History of the courts of England and Wales

Last updated February 18, 2024

Certain former courts of England and Wales have been abolished or merged into or with other courts, and certain other courts of England and Wales have fallen into disuse.

Higher civil court system
Middle Ages
Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873
Courts of criminal jurisdiction
Central Criminal Court
Court of Criminal Appeal
Crown courts
Ecclesiastical courts
Bankruptcy courts
Lower courts
County courts
Local and borough courts of record
Hundred and manorial courts
Forest courts
Courts of the Cinque Ports
Palatine courts
Other courts
References

For just under 600 years, from the time of the Norman Conquest until 1642, French was the language of the courts, rather than English. Until the twentieth century, many legal terms were still expressed in Latin.

Higher civil court system

Middle Ages

Henry VIII

Conciliar courts

Conciliar courts included the Court of Star Chamber and the Court of Requests.^[1]

Regional conciliar courts

These included the Council in the North Parts and the Council in the Principality and Marches of Wales.^[2]

Eyres

Superior courts at Westminster

Although the words "Superior Courts of Law at Westminster", in the preamble of the Uniformity of Process Act 1832 were, it was conceived by Palmer, sufficient to comprehend the law side of the Court of Chancery or Petty Bag Office, that Court being undoubtedly one of His Majesty's superior Courts at Westminster, yet it was evident, from section 12, as well as other parts of the statute, that the three courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer, were those which were alone meant by it.^[3]

Wharton and Granger refer to "the three superior courts at Westminster".^[4]^[5]

Section 2 of the Evidence Act 1845 refers to "any of the equity or common law judges of the superior courts at Westminster". The effect of section 151(5) of, and paragraph 1(1)^[6] of Schedule 4 to, the Senior Courts Act 1981 and sections 18(2) and 26(2) of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act 1925, is that the expression "any of the equity or common law judges of the superior courts at Westminster" must be construed and have effect as a reference to judges of the Court of Appeal and High Court.^[7]

The superior courts of law at Westminster had a common jurisdiction over certain actions and proceedings.^[8]

The Court of King's Bench, Court of Common Pleas, Court of Exchequer and Court of Chancery sat at Westminster Hall.^[9]

Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873

Transfer of jurisdiction to the High Court

The jurisdiction of the following courts was transferred to the High Court of Justice by section 16 of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873:

The High Court of Chancery, as a Common Law Court as well as a Court of Equity, including the jurisdiction of the Master of the Rolls, as a Judge or Master of the Court of Chancery, and any jurisdiction exercised by him in relation to the Court of Chancery as a Common Law Court
The Court of Queen's Bench
The Court of Common Pleas at Westminster
The Court of Exchequer, as a Court of Revenue, as well as a Common Law Court
The High Court of Admiralty
The Court of Probate
The Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes
The Court of Common Pleas at Lancaster
The Court of Pleas at Durham
The Courts created by Commissions of Assize, of Oyer and Terminer, and of Gaol Delivery, or any of such Commissions^[10]

The jurisdiction of the London Bankruptcy Court was transferred to the High Court by section 93 of the Bankruptcy Act 1883.^[11]

The following courts were merged into the High Court by section 41 of the Courts Act 1971:

Appellate courts

The jurisdictions of the following, amongst others, were transferred to the Court of Appeal:

There was formerly a Court for Crown Cases Reserved. The House of Lords was formerly an appellate court.

Courts of criminal jurisdiction

Courts of criminal jurisdiction included:

Courts of summary jurisdiction
Quarter and General sessions
Special sessions
Courts of Gaol Delivery and Oyer and Terminer^[13]
Petty sessions
Assizes

Central Criminal Court

The Central Criminal Court established by the Central Criminal Court Act 1834 was replaced by the Crown Court established by the recommendations of Dr. Beeching leading to the Courts Act 1971.

Court of Criminal Appeal

Crown courts

The Crown Court of Liverpool and the Crown Court of Manchester established by the Criminal Justice Administration Act 1956 ^[14] were superseded by the (national) Crown Court established by the Courts Act 1971.

Ecclesiastical courts

These included the Court of High Commission.^[15]

Bankruptcy courts

The Court of Bankruptcy was established under the statute 1 & 2 Will 4 c 56.^[16] As to bankruptcy courts, see the Bankruptcy Act 1869.^[17]

Lower courts

County courts

Some county courts in Wales have closed since 1846.

Local and borough courts of record

These included Courts of Pie Poudre and Courts of the Staple.^[18]

Section 42 of the Courts Act 1971 replaced the Mayor's and City of London Court with a county court of the same name.

Section 43 of that Act abolished:

The Tolzey and Pie Poudre Courts of the City and County of Bristol
The Liverpool Court of Passage
The Norwich Guildhall Court
The Court of Record for the Hundred of Salford

Section 221 of the Local Government Act 1972 abolished the borough civil courts listed in Schedule 28 to that Act.

Anomalous local courts

Part II of Schedule 4 to the Administration of Justice Act 1977 curtailed the jurisdiction of certain other anomalous local courts:

Courts baron
Courts leet
Manorial courts customary
Courts of piepowders
Courts of the staple
Courts of the clerk of the market
Hundred courts
Law Days
Views of Frankpledge
Common law (or sheriffs') county courts as known before the passing of the County Courts Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. 95).
The Basingstoke Court of Ancient Demesne
The Coventry Court of Orphans
The Great Grimsby Foreign Court
The King's Lynn Court of Tolbooth
The Court of Husting (City of London)
The Sheriffs' Court for the Poultry Compter (City of London)
The Sheriffs' Court for the Giltspur Street Compter (City of London)
The Macclesfield Court of Portmote
The Maidstone Court of Conservancy
The Melcombe Regis Court of Husting
The Newcastle upon Tyne Court of Conscience or Requests
The Newcastle upon Tyne Court of Conservancy
The Norwich Court of Mayoralty
The Peterborough Dean and Chapter's Court of Common Pleas
The Ramsey (Cambridgeshire) Court of Pleas
The Ripon Court Military
The Ripon Dean and Chapter's Canon Fee Court
The St. Albans Court of Requests
The Court of the Hundred, Manor and Borough of Tiverton
The York Court of Husting
The York Court of Guildhall
The York Court of Conservancy
The Ancient Prescriptive Court of Wells
The Cheyney Court of the Bishop of Winchester.

University courts were limited in jurisdiction to matters relating to the statutes of the university in question:

Court of the Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University
The Cambridge University Chancellor's Court

The Court of Minstrels in Tutbury, Staffordshire was ordered to close by the Duke of Devonshire in 1778^[19]

Hundred and manorial courts

These included courts leet.

Forest courts

By 1909, the Court of Regard had been obsolete for centuries. Swainmotes were still held, but were mere formalities. No Court of Justice Seat had been held since 1662, and it could be regarded as obsolete.^[20]

Courts of the Cinque Ports

The Cinque Ports had a Court of Chancery and a Court of Load Manage for the regulation of pilots until the Cinque Ports Act 1855.^[21]

Palatine courts

Durham and Sadberge

The Court of Chancery of the County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge was merged into the High Court by the Courts Act 1971. The Court of Pleas of the County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge was merged into the High Court by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873. The Court of the County of Durham was abolished by section 2 of the Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836.

Lancaster

The Court of Common Pleas of the County Palatine of Lancaster and the Court of Chancery of the County Palatine of Lancaster were merged into the High Court. The Court of Appeal in Chancery of the County Palatine of Lancaster was merged into the Court of Appeal.

Chester

Courts of the county palatine of Chester included the Exchequer of Chester, the County Court of Chester and the Pentice Court of the city of Chester.^[22]

The Courts of Session of the County Palatine of Chester and the Principality of Wales were abolished section 14 of by the Law Terms Act 1830.

Stannaries

The Stannaries Court was abolished by the Stannaries Court (Abolition) Act 1896.

Other courts

Related Research Articles

The Courts of England and Wales, supported administratively by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales.

In England, Wales and Ireland a county palatine or palatinate was an area ruled by a hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom. The name derives from the Latin adjective palātīnus, "relating to the palace", from the noun palātium, "palace". It thus implies the exercise of a quasi-royal prerogative within a county, that is to say, a jurisdiction ruled by an earl, the English equivalent of a count. A duchy palatine is similar but is ruled over by a duke, a nobleman of higher precedence than an earl or count.

The Exchequer of Pleas, or Court of Exchequer, was a court that dealt with matters of equity, a set of legal principles based on natural law and common law in England and Wales. Originally part of the curia regis, or King's Council, the Exchequer of Pleas split from the curia in the 1190s to sit as an independent central court. The Court of Chancery's reputation for tardiness and expense resulted in much of its business transferring to the Exchequer. The Exchequer and Chancery, with similar jurisdictions, drew closer together over the years until an argument was made during the 19th century that having two seemingly identical courts was unnecessary. As a result, the Exchequer lost its equity jurisdiction. With the Judicature Acts, the Exchequer was formally dissolved as a judicial body by an Order in Council on 16 December 1880.

The Courts Act 1971 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the purpose of which was to reform and modernise the courts system of England and Wales.

The County Palatine of Durham was a jurisdiction in the North of England, within which the bishop of Durham had rights usually exclusive to the monarch. It developed from the Liberty of Durham, which emerged in the Anglo-Saxon period. The gradual acquisition of powers by the bishops led to Durham being recognised as a palatinate by the late thirteenth century, one of several such counties in England during the Middle Ages. The county palatine had its own government and institutions, which broadly mirrored those of the monarch and included several judicial courts. From the sixteenth century the palatine rights of the bishops were gradually reduced, and were finally abolished in 1836. The last palatine institution to survive was the court of chancery, which was abolished in 1972.

The Court of Common Pleas, or Common Bench, was a common law court in the English legal system that covered "common pleas"; actions between subject and subject, which did not concern the king. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century after splitting from the Exchequer of Pleas, the Common Pleas served as one of the central English courts for around 600 years. Authorised by Magna Carta to sit in a fixed location, the Common Pleas sat in Westminster Hall for its entire existence, joined by the Exchequer of Pleas and Court of King's Bench.

The Court of King's Bench, formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was a court of common law in the English legal system. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century from the curia regis, the King's Bench initially followed the monarch on his travels. The King's Bench finally joined the Court of Common Pleas and Exchequer of Pleas in Westminster Hall in 1318, making its last travels in 1421. The King's Bench was merged into the High Court of Justice by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873, after which point the King's Bench was a division within the High Court. The King's Bench was staffed by one Chief Justice and usually three Puisne Justices.

The Court of Chancery of the County Palatine of Lancaster was a court of chancery that exercised jurisdiction within the County Palatine of Lancaster until it was merged with the High Court and abolished in 1972.

The courts of assize, or assizes, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes exercised both civil and criminal jurisdiction, though most of their work was on the criminal side. The assizes heard the most serious cases, most notably those subject to capital punishment or, later, life imprisonment. Other serious cases were dealt with by the quarter sessions, while the more minor offences were dealt with summarily by justices of the peace in petty sessions.

The Chancery Amendment Act 1858 also known as Lord Cairns' Act after Sir Hugh Cairns, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allowed the English Court of Chancery, the Irish Chancery and the Chancery Court of the County Palatine of Lancaster to award damages, in addition to their previous function of awarding injunctions and specific performance. The Act also made several procedural changes to the Chancery courts, most notably allowing them to call a jury, and allowed the Lord Chancellor to amend the practice regulations of the courts. By allowing the Chancery courts to award damages it narrowed the gap between the common law and equity courts and accelerated the passing of the Judicature Act 1873, and for that reason has been described by Ernest Pollock as "prophetic".

The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC for legal citation purposes.

The Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that brought about a major reorganisation of the superior courts in Ireland. It created a Supreme Court of Judicature, comprising the High Court of Justice in Ireland and the Court of Appeal in Ireland. It mirrored in Ireland the changes which the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 had made in the courts of England and Wales.

The Court of Chancery of the County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge was a court of chancery that exercised jurisdiction within the County Palatine of Durham until it was merged into the High Court in 1972.

The Durham Act 1836 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It abolished the temporal authority of the Bishop of Durham within the County Palatine of Durham, placing the county under lay administration. Previously, since 1075, the so-called prince-bishops had substantial powers as earls "with the right to raise an army, mint his own coins, and levy taxes".

The High Court of Justice in Ireland was the court created by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 to replace the existing court structure in Ireland. Its creation mirrored the reform of the courts of England and Wales five years earlier under the Judicature Acts. The Act created a Supreme Court of Judicature, consisting of a High Court of Justice and a Court of Appeal.

The Statute Law Revision and Civil Procedure Act 1883 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Bill for this Act was the Statute Law Revision and Civil Procedure Bill.

The Palatine Court of Durham Act 1889 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Durham County Palatine Acts 1836 to 1889. The Bill for this Act was the Palatine Court of Durham Bill. Lely said that this Act was of practical utility.

The Civil Procedure Acts Repeal Act 1879 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a public general Act. The bill for this act was the Civil Procedure Acts Repeal Bill.

The Court of Pleas of the County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge, sometimes called the Court of Pleas or Common Pleas of or at Durham was a court of common pleas that exercised jurisdiction within the County Palatine of Durham until its jurisdiction was transferred to the High Court by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873. Before the transfer of its jurisdiction, this tribunal was next in importance to the Chancery of Durham. The Court of Pleas probably developed from the free court of the Bishop of Durham. The Court of Pleas was clearly visible as a distinct court, separate from the Chancery, in the thirteenth century.

The Court of Common Pleas of the County Palatine of Lancaster, sometimes called the Common Pleas of or at Lancaster was a court of common pleas that exercised jurisdiction within the County Palatine of Lancaster until its jurisdiction was transferred to the High Court by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873. It was a Superior Court of Record, exercising, within the limits of the County Palatine, a jurisdiction similar to that of the superior courts of common law at Westminster.

References

Albert Thomas Carter. A History of English Legal Institutions. 1902. Third Edition. Butterworth. London. 1906. Internet Archive. A History of the English Courts. Fifth Edition. Seventh Edition. Butterworth. 1944. Google Books
Alan Harding. The Law Courts of Medieval England. Allen & Unwin. 1973. Google Books
Christopher Brooks and Michael Lobban (eds). Communities & Courts in Britain, 1150–1900. The Hambledon Press. London and Rio Grande. 1997. ISBN 1852851562. Google Books.
Halsbury's Laws of England. First Edition. 1909. Volume 9. Internet Archive
John Hamilton Baker. An Introduction to English Legal History. Third Edition. Butterworths. 1990. Chapters 2, 3 and 6 to 8.
S E Thorne. "Notes on Courts of Record in England". Essays in English Legal History. The Hambledon Press. London and Ronceverte. 1985. Chapter 6. p 61.
Ralph V Turner. The King and his Courts: The role of John and Henry III in the Administration of Justice, 1199–1240. Cornell University Press. 1968. Google Books: .

↑ John Hamilton Baker. An Introduction to English Legal History. Third Edition. Butterworths. 1990. Chapter 7.
↑ John Hamilton Baker. An Introduction to English Legal History. Third Edition. Butterworths. 1990. Chapter 7.
↑ John Palmer. Supplement to the Attorney and Agent's Table of Costs. Saunders and Benning. London. 1833. Page 57.
↑ J J S Wharton. "Central Criminal Court". The Law Lexicon. Second Edition. V & R Stevens and G S Norton. London. p 125
↑ Thomas Edlyne Tomlins and Thomas Colpitts Granger. "Judges". The Law Dictionary. Fourth Edition. London. 1835. Volume 1. p 509.
↑ Paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to Senior Courts Act 1981 reads: "So much of any enactment as refers or relates to any former court or judge whose jurisdiction is vested in the Court of Appeal or the High Court shall be construed and have effect as if any reference to that court or judge were a reference to the Court of Appeal or the High Court, as the case may be."
↑ Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice, 1999, para 10-76 at p 1159.
↑ Robert Lush. The Practice of the Superior Courts of Law at Westminster. C Reader. London. 1840. Part 1. Joseph Dixon (ed). Lush's Practice of the Superior Courts of Law at Westminster, in Actions and Proceedings over which they have a Common Jurisdiction. Third Edition. Butterworths. London. 1865. Volume 2.
↑ John Hamilton Baker. An Introduction to English Legal History. Third Edition. Butterworths. 1990. Chapter 44.
↑ William Downes Griffith and Richard Loveland Loveland. The Supreme Court of Judicature Acts, 1873, 1875, & 1877. Second Edition. Stevens and Haynes. Bell Yard, Temple Bar, London. 1877. p 12
↑ Charles Francis Morrell. A Concise Statement of the Bankruptcy Act, 1883. Henry Sweet. 1884. p 117. Google Books. Francis Roxburgh. The Law and Practice Under the Bankruptcy Act & Rules, 1883, the Rule and Orders, 1884, and Board of Trade Orders. Knight. 1884. p 122. Google Books. Edward William Hansell. The Law and Practice in Bankruptcy. Stevens and Haynes. 1898. p 2. Google Books.
↑ Owen Hood Phillips. A First Book of English Law. Fourth Edition. Sweet & Maxwell. 1960. Page 58.
↑ Halsbury's Laws of England, First Edition, 1909, volume 9, p xi
↑ "Crown Courts", Whittaker's Almanac, 1965, volume 97, page 457 Google Books
↑ John Hamilton Baker. An Introduction to English Legal History. Third Edition. Butterworths. 1990. Page 152.
↑ John Flather (ed). "Court of Bankruptcy". The Law and Practice in Bankruptcy, as Founded on the Recent Statutes. (By John Frederick Archbold). Eighth Edition. S Sweet, and V & R Stevens & G S Norton. London. 1840. Page 7.
↑ Thomas Turner Weightman. The New Bankruptcy Act, 1869. George Routledge and Sons. London and New York. p 12. Henry Campbell Black. "Bankruptcy Courts". A Dictionary of Law. Reprinted by the Lawbook Exchange Ltd, 1991. p 119.
↑ Halsbury's Laws of England, First Edition, 1909, volume 9, paragraphs 290 and 292 at pages 136 to 138
↑ Price, MA (October 1964). The Status and Function of Minstrels in England Between 1350 and 1400 (PDF) (Master of Arts). University of Birmingham. p. 134.
↑ Halsbury's Laws of England, First Edition, 1909, volume 9, paragraphs 239 to 241 at pages 112 to 114
↑ Halsbury's Laws of England, First Edition, 1909, volume 9, paragraph 270 and footnotes (t) and (a) at pages 127 and 128. See also Bacon's Abridgement and Acta Cancellariæ.
↑ John Hamilton Baker. The Oxford History of the Laws of England. Volume 6 (1483-1558). Oxford University Press. 2003. Pages 295 and 296.

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[1] John Hamilton Baker. An Introduction to English Legal History. Third Edition. Butterworths. 1990. Chapter 7.

[2] John Hamilton Baker. An Introduction to English Legal History. Third Edition. Butterworths. 1990. Chapter 7.

[3] John Palmer. Supplement to the Attorney and Agent's Table of Costs. Saunders and Benning. London. 1833. Page 57.

[4] J J S Wharton. "Central Criminal Court". The Law Lexicon. Second Edition. V & R Stevens and G S Norton. London. p 125

[5] Thomas Edlyne Tomlins and Thomas Colpitts Granger. "Judges". The Law Dictionary. Fourth Edition. London. 1835. Volume 1. p 509.

[6] Paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to Senior Courts Act 1981 reads: "So much of any enactment as refers or relates to any former court or judge whose jurisdiction is vested in the Court of Appeal or the High Court shall be construed and have effect as if any reference to that court or judge were a reference to the Court of Appeal or the High Court, as the case may be."

[7] Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice, 1999, para 10-76 at p 1159.

[8] Robert Lush. The Practice of the Superior Courts of Law at Westminster. C Reader. London. 1840. Part 1. Joseph Dixon (ed). Lush's Practice of the Superior Courts of Law at Westminster, in Actions and Proceedings over which they have a Common Jurisdiction. Third Edition. Butterworths. London. 1865. Volume 2.

[9] John Hamilton Baker. An Introduction to English Legal History. Third Edition. Butterworths. 1990. Chapter 44.

[10] William Downes Griffith and Richard Loveland Loveland. The Supreme Court of Judicature Acts, 1873, 1875, & 1877. Second Edition. Stevens and Haynes. Bell Yard, Temple Bar, London. 1877. p 12

[11] Charles Francis Morrell. A Concise Statement of the Bankruptcy Act, 1883. Henry Sweet. 1884. p 117. Google Books. Francis Roxburgh. The Law and Practice Under the Bankruptcy Act & Rules, 1883, the Rule and Orders, 1884, and Board of Trade Orders. Knight. 1884. p 122. Google Books. Edward William Hansell. The Law and Practice in Bankruptcy. Stevens and Haynes. 1898. p 2. Google Books.

[12] Owen Hood Phillips. A First Book of English Law. Fourth Edition. Sweet & Maxwell. 1960. Page 58.

[13] Halsbury's Laws of England, First Edition, 1909, volume 9, p xi

[14] "Crown Courts", Whittaker's Almanac, 1965, volume 97, page 457 Google Books

[15] John Hamilton Baker. An Introduction to English Legal History. Third Edition. Butterworths. 1990. Page 152.

[16] John Flather (ed). "Court of Bankruptcy". The Law and Practice in Bankruptcy, as Founded on the Recent Statutes. (By John Frederick Archbold). Eighth Edition. S Sweet, and V & R Stevens & G S Norton. London. 1840. Page 7.

[17] Thomas Turner Weightman. The New Bankruptcy Act, 1869. George Routledge and Sons. London and New York. p 12. Henry Campbell Black. "Bankruptcy Courts". A Dictionary of Law. Reprinted by the Lawbook Exchange Ltd, 1991. p 119.

[18] Halsbury's Laws of England, First Edition, 1909, volume 9, paragraphs 290 and 292 at pages 136 to 138

[19] Price, MA (October 1964). The Status and Function of Minstrels in England Between 1350 and 1400 (PDF) (Master of Arts). University of Birmingham. p. 134.

[20] Halsbury's Laws of England, First Edition, 1909, volume 9, paragraphs 239 to 241 at pages 112 to 114

[21] Halsbury's Laws of England, First Edition, 1909, volume 9, paragraph 270 and footnotes (t) and (a) at pages 127 and 128. See also Bacon's Abridgement and Acta Cancellariæ.

[22] John Hamilton Baker. The Oxford History of the Laws of England. Volume 6 (1483-1558). Oxford University Press. 2003. Pages 295 and 296.

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