Series
Chancery and Lord Chancellor's Office: Crown Office: Fiats for Justices of the Peace
Catalogue reference: C 234
What's it about?
C 234
This series contains fiats for the appointment and removal of justices of the peace.
Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
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C 234
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Title (The name of the record)
- Chancery and Lord Chancellor's Office: Crown Office: Fiats for Justices of the Peace
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Date (When the record was created)
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1682-1974
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Description (What the record is about)
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This series contains fiats for the appointment and removal of justices of the peace.
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Arrangement (Information about the filing sequence or logical order of the record)
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Arrangement
In bundles by county, borough or liberty.
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Related material (A cross-reference to other related records)
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For records relating to the appointment of justices of the peace, see LCO 34 LCO 52
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
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Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
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English
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
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239 bundles and volumes
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Administrative / biographical background (Historical or biographical information about the creator of the record and the context of its creation)
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Fiats for commissions of the peace were sent to the Crown Office in Chancery by the secretary of commissions on behalf of the lord chancellor. A list of names to be added to or subtracted from the names already in the commission was drawn up outside the chancellor's view in a variety of places, both locally and at the centre of government. At the chancellor's office, the lists were checked by the secretary of commissions and the elegibility of those persons recommended was determined.
The secretary reported to the chancellor, made any changes that were required, and then wrote a fiat, which the lord chancellor signed, ordering the clerk of the Crown to draw up a new commission of the peace for the county, borough or liberty concerned.
This procedure remained the same until the twentieth century; it was given statutory force by the Crown Office Act 1877. Under the Administration of Justice Act 1973, the appointment of justices of the peace no longer required a fiat from the lord chancellor, and accordingly there are no more after that year.
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Publication note(s) (A note of publications related to the record)
- The nature of the fiats is discussed further by L K J Glassey and N Landau, 'The commission of the peace in the eighteenth century: a new source', Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, xlv (1972), pp 247-265.
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C3766/
Catalogue hierarchy
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
Within the department: C
Records created, acquired, and inherited by Chancery, and also of the Wardrobe, Royal...
You are currently looking at the series: C 234
Chancery and Lord Chancellor's Office: Crown Office: Fiats for Justices of the Peace