How to look for records of... Civil court cases: assize courts 1656-1971

2. What were assize courts?

Assize courts were based in the main county towns in England and Wales but cases were only heard at the courts twice yearly, and in the 20th century three or four times yearly, when judges from the higher courts in London visited and presided over cases.

Often known simply as ‘the assizes’, the courts heard both civil and criminal cases. Civil cases could include disputes over:

• Land
• Money or debt
• Personal injury
• Negligence
• Libel

From the early 20th century the assizes also handled divorce cases, which had previously been the sole preserve of the central courts in London.

2.1 The timetable

Until the 20th century there were typically just two sittings a year for each assize court, defined as Summer and Lent. Usually the Lent sessions would take place in March or April and the Summer sessions in July or August but there was some flexibility. In the late 19th and 20th century the number of sittings increased to three or four a year in the following order: Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn.

2.2 Circuits

England and Wales were divided into judicial circuits, each circuit making up the areas covered by a set of visiting judges. Up until 1876 there were six circuits whose composition changed from time to time. These circuits were:

• The Home Circuit
• The Oxford Circuit
• The Midland Circuit
• The Western Circuit
• The Norfolk Circuit
• The Northern Circuit

In 1876 a seventh circuit, the North Eastern, was added.

3. Types of records and what they contain

A minute book covering Western Circuit civil trials that took place between 1962 and 1971 (catalogue reference ASSI 22/61).

Assize courts produced over twenty different types of records. They include:

Minute books

Minute books are the primary records for a trial. The assize clerks recorded brief details of a trial in minute books, including names of parties, type of case and judgment order. They also give any judgment orders given on appeal.

Pleadings

These records set out the details of the claim made by the plaintiff and the response or defence from the defendant. They can also include the judgment order.

Judgment orders

Judgment orders in cases – in other words what the outcome of the case was and what the consequences were for the parties involved – are found either in minute books or on a part of the record known as posteas. Posteas were forwarded to the central courts in London and give brief details of the case as well as its outcome. Posteas do not always survive.

A clip from a minute book showing a judgment order for a trial in 1970 (catalogue reference: ASSI 22/61).

Posteas, which were usually very brief, are only of value if there are gaps in the surviving records of other types – then it may be the only surviving record.

Cause books

Cause in the context of a civil trial refers to the ’cause of action’, in other words the legal basis on which a claimant is suing. A cause of action might be, for example, breach of contract, or fraud.

Cause books and postea books generally record the names of the parties to the cause (that is, the claimants, also referred to as plaintiffs), the names of their legal representatives, the nature of the cause, the verdict, and the amounts of any damages and costs awarded.

Correspondence

This was correspondence of the assize clerks, mostly administrative and concerned with the running of the courts.

Financial records

These records provide details of court fees, meaning the cost of bringing a case to trial, as well as other costs. The person or institution bringing the case to trial pays the fees but these costs, known as Bills of Costs, or a proportion of them, usually end up being paid by the losing side, dependent on whatever the judge orders. that lawyers submit after a case and are assessed by the court.

4. How to search for records

Before you begin you will need to have at least a rough idea of when the trial took place (a range of around ten years but ideally an exact year) and the county or at least the circuit it took place in for a realistic chance of finding any records.

4.1 Searching in the assize court records

The tables in the following sections of this guide provide National Archives record series references for the different types of records that exist for civil trials. There is usually one series for minute books and several others covering all the other record types, whether pleadings, judgment orders, correspondence, financial records or any others.

There are several ways that you can conduct a search:

1. Click on the series references in the tables below and search using record types as keywords, such as pleadings, along with dates.
2. Click on the series references in the tables below and search by date only, thus ensuring no record is missed.
3. Use the advanced search option in our catalogueto search across all assize records (using department code ASSI) by year and/or record type.

For more information on whether to browse or search, see our Discovery help pages.

4.2 Searching in the records of other courts (for details of assize court cases)

Although only of value if there are gaps in the surviving assize records, it may prove necessary to try searching within the records of other courts to which details of assize court trials were forwarded or returned (in some cases it may be the only surviving record). Posteas were forwarded to the central courts in London and contain brief details of the case as well as its outcome.

Use the advanced search to search by year, using ‘postea’ as your keyword and one or more of the department codes below, to search in the following National Archives departments:

• Court of King’s Bench (departments code KB)
• Court of Common Pleas (departments code CP)
• Exchequer (departments code E)
• Palatinate of Durham (department code DURH)
• Palatinate of Lancaster (department code PL)

From 1876 all civil cases heard by the assize judges were held at district registries of the High Court. For pleadings in assize cases from 1876 it is therefore also worth searching in J 54, which covers pleadings in several types of court including district registries of the High Court, by initial letter of the plaintiff’s surname in the advanced catalogue search. For more detail see the advice on pleadings in our guide to Chancery cases in the Supreme Court after 1875.

5. Key to records of civil cases in the English assizes 1656-1971

Click on the series references in the table below to search for records within each respective series using the instructions in section 4.

6. Key to records of civil cases in the Welsh assizes 1843-1970

Click on the series references in the table below to search for records within each respective series using the instructions in section 4.