Prerogative Court of Canterbury: Assignations

PROB 43

1661-1858

Assignation books and draft acts, of which only samples are extant.

Assignation books contain entries noting appointments for court hearings concerning contentious cases held in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.

They usually outline the proceedings that took place at the court hearing in a heavily abbreviated form. The draft acts are the rough drafts from which the finalised acts were drawn up, and contain the minutes of the proceedings of the court in contentious cases. They were at one time filed with the assignation books.

PROB 43/1-47 are assignation books (with occasional draft acts appearing). They are arranged chronologically by session, with those whose dates are uncertain or missing placed at the end as individual pieces.

PROB 43/8-52 are assignation books and draft acts which exist in bound volumes (usually yearly volumes). These volumes are arranged chronologically. Volumes exist for 1706, 1739, 1783, 1785 and Nov 1857 to Jan 1858.

PROB 43/53-75 are draft acts (with the occasional assignation book). These are arranged chronologically in yearly bundles as far as possible, and cover the period 1680-1710. The arrangement of the documents in these bundles is as follows:

• Unnumbered loose sheets in chronological order
• Numbered loose sheets
• Sheets that are strung together

PROB 43/69 is not used

PROB 43/76-83 are assignation books and sheets of draft acts which are arranged chronologically in yearly bundles for the period 1665 to 1671. Those documents for which the dates are illegible or missing are placed at the end in a bundle as PROB 43/83

Public Record(s)

English and Latin

83 bundles and volumes

Topics

Litigation

Wills and probate