Catalogue description Court of Chancery: Clerks of Records and Writs Office: Pleadings 1861-1875

The records in this series consist of pleadings in equity cases initiated in the court of Chancery.

They often comprise the plaintiff's bill of complaint only, but this does not mean the case has ended: quite often 'bill only' cases continue for years, but further records need to be sought outside these pleadings in C 16.

The defendant's answer and other documents in the process, including interrogatories, depositions and writs of summons, are also filed in many cases.

Quite often a mention is made of amendments made at a later date: To find such an order to amend, you will need to consult the annual indexes to J 15, at The National Archives. These may or may not be noted on the documents themselves. This data was added from the relevant Cause Books in C 32 as an indication that you may need to look under a different name for further pleadings (in J 54 after 1875).

The pleadings cover a wide variety of matters, particularly in respect of disputes about wills and the administration of estates. There are also a number of cases arising from the Joint Stock Companies Act of 1844.

Indexes to bills (alphabetical by name of plaintiff) can be found in IND 1/2173 - IND 1/2217

Earlier pleadings are filed in C 1 - C 15.

Subsequent pleadings filed in the Chancery Division of the High Court after 1875 are in: J 54