The story of
Maud Allan
Maud Allan (1873–1956) was a celebrated West End dancer in the early 20th century until she became entangled in one of the most sensational trials of the 1920s.
Series
Registrar of the High Court of Delegates: Act Books and Files of Original Acts
Catalogue reference: DEL 4
What's it about?
DEL 4
A series of act books, being the formal record of the proceedings of the High Court of Delegates, together with files of original acts.The act books were the formal record of the court's business, covering every stage through which a cause...
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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DEL 4
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Title (The name of the record)
- Registrar of the High Court of Delegates: Act Books and Files of Original Acts
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Date (When the record was created)
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1539-1818
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Description (What the record is about)
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A series of act books, being the formal record of the proceedings of the High Court of Delegates, together with files of original acts.
The act books were the formal record of the court's business, covering every stage through which a cause passed, and were copied from entries in the assignation books, which were compiled while the court were sitting.
The act books record not only formal proceedings but also other information affecting the court's work (e.g. appointments of officials). The act books may also include copies of exhibits, usually found in the muniment books, and records of business transacted outside formal sittings.
Act book entries follow a common form, beginning with the names of the parties and their proctors, followed by a summary of the assignation (business to be transacted) and a statement of business actually done.
The act books (pieces 2-21 and 23-24) span the period 1601 to 1695. There are only five gaps in the sequence, the greatest being between 1650 to 1660. It appears that formal act books ceased to be kept from the end of the seventeenth century, their place being taken by the assignation books.
The series also contains files of original acts (pieces 22 and 25-29) spanning the period 1652 to 1758 with many gaps, and file for 1818. The main part of the sequence covers the eighteenth century, after the act books ceased to be kept. The relationship between these papers and the act and assignation books is unclear.
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Arrangement (Information about the filing sequence or logical order of the record)
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The act books are arranged chronologically according to law terms and court days.
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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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Creator(s) (The creator of the record)
- High Court of Delegates, 1533-1833
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
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29 bundles and volumes
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Subjects (Categories and themes found in our collection (our subject list is under development, and some records may have no subjects or fewer than expected))
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- Topics
- Litigation
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Custodial history (Describes where and how the record has been held from creation to transfer to The National Archives)
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The majority of the records which now form the series DEL 1 to DEL 8 were transferred to the Public Record Office at various dates between 1863 and 1923. They came from the registry of the High Court of Admiralty and its successor, the Admiralty registry of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court.
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Unpublished finding aids (A note of unpublished indexes, lists or guides to the record)
- All the volumes possess contemporary indexes, apart from those in pieces 1, 15 and 19. It is likely that these would have been indexed, but that the indexes had been lost at an early date. These volumes have nineteenth century indexes compiled by H C Rothery, registrar of the High Court of Admiralty (Return of all appeals…made to the High Court of Delegates… (Sessional Papers, House of Commons, 1867-1868), p xii).
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Publication note(s) (A note of publications related to the record)
- See G I O Duncan, The High Court of Delegates (Cambridge, 1971), pp 220-222 for more information.
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C5817/
Catalogue hierarchy
Over 27 million records
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
3,021 records
Within the department: DEL
Records of the High Court of Delegates
You are currently looking at the series: DEL 4
Registrar of the High Court of Delegates: Act Books and Files of Original Acts
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