King´s or Queen´s bench
The Court of King´s Bench was the highest court of common law, dealing with matters directly concerning the Crown or relating to the maintenance of the "king´s peace". In time the court came to deal with many personal actions between the king´s subjects. By the beginning of the eighteenth century the court was divided into two parts, the Crown side and the Plea side, the former dealt with criminal cases and the latter with personal actions. After the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 the court became the Queen´s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice.
Pleas and early proceedings
Early proceedings of the court are in the series KB 27
. Plea rolls from 1273 contain the record of pleas on both the Crown and Plea Sides of the court from the reigns of Edward I to William III. Their title derives from the fiction that proceedings in the court were held before the king in person (coram rege) as some early courts were held before the king. The records are of the formal stages in cases; not of what was said during pleadings. The series is almost complete with no inexplicable gaps after the reign of Edward I, for which rolls are wanting for seven terms. Later missing terms are all explained by known events: the plague (Trinity 1349, 1361, 1368 and 1545, and Michaelmas 1569), the Peasants' Revolt (Trinity 1381), the return to London of Edward IV after the readeption of Henry VI (Easter 1471) and the interregnum between James II and William III (Hilary 1689).
Rolls include a pleas side roll, a roll of fines and forfeitures, a Rex roll and rolls of warrants of attorney
. Docket rolls in IND 1 provide a means of reference to these rolls. Controlment rolls in KB 29 are annotated copies made for the king´s attorney and provide a means of reference to Rex roll entries. They list all prosecutions begun in each term and give in the margin a numerical reference to indictments. From 1589 to 1882 on the Crown Side in KB 21, and from 1603 to 1877 on the Plea Side in KB 125 the Rule Books provide a daily record of the court business.
Indictments
Term indictment files are in series KB 9 from c.1294 to 1675, with indictment files for special cases in KB 8 from 1477 to 1813, including state trials for treason.
There is no easy way into the records. A case prosecuted by indictment will be found in the indictment files, but a case that came before the court by means of a prerogative writ would be in the recorda files. Writs of certiorari informing the court, or removing a case from an inferior court, could be filed in the indictment or recorda files depending on their purpose.
If you are looking for a named defendant in a criminal case, some indexes survive for certain periods. There are indexes to London and Middlesex defendants for the period 1673 to 1843 in IND 1/6669-6677. Provincial defendants for 1638 to 1704 and from 1765 and 1843 are indexed in IND 1/6680-6684. Two other volumes index London and Middlesex defendants and some in northern counties for the period from 1682 to 1699 in IND 1/6678-6679. These indexes are arranged by first letter of the surname and then chronologically by term. To the left of the surname is the number of the indictment or information on the relevant indictment file. London and Middlesex indictment files from 1675 to 1844 are in KB 10, and provincial files for 1676 to 1845 are in KB 11. Later indictments files are in KB 12 from 1846 to 1926. Indexes are in IND 1.
For the period 1844 to 1859 there is a modern index to the Plea rolls in KB 28 of both prosecutors and defendants, but it only covers those cases with a formal outcome and judgement. It does not cover cases which failed or were withdrawn.
Depositions
Affidavits are in KB 1 from 1682, and supplementary affidavitsin KB 2 from 1689 to 1737, giving support to or opposing informations in court. The affidavits are often very informative. A contemporary index to depositions in KB 1 is in KB 39. The earlier volumes from 1738 to 1768 are less useful than the later ones as they give only a rough indication of the term bundle in KB 1. They list affidavits by case rather than individually, and they do not index many of the other documents to be found among the depositions. A separate series of affidavits relating to offences against the customs and excise can be found in KB 32/1-4 from 1727 to 1829.
Final Judgments
Until the 19th century very few cases reached trial and a formal judgement. Crown rolls in KB 28 from 1702 to 1911 and posteas from 1664 to 1839 in KB 20 record formal judgements. Both recite all the processes involved in each case and each entry will be found in the term in which judgement was given.
Non-Criminal Actions (Prerogative Writs)
If you are tracing a person who was the subject of a custody dispute you can look for the issue of a writ of habeas corpus. Writs of habeas corpus and certiorari on orders should be traced using the annual recorda files in KB 145 until 1690, and in KB 16 from 1690. Unfortunately there are no indexes to these records.
Other disputes such as appointments to offices or local taxation under a writ of quo warranto or writ of mandamus should be looked for in the same way as a criminal case. Writs of mandamus can be traced on the controlment rolls in KB 29, but not all may be recorded so it is best to check the recorda files in KB 145 or KB 16 as well.
