Mainly incoming letters of the Secretaries of State in their domestic capacity, and other papers collected by them in the reign of Queen Anne and left in the State Paper Office. The series includes some copies of out-letters, many petitions, regular intelligence reports owing to the war with France, and much material relating to crime - law and order is a major theme of the series. Also in the series are addresses of thanks, returns of papist and non-jurors, and law officers' opinions.
Petitions (often for the Queen's clemency) sometimes have evidence endorsed about the action taken, or have accompanying documentation. Criminal matters are also represented by Newgate gaol deliveries, examinations, depositions, and reports of arrest and trials. The series also reflects the problems of prisoners of war, seditious talk, Jacobite treason and secret armament.