Catalogue description Principality of Wales: Justice of North Wales: Caernarfon, Anglesey and Merioneth Plea Rolls

The first of these three rolls records proceedings before the justice of North Wales, or his lieutenant, for the county of Caernarfon on 8 March 1395 and from 26 March 1397 to an uncertain date in the first year of Henry IV (1399-1400). The justice was John Holland, earl of Huntingdon and duke of Exeter, and the roll includes both records for sessions for the county held at Caernarfon or Conwy and tourns for the various commotes or cantreds within it, held variously at Caernarfon, Conwy, Criccieth and Nefyn. It contains many cases of debt and trespass, sued by bill, some ordinary recognisances, a few trespasses in breach of the peace, and one special section for recognisances to keep the peace (rot 11d). There are no gaol delivery sections.

The other two rolls are for sessions held for two regnal years of Henry VIII, 1530-1531 and 1533-1534, by the justice for the counties of Caernarfon, Anglesey and Merioneth, at Caernarfon, Beaumaris and Caernarfon repectively. The civil pleas they contain are overwhelmingly of debt or assizes of novel disseisin, there are some trespasses in breach of the peace, and there are are separate gaol delivery sections for most sessions.

These rolls are the earliest three of a series of 171 rolls, running to 1830, formerly in the Public Record Office. The remainder were all transferred to the National Library of Wales in 1962.

Justiciar of North Wales, 1284-1542

An earlier list of the whole series to 1830 is in Lists and Indexes, IV: Plea Rolls (1963 reprint), pp 105-106.