Common pleas

The Court of Common Pleas became distinct during the 13th century when it became a court for civil litigation at common law between subjects. It was known originally as the Bench or Banco. After the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 the court became the Common Pleas Division of the High Court of Justice, but it was amalgamated into the Queen´s Bench Division of the High Court in 1880.

Pleas Rolls and De Banco Rolls

The plea rolls of the Bench or Placita de Banco in series CP 40 record the progress of civil actions at common law brought in the Common Pleas. There are no easy means of reference to the series, which runs from 1273 to 1874. There are no indexes, although references to the rotulus numbers of particular cases can be found in other sources for various periods. The largest is the series of prothonotaries' docket rolls in CP 60. There are also cross-references to rotulus numbers in the 14th century 'Rex' rolls in CP 23.

There are docket books from 1660 to 1839 giving the rotulus numbers of cases reaching judgement in IND 1/6373-6605. There are indexes to recoveries in the plea rolls in IND 1/17180-17182. There are various calendars of entries in IND 1/17114, 17115, 17125, 17134, 17167 and 17172.  

Feet of Fines

Fines, or final concords, were conveyances of land by means of a legal action (usually fictitious after 1300), resulting in a copy of the final agreement, or concord, between the purchaser (querent) and the seller (deforciant) being filed in the records of the king's court, usually, and from the 14th century, in the Common Pleas. Early feet of fines to 1509 are in CP 25/1 and most are arranged by counties and then in rough chronological order. There is no comprehensive index of persons or places for feet of fines. For some counties, local record societies have published calendars covering particular periods. There are a number of miscellaneous indexes covering particular periods and counties, mainly compiled in the 17th century, which may be ordered as original documents and can be found in the IND 1 series.

Feet of fines from 1509 to 1833 can be found in CP 25/2. There is no comprehensive index of persons or places. Some local record societies have published calendars; a list of such publications is available. A contemporary series of repertories to the notes of fines from 1509-1839 that show which should exist in the files for a particular county, are arranged by term and then by county or city, with separate sections for joint county fines in IND 1/7233-7244 and 17217-17268. The foot may be filed in a later term than the note. The repertories consist of two series, of which the earlier is more informative. The first series runs to 1759, written in Latin in a court hand until 1733, then in English written in a round hand. This can be found in IND 1/17255. Each entry gives, after the county, the name of the plaintiff (querent) and defendant (deforciant or tenant), and the place(s) where the property lay. The later series gives only the county and parties, not the location of the property, and begins in 1756. This can be found in IND 1/17262.

Feet of fines for Chester from 1280 to 1831 are in CHES 31; for Durham from 1535 to 1834 in DURH 12 and for Lancaster from 1377 to 1834 in PL 17. Feet of fines for Wales are now in the National Library of Wales.