Catalogue description Assizes: Oxford Circuit: Estreats

The documents in this series are the lists prepared by the clerk of the Oxford Circuit. They cover the period from 1746 to 1890 and appear to be complete. Some of those for the period to 1820, and all those thereafter, are marked 'draft'.

They list, county by county, the details of the estreats to be made. They always include the name of the person concerned. In the case of forfeited recognizances the remaining information follows the form of the original recognizance giving the parish and county of residence, occupation and reason for forfeiture. In the case of fines, the list also sometimes gives brief details of the offence. Entries are often annotated, for example, 'spared', 'respited', 'discharged', or 'estreated' and they sometimes carry the signature of a judge.

Lists prepared before 1820 are sometimes marked with the date of swearing, the judge before whom they were sworn and the date of delivery to the remembrancer. Lists after that date are regularly annotated with the dates on which they were engrossed, copied, sworn and delivered to the remembrancer's office. They also often indicate the name of the judge before whom they were sworn. After 1859 they were sworn locally and posted to the under-sheriff.