LETTER BOOKS

These are general letter books, 1833 to 1849, in which the out-letters of the Office are copied. Most are from Richard Boyle Adderley. In the first book the most frequent topic is disputes arising out of sheriffs' expense claims, and the liveliest indicate Adderley's brushes with sheriffs' agents in London. There are occasional reports and memoranda, such as Adderley's report on the expense of feeding prisoners, 20 April 1837, and a complaint to the Masters and prothonotaries of the Exchequer, 3 January 1835, that over 11,000 writs having been sealed in the previous month, the substitution of official for personal initials on the seals used in stamping the writs and other processes issuing out of the Exchequer would be a relief. Apart from letters, the books include receipts: the letters in E 197/4 end in 1840, but the receipts continue to 1841.

E 197/6 is a letter book, 1840-1849, which separates letters regarding sheriffs' cravings from the remainder of the Office out-letters (in E 197/5). The longest letter concerns the Warwickshire sheriff's agents' justification of the requirement of additional bailiffs at Chartist trials