How to look for records of... Civil court cases: Chancery Division since 1875

If the case you are looking for is not one of the small number of cases selected as action papers, you will need to follow the search instructions in the rest of this guide. Researching a single case will probably require more than one visit to The National Archives.

4. How to search for records

Court records are generally archived in series according to file type. To piece together the different records relating to a single case, you usually must search several different record series. To do this successfully you need to:

• Establish a timeline and preliminary information for the case – if possible, identify the start and finish dates and the points in between at which records may have been created.
• Dig deeper – looking at the pleadings and various forms of proof within each relevant file series.

Each different type of record is kept separately and must be searched for separately. There is no guarantee that all records relating to a single case will have been kept.

Often, relevant records can only be located by using the original indexes in series IND 1. Most of these need to be ordered as original documents. Others are kept in the Map and Large Document Reading Room. Very few, if any, records have been digitised and, while the indexes are generally on-site, many of the series to which they refer are stored off-site and must be ordered in advance of your visit.

5. Establishing a Timeline and Preliminary Information for a Case

There are a variety of sources which can be used to determine the start date, and possibly the end date, of a case. As you work through these, you will also begin to gather other key information about a case. Note that many cases were typically discontinued or settled out of court before final judgment. These out of court disposals will not be reflected in the formal records. Similarly, the records we do hold often will not include the judgment or outcome in a case. This information may sometimes be found in published sources.

5.1 Published Sources

Some details of a case, especially relating to the hearing and judgment or remedy imposed, and therefore when proceedings ended, may be found in published sources. Places to look include:

• newspapers such as The Times(charges apply)
• Law reports(charges apply)
• the London Gazette (available via The Gazette website)

5.2 The Cause Number

From 1842, all cases in the civil courts were given a cause number. This consists of the year in which the case commenced, the initial letter of the claimant’s surname, and a running number – e.g. 1885 A 1271. All records relating to a case should be marked with this number. This allows you to link different records to a particular case, and to use those records to determine the year in which a case began.

5.3 Cause Books (1875 – 1940)

The cause books identify when a case began. They do not record the judgment, and so cannot be used to determine the end point of a case, but they include other useful information:

• The cause number
• The names of the claimant and defendant and their solicitors
• Dates of appearances, and sometimes of when pleadings were filed

Where they survive, the cause books provide the most complete listing of civil cases commenced in the High Court. The location and survival of the cause books varies:

• 1875 – 31 March 1880: All of the cause books of the Chancery Division are preserved in C 32.
• 1 April 1880 – 1940: The cause books from 1880 onwards do not survive except for the years 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940. Samples for those years are found in J 89. Up to 1930 they include the writs of summons endorsed with the plaintiff’s statement of claim.
• 1941 onwards: The cause books do not survive.

 

5.4 Entry Books of Decrees and Orders (1876 – 1955)

Using the Entry Books, you can determine the year in which a case commenced, and, if it was settled in court, the year in which any judgment was given, as well as key points in the case’s history.

The Entry Books record:

• The cause number
• The names of the registrar, the presiding judge, and all parties
• The dates of any hearings
• The decrees, orders and judgments made by the judge in a case

Entry Books of Decrees and Orders survive for the period 1876 – 1955 in document series J 15. The Entry Books for 1956 onwards do not survive.

Finding the entry book

To access the Entry Books, use the indexes available in the Map and Large Document Reading Room. Note that:

• Up to 1932, there are two main series of Entry Books and corresponding indexes for each year. The A series covers cases whose titles begin with the letters A–K and the B series for those beginning L–Z.
• Internally, the indexes are arranged by law term and then by first letter of the claimant’s name or the title of the case, but not in strict alphabetical order.
• There can be multiple entries running over several years in respect of a single case.

When you find a relevant entry in the index, note down:

• The year
• The series (A or B)
• The number of the order
• Whether it is written or printed – until 1921 the Entry Books contain two sets of running numbers: one for printed orders and the other for written ones.

Then:

• Search by year within J 15.
• Sort your results by reference.
• Use the information you noted from the index to work out which volume you need to order.

N.B. If the number is written across the two columns it refers to an ‘order of course’ Most of these have been destroyed. See samples in J 89.

5.5 Registrars’ Court Books and Minute Books (1876 – 1982)

The Minute Books vary enormously in coverage and quality, but they can be helpful for establishing key dates in the lifecycle of a case. They may also give information on the contents of cross-examinations, exhibits submitted, and arguments made by the parties in court. This is particularly important where a case is not otherwise reported.

The Registrars’ Court and Minute Books are in J 56. Search these by registrar’s name and by year. For the period 1927 – 1982 only a 2% sample has been preserved. Thereafter they do not survive.

6. Digging Deeper: Records Commencing an Action

Once you have, so far as possible, established the timeline for your case, and gathered preliminary information, you can begin the process of delving into the records created at each stage of a case. The first of these are known generally as the pleadings and refer to the process by which a case came into court. In the Chancery Division of the High Court this typically happened in one of two ways – by pleadings or petition.

6.1 Pleadings (1876 – 1942)

Pleadings only survive if a case reached trial and resulted in a judgment. They are formal written statements setting out the claim of the claimant and the defence of the defendant.  They do not include evidence, which is filed separately, and are meant to be confined to material facts in the case. They may include certificates of the outcome of cases and notices of change of solicitor.

Pleadings are preserved as a separate file series, in J 54, only for the period 1876 – 1942. Indexes only survive for the years 1876-1879, at The National Archives in the Map and Large Document reading room.

To identify relevant pleadings, search by year within J 54. Sort your results by reference. The records are arranged by the initial letter of the name of the plaintiff and (usually) by the month of the final judgment.

6.2 Petitions (1876 – 1954)

Some actions, usually applications under acts of Parliament, such as the Companies Acts and Charitable Trusts Acts, or concerning the administration of estates, are commenced by petition. These petitions are found as a separate file series in J 53 for the period 1876 – 1954 only. They are arranged by year and then alphabetically.

There are indexes to petitions in IND 1/15048 – IND 1/15051 and IND 1/15282. Search “J 53” AND “index” for the relevant year.

7. Digging Deeper: Records providing Proof and Additional Information

After pleading, which established the legal questions at issue, the next step was for the parties to prove their case. They could do this by introducing evidence in the form of affidavits, depositions, and exhibits. In addition, Chancery Masters, officials who worked for the judge, might make reports relating to the case.

7.1 Affidavits (1876 – 1945)

Affidavits are sworn written statements submitted in evidence. Often, they are formal and formulaic – relating to different procedural steps in a case. Sometimes, however, they provide a treasure trove of information about a case.

Affidavits survive as a separate file series, in J 4, only for the period 1876 – 1945. They are arranged by date of filing, then alphabetically by claimant name. Use the indexes to affidavits in IND 1 to identify relevant records. These are not on the open shelves and must be ordered as original documents.  To find the correct index, search “J 4” AND “index” AND e.g. “B” (first letter of the claimant’s name) for the relevant years. Sort your results into reference order.

7.2 Depositions (1876 – 1991)

Depositions are oral statements made on oath and recorded in writing. They are located as follows:

• 1876 – 1880: They are filed with the pleadings in J 54.
• 1880 – 1925 and 1960 – 1991: They are filed in J 17. No depositions survive for the period 1925 – 1959. From 1960 only a small representative sample has been preserved.

Depositions are arranged by date of filing and then alphabetically by claimant name. Use the indexes to depositions to identify relevant records. These are in IND 1 and must be ordered as original records. Search “J 17” AND “index” for the relevant year or years.

7.3 Reports and Certificates (1875 – 1962)

Masters, officials working for a judge, might make reports and certificates relating to a case. These are in  J 57 and can include:

• Accounts and schedules of debts
• Arbitration awards
• Trust schemes
• Statements
• Special reports

The records are arranged by date of filing, and then alphabetically by name of claimants. There are Indexes in IND 1 and catalogue entries in J 57 give the reference for the relevant index, which must then be ordered as an original document.

7.4 Exhibits and Pedigrees

Exhibits are documents or objects introduced as evidence in court. As a collection of records, they are incredibly diverse and can include material such as maps, wills, deeds, share certificates and letters. There are many exhibits in Masters’ series in J23-J 47. Browse through these to find the master and date which best fits your research enquiry.

Further exhibits, which were deposited in the Central Office of the High Court, are in J 90. This series is name and, to an extent, key word searchable. It may, therefore, be a path into identifying cases of interest, which can then be traced through other record series using the claimant name and cause number.

In cases involving wills and intestates one of the core pieces of evidence is often a pedigree or “family tree”. Though these may appear in other masters’ papers, there are also multiple pedigrees series. These are a rich source of genealogical information. They are name searchable by the name of the claimant or testator. See:

• J 63 Master Mosse’s papers, c1852-1917
• J 64 Master Hawkins’ pedigrees, 1849-1925
• J 66 Master Hulbert’s pedigrees, 1849-1926
• J 68 Various masters’ pedigrees, 1852-1977

8. Further reading

Some of the publications below may be available to buy from The National Archives’ shop. Alternatively, search The National Archives’ library catalogue to see what is available to consult at Kew.

J M Lely and W D Foulkes, The Judicature Acts 1873 and 1875 (H Sweet, 1877)

I H Jacob, ‘Later Legal Records and the Historian’, Archives, Vol VI Number 31 (1964)

C T and M J Watts, ‘In the High Court of Justice…’ Genealogist Magazine, Vol 20 pp200-206 (1981)