Catalogue description Palatinate of Chester: Exchequer of Chester: Original Decrees and Orders

This series consists of original (draft) decrees in equity proceedings in the Exchequer Court of the Palatinate of Chester from 1559 to 1790.

The full range of court directives are found in this series. Thus there are orders for the serving of writs of dedimus potestatem to take the answer of a defendant, the awarding of commissions to take the depositions of witnesses, an order transferring the suit to the mayor of Chester (this includes a list of 24 names, 12 of whom were to form the jury), orders dismissing suits after the failure of the plaintiff to continue its prosecution, orders to send matters to arbitration, and orders and decrees giving judgement in favour of one of the parties. It is a feature of the Chester orders that a statement of costs is often included after the text of the order, all or part of which were awarded to the successful party.

Occasionally orders may be found which do not relate to the equity jurisdiction, but are rather orders of the Chamberlain for some administrative procedure relating to the palatinate as a whole. Thus there is an order, dated 22 August 1766, for a writ to be issued to the sheriff of Flint for the appointment of a new coroner following the resignation of the previous officer. The order is addressed to Mr Richard Platt, deputy-baron, and is signed by R. Wilbraham, vice-chamberlain.

The orders are clearly originals, as they often contain considerable corrections and annotations. Orders may also include the signatures of one or both attorneys representing the parties in court. This was particularly so when the order stated that it was made with the agreement of the parties concerned. On occasion orders may be signed by the parties themselves. It is also possible for orders to be annotated with a record of subsequent action.

The language of the orders is English. However, Latin is used for headings and some annotations until 1733, when English became the official language of the legal system.

The course of each suit brought before the Chester Exchequer was managed by the issuing of instructions (or orders) of various types. Some of these were given as the proceedings developed. The suit was completed when the court gave its final judgement at a formal hearing. However, not all suits ended with a court ruling. Some were decided by arbitration or compromise. Other cases were withdrawn by the plaintiff before the matter came to a formal court hearing.

The main types of court instructions were:

• Orders: these were (a) purely procedural, e.g. issuing writs for the appearance of defendants, setting hearing dates, appointing commissions of inquiry, ordering delivery of answers or documents by a certain date; or (b) interim orders, which were more substantial court directives which redefined the case or settled some part of it without giving a final verdict.
• Final Orders: final decisions of the court regarding suits brought before it.
• Decrees: final decisions of the court which were more absolute, not allowing any further action in the court by the parties. Final orders and decrees often contain a summary of the progress of the whole suit, including details of any orders made during the course of the proceedings.

Success for the plaintiff in a suit came in the form of either a final order or a decree against the defendant. If the court decided that the plaintiff's case was not sufficiently proved, the suit was dismissed.

The format of the orders is more or less consistent throughout the series. The date of the order is recorded at the top of the page, usually in a simple formula, for example, "xxjo Septembris 1578." Sometimes a more elaborate wording may be found: " Apud Cestr' infra castrum Cestr' in scaccarium ibdem xxjo die Julii anno regni regine Eliz' xxo et 1578." An example after 1733 is: "In the Exchequer at Chester sittinge 16th day of October 1767."

Under this on the left hand side of the page is a short statement of the parties to the suit, for example, "Inter Thoma' Crue q[uerens] et Willm' Wright def[endens]", or "Between the king and William Ridgeway." Next comes the text of the order itself followed by the signature of the officer of the court making the order, usually the chamberlain, the vice-chamberlain, the baron or his deputy.

By the eighteenth century printed forms were being used for the more common types of orders, for example, orders for the awarding of commissions to take the answer, plea or demurrer of the defendant.

Although the majority of records are court orders, there are also other types which may be encountered. The most important of these are a number of pleadings, interrogatories and depositions which occur at least during the reign of Elizabeth I, if not later. It is not clear why these documents are in this series. From the annotations on some of the bills it would appear that they are original pleadings. It is possible that in certain suits the 'case documents' were retained when the order was made and filed with it. However, it is also possible that some of the pleadings may be copies.

This series also contains documents presented by either of the parties in support of applications for new court orders. For example, depositions in which the deponent swore to the effective delivery of court process (writs etc.) to the defendant who had not appeared in court. On the basis of such statements the plaintiff would then argue for a new court order against the defaulting defendant.

Other documents which appear are not so easily explained. A small paper book entitled "Thaccomptes & rekeni[nges] of the cattell of Thomas Chamber made the viijth daie of Februarye Anno Domini 1566 et Regni Regine Elizabet[he] Nono." may have been presented to the court as evidence in a suit but this does not explain its presence with the court orders. Some documents may be entirely accidental, such as the writ addressed to the sheriff of Chester in the name of Arthur, Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, in the reign of Henry VII, relating to proceedings in the Chester County Court, which appears in this series being used as a wrapper and labelled "Warrantes for orders 1578."