C 2411284-1639Chancery: Certificates of Statute Merchant and Statute Staple
Certificates issued under the Statute of Acton Burnell, the Statute of Merchants and the Statute of the Staple authorizing the issue of process for the recovery of outstanding debts.
The certificates of statute merchant and statute staple contain much information. They usually provide the name of the lord chancellor; the name of the staple or borough court, together with the names of its mayor and clerk; the name of the debtor, his place of residence, status or profession; the name of the creditor, and his residence, status or profession; the date when the debt was registered, the date it was due for repayment, and the date when the certificate was sent to the chancellor; and the amount of the debt, the sheriffs who were to enforce it, and sometimes too the date for a hearing.
Some of these records were formerly included in C 47 and C 202