PETTY SESSIONS (MAGISTRATES) COURTS

County Petty Sessions (pre 1974)

Amounderness PSAM

Bacup PSRD

Blackburn Hundred PSBL

Bolton PSBO

Bolton by Bowland PSBB, see DDX 1441/3 - 6

Burnley PSBY

Burnley and Colne PSBC

Church PSCH

Clitheroe PSCT

Colne PSCN

Darwen PSDA

Fleetwood see Kirkham

Fylde see Kirkham

Garstang PSGA

Haslingden PSRD

Hornby PSHO

Kirkdale PSK

Kirkham PSKH

Leyland and Leyland Hundred PSLE

Lytham see Kirkham

Lonsdale North PSLN - Transferred to Barrow

Lonsdale South PSLS

Lonsdale South and Hornby (1955 - 74) PSLH

Manchester PSMA

Middleton PSMD

Ormskirk PSOR

Poulton see DDX 1320/1/5

Rawtenstall PSRD

Rossendale PSRD

Walton-le-Dale PSWD

Borough Petty Sessions (pre 1974)

Accrington PSAC

Barrow in Furness PSBA Transferred to Barrow Jan 1999

Blackburn PSBK

Blackpool PSBP - see also Kirkham

Burnley PSBU

Clitheroe PSCL

Colne PSCO

Darwen PSDA

Lancaster PSLA

Middleton (formerly Middleton and Tonge) PSMI

Morecambe PSMO

Nelson PSNE

Preston PSPR

Rochdale PSRO

St Helens PSSH

Southport see CBSO

Magistrates Courts (post 1974)

Accrington PSAC

Blackburn PSBK

Darwen PSDA

Lancaster PSL

Ormskirk PSOR

Pendle PSPE

Preston PSPR

Ribble Valley PSPE

Rossendale PSRD

Records for Chorley and South Ribble Magistrates Courts are not held here. Records from 1967 onwards are held at South West Lancashire Magistrates Court, The Court House, St Thomas Square, Chorley, PR7 1DS. Applications should be made in writing. Some registers are missing.

<p>Maps showing the divisions can be found in the folder of administrative maps in the searchroom, especially map 26a (1926 - 34) and map 26 (1964). There is also a list of divisions in the 1850s and the townships they contained (QEV/19/13 - see binder QDS - QSC).</p>

Before 1974, petty sessions courts (also known as magistrates courts) were of two types:

1 county petty sessions, each operating within a petty sessional division of the county

2 borough petty sessions

In April 1974 they were reorganised and the distinction between borough and county was in effect abolished. Petty sessional divisions now covered the whole county, each division with its own court, which was now normally referred to as a magistrates court.