Catalogue

CALENDARS OF PRISONERS, 1867 - 1966
Gives name, previous convictions, age, trade, education (until 1917), committing magistrate, dates of warrant and committal to custody, offence, when tried, verdict, sentence.

INDICTMENTS
These are formal indictments, or presentments, made by the Grand Jury for process to be instigated against the accused, the accused's name and the charge against him are given with sometimes a note of the plea but rarely the judgment. The indictments are recorded on long parchment files and most of the documents usually found with them in other counties, such as recognizances, jury lists, precepts, calendars of prisoners, petitions have not survived in Durham. Process records were recorded in Latin until 1733.

Indictment Rolls, 1596 - 1823
There are many gaps in the series of indictment rolls and few survive for the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. At this period the amount of judicial business in the order books is less and it would seem that more cases were referred to the Assizes instead of being tried at Durham Quarter Sessions. Rolls for 1711 and 1725 include part of the records of the Durham Assizes.

Indictment Files, 1840 - 1968
Files or bundles ofindictments for each sessions on partly printed parchments. Sometimes the plea of the accused and the verdict of the petty (or trial) jury is noted but not the sentence. Some have numbers marked in the corner: these appear to be the numbers of the prisoners in the gaol calendar. From 1965 precepts and jury lists are kept separately (See Q/S/JS). From Easter Sessions 1880 the files for each year were bound as volumes which always begin with the Winter or Epiphany Sessions of that year.

INDEXES TO INDICTMENTS, 1880 - 1926

JURY PANELS, 1963 - 1971
Precepts to sheriff to summon a jury with duplicated lists of jurors

Abstracts of Orders, 1823 - 1889
These volumes consist of printed leaflets bound into volumes and embody brief abstracts of county orders of public interest.

Printed copies of reports of county officers, committees etc and the court's resolutions concerning them

MINUTES OF ORDERS
Records were kept of the formal judgements or orders, both judicial and administrative, made by Justices at Quarter Sessions. The main records were the order books or minutes of orders dating from 1616 (Q/S/OB). Judicial orders were written in Latin until 1733 but administrative orders were recorded in English.
From the late seventeenth century the order books were fair copies from rough minute books. The rough minute books survive from 1735 (Q/S/OM). From 1880 judicial process was recorded separately in special court books (Q/S/OC) and the order books were thereafter used only for administrative matters.
Some administrative orders were printed for general circulation and copies of these were bound as abstracts of orders (Q/S/OA).
Process books contain Clerk's memoranda of persons to be arraigned, estreats of fines and forfeited recognizances due to the crown (Q/S/OP).

Order Books, 1616 - 1971
These are registers of proceedings at Quarter Sessions. From the late eighteenth century some volumes contain indexes.

Sessions Court Books, 1880 - 1963
Registers of judicial court proceedings, recording names of justices present, jurors, names of prisoners, offences charged, plea, verdict, sentence. After 1969 this information was recorded in the calendars of prisoners so the series was discontinued

The volumes listed below have been retained as a sample

Process Books, 1619 - 1778
Memoranda of presentments or indictments and informations presented, forming a record of matters for arraignment. The names, places of residence and occupation of those indicted and the charge are recorded briefly and marginal notes indicate the plea.

RECOGNIZANCES, 1855 - 1949
Recognizance Books, 1881 - 1949
These are lists of recognizances taken in court, recording name and address of principal and of sureties and the date, sum and condition