Catalogue description Duchy of Lancaster: Court of Duchy Chamber: Papers in Lawsuits

This series consists of a variety of papers relating almost entirely to particular equity cases heard before the Court of Duchy Chamber.

The papers include bills, petitions, orders, reports, interrogatories and the resulting depositions, exceptions to bills and answers deemed insufficient, cases stated, bills of costs, written judgements, inquisitions, demurrers, affidavits, and other miscellaneous items, some of earlier date, which served as evidences or exhibits. The latter include an estreat of amercements in the court of the honour of Tickhill from the reign of Elizabeth I, and some seventeenth century rentals and estreats from manor court rolls of Wirksworth in Derbyshire.

Several of the cases concern lead mines in the Derbyshire Peak District or mills in the West Riding of Yorkshire, as indicated in the list, and the materials relating to those cases sometimes give general information about matters such as mining and milling technicalities, as well as detailed topographical evidence. However, the subjects of most cases are not given. In a number of cases the plaintiff was the attorney-general of the duchy.

Duchy of Lancaster, 1399-

Duchy of Lancaster, Court of Duchy Chamber, 1470-1875