Liberate Rolls
(1251-1260) These chancery liberate rolls of the 36th to 44th years of the reign of Henry III of England record the details of payments and allowances as part of the administration of government. Most entries start with the Latin words 'liberate', meaning 'deliver', or 'allocate', meaning allow. There are also 'contrabreves', warrants mainly to sheriffs of shires, assigning them tasks and allowing expenses. Most of the entries relate to England and Wales, but there are occasional references to Ireland and the English possessions in France.BITTON. Cost: £4.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
|
Patent Rolls: entries for Gloucestershire
(1277-1278) Calendars of the patent rolls of the reign of king Edward I are printed in the Calendars of State Papers: but these cover only a fraction of the material on the rolls. From 1881 to 1889 the reports of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Record Office also include calendars of other material from the rolls - about five times as many entries as in the State Papers - predominantly mandates to the royal justices to hold sessions of oyer and terminer to resolve cases arising locally; but also other general business. The calendar for the 6th year of king Edward I [20 November 1277 to 19 November 1278], hitherto unindexed, is covered here.BITTON. Cost: £6.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
|
Northumberland Assize Rolls for the General Eyre
(1256-1279) The royal justices made periodic general eyres through all the shires of England, hearing civil and criminal cases that had accrued from the lower courts. Here we have the assize rolls of three Northumberland eyres, 24 April to 7 May 1256; 25 June to 15 July 1269; and 20 January to 9 February 1279. The bulk of the text relates to civil pleas from the county of Northumberland and the town of Newcastle upon Tyne; finishing with abstracts of the pedes finium, or feet of fines (lawsuits or pretended lawsuits establishing the ownership of land) arising at the three eyres. But there are also criminal cases (as in the scan here), lists of bailiffs, &c.BITTON. Cost: £4.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
|
Grantees of offices, commissions and pardons
(1272-1281) The Patent Rolls are the Chancery enrolments of royal letters patent. Those for the 1st to the 9th years of the reign of king Edward I (29 November 1272 to 17 November 1281) were edited for the Public Record Office by J. G. Black, and published in 1901. The main contents are royal commissions and grants; ratifications of ecclesiastical estates; writs of aid to royal servants and purveyors; and pardons. BITTON. Cost: £2.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
|
Clergy, the religious and the faithful in Britain and Ireland
(1342-1362) These are abstracts of the entries relating to Great Britain and Ireland from the Regesta of popes Clement VI and Innocent VI, from the period when the papal court was resident at Avignon. Many of these entries relate to clerical appointments and disputes, but there are also indults to devout laymen and women for portable altars, remission of sins, &c. This source is particularly valuable for Ireland, for which many of the key government records of this period are lost. Clement VI was consecrated and crowned 19 May 1342 (the day from which his pontificate is dated); Innocent VI was crowned 18 December 1352 and died 12 September 1362. The extracts were made by W. H. Bliss and C. Johnson from Regesta cxxxvii to ccxliv, and published in 1897. The registers are almost complete for these two pontificates. At his accession, Clement VI promised to grant benefices to all poor clerks who should come to Avignon and claim them within two months of his coronation. As many as 100,000 are said to have come, and the register for the first year of his pontificate runs to twelve volumes.BITTON. Cost: £4.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
|
Fine Rolls
(1356-1368) The close rolls of the 30th to 42nd years of the reign of king Edward III record part of the government administration in England, with orders sent out day by day to individual officers, and commitment of particular responsibilities and duties. There is also some material relating to Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the English possessions in France. BITTON. Cost: £4.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
|
Inhabitants of Suffolk
(1568) By Act of Parliament of December 1566 a subsidy of 8d in the £ on moveable goods and 4s in the £ on the annual value of land was raised from the lay (as opposed to clergy) population. These are the returns for Suffolk, printed in 1909 in the Suffolk Green Book series.BITTON. Cost: £4.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
|
Liegemen and Traitors, Pirates and Spies
(1590) The Privy Council of queen Elizabeth was responsible for internal security in England and Wales, and dealt with all manner of special and urgent matters
BITTON. Cost: £4.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
|
PCC Probate Abstracts
(1652-1653) The Prerogative Court of Canterbury's main jurisdiction was central and southern England and Wales, as well as over sailors &c dying abroad: these brief abstracts usually give address, date of probate and name of executor or administrator
BITTON. Cost: £2.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
|
Official Papers
(1656-1657) The State Papers Domestic cover all manner of business relating to Britain, Ireland and the colonies, conducted by the Council of State, as well as other miscellaneous records. These records are from July 1656 to May 1657.
BITTON. Cost: £4.00. | Sample scan, click to enlarge
|
Research your ancestry, family history, genealogy and one-name study by direct access to original records and archives indexed by surname.