Difference between revisions of "Introduction to the High Court of Admiralty"

Revision as of 14:35, August 12, 2012

Introduction to the High Court of Admiralty

Editorial history

11/08/12: CSG, created page

Purpose of this page

To provide an introduction to the C17th High Court of Admiralty in London

What was the High Court of Admiralty?

When was the Court established?

- The High Court of Admiralty was established in the 1320 to deal primarily with questions of piracy or spoil

What was its jurisdiction?

- Over time its jurisdiction developed to cover prize and civil jurisdiction in such matters as salvage and collision
- Actions could be taken against ships and goods as well as against persons
- After the restoration (of the monarchy) in 1660, the civil business of the court divided, with an instance court and a prize court

Who were the judges?

- The judges were doctors of civil law, who had studied at either Oxford or Cambridge
- Their legal training differed from that of lawyers practising the common law, who were admitted to Inns of Court in Holborn
- The judges of the High Court of Admiralty held court sessions at Doctors Commons, which before the London fire of 1666 was located in the parish of St Paul Bennetts wharf
- Several other types of legal official and lawyer attended the sessions of the High Court of Admiralty. These included proctors, public notaries, clerks, and legal counsel for the parties concerned

The language and procedures of Admiralty Court

English, with a little latin

What latin will you find, and how can you read it?

   Common Latin Phrases

English legal language

   Legal Terms

The records of the Admiralty Court

Why were records kept?

Who kept the records?

Allegations

What is an allegation?

An example: XXXX

Answers

What is an answer?

An example: XXXX

Examinations

What is an examination?

An example: XXXX

Interrogatories

What is an interrogatory?

- An Interrogatory is a pre-prepared list of questions to be put to deponents by the proctors of the High Court of Admiralty
- An interrogatory consists of numbered questions which are primarily English, though often introduced with Latin phrases
- Such interrogatories can be found in bond leather volumes in the HCA 23 record series, for example HCA 23/19 (1658-1664)

Examples from HCA 23/19

"4. Itmm: interr. When had the Claymers or the wittnesse first
Notice that the shippe Nativity was stayed neere ffalmouth..."^[1]

- For example:

"1 Imprimis Interrogot:r quilet testis to what shippe hee belonged
and how hee commeth to be a witnes in this cause..."^[2]

An example: XXXX

Schedules

What is a schedule?

- Schedules of information are occasionally referred to in individual answers or in individual examinations
- Often these schedules are not included in the volume containing the answers or examinations
- Occasionally these schedules can be found in boxes of loose documents (usually unfoliated), such as HCA 15/6 Box One 1654-1657, and HCA 15/6 Box Two 1654-1657

What records of the Admiralty Court are at the National Archives?

What records are in Kew?

- The National Archives at Kew contains the extensive records of the High Court of Admiralty from as early as XXXX until XXXX
- An index of the mid-C17th High Court of Admiralty record series has been prepared for the project team. See TNA index, 1650-1669

How did they get there?

What do they look like?

[ADD IMAGE OF A TYPICAL LEATHER BOUND VOLUME]

[ADD IMAGE OF A TYPICAL DOUBLE PAGE IN A LEATHER BOUND VOLUME]

[ADD CLOSE UP OF FOLIO NUMBERS]

[ADD CLOSE UP OF MARGANALIA]

[ADD CLOSE UP OF MERCHANTS MARKS AND PARCEL NUMBERS]

[ADD EXAMPLE OF CROSSING OUT AND INTERPOLATIONS]

How can you see them?

- The records of the High Court of Admiralty can be viewed in the Large Manuscripts and Maps Room on the second floor of the National Archives at Kew
- You will need a reader's ticket, which can be obtained on the day of your visit. You will need to take two valid pieces of identification with you - one with a recent photograph of you, and the other with your home address and of a recent date. See Obtaining a Reader's ticket
- HCA manuscripts can be ordered at any terminal in the Large Manuscripts and Maps Room, and may take between thirty and sixty minutes to be produced from storage
- The National Archives are closed on Sundays and Mondays, but open Tuesday through Saturday, with late opening on Tuesday and Thursday. See TNA Opening Times

Sample transcriptions, 1650-1669

Overview of HCA material, 1650-1669

HCA 13/68: Sample images: untranscribed

HCA 13/68: Sample images: draft transcriptions available

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 ==What was the High Court of Admiralty?==
-*  When was the Court established?  The High Court of Admiralty was established in the 1320 to deal primarily with questions of piracy or spoil.
+*  '''When was the Court established?'''
-*  What was its jurisdiction?  Over time its jurisdiction developed to cover prize and civil jurisdiction in such matters as salvage and collision.  Actions could be taken against ships and
+- The High Court of Admiralty was established in the 1320 to deal primarily with questions of piracy or spoil
-                                        goods as well as against persons.  after the restoration (of the monarchy) in 1660 the civil business of the court divided, with an instance court and a
-                                        prize court
-*  Who were the judges?
+----
+*  '''What was its jurisdiction?'''
+- Over time its jurisdiction developed to cover prize and civil jurisdiction in such matters as salvage and collision
+- Actions could be taken against ships and goods as well as against persons
+- After the restoration (of the monarchy) in 1660, the civil business of the court divided, with an instance court and a prize court
+----
+*  '''Who were the judges?'''
+- The judges were doctors of civil law, who had studied at either Oxford or Cambridge
+- Their legal training differed from that of lawyers practising the common law, who were admitted to Inns of Court in Holborn
+- The judges of the High Court of Admiralty held court sessions at Doctors Commons, which before the London fire of 1666 was located in the parish of St Paul Bennetts wharf
+- Several other types of legal official and lawyer attended the sessions of the High Court of Admiralty.  These included proctors, public notaries, clerks, and legal counsel for the parties concerned
 ----
@@ Line 26: / Line 37: @@
 *  English, with a little latin
+----
 *  What latin will you find, and how can you read it?
      [[Common Latin Phrases|Common Latin Phrases]]
+----
 *  English legal language
@@ Line 37: / Line 49: @@
 ==The records of the Admiralty Court==
-*  Why were records kept?
+*  '''Why were records kept?'''
-*  Who kept the records?
+*  '''Who kept the records?'''
+----
+===Allegations===
+*  '''What is an allegation?'''
+----
+*  '''An example: XXXX'''
 ----
 ===Answers===
-*  What is an answer?
+*  '''What is an answer?'''
-*  An example: XXXX
+----
+*  '''An example: XXXX'''
 ----
 ===Examinations===
-*  What is an examination?
+*  '''What is an examination?'''
-*  An example: XXXX
+----
+*  '''An example: XXXX'''
+----
+===Interrogatories===
+* '''What is an interrogatory?'''
+- An Interrogatory is a pre-prepared list of questions to be put to deponents by the proctors of the High Court of Admiralty
+- An interrogatory consists of numbered questions which are primarily English, though often introduced with Latin phrases
+-  Such interrogatories can be found in bond leather volumes in the HCA 23 record series, for example [[MRP: HCA 23/19|HCA 23/19]] (1658-1664)
+----
+*  '''Examples from HCA 23/19'''
+"4. Itmm: interr. When had the Claymers or the wittnesse first
+Notice that the shippe Nativity was stayed neere ffalmouth..."<ref>[[MRP: HCA 23/19#head-0c331dd828a801e085979220116931867c7fc1ec|HCA 23/19: Document Number: 4: Case: XXXX: Date: XXXX"]]</ref>
+-  For example:
+"1 Imprimis Interrogot:r quilet testis to what shippe hee belonged
+and how hee commeth to be a witnes in this cause..."<ref>[[MRP: HCA 23/19#head-9cd692828281e0a65e826cf23b496a15ae3ffd71|HCA 23/19: Document Number: 6: Case: XXXX: Date: XXXX]]</ref>
+*  An example: XXXX
 -----
-==What records of the Court are at the National Archives?==
+===Schedules===
-*  What records are in Kew?
+*  '''What is a schedule?'''
-*  How did they get there?
+- Schedules of information are occasionally referred to in individual answers or in individual examinations
+- Often these schedules are not included in the volume containing the answers or examinations
+- Occasionally these schedules can be found in boxes of loose documents (usually unfoliated), such as [[MRP: HCA 15/6 Box One|HCA 15/6 Box One]] 1654-1657, and [[MRP: HCA 15/6 Box Two|HCA 15/6 Box Two]] 1654-1657
+----
+==What records of the Admiralty Court are at the National Archives?==
-*  What do they look like?
+*  '''What records are in Kew?'''
+- The National Archives at Kew contains the extensive records of the High Court of Admiralty from as early as XXXX until XXXX
+- An index of the mid-C17th High Court of Admiralty record series has been prepared for the project team.  See [[MRP: Admiralty court cases#head-477dc9e842aa925631b73ea14fb574ea8b58c987|TNA index, 1650-1669]]
+----
+*  '''How did they get there?'''
+----
+*  '''What do they look like?'''
+[ADD IMAGE OF A TYPICAL LEATHER BOUND VOLUME]
+[ADD IMAGE OF A TYPICAL DOUBLE PAGE IN A LEATHER BOUND VOLUME]
+[ADD CLOSE UP OF FOLIO NUMBERS]
+[ADD CLOSE UP OF MARGANALIA]
+[ADD CLOSE UP OF MERCHANTS MARKS AND PARCEL NUMBERS]
+[ADD EXAMPLE OF CROSSING OUT AND INTERPOLATIONS]
+----
+*  '''How can you see them?'''
-*  How can you see them?
+- The records of the High Court of Admiralty can be viewed in the Large Manuscripts and Maps Room on the second floor of the National Archives at Kew
+- You will need a reader's ticket, which can be obtained on the day of your visit.  You will need to take two valid pieces of identification with you - one with a recent photograph of you, and the other with your home address and of a recent date.  See [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/visit/readers-ticket.htm Obtaining a Reader's ticket]
+- HCA manuscripts can be ordered at any terminal in the Large Manuscripts and Maps Room, and may take between thirty and sixty minutes to be produced from storage
+- The National Archives are closed on Sundays and Mondays, but open Tuesday through Saturday, with late opening on Tuesday and Thursday. See [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/visit/times.htm TNA Opening Times]
 ----