Catalogue description High Court of Admiralty: Prize Court: Registers of Declarations for Letters of Marque

This series comprises registers of declarations for letters of marque concerning the Prize Court of the High Court of Admiralty.

These declarations were made after the Lord High Admiral or Commissioners of the Admiralty made out warrants, directed to the Judge of the High Court of Admiralty, for the issue of letters of marque to commanders of private vessels. Those commanders were then required to make a declaration in the High Court of Admiralty, giving certain specified details of the ship, its armaments, its crew and its officers. The declarations span the period 1689 to 1808; those from 1809 to 1815 have not survived. The registers from 1689 to 1783 are indexed internally. Declarations from 1793 to 1808 were made on loose pre-printed forms, most of which were later bound as registers; some remain loose. Further Bonds (Declarations) for 1689-1809 are in HCA 26

Some declarations are indexed in IND 1/8980-8989.

High Court of Admiralty, Prize Court, 1660-1875