 and 1915. There are also some sample case papers in BT 221 covering dates from 1884 to the 1960s. Case files of the Official Receiver relating to High Court cases from 1891 are in BT 226, sampled from 1914. Pre 1914 cases are indexed by name in a card index available in the Open Reading Room. Later indexes are in BT 293.

Notices of Bankruptcy Proceedings

Notices of bankruptcy proceedings were published in the London Gazette, held here in series ZJ 1, and in The Times, copies available here on microfilm, with an index on CD-ROM. Local newspapers may also contain notices and reports on local bankruptcy proceedings.