Militia officers

Scope and Content

The Militia Act of 30 Geo.II c.25 (1757) required deputy lieutenants and officers commissioned in the militia to make a signed declaration of their property qualification, which was to be filed with the records of the court and the. clerk of the peace was to copy the declaration on to a roll. This provision was continued by succeeding Acts, including 42 Geo.Ill, c.90 (1802). The Act 38 and 39 Vict., c.69 (1875) required the qualifying declarations to be sent to the clerk of the lieutenancy, the clerk of the peace being required to enrol a copy, and to send a further copy to the lord lieutenant.

The rolls give the name of the officer, the parishes in which the qualifying property lay and, in some instances, the approximate annual value of the estate. The property declarations bear an autograph signature