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Fonds

Cockermouth Petty Sessional Division

Catalogue reference: CQ/P/C

What’s it about?

This record is about the Cockermouth Petty Sessional Division.

Is it available online?

Maybe, but not on The National Archives website. This record is held at Cumbria Archive and Local Studies Centre, Whitehaven.

Can I see it in person?

Not at The National Archives, but you may be able to view it in person at Cumbria Archive and Local Studies Centre, Whitehaven.

Full description and record details

Reference

CQ/P/C

Title

Cockermouth Petty Sessional Division

Description
Description available at other catalogue level
Held by
Cumbria Archive and Local Studies Centre, Whitehaven
Language

English

Creator(s)
<corpname>Cockermouth Petty Sessional Division</corpname>
Immediate source of acquisition

These records were deposited May 1977 by Waugh & Musgrave as former Clerks to the magistrates of the Cockermouth (formerly Derwent) Division Petty Sessions unless otherwise stated

Administrative / biographical background

LOCAL MAGISTRATES COURT DIVISIONS

"Justices of the Peace developed from the Keepers of the Peace who were appointed by a commission under the Great Seal in 1277 and 1287. They had acquired their name by 1361, when a statute gave them the power to try minor offenders. Their duties were greatly extended under the Tudors." [Oxford Companion to Local and Family History].

Most of the more important work of the justices was conducted at the Quarter Sessions for each county. But informal meetings of a few local justices gradually developed into the Petty Sessions, which dealt with minor criminal proceedings. These early meetings were generally not well recorded, and the borderline between Quarter and Petty Sessions was not always clear-cut. But during 1828 Petty Sessions were first formally recognised within parliamentary legislation: the county justices were authorised to divide their areas into petty sessional districts and to appoint a local attorney to act as clerk.

Record URL
https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/ae395896-7b8f-41f0-ac45-8e22bc8b476f/

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Cockermouth Petty Sessional Division