Manuscript legal texts, undated, c.1676-1702

This manuscript legal book, hard bound in vellum, contains over 300 pages of manuscript text. The volume has two parts, the first reading from the front cover and the second, with volume inverted, reading from the back cover. One section is in English and contains transcripts of deeds, apparently provided as a formulary for the correct drafting of legal documents. Most of these deeds relate to people resident in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and can be dated to the reign of William III (1689-1702). In some cases only initials are given.

The second section of the text provides Latin transcripts of proceedings of a court baron in the manor of Brassington, Derbyshire between 1676 and 1689. At the end of this section, in a court hand, are copies of case records, again apparently for formulary purposes with details of names and places commonly given by initials.

The texts form part of a larger volume, from which the bulk of the pages have been cut out. What is left, in two distinct sections, reads from both ends of the volume. The compilers of the notes are not recorded. Their work seems to have been done in Derbyshire, England, which is the location for many of the identified documents. Content and handwriting suggest that the volume was compiled during the reign of William III, probably by somebody engaged in the study or practice of law.

No archival arrangement has been necessary.

ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers.

LANGUAGE: Latin, English

This description is the only finding aid available for the collection. Copyright in the description belongs to The University of Nottingham.

REPROGRAPHIC: Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

COPYRIGHT: Permission to make published use of the volume must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the reader.

Details of the volume's provenance or its acquisition by the University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections are not certain. A partially removed modern label on the spine bears the number '835', possibly from a sale room listing. The volume seems to have been part of the University library by 1948.