Plea rolls
Encyclopedia
Plea rolls are parchment rolls recording details of legal suits or actions in a court of law in England.
Courts began recording its proceedings in plea rolls and filing its writs from its foundation at the end of the 12th century.
Most files were kept by the Custos Brevium (established by 1246) but files of writs of covenant
were kept by the chirographer because of their association with feet of fines
, which were kept separately by the chirographer (established by King John
's reign).
The court's records were at first held by its justices and their clerks,
1257 from this date, non-current ones were passed to the treasury
at the Exchequer.
1288 - 1731, non-current records, plea rolls, files of fines and writs were transferred from the court to the Treasury of the Receipt of the Exchequer
; and thence, eventually, to the PRO
at Kew
.
Courts began recording its proceedings in plea rolls and filing its writs from its foundation at the end of the 12th century.
Most files were kept by the Custos Brevium (established by 1246) but files of writs of covenant
Covenant (historical)
In a historical context, a covenant applies to formal promises that were made under oath, or in less remote history, agreements in which the name actually uses the term 'covenant', implying that they were binding for all time...
were kept by the chirographer because of their association with feet of fines
Feet of Fines
A Foot of fine is the archival copy of the agreement between two parties in a medieval English lawsuit over land. In the reign of Henry II of England, the royal justices first began the practice of registering the settlement of disagreements over land by having both parties bring a suit before the...
, which were kept separately by the chirographer (established by King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
's reign).
The court's records were at first held by its justices and their clerks,
1257 from this date, non-current ones were passed to the treasury
Treasury
A treasury is either*A government department related to finance and taxation.*A place where currency or precious items is/are kept....
at the Exchequer.
1288 - 1731, non-current records, plea rolls, files of fines and writs were transferred from the court to the Treasury of the Receipt of the Exchequer
Exchequer
The Exchequer is a government department of the United Kingdom responsible for the management and collection of taxation and other government revenues. The historical Exchequer developed judicial roles...
; and thence, eventually, to the PRO
Public Record Office
The Public Record Office of the United Kingdom is one of the three organisations that make up the National Archives...
at Kew
Kew
Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. Kew is best known for being the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace...
.