Court of Common Pleas: Concords of Fines Files, Elizabeth I

CP 24/1

1559-1602

Files of concords, texts of agreements to convey property which were drawn up as a preliminary to levying a final concord to bring about the conveyance itself, for the reign of Elizabeth I.

This series consists of writs of dedimus potestatem issued by the Court of Common Pleas in the name of Elizabeth I.

These writs, essentially orders, were addressed to the justices and other officials of the English courts, commissioning them to collect the acknowledgements of the defendants (or deforciants) unable to travel to Westminster, one of the parties in collusive suits pending before the court which were intended to end in a final concord settling the supposed dispute. The writs were then returned by the justices endorsed with their answer and the term in which a proclamation was made. The proclamation was a public announcement made in court to declare the end of the case and to detail the terms of the final concord. These proclamations provided validity to the final concord. Although there might be multiple terms in which a proclamation could be made, the writs were filed by the first term of proclamation. The formulae of the dedimus potestatem writs are well known and easily ascertained from formularies and accounts of court practice. These documents give the names of the parties involved in the suits (plaintiffs or buyers and defendants or sellers) and also detail the properties in question. In many cases, the dorses of the writs are blank and the acknowledgements are on other pieces of parchment attached to the writ. The endorsed or attached acknowledgements were to be used as part of the text of the final concords. These also often include the signatures of the officials or of the deforciants, and the proclamation term by which the writs were collected by the filazers.

Until the reign of Elizabeth I these writs were part of the Brevia files in CP 52, filed at the beginning of the first return day for each legal term and described as 'letters to the justices'.

In the early 1990s some complete and original term files of concords were found among unsorted writ miscellanea. They are now in CP 61. Links and gaps between these series are noted at piece level.

In the 19th century some original files were dismantled and accessioned by monarch in CP 24/1 to CP 24/13

Dedimus potestatem writs before 1558 can be found in CP 52

Final concords or feet of fines can be found in CP 25/1

and CP 25/2

Portions of broken writs of covenant can be found in CP 50

Notes of fines files can be found in CP 26/1

to CP 26/14

Writs of covenant initiating the suits can be found in CP 55

Original files of concords are in

CP 61

Public Record(s)

Latin

38 file(s)

Topics

Conveyancing

Litigation