Catalogue description Court of Common Pleas, and Supreme Court of Judicature, High Court of Justice, Common Pleas Division: Miscellaneous Books

Several series of rule books and judgment books of the Court of Common Pleas.

There is a complete series of common rule books from 1773 to 1829, and a single volume from another series for 1815 to 1825. They are divided into sections for each different kind of common rule, and carry records and totals of the fees due. Common rules were rules of a standard kind, which were made after written application to court officials, without any motion by counsel in court, and of which copies had to be served on those parties against whom they were directed. One reason for keeping the books was to record the fees due to the secondaries for drawing up the common rules.

There are two series of special rule books, from 1773 to 1800 and from 1774 to 1802, in both of which special rules are entered chronologically by term, and which also note the fees due. None of the entries in the different series duplicate each other, so there were probably originally three series of each type of rule book, one for each of the secondaries of the court. Special rules were those which were actually moved by counsel during a session of the court, and were either absolute in the first instance, or nisi, which necessitated the party against whom one was obtained to show cause in a specific matter.

There are also chance survivals from what were probably originally three series of common judgment books, one for each of the three prothonotaries, for various dates between 1685 and 1770, which again do not duplicate entries. The later ones were probably destroyed under schedule of 1884. Special judgment books for the same period were mentioned in the same schedule, and none are known to survive. Miscellaneous individual volumes include an entry book of rules in appeals against the decisions of revising barristers appointed under an act of 1843 to revise lists of voters entitled to vote in parliamentary elections, two registers of writs filed, 1861 to 1875, two volumes of appeals from county courts, 1851 to 1880, an entry book of posteas and enquiries, 1828 to 1837, and a precedent book. Part of a series of court rule books of the Common Pleas Division are also included.

Rules are also entered in the rembrance books in CP 44

Court of Common Pleas, 1194-1875

Supreme Court of Judicature, Common Pleas Division, 1875-1880