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Acknowledgements
We are pleased to acknowledge the considerable contributions made by Mr
Alan Haywood and Mr James Gravil in terms of time
and hard work, without which this online index would not have been possible. |
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Calendars of Prisoners at Quarter Sessions
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The Staffordshire Quarter Sessions
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| The courts of Quarter Sessions were established in 1362 and sat for over 600
years until their abolition in 1971. The court’s initial function was judicial
– to hear criminal cases – but over time the court acquired more and more
administrative functions. The justices were drawn from the local gentry, who
undertook the work free of charge, as a public service. To be selected to serve
as a justice of the peace was a mark of standing in the local community. |
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| As its name implies, the court sat every quarter, usually in January, April,
July and October. In Staffordshire the sessions were named after religious
festivals – Epiphany (January), Easter (April), Translation (July) and
Michaelmas (October). Sometimes the amount of business was so great that some
had to be adjourned - put off until a later date - in which case extra sessions
were held, usually a week or two later.
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| The court sat in Stafford and prisoners awaiting trial on more serious charges
were housed in Stafford Gaol pending trial. |
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| In 1889 the administrative functions of the courts of Quarter Sessions were
transferred to County Councils, but the courts continued to hear criminal cases
until their abolition in 1971. |
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The Calendars of Prisoners
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| Following each session a Calendar of Prisoners was published to record the
personal details of people tried at the session and their offences. Information
was recorded by case, so partners in crime are listed together. |
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The following information is given :
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Case number
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Surname and forenames
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Age
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Whether the prisoner could read and write
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Name and residence of referring magistrate
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Details of crime, including place
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Verdict and sentence
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| Most of the calendars of prisoners cannot be photocopied for conservation
reasons. However, the original records may be viewed at Staffordshire Record
Office. |
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Other Records of Interest
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| Sometimes further interesting details about a case may be provided by evidence
to be found in depositions of witnesses, amongst the main bundles of quarter
sessions papers. |
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| The Archive Service is able to undertake further research in these records. For
details of this service please see the
Staffordshire Records Research Service page on the Archive Service’s
main website. |
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| Note: The link to our main site will open in a new window. |
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Copyright
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| The contents of this database are copyright of Staffordshire
and Stoke on Trent Archive Service and may not be reproduced by any means
whatsoever without permission. |
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