Law & Order

The responsibilities of the courts were wide ranging including civil matters such as licensing, as well as the trial and conviction of criminals.

For the family historian an unexplained missing relative may well have been serving a prison sentence as even the most minor offences could result in heavy penalties. The surviving records can be a rich source of information giving such details as the use of aliases and even a physical description.

Even if your ancestor did not fall foul of the law they may have served as a juror or magistrate, or been involved in a case as a witness whose statements often survive. A sudden unexplained death required a coroners' inquest and where they survive more information could be gained regarding the circumstances of the death. Newspapers can contain vivid descriptions of the crimes committed often followed up by a report of the trial; they also contain reports of coroners' inquests.

Tracing a case

It may take time to track down the records relating to your ancestor as it will depend upon the nature of the case. Different courts dealt with different degrees of offences. Minor offences were covered by the Petty Sessions but more serious cases could be referred up to the court of Quarter Sessions.
Likewise cases could then be referred on to the court of Assizes, which dealt with the most serious offences such as murder, highway robbery, witchcraft and robbery (for goods over a certain value).

An excellent guide to using the records is David T Hawkings' :

Criminal Ancestors: A guide to historical records in England and Wales,

a copy of which is available at Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies.

For a list of sources for further study click here.