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Catalogue description Palatinate of Durham: Chancery Court: Original Decrees, Orders and Reports
| Reference: | DURH 5 |
|---|---|
| Title: | Palatinate of Durham: Chancery Court: Original Decrees, Orders and Reports |
| Description: |
This series consists of original decrees and orders made in equity proceedings in the Durham Chancery Court, as well as a number of reports on particular causes submitted by the registrar or deputy registrar of the court. Also contains original reports, submitted by the registrar or his deputy, to the chancellor. In order to speed up the business of the court and assist the chancellor in his judgments the registrar was authorised to investigate the substance of a dispute and make suitable comments and suggestions. Many of the judgments of the court were based on such reports, which were similar in function and nature to the reports of the masters in the royal Chancery. Although this series is made up predominantly of orders, decrees and reports, many bundles also contain other items. Some of these have been retained because they are subsidiary documents to a particular order or decree. Examples of these include statements of land holdings in dispute, accounts of debts and lists of legal costs incurred by either or both parties. However, there are also a small number of items which appear to be strays from other series. Among these are petitions, answers and affidavits. The eighteenth century bundles include many lists of causes to be heard at forthcoming sessions as well as occasional correspondence between the Chancellor and the Registrar fixing the dates of court sessions. The items are in English, although the introductory clause on each which establishes the jurisdiction of the court, the date of the order or decree and the names of the parties to the dispute are in Latin until 1733. |
| Date: | 1613-1778 |
| Arrangement: |
The series consists of 137 bundles arranged chronologically by year, and by sitting for years when the court sat more than once. The earliest bundle dates from 1613 and the latest from 1778 and there are some years for which there are no records. Within each bundle the items are arranged in either one or two groups which correspond to the main sittings of the court in a particular year. The bundles are often in their original covers, which are usually annotated with the year and session covered by that bundle. The various court orders etc which make up the bundles are written on sheets of paper which are folded into uniform shape. They are nearly always annotated with the names of the parties and the date of the order or decree. Items in later bundles also include a two or three line statement of the substance of the particular decree or order. They are often also annotated to indicate whether a particular order or decree has been entered in the Entry Book, enrolled on the Chancery Roll or copied for the use of one or other of the parties. Most orders and decrees are signed by the Chancellor who made them. Reports are dated and signed by the Registrar or deputy Registrar who prepared them. As would be expected they provide useful summaries of the development of suits. |
| Related material: |
There are no general calendars or indexes for this series. However there is one index of names covering the period 1720-1721: IND 1/8850 |
| Held by: | The National Archives, Kew |
| Legal status: | Public Record(s) |
| Language: | English and Latin |
| Creator: |
Palatinate of Durham, Chancery Court, 1333-1836 |
| Physical description: | 137 bundle(s) |
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