Norris Papers and Deeds

920 NOR

Norris Papers and Deeds

The records of the Norris family of Speke are dispersed among at least three record repositories. Those held by this library (available in the Record Office) are as follows :

Papers, 1065 docs., 1468 - 1709

These were purchased by the Corporation of Liverpool on 23 Apr. 1835 at an auction sale by Winstanley at the Exchange, Manchester. The papers remained in the custody of the Town Clerk of Liverpool until 1918 when they were transferred to this library for preservation.

Deeds, 278 docs., 1473/74 - 1676

These were purchased by this library from R. Hyde Linaker, Esq., of Frodsham, Cheshire, in the period 1925 - 1929.

Catalogues and arrangement of Norris Papers and deeds in Liverpool Record Office.

According to T.N. Morton Account of ... the Records of the Corporation of Liverpool ... 1897 in Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, Vol. 49, 1897, p. 81, the Norris papers (not deeds) were, when in the custody of the Town Clerk of Liverpool, bound into "... 2 large folio vols. mounted on thin blue paper ...". This explains the apparently meaningless division of the papers (now loose) into "Volumes" 1 and 2.

"Volume 1" was made up of 397 documents which have now been re-numbered as 920 NOR/1/1 - 397. The documents are boxed in numerical order and the boxes labelled accordingly. The numerical and chronological orders of the documents do not correspond, there being no apparent system in the numeration. As yet the only detailed list of these documents is contained in two catalogue sheaf cases labelled Norris Papers (Vol. 1) 920 NOR/1/1 - 397 covering the years 1624, 1628, 1682 - 1709 and Norris Papers 920 NOR/1/1 - 397 Numerical List respectively. The slips in the former sheaf case are arranged in chronological order of document and the slips in the latter are arranged in numerical order of document. There is no detailed index to these papers, of persons, places, or subjects, although items from the Norris Papers can sometimes be traced through the Record Office general Index to Lists and Calendars.

"Volume 2" was made up of 668 documents, now re-numbered 920 NOR/2/1 - 668. As for "Volume 1" the documents are boxed in numerical order although the numerical and chronological orders of the documents do not correspond. As yet the only detailed list of these documents is contained in catalogue sheaf cases labelled Norris Papers (Vol.2) 920 NOR/2 covering the years 1468 - 1702 and Norris Papers (Vol. 2) 920 NOR/2 covering the years 1703 - 1708 respectively. The slips in these sheaf cases are arranged in chronological order of document, the first sheaf covering the years 1468 - 1702 and the second, the years 1703 - 1708.

There are also two catalogue sheaf cases in which the slips are arranged in numerical order of document. These are labelled Norris Papers 920 NOR/2/1 - Numerical List and Norris Papers 920 NOR/2/ - 668 Numerical List. There is no detailed index to these papers, of persons, places or subjects (see notes relating to "Volume 1" above).

The second group of Norris documents available in the Liverpool Record Office, Deeds, 1473/74 - 1676, is numbered 920 NOR/15/2, 16/1 - 5, 17/6 - 272 (despite this numeration the Record Office holds no documents numbered 920 NOR/3 - 920 NOR/15/1). The deeds are boxed in numerical order which also corresponds with the chronological order of the documents as far as 920 NOR/17/261 (for details of 920 NOR/17/262 - 272 see Brief List below). The only detailed list of these deeds is contained in a catalogue sheaf case labelled Norris Deeds 920 NOR/15/2, 16/1 - 5, 17/6 - 272 covering the years 1474 - 1676. The slips in the sheaf case are arranged in numerical (also, therefore, chronological) order. At the end of the sheaf is a detailed index of persons and places mentioned in the deeds.

Photostat copies of some Norris deeds etc., in the British Museum are available in the Record office and are listed at 942 NOR.

A printed calendar of Norris deeds is available in J.H. Lumby A Calendar of the Norris Deeds (Lancashire) 12th to 15th century: from the originals in the British Museum, the University of Liverpool and the Liverpool Free Library in Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire Publications, Vol. 93, 1939. The intention of this volume was to combine in one calendar all the Lancashire deeds to 1499 held by the British Museum, the University of Liverpool and Liverpool City Libraries. However, of the Norris documents available in this library Lumby's Calendar lists only three of the papers and none of the deeds.

A volume by Thomas Heywood The Norris Papers, Chetham Society, Vol. 9, 1846, contains printed transcripts of Norris papers in the possession of "... the Corporation of Liverpool and Mr. Norris of Manchester ...". Of the 97 documents transcribed in the volume, 84 now form part of the series of papers 920 NOR/1/1 - 397 available in the Liverpool Record Office. Documents thus transcribed can be traced through the sheaf catalogue to 920 NOR/1/1 - 397 where sheaf slips representing transcribed documents are stamped "Ptd. Chet. Soc." with the relevant page number of Heywood's Norris Papers.

A file of rough MS transcripts of Norris Papers, 920 NOR/1/1 - 2/668, arranged in numerical order of document, is also available (shelved with catalogue sheaf cases, see above). These transcripts appear to have been made at the time the documents were originally listed.

920 NOR/1. Papers, 397 docs., 1624, 1628, 1682 - 1709

920 NOR/2. Papers, 668 docs., 1468 - 1708

920 NOR/15-17. Deeds, 278 docs., 1474 - 1676

Note : no documents have been numbered at 920 NOR/3 - 920 NOR/14.

<p>Further records of the Norris family are available in the British Museum (Add. Ch. 47380 - 53115 and Add. MSS 36901 - 36927) and in the Library of the University of Liverpool (314 deeds). The British Museum collection was purchased in 1903 from the Aston and Talbot families of Aston Hall, Runcorn, Cheshire and includes Lancashire charters etc. (Add. Ch. 51533 - 53091) and county affairs in Lancashire and North Wales, 14th - 17th centuries (Add. MSS 36924 - 36927). The Liverpool University Library deeds were discovered among the Fleming muniments at Rydal Hall, Grasmere, Westmorland, and subsequently purchased.</p>

English

Acc. 0121 - 3