Duchy of Lancaster: Chancery: Inquisitions Post Mortem, Pleadings and Special Commissions

DL 7

1271-1973

This series consists largely of inquisitions post mortem taken either before the Escheator of the County Palatine of Lancaster or before special commissioners. Most of them relate to Lancashire.

Some of the inquisitions were returned into the chancery at Lancaster in the form of a traverse, where the heir disputed the facts as set out in the inquisition.

The series also includes records which reflect the attempts made by Henry VII and Henry VIII to revive the payment of various feudal aids throughout the Duchy, resulting in inquisitions, informations, common law proceedings, and proceedings before the Duchy Council. These documents come from all parts of the Duchy, though mostly from outside Lancashire.

Between 1800 and 1823 the documents in this series were cleaned, repaired and bound into their current arrangement.

Some inquisitions post mortem of the Duchy of Lancaster, dating from the late fourteenth century to the early sixteenth century, can be found in

PL 4

Not Public Record(s)

English, French and Latin

• Duchy of Lancaster, 1399-1399
• Duchy of Lancaster, Chancery, 1351-1351

43 volume(s)

Some documents survive with seals attached.

Topics

Litigation

Crown lands and estates

Landed estates

In 1800 the Duchy of Lancaster reported to a Select Committee of the House of Commons that the Duchy had 2,400 inquisitions post mortem, dating from 1413 to 1642. In 1823 a calendar of these documents was published by the Record Commission. The preface to this reported that, upon further investigation, the number of inquisitions had increased to 3,569. Between 1800 and 1823 the documents were cleaned, repaired and bound into their current arrangement. These volumes then came into the Public Record Office with the main transfer of Duchy records in 1868.

Inquisitions post mortem were held on the death of any tenant who held, or was believed to hold, land of the Duke of Lancaster or, from 1399, of the king as holder of the Duchy. If a local jury returned that the land was so held, then the duke/king was entitled to any feudal revenues due.