The suit rolls list tenants who owed suit of court at the twice-yearly sessions of the court leet held for the borough of Altrincham. All the rolls are in fact volumes or gatherings. A roll would generally be used for several years, the list of suitors being amended as changes of tenancy took place. Suitors' names are written down the left-hand side of the page, and marks against them indicate their attendance, essoins or non-appearance. In later suit rolls these are neatly recorded in pre-ruled columns. When there was no more room on the page to add further columns a new roll would be compiled. From EGR2/6/3/8 onwards suitors are listed under two headings: freeholders, and leaseholders and subtenants; in earlier suit rolls there is no explicit distinction, although gentry precede other suitors. There is a gap in the records between 1785 and 1851.
[In addition to the suit rolls listed below, several lists of suitors for the years 1615-1629 are incorporated in the file of verdicts EGR2/6/1/2 above (sheets /15, /21, /34, /44, /45, /50, /62, /67 & /72).]