Palatinate of Durham: Court of Pleas: Feet of Fines Files

DURH 12

1535-1834

This series consists of Durham Court of Pleas feet of fines. The feet were the formal record of the final concords or agreements between two parties for the conveyance of properties, which were recorded in triplicate in court. The court retained the foot of the document, and the two parties the other portion (chirographs). The court action brought to an end a collusive lawsuit between partied whose real purpose was to sell and buy title to the property. The feet of fines recorded the names of the partied, the extent, nature and location of the property, the date and place of the fine, as well as the financial or other terms on which the conveyance had been agreed, and for the security of which the court record served as a guarantee.

The 49 bundles are arranged chronologically in 190 orderable files. At first the files tend to cover several years, but from 1661 onwards they never exceed two years at a time. The number of items in a files, varies and this information is given in the series catalogue. Only 6 files have over 100 items, all of them during the period 1535-1632. Each item is numbered in pencil from the top of a bundle down, through the chronological order tends to be the reverse. There are also older numbers in ink from Durham days, which are not now used. Later documents bear endorsements detailing the dates on which the concords were proclaimed at four successive session.

The series is uncalendared.

For further Durham feet of fine files see:

For fines of the 1228 Durham eyre see: CP 25/1/180/6

Pre-1535 Durham feet of fines are lost, although an index (can be used with difficulty for period from Henry VIII to 33 Eliz I) compiled in c1590s, IND 1/10151, shows that they once existed from 1228-1406.

Public Record(s)

English and Latin

49 bundle(s)

Topics

Conveyancing