Palatinate of Lancaster: Chancery Warrants

PL 3

Richard II-Henry VII

The warrants in this series are for the issue of letters patent under the Palatinate great seal granting offices, lands and other rights within Lancashire.

Warrants authorised the drawing up of instruments for sealing. There were different authorities, warrants and procedures for different instruments. These warrants take three forms: sign manual bills, usually in the form of petitions by subjects to the Duke/King and the Duchy Council, signet warrants and privy seal warrants

The main sequence of warrants in this series runs from 1 Richard II to 34 Henry VI, with a gap from 4 Henry IV to 1 Henry VI. Two, apparently stray, documents from the reign of Henry VII (undated) are included.

The three bundles in this series seem to be in some disarray. There is no discernible logical arrangement (not even chronological) within each bundle and a few documents appear to have strayed (e.g. a document from 26 Henry VI in PL 3/1, which is otherwise for John of Gaunt). In this bundle are a number of parchment labels (nos 86, 89, 95 and 126) which indicate that the warrants were, at least during John of Gaunt's time, filed in annual bundles.

Public Record(s)

English, French and Latin

3 bundle(s)

Original tagging was through the centre of the documents, not the top left corner. It may be that the bundles were at least retagged when they came into the Public Record Office as PL 3/1 bears a 'Repairing Department' label.