FLINTSHIRE QUARTER SESSIONS RECORDS

Scope and Content

PUBLIC RECORDS.

Records of the Flintshire Quarter Sessions, 1720-1971, consisting of minute books, 1720-1957; draft minute books, 1818-1912; session rolls, 1747-1941; administration records, 1810-1903; finance records, 1797-1916; enclosure awards, 1777-1870; commissioner's minutes, 1793-1823; plans, 1792-[1943], including plans of roads, [18th century]-1862; canals, 1792-1796; railways, 1824-1935; gas and water, 1839-[1943]; improvement, 1851-1891; piers and docks, 1862-1911; mines, 1874-1913; bridges, 1893-1923; electricity, 1903-1935; plans of the River Dee, 1839-1895; orders, 1871-1923; and records of the Clerk of the Peace, 1729-1860.

Administrative / Biographical History

Courts of Quarter Sessions were introduced into Wales following the Acts of Union of 1536 and 1543; they met at quarterly intervals. Until the establishment of county and district councils in 1888 and 1894, they were responsible both for judicial matters and the civil administration of the county, including constructing and maintaining roads and bridges, levying rates, relieving the poor, removing vagrants, issuing licences, and appointing county officials; organisations such as Masonic lodges and friendly societies were obliged to deposit their regulations with the Clerk of the Peace. Courts of Quarter Sessions were replaced by Crown Courts in 1971.

Arrangement

Arranged into the following: Courts in Session; administration; finance; enrolment, registration and deposit; and Clerk of the Peace.

Access Information

Data Protection Act restrictions will apply to any items less than 100 years old that contain personal information as defined by the Act.

Note

Please order documents using the alternative reference number (where provided).

Compiled by Richard Burman for the ANW project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Flintshire Record Office, Quarter Sessions Records catalogue; Hey, David, Oxford Dictionary of Local and Family History, (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1997).

Other Finding Aids

A hard copy of the catalogue is available in Flintshire Record Office and the National Library of Wales.

Archivist's Note

Compiled by Richard Burman for the ANW project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Flintshire Record Office, Quarter Sessions Records catalogue; Hey, David, Oxford Dictionary of Local and Family History, (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1997).

Conditions Governing Use

Usual copyright regulations apply.

Public records. May be copied without any need for a copyright form.

Appraisal Information

All records deposited at Flintshire Record Office have been retained.

Accruals

Accruals are not expected

Related Material

Related papers are Flintshire Record Office, PS, Petty Sessions records.

Bibliography

The work and records of the court of Quarter Sessions is described in Benyan-Evans, M., Handlist of the County Records (1955).

Geographical Names