3. When, why and how records were created

Official declarations of outlawry were issued by courts of law. The consequences of being declared an outlaw, which included the seizure of goods and lands, were also dealt with by the courts. Each formal stage in the process was recorded (see section 4-6 for advice on how to find the records)3.1 Declarations of outlawry

3.1 Declarations of outlawry…

…in the early medieval period

During the early medieval period, most outlawries were for criminal acts. A suitor would make a public accusation called an appeal in the county court, which was run by the sheriff. These appeals, along with royal writs ordering the appearance of the defendant, were recorded by the coroner on his rolls.

…in the late medieval period

By the late medieval period, the process of outlawry had expanded to include both civil and criminal actions. Outlawries were still proclaimed in the sheriff’s county court, but the process of outlawry by appeal had been largely replaced by one based on exigent writs issued by the central courts, either at Westminster or when the senior justices travelled around the country hearing cases on circuit. These writs commanded the sheriff to ensure the appearance in court of a defendant who had previously failed to turn up voluntarily or had not been apprehended. Few records of sheriffs’ courts have survived, but there are some examples in series SC 2.

The legal procedure which led to the declaration of outlawry took the following form:

1. Writs of capias. If a defendant failed to appear in court, it was the sheriff’s duty to find and arrest him. The court authorised this by issuing writs of capias. Three successive writs were issued in civil and minor criminal issues; one or two for more serious offences of treason, rebellion or homicide.
2. Writs of exigent. If the sheriff still failed to find the defendant, the next step was to issue a writ of exigent. This declared that the defendant could not be found, did not have any goods in that county, and because of that, could not be ‘attached’ (securities taken for his appearance) or ‘distrained’ (goods seized to enforce his appearance). It directed the sheriff to make a proclamation at five successive sittings of the county courts (in the case of the City of London, at the Hustings), ordering the defendant’s appearance upon pain of outlawry.
3. The declaration of outlawry. If the defendant had still failed to appear by the sheriff’s fifth proclamation, he was then declared an outlaw.

3.2 The seizure of goods and land

In instances of treason, rebellion or homicide, the lands and possessions of the individual would normally have been seized by the crown by the time a second writ of capias was issued. In other cases, a new writ of capias utlagatum could be obtained from the courts of King’s Bench and Common Pleas, ordering the sheriff to apprehend the outlaw for not appearing, to keep him in custody until the day ordered for his appearance, and then produce him in court. A special writ of capias utlagatum could also command the sheriff to seize possessions. County officials called escheators then managed those lands and goods for the crown until they were regranted or returned if the outlawry was reversed.

Many debt-related actions did not reach the stage of outlawry. A writ was obtained from Chancery ordering the sheriff to make an inquisition into the possessions of a defaulting debtor. Having returned this list of goods, known as an ‘extent’, a further writ was issued allowing the creditor to recover the sum owed. If a case did result in outlawry, an inquisition was officially appointed to discover what lands and goods the outlaw possessed.

3.3 Pardons and the reversing of outlawry

To reverse an outlawry the defendant had to appear in person before the court. It was possible to reverse the outlawry by pleading that an error in the way that the case was handled had been made in either the Court of Common Pleas or King’s Bench. A case could also be transferred from Common Pleas to King’s Bench.

Another way to reverse an outlawry was by pleading a pardon.

To plead his pardon, the defendant first had to surrender himself to the Fleet Prison in the City of London or the Marshalsea, the prison of the King’s Bench court, over the river in Southwark. Having obtained his pardon before surrendering, he would then present this to the court when he appeared in person.

3.4 Other records

References to outlawry and outlaws are found in many other collections, such as Ancient Correspondence or State Papers. Records of outlaws and felons who sought sanctuary or abjured the realm (renounced their status as English subjects), are usually found elsewhere – although mention is sometimes made in criminal indictments arising in the counties from justices on circuit or from the Quarter Sessions, held by justices of the Peace from the mid-fourteenth century (KB 9, KB 10, KB 11) and returned to the King’s Bench court.

4. How to search for declarations of outlawry

Among the records covered in this section are those of the Court of King’s Bench, the most senior criminal court in England. In the records of the court, outlawries resulting from cases between individuals are known as ‘suit of party’ and those arising from criminal cases are known as ‘suit of the crown’.

4.1 Civil outlawries

Outlawries resulting from civil cases can be traced in the texts of other documents and records of proceedings. The best places to look are the plea rolls of the Court of Common Pleas, or the sections of civil cases found in the first part of each plea roll created by the Court of King’s Bench.

If the individual might have been pardoned, searching for the writ of certiorari could speed up your research time, since the information on the plea rolls could be bypassed. Before 1331 this writ was sent to the sheriff. After that date, it was delivered to the judges of Common Pleas or King’s Bench ordering them to produce the documents of the case and its process through the court, together with the proof of the outlaw’s surrender to them and his imprisonment in the Fleet Prison or Marshalsea. Many of the writs were copied onto the plea rolls as part of the record of how cases progressed.

• C 88 (1277-1628) – writs certiorari super recordum et processum utlagarie, returned to Chancery as the first step to obtaining a pardon for outlawry. Files arranged by groups of regnal years without any other description in the online catalogue.
• CP 40 (1273-1874) – plea rolls of the Court of Common Pleas. Rolls arranged by regnal year and law term. CP 60 docket rolls offer summary information on cases after 1509.
• KB 27 (1273-1702) – coram rege rolls. Plea rolls of the Court of King’s Bench, civil pleas section, and KB 122 for complete rolls of civil cases after 1702.

4.2 Criminal outlawries

Criminal outlawries are held in the series listed below. In the KB 26 and KB 27 series, outlaws at ‘suit of party’ are located in the section of civil pleas. Those outlawed at the ‘suit of the crown’ are on the crown or ‘Rex’ section.

• JUST 2 (1228-1426) – rolls of pleas before coroners, with some other crown plea records for counties, towns, and liberties. Also includes lists of outlawries and returned exigent writs.
• JUST 1 (1198-1528) – rolls of pleas before judges travelling on circuit to the counties. Search by county and date only (catalogue descriptions contain no further details). Many transcripts have been printed and published by legal and local history societies.
• KB 26 (1194-1272) – early plea rolls from various courts, formerly curia regis rolls. Most rolls to 1249 are transcribed in printed volumes. Search the catalogue by county, type of court and date only.
• KB 27 (1273-1702) – coram rege rolls. Plea rolls of the Court of King’s Bench; criminal pleas on the Rex section. One roll for each of the four law terms in each regnal year. KB 29 can be used as an index to and summary of cases across the whole regnal year.
• KB 29 (1329-1843) – controlment rolls. Memoranda rolls of the clerk of the crown recording progress of cases on the Rex side of King’s Bench. Search by regnal year only (catalogue descriptions contain no further details). There is one roll per regnal
• SC 2 (c.1200-c.1900) – Special Collections: Court Rolls. Searching on ‘county court’ will separate sheriffs’ courts from the manorial courts that make up most of this series.

Annual rolls called controlment rolls recorded ‘suit of party’ and ‘suit of the crown’ cases but by the 15th century were used mainly to record those outlawed at ‘suit of party’. They begin with writs of inquiry into the goods and movable property (chattels) of persons recently outlawed. Four specific rolls in KB 29 list outlaws at ‘suit of the crown’:

• KB 29/91 for the reign of Henry VI
• KB 29/113 for the reign of Edward IV
• KB 29/139 for the reign of Henry VII
• KB 29/220 for the reign of Elizabeth I

There are also outlawry rolls for the reigns of Henry IV and Henry V in E 389. These contain the names of outlaws sent into the Exchequer from the courts of Common Pleas and King’s Bench. The latter include outlaws at ‘suit of party’ and ‘suit of crown’.

5. How to search for records of the seizure of goods and land

Writs ordering the sheriff to make an inquisition into the possessions of a defaulting debtor are in Chancery records:

• C 131 (1316-c1660) – Extents for debts, series I. Incudes sheriffs’ valuations of lands and goods seized from debtors. Search by name of debtor, creditor, date or placename.
• C 239 (1529-1648) – Extents for debts, series II. Mainly writs for the recovery of private debts. Search by regnal year.

Some inquisitions into the lands, goods, and movable possessions (chattels) the outlaw held are found in:

• C 145 (1218-1485) – Files arranged chronologically, but no searchable descriptions in the catalogue. All items are summarised in published Calendars of Inquisitions Miscellaneous.
• E 199 (1216-1837) – King’s Remembrancer, sheriffs’ accounts. Includes records of seized outlaws’ lands and goods. Search by county and regnal year.
• E 379 (1422-c1660) – King’s Remembrancer, sheriffs’ accounts of seizures. Search by county and regnal year.

In the 17^th century, seized land and goods are recorded in outlawry books:

• E 172 (1606-1842) – King’s Remembrancer, outlawries. Transcripts of writs and extents of the lands and goods of outlaws. Use E 173 to locate records.
• E 173 (1606-1842) – King’s Remembrancer, outlawry books. Registers of writs and notes on seizures of outlaws’ lands and goods. From 1776 they fully list those lands and goods. There are just 5 pieces in this series and they can be used as an index to E 172.

The results of inquisitions were returned to the Exchequer and these are recorded in:

• E 143 (1216-1830) – King’s Remembrancer, extents and inquisitions. Includes the results of inquests into forfeited land. Chronological arrangement with very little descriptive detail on contents.
• E 159 and E 368 (1218-1994) – King’s Remembrancer and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer, memoranda rolls. Each roll covers one regnal year. Look for the recorda section for each of the four terms on these rolls for the results of inquisitions. Some original indexes from 1543 are in the IND 1 series.

Some records of forfeited lands are in:

• E 357 (1323-1625) – Escheators’ account rolls. Records of lands which were forfeited  to the crown and then accounted for by escheators in each county. Search by county name and ranges of regnal years. Multiple counties listed as ‘various counties’.
• E 142 (1211-1438) – Surveys, inquests, and valuations of forfeited lands. Includes documents relating to the Knights’ Templar and the ‘contrariants’, rebels against Edward II in 1320s.

Some isolated accounts of forfeited goods and lands of outlaws have also survived amongst King’s Remembrancer records in:

• E 101 (1154-c.1830) – accounts various. Some accounts of outlaws’ goods and of land temporarily in the king’s hands.
• E 364 (1219-1661) – enrolled foreign accounts. Some accounts of possession in the king’s hands were accounted here by county sheriffs.
• SC 6 (1216-1799) – ministers’ and receivers’ accounts. Search with ‘outlaw’ for accounts of possessions of attainted and outlawed people.

6. How to find records of pardons and the reversing of outlawry

Pardons for civil and criminal outlawries were often enrolled on the patent rolls as additional proof that a pardon had been issued. These records usually present names, places of residence, and occupation of the parties to the cases that resulted in outlawry, as well as the value of any debt. They are in C 66 and summarised in the relevant published Calendar of Patent Rolls.

In the Court of King’s Bench, pardons were usually entered on the crown or Rex side of the coram rege rolls. The outlaw’s goods should then have been restored to him, with notification being sent to the Exchequer.

• KB 27 (1273-) – coram rege rolls

Records relating to the restoration of lands and possessions are in the recorda section of the memoranda rolls. If an outlaw had been guilty of a serious felony or treason, a reversal could be obtained by petitioning parliament.

• E 159 – search these memoranda rolls by regnal year, term, and locate the recorda
• E 368 – search these memoranda rolls by regnal year, term, and locate the recorda
• C 65 – search these Parliament rolls for petitions to Parliament by date. Very little indexing after 1509. For the medieval period, the Parliament Rolls of Medieval England and Rotuli Parliamentorum publications provide full transcripts of the rolls before that date. See the research guide to Parliament for more details.

7. How to find records of outlawry from the Palatine jurisdictions: Chester, Durham and Lancaster

A person outlawed in one of the three Palatinates, where the crown’s administrative and legal power was delegated regionally, will be found amongst records of those jurisdictions:

Cheshire

For outlawries in the Palatine of Cheshire look in:

• the Eyre Rolls in CHES 17
• the Outlawry Rolls in CHES 27
• the Chester County Court and Great Sessions Plea Rolls in CHES 29
• the Flint Justices’ Sessions Plea Rolls in CHES 30

Lancaster

For outlawries for the Palatine of Lancaster, look in:

• the Plea Rolls in PL 15
• the Crown Court Miscellaneous Records in PL 28

Durham

Evidence of outlawries in Durham is in the Plea and Gaol Delivery Rolls in DURH 13.

8. How to find records of outlawry from the Cinque Ports in Kent and Sussex

Records of outlaws from the Cinque Ports are held at the Centre for Kentish Studies, East Sussex Record Office, and the British Library, among the records of the individual ports themselves. Names are often recorded in the Chamberlain’s Accounts where they have survived.

9. Further reading

WS Holdsworth, A History of English Law (3^rd edition, 9 volumes, 1922 et seq)

J Bellamy, Crime and Public Order in England in the Later Middle Ages (1973)

M Blatcher, The Court of King’s Bench, 1450-1550 (1978)

M Carlin, London and Southwark Inventories 1316-1650 (1997)

M Hastings, The Court of Common Pleas in the Fifteenth Century (1947)

RF Hunnisett, The Medieval Coroner (1961)

ND Hurnard, The King’s Pardon for Homicide before AD 1307 (1969)

RC Palmer, The County Courts of Medieval England, 1150-1350 (1982)

RB Pugh, Imprisonment in Medieval England (1968)

E Tomlins, The Law Dictionary (2 volumes, 1820)

6. First World War, 1914-1918

See section 4 for advice on locating Operations Record Books, though there are far fewer for the First World War than for later conflicts.

6.1 Air Ministry records

Search AIR 1 using keywords which can include the squadron, brigade or wing number, the name of an officer, the base of operations (for example, Egypt, Salonica or Palestine) and entering 1914-1918 in the date range fields.

Additional Air Ministry operational records are in the following series – click on the reference to search the respective series:

• AIR 2 – Air Ministry correspondence
• AIR 3 – includes some airship log books
• AIR 27 – operations records books for squadrons primarily after the First World War but there are a few early squadron records from 1911 to 1918

6.2 War Office and Admiralty records

As the British Army was administered by the War Office and the Royal Navy by the Admiralty, RFC and RNAS records are found among the records of those departments. War Office records at The National Archives are in WO and Admiralty records in ADM.

General reports for the RFC are in series WO 158.

RNAS operational records are in series ADM 137. Use the Admiralty index and digests in ADM 12 to identify potential references in ADM 137. Read our guide on How to find naval correspondence using the ADM 12 indexes and digests for more information.

7. Between the Wars, 1919-1939

From 1919 to 1939 the RAF was involved in a number of campaigns in the Middle East and India. See section 4 for advice on locating Operations Record Books, vital documents when piecing together the story of a mission or of larger operations.

Search among the following records for further details of operations:

• Reports on operations in AIR 1 – search by location
• Reports on operations in AIR 5 – search using the word ‘operations’ and a geographical location, such as Iraq, Mesopotamia or Nuba Mountains
• Chief of Air Staff records in AIR 8
• Directorate of Operations and Intelligence and Directorate of Plans records in AIR 9
• Air Publications in AIR 10
• Unregistered papers in AIR 20
• Overseas Commands in AIR 23
• Squadron record books in AIR 27
• Directorate of Intelligence and other intelligence papers in AIR 40

For more series covering this period see the Second World War section below – many of the record series covering the war include interwar records.

8. Second World War, 1939-1945

For an overview of Second World War operations try the periodical returns and summaries in AIR 22. They include weekly intelligence reports, losses sustained and allied and enemy activities as well as statistical material.

See section 4 for advice on locating Operations Record Books, vital documents when piecing together the story of a mission or of larger operations.

8.1 Squadron records and combat reports

These records are available online for the Second World War.

Go to our research guides on Royal Air Force operations record books 1911-1963 and Royal Air Force combat reports 1939-1945 to search for records by squadron number and download records from our website.

8.2 Bombing missions in Europe

These are primarily the records of Bomber Command.

The following are particularly useful:

• intelligence reports in AIR 40 and files AIR 24/214 to 325
• night and day reports in series AIR 14 – these include details of all operations carried out by Bomber Command and feature some reconnaissance photographs
• photographs documenting bombing missions in Europe in HO 191/113-121 and in series AIR 23

8.3 Fleet Air Arm and naval aviation

Consult the following:

• squadron diaries, with day-by-day accounts of activities, in ADM 207
• combat reports in AIR 50 (available to download)
• operations record books in AIR 27 (available to download) – most of them are in a single file, AIR 27/2387, covering April 1933 to September 1943
• Coastal Command records in AIR 15 for operations over the Atlantic

Other Fleet Air Arm records are held in ADM series (Admiralty records). Search in:

• ADM 1 – try searching for ‘Code 90’
• ADM 116 – search for ‘Fleet Air Arm’
• ADM 199 – search for ‘Fleet Air Arm’ or ‘Naval Air Squadrons’

8.4 Expeditionary forces

There are whole record series for the records of the air components of British expeditionary forces. They are:

• British air forces in France, 1939-1940 are in AIR 35
• Air component North West Expeditionary Force (Norway, 1940) in AIR 36
• The British air element in the Allied Expeditionary Force (North-West Europe, 1944-1945) in AIR 37
• Planning papers for the invasion of North Africa in 1942 (Operation Torch) are in series AIR 47

8.5 Commands

The records of RAF commands contain a wide variety of information and extend beyond operational matters. They include details on the planning and conduct of operations, orders and directives, reports of various kinds, orders of battle, diagrams and, in some cases, particularly for Bomber Command, photographs.

Click on the series references below to search the series by keyword or to browse the series. As descriptions for each file are short you may find you will need to browse rather than search to uncover anything.

8.6 The Army Air Corps and British Army airborne operations

The Army Air Corps (AAC) is the combat aviation arm of the British Army. It was formed in 1942. The AAC included the Glider Pilot Regiment.

Search for records in the following:

• operations records books in AIR 27 for records of the AAC air observation post (AOP) squadrons
• operations record books in AIR 29 for glider units
• British Army unit war diaries for unit diaries of glider pilots’ regiments and squadrons and other AAC units
• Directorate of Air records in WO 233 for details of British Army airborne operations

8.7 Air policy and planning

Files relating to policy, including some concerned with operations are in the:

The combined operational planning committee was responsible for the plans for strategic daylight operations by British and United States bomber and fighter forces. Records of the combined operational planning committee, from June 1943 to June 1945 are in AIR 42.

As with all branches of the military, the chain of command extended up to the Cabinet and, at times of war, the War Cabinet records.

This includes:

• combined chiefs of staff committee and sub-committees in series CAB 88
• daily situation reports for the war Cabinet and the daily summaries of information prepared in the central war room in series CAB 100
• cabinet telegrams to overseas commands in war Cabinet in series CAB 105
• details about personal intervention of the Prime Minister of the day in operational matters in series CAB 120 and series PREM 3

You can search memoranda about the high command in series CAB 65-68, in our catalogue. Some records of the Cabinet committees concerned with defence in series CAB 69, CAB 83 and CAB 85 can be browsed on digital microfilm. Other related records are in series CAB 70 and CAB 78.

8.8 Narratives and histories

Narratives written by members of the branch during and after the war are in series AIR 41. Material omitted in the published versions may be found in series CAB 101.

9. Post Second World War operations

See section 4 for advice on locating Operations Record Books, vital documents when piecing together the story of a mission or of larger operations.

A photo from the Operations Record Book of 42 Squadron, taken during the Falklands Conflict, 1982 (catalogue reference AIR 27/3575/38). You can order a high-resolution copy of this photograph from our Image Library.

The following sources may also prove useful:

• Records of the British Air Forces of Occupation in Germany after 1945 and the British element of the Air Division Allied Commission in Austria are in series AIR 55
• War diaries and operations record books of the Army Air Corps from 1957 to 1977 are in series WO 295
• Air Ministry registered files in AIR 2 cover operations up until the late 1980s
• Department of the Chief of the Air Staff records in AIR 8 include details of operations as recent as 1989
• Air Historical Branch: Unregistered Papers in AIR 20
• RAF Strike Command reports, files, memos and operation orders in DEFE 58

10. Other air forces, 1914-1947

There are some records both of the air forces of British allies and more so of British colonial and dominion air forces at The National Archives. These include:

• South African Aviation Corps
• Australian Flying Corps
• Royal Australian Air Force
• Royal New Zealand Air Force
• Royal Canadian Air Force
• United States Army Air Force

To locate records, start by trying a search in our catalogue using the names of any of the above air forces. For the period before 1939 target series AIR 1, AIR 2 and
AIR 5. For 1939 onwards see, in particular, series AIR 2, AIR 20 and AIR 40.

There are more records in other record series. They include:

• Operations record books for the South African Air Force in AIR 54 – these contain details of various operational units serving in Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
• A selection of South African Air Force aircrew flying log books in AIR 4.
• Second World War missions undertaken by the United States Army Air Force operating from bases in the United Kingdom in AIR 40/394-1133.
• Reports of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey in AIR 48. Some intercepted German cipher messages appear in HW 1 and HW 5.

11. RAF stations and airfields

Our records of military airfields include maps, photographs and text descriptions. Some records cover airfield construction, others present a snapshot of stations at a moment in time. You can search our catalogue for document references using ‘airfield’, ‘station’ or the name of a specific airfield or station as your keywords. To target your search more precisely, try searches in:

• AIR 2 (for 1912 to 1991)
• AIR 10 (for 1913 to 1987)
• WO 227 (1939-1985) – covers the construction of airfields by Royal Engineers
• WORK 44. for detailed plans of RAF Spittlegate, Grantham, the Central Flying School, Upavon, and drawings of aircraft sheds and workshops

There is additional material for the two world wars:

11.1 First World War

There are six volumes of quarterly surveys, all from 1918, of RAF establishments around the UK. They are in AIR 1/452/15/312/26.

Houton Bay Seaplane Station, September 1918 (catalogue reference AIR 1/452/15/312/26Volume1). You can buy a high-resolution copy of this image from our Image Library.

11.2 Second World War

• RAF airfields and flying boat bases in the UK, Iceland, Malta and Gibraltar in AIR 10/4038 and AIR 10/4039
• Site plans of airfields in UK with photographs, 1935-1945, in AIR 20/7585 and AIR 20/7586

12. Records in other archives

12.1 Air Historical Branch (Ministry of Defence)

Contact the Ministry of Defence’s Air Historical Branch for:

• Accident Record Cards (Air Ministry Form 1180) which recorded non-operational crashes dating mostly from 1929 onwards
• casualty files
• other aircraft records

12.2 Royal Air Force Museum

The Royal Air Force Museum holds:

• aircrew logbooks
• Air Ministry bulletins and air publications (AP)
• Aircraft Movement Cards (Air Ministry Form 78)
• Accident Record Cards (Air Ministry Form 1180) – microfilm copies only
• other aircraft records

12.3 Fleet Air Arm Museum

The records held at the Fleet Air Arm Museum’s Archive & Research Centre include:

• photographs
• personnel records (but not official service records)

12.4 International Bomber Command Centre

The IBCC losses database records 67,500 RAF Bomber Command deaths, details include:

• Squadron and aircraft number
• other crew
• memorial location
• links to ORBs and AIR 81 investigation files

13. Further reading

All of the publications below are available at The National Archives’ library in Kew. Some of these publications may be available to buy from The National Archives’ shop.

J D Cantwell, The Second World War: A Guide to Documents in the Public Record Office, (HMSO, 1972) (describes documents held at The National Archives, previously known as the Public Record Office)

Roy Conyers Nesbit, The RAF in Camera 1939-1945: Archive Photographs from the Public Record Office and the Ministry of Defence (Public Record Office, 1997)

The Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence published a number of Histories of the Great War Based on Official Documents (various publishers but mostly HMSO, 1921-1987)

W Raleigh and H A Jones, The War in the Air: Being the Story of the Part Played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force (6 vols) (HMSO, 1922-1935)

Denis Richards and Hilary Aidan St George Saunders, The Royal Air Force at War, 1939-1945 (3 vols) (HMSO, 1993)

William Spencer, Air Force Records: A Guide for Family Historians (2nd Ed), The National Archives, 2008 (includes a chapter on operations records)

Phil Tomaselli, Tracing your Air Force Ancestors (Pen & Sword, 2007)

2. How to search for records

Every record we hold is represented in our online catalogue by a title, a reference and a brief description. When you use our catalogue to search for records you are actually searching across these titles and descriptions, rather than the contents of the records themselves. By clicking on any item in catalogue search results you can see what the options are for viewing that record. Search the descriptions of our documents in Discovery, our catalogue using keywords such as:

• American Revolution
• names of battles
• place names

Most American Revolution records are in Colonial Office files. Use the catalogue’s advanced search to target departments (e.g. Colonial Office) by entering department codes in the reference boxes. Common codes include:

• CO (Colonial Office records)
• WO (War Office records)
• ADM (Admiralty records)
• T (Treasury records)
• YHL (House of Lords records)

3. Key records and series

3.1 General

Click on the links below to search within specific record series known to contain material relating to the American Revolution. For records covering:

• The colonial history of the English/British in America from 1574-1739 go to State Papers Online (institutional subscription required).
• British Army Headquarters in America from 1775 to 1783 are held in PRO 30/55. Comprising the papers of Sir Guy Carleton, they represent the official notes of General Thomas Gage, Sir William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, and Carleton as successive commanders in chief. Dispatches to Lord Cornwallis, one of the leading British general officers, are held in PRO 30/11.
• The period up to the end of the American War of Independence in 1783, search in Colonial Office correspondence in CO 5. These records can be searched by keyword at Adam Matthew’s Colonial America, a subscription service available at universities and major reference libraries, including on site at The National Archives.
• The period following the end of the war, search Foreign Office correspondence in FO 4 and FO 5.
• The American Revolution itself from a military perspective search in British Army correspondence and papers in WO 1 to WO 5. For more detailed descriptions of these records than those in our catalogue, consult the “Alphabetical Guide to War Office and other Military Records”, available in The National Archives’ library.
• The records of the House of Lords, search in the Main Papers YHL/PO/JO/10. Some can be identified by searching for the exact phrase “American Papers”. These include a contemporary manuscript copy of the US Declaration of Independence, laid before the House of Lords and digitised under reference YHL/PO/JO/10/7/542A.
• A collection ‘American Papers in the House of Lords Record Office’ was published in a microfilm edition in 1983 with an accompanying guide, and is now digitised and available via a subscription service, British Online Archives.

4. British soldiers and military records

For brief details of individuals who served with the British Army in North America search by regiment name in muster rolls and paylists in WO 10, WO 12 and WO 13.

British Army correspondence and papers can be found in WO 1 to WO 5.

For Royal Navy operations, ships’ logs and journals please see our guide to Royal Navy operation and correspondence 1660-1914.

5. Maps and plans

We hold a significant number of maps relating to the American Revolution and to America as a colony. Search our catalogue using the search terms suggested in section two alongside the word ‘maps’. Many of these are in the colonial papers’ map series in CO 700. For more help finding maps, consult our guide to finding overseas maps and plans and the publication Maps and Plans in the Public Record Office, America and West Indies, available in The National Archives’ library.

6. Private papers of politicians and military officials

The following collections of private papers contain material related to the American Revolution:

• Chatham Papers (Pitt the Elder and Pitt the Younger) in PRO 30/8
• Carleton Papers (British Army headquarters in America, 1775-1783) in PRO 30/55
• Cornwallis Papers (Charles Cornwallis) in PRO 30/11 – transcriptions are in Ross’s Correspondence of Charles, First Marquis Cornwallis, available in The National Archives’ library

7. Loyalist compensation claims

Records of the Claims Commission in AO 12 and AO 13 and the Treasury in T 50, T 77 and T 79 contain details of the compensation claims of Loyalists who had suffered hardship as a result of their loyalty to the Crown during the war.

Some records of the Claims Commission in AO 12 and AO 13 can be searched and downloaded from Ancestry (£).

You can find indexes to claimants’ names in the List of Records of the Treasury, Paymaster-General’s Office, Exchequer and Audit Department and Board of Trade and other useful material in A Bibliography of Loyalist source material in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. Both items are available in The National Archives’ library.

8. Black Loyalists

All thirteen British American colonies were involved in the transatlantic slave trade to varying degrees. All trade with the rebel colonies was later banned under the Prohibitory Act of 1775. For an overview of relevant records, consult our research guide to slavery and the British transatlantic slave trade.

During the American Revolution, many enslaved people of African descent fled to British forces in pursuit of freedom. Freedom was offered under limited terms by the Dunmore Proclamation (1775) and the Philipsburg Proclamation (1779), which invited anyone enslaved by rebels to escape and join the British side, first in Virginia and then across the Thirteen Colonies.

Records relating to Black Loyalists are dispersed across several series, including Colonial Office correspondence in CO 5, the Carleton papers in PRO 30/55, and the Loyalist Claims Commission papers in AO 12 and AO 13.

A key source is the ‘Book of Negroes‘, held in PRO 30/55/100. For records relating to Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia after the war, see CO 217. Additional correspondence relating to Nova Scotia can be found in CO 267–CO 270.

9. Indigenous nations

Records relating to diplomacy between Britain and Indigenous nations are primarily found in Colonial Office correspondence in CO 5, with additional material in the Carleton papers PRO 30/55.

Relevant correspondence by the ‘Superintendents of Indian Affairs’, acting on behalf of the Crown, is in CO 5/65 and CO 5/82 (1760–1784). Records in CO 5 can be searched by keyword at Adam Matthew’s Colonial America, a subscription service available at universities and major reference libraries, including on site at The National Archives.

10. Records in other archives

Many resources concerning the American Revolution can be found in North American state archives and historical societies:

• Microfilms and transcripts of documents relating to the American Revolution can be found at the Library of Congress
• A name index of Hessian troops who served in the American Revolution, produced by The Marburg School of Archives in Germany is available in The National Archives’ Library
• Muster rolls of Loyalist regiments (provincial troops) 1777-1783 are held at the Library and Archives Canada
• Records relating to military service of rebel (or “Patriot” troops during the American Revolution are available in the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
• Records relating to Black Loyalists in Sierra Leone, after the American Revolution are held at the British Library
• Private papers belonging to some British military officers, including Henry Clinton and Thomas Gage, are available in the University of Michigan Library

11. Further reading

Use our library catalogue to find recommended books which may provide all the information you need without needed to consult original records. Follow the link to consult our American Revolution recommended book list. The books are all available in The National Archives’ reference library. You may also be able to find them in a local library. You can buy from a wide range of history titles in our bookshop.

British History online contains a selection of secondary sources.

None can be said to include a majority of the population except perhaps the Protestation Returns, where all adult men were asked to swear an oath of allegiance to the Protestant religion (see section 8).

It cannot be assumed that all who were intended to subscribe did so.

Most surviving oath rolls date from after 1673, although the records C 215/6 and C 202/44/5 document the names of officers and men in the Royal Navy, arranged by ship, who took the oaths of allegiance and supremacy in 1660-1661.

2. The Solemn Association

The most comprehensive of these oaths was the ‘Solemn Association’ for the defence of the king and in support of the succession.

In 1696, following an attempt on the life of William III, Parliament passed ‘An Act for the Better Security of His Majesties’ Royal Person and Government’ (7&8 Will III c 26, 27; see The Statutes of the Realm, 1695-1701, pp 114-117).

2.1 What kinds of people do the records capture?

Under the terms of the act, it became compulsory for all office holders under the Crown, military and civil, to swear the oath in one of the courts of law.

These records demonstrate that it was not only office holders who swore the oath. They also include:

• the clergy
• the gentry
• freemen of city livery companies
• nonconformists

In some counties, most adult males of status in the local community appear to have done so, and the names of women feature in many of the rolls.

The names of those who refused to swear the oath were often included.

2.2 How do I search these records?

Use the advanced search option in Discovery, our catalogue to search by county (in England and Wales), by occupation group (for example, ‘weavers’ or ‘tinners’) or by diocese (for example, ‘St Asaph’) within:

• C 213
• C 214/8-12
• KB 24/1
• KB 24/2

Alternatively, you may wish to browse the records in our catalogue using the links provided above. This can prove very effective, particularly given the diversity of the Association Oath rolls.

Many of the records contain original signatures, but they also include marks and listings made by clerks.

3. Oaths taken abroad

The so-called ‘Foreign Plantations’ which you can browse within C 213/459-473 cover sworn oaths from:

• Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey)
• Colonies (namely Barbados, St James City in Virginia, New York, Bermuda, and the Leeward Islands)
• merchant groups in Holland, Malaga and Geneva

4. The Test and Corporation Acts

The Corporation Act of 1661 prohibited anyone who would neither swear the oaths of allegiance and supremacy nor take the sacrament of Holy Communion at a Church of England service from being elected to a post governing a city or corporation.

This act effectively excluded Roman Catholics and the more zealous protestant nonconformists from holding official positions.

From 1672 the Test Act required all post-holders, in civil or military positions, or those who held positions of trust under the sovereign, to submit a sacrament certificate confirming they had taken Holy Communion according to Anglican rites.

Between 1689 and 1702, the requirement to take the oaths was extended to beneficed clergy, members of the universities, lawyers, schoolteachers and preachers.

In 1828 the Test Act was abolished and replaced with a declaration (under the Sacramental Test Act of the same year) that the office holder, in exercising their authority and powers, would neither injure nor weaken the Church of England.

Rolls of oaths sworn under the Test Act and the subsequent declarations can be browsed by date within C 214.

5. Oaths to uphold the succession

The Security of Succession Act of 1702 introduced the oath abjuration, which demanded officials swear an oath of loyalty to the protestant succession and deny the son of the Catholic James II, deposed in 1688, his claim to the English throne.

These oaths were taken in court, either at one of the central law courts of Chancery or King’s Bench (or Common Pleas or Exchequer after 1702) or in the local Courts of Quarter Sessions .

For more information on records created or inherited by the Courts of Quarter Sessions please see the section of this guide entitled Record held elsewhere.

Oaths of allegiance, test and abjuration sworn and enrolled in Chancery are in the record series:

• C 214
• C 215

The names of those who took these oaths in the years 1673 to 1709 are in C 220/9.

For oaths sworn in King’s Bench, Exchequer and Common Pleas browse:

• KB 24
• E 169
• CP 37

These records are arranged either chronologically or by type of oath, and they include no indexes of names.

Browse E 169, mentioned above, which includes:

• oaths sworn by Roman Catholics
• some post-1723 Quaker affirmations

Quakers, theologically opposed to the swearing of oaths, were legally permitted after 1723 to take a special affirmation of loyalty. Following the Catholic Relief Act of 1778, Roman Catholics were allowed to take the oath of allegiance.

In addition, browse KB 18 for a list of Roman Catholics in Lancashire who had been summoned in around 1723 to take the oath of allegiance but had failed to appear.

6. Oaths taken by lawyers and judges

Oaths taken by lawyers wishing to practise in a particular court can be found with the records of that court.

For Chancery, browse:

• C 214
• C 217

For Common Pleas, browse:

• CP 10

Exchequer, browse:

• E 3
• E 169
• E 200

King’s Bench, browse:

• KB 24
• KB 113

Palatinates of Chester, Durham and Lancaster, browse:

• CHES 36
• DURH 3
• PL 23

After 1791 Roman Catholics were allowed to practise as lawyers after making a declaration and oath, and their names are normally enrolled separately.

The Promissory Oaths Act 1868 substituted new forms of oath or affirmation. Barristers’ Rolls, a register of members of the Bar and signed by barristers wishing to practise in the courts, are in:

• KB 4

For judicial oaths sworn by High Court judges, recorders and magistrates from 1910, which are also indexed by name:

• KB 24

Rolls containing the names of the officers of state who swore oaths before the clerk of the Crown, from 1639, are in:

• C 193/9
• C 184

7. Sacrament certificates

Sacrament certificates document where and when Holy Communion was taken along with the names clergymen, churchwardens and witnesses.

Those submitted to Chancery, King’s Bench and Exchequer can be browsed in:

• C 224
• KB 22
• E 196

The sacrament certificates in Chancery and King’s Bench are arranged chronologically, while in Exchequer they are arranged chronologically within parishes.

Most of these certificates relate to individuals who lived within a thirty mile radius of London and Westminster, which means the counties of Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex and Surrey are well represented.

Those submitted to the Chester Palatinate Court are in:

• CHES 4

Between 1708 and 1711, foreign protestants could become naturalised by taking the oaths of allegiance and supremacy in court and producing a sacrament certificate.

Consult the enrolled records in:

• KB 24/2
• E 169/86

These records, together with others from the Middlesex Court of Quarter Sessions  are indexed by name in Publications of the Huguenot Society of London, volumes XXVII (1923) and XXXV (1932).

10. Records held elsewhere

Search our catalogue for records held locally and refine your results using the filters.

Where they survive, records of the Court of Quarter Sessions  are held by county record offices and may include both oath rolls and sacrament certificates.

11. Further reading

Some of the publications below may be available to buy from The National Archives’ shop. Alternatively, click on the links to view the books in The National Archives’ library catalogue and see what is available to consult at our building in Kew.

W Gandy, A guide to some original manuscript sources of British and colonial and family history: the Association oath rolls of 1696 (1921)

W Gandy, The Association oath rolls of the British plantations AD 1696: being a contribution to political history (1921)

W Gandy, Lancashire Association oath rolls AD 1696 (1921)

J Gibson, The hearth tax, other later Stuart tax lists and Association Oath rolls (Federation of Family Historians, 1996)

J Gibson and A Dell,  The Protestation Returns, 1641-1642, and Other Contemporary Listings (Federation of Family History Societies, 1995).

Parliamentary Archives blog, The Protestation Returns, Lancashire and Recusants (2022).

J Gibson, Politics and loyalty in post-revolution Oxfordshire: The ‘1690’ county parliamentary poll: an edited transcript; the Association Oath rolls, 1695-6: analysis (Oxford: Oxfordshire Family History Society, 2011)

D Torrance, Oaths of Allegiance (House of Commons Library Research Briefing, 2025)

E Vallance, Revolutionary England and the national covenant: state oaths, Protestantism and the political nation, 1553-1682

2. Who were nonconformists and what are nonconformist records?

Nonconformists were people who did not belong to the established church. In England, up until 1533, this meant the Catholic Church, but that then changed when in 1559 the Act of Uniformity made the Church of England the established church. Thus from 1559, the starting point for this research guide, all non-Anglicans were nonconformists. Though Catholics, as well as Jews, were technically nonconformists, references to nonconformists in this guide are to the non-Anglican Protestant denominations, most prominently Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and Quakers.

Nonconformist records were therefore records kept by non-Anglican churches or other congregations that recorded details of people who did not belong to the Church of England. Although nonconformist records are, by definition, non-parochial records it should not be assumed that all non-parochial records are necessarily records of nonconformists. Non-parochial records, of which there are a considerable number in the RG collections highlighted below, were registers kept outside of the local parish church but these were not necessarily records of non-Anglicans. Some Church of England records existed outside of the usual parish structure, such as those maintained by Greenwich Hospital.

3. Nonconformist birth, marriage and death registers 1567-1970

Large numbers of nonconformist registers were collected by the General Register Office in 1837, when civil registration began, and again in 1857. Many of these are now kept at The National Archives and are filed under catalogue series codes RG 4, RG 5, RG 6, and RG 8, all available to view on The Genealogist website (£). For more on how these records can be searched, see ‘3.1 Searching the registers’ below.

Birth and baptism registers are most numerous amongst these collections. Though there are a number of burial registers amongst them, in RG 4, RG 6 and RG 8, before the 1850s the vast majority of burials were recorded in the parish registers of the Church of England and so do not appear in these series. There were very few marriage registers amongst these collections since between 1754 and 1837 only Church of England marriages had been legal. However, Quakers were exempt from this law and RG 6 contains exclusively Quaker records.

Though they cover predominantly the 18th and early 19th centuries, these records date back as far as 1567 and right up to 1970. They are registers of various Protestant denominations, though there are some Catholic records included too. Principal amongst them are the Protestant Dissenters’ Registry of Births from Dr Williams’ Library (covering 1716-1837) and the Wesleyan Methodist Metropolitan Registry (covering 1773-1838) which recorded births only and served Wesleyan Methodists throughout England, Wales and elsewhere.

3.1 Searching the registers

To search the registers by the name of an individual go to the The Genealogist website (£), where you can also search by other criteria, using the ‘Advanced Search’ option.

Alternatively, search in Discovery, our own online catalogue. To do so, search by place and date in RG 4, RG 6, and RG 8 (and in RG 4 and RG 8 also by denomination). Place can be a county, town, city or even the name of a chapel. To search by denomination, the terms most likely to return matches are Baptist, Presbyterian, Unitarian, Wesleyan, Congregational, Moravian, Methodist and Independent (and for registers beyond Protestant nonconformist denominations, Catholic and New Jerusalemite). Separate each term with AND. For example, Berkshire AND Methodist.

4. Fleet Registers: clandestine marriages and baptisms in London 1667-1754

An irregular or clandestine marriage was a marriage conducted by an ordained clergyman, but without banns or licence. Although they breached canon law, these marriages might still be legally valid, and could be recognised as such in English Common Law. The marriages were normally performed outside the home parishes of the bride and groom, and originally took place in prison chapels, though they were not necessarily disreputable in any way. Clandestine venues and ceremonies allowed the couple to avoid the trouble and expense of an ecclesiastical licence and afforded them some degree of privacy.

The most notorious of these venues was an area in the vicinity of the Fleet prison in London known as the Liberty of the Fleet and the registers are collectively referred to as the Fleet Registers, though many were maintained by individuals and at locations beyond the Fleet prison and its surrounds. The Fleet Registers record more than 200,000 marriages (and some baptisms) performed in the Liberty of the Fleet but also at the King’s Bench prison, the May Fair Chapel and the Mint, between 1667 and 1754, the year in which Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act came into force, making it a legal requirement to be married in the Church of England, though Quakers were exempt from this law. It has been estimated that in the 1740s, nearly 15% of all marriages in England were celebrated in the Fleet. Most of the parties, not surprisingly, came from London and neighbouring counties.

Because of their irregular nature, the registers and notebooks in the Fleet Registers series need to be used with care. The information in them is not always reliable, with some duplicated entries and others that are known to be forged. For more detail on their background, and how to use them, you may like to consult the books listed below (see Further reading), copies of which are available in the National Archives on-site library and in the reading rooms.

4.1 Record series containing Fleet Registers

The Fleet Registers are found in record series RG 7 and take the form of registers and notebooks. The information in them is not always reliable, with some duplicated entries and others that are known to be forged. The series should therefore be consulted with care.

4.2 Indexes to the Fleet Registers and other resources unavailable online

Below are details of indexes to the Fleet Registers viewable at The National Archives in Kew but unavailable online. These indexes provide the RG 7 reference codes which can then be used to view the record using the ‘Advanced Search’ option on The Genealogist website (£).

5. Other records with details of nonconformists

Nonconformists appear in records beyond birth, marriage and death registers and there are several records series at The National Archives worth consulting when investigating nonconformist histories. In the late 16th and 17th centuries in particular, non-Anglicans were regarded with much mistrust and suspicion and this is reflected in the kinds of records in which they appear during this period. After 1581, recusancy (refusal to attend the Church of England) became an indictable offence and fines levied against recusants were recorded at the Exchequer. Not all nonconformists were necessarily recusants and those that were prepared to sign oaths of allegiance to the crown can sometimes be found in oath or affirmation rolls. The Toleration Act of 1689 made life for nonconformists a little easier and allowed them to practice their faith more openly but they were required to take out licences to register their meeting locations and records of these licenses provide another source for nonconformist histories.

6. Nonconformist records and resources in other archives

Most post-1837 nonconformist registers are kept in local record offices and many can be tracked down using the county volumes of the National Index of Parish Registers (see table below). Some nonconformist chapels did have their own burial grounds and many nonconformist burial registers are still kept at the burial grounds themselves.

You can search our catalogue by chapel name or georgraphic location to find what is held in chapel archives. Refine your results using the filters.

7. Further reading

Our shop has a selection of books on religious records for family historians

T Benton, Irregular Marriages in London before 1754 (Society of Genealogists, 2000)

G R Breed, My Ancestors were Baptists (Society of Genealogists, 2007)

D Clifford, My Ancestors were Congregationalists (Society of Genealogists, 1997)

M Herber, Clandestine Marriages in the Chapel and Rules of the Fleet Prison (3 volumes) (Francis Boutle, 1998-2001)

W Leary and M Gandy, My ancestors were Methodists (Society of Genealogists, 1982)

E H Milligan and M J Thomas, My ancestors were Quakers (Society of Genealogists, 1999)

P J Oates, My ancestors were Inghamites (Society of Genealogists, 2003)

A Ruston, My ancestors were English Presbyterians/Unitarians (Society of Genealogists, 2001)

D J Steel, National index of parish registers Vol 1: Sources of births, marriages and deaths before 1837 (Society of Genealogists, 1968)

R Wiggins, My ancestors were in the Salvation Army (Society of Genealogists, 1997)

See also:

County volumes of the National index of parish registers (Society of Genealogists)