Newport Borough Court of Quarter Sessions Minute Book

Newport Borough Court of Quarter Sessions minute book, 1760-1813.

The Borough of Newport was granted its own Court of Quarter Sessions in 1623. The Court of Quarter Sessions sat four times a year, attended by the Justices of the Peace of the county. The Quarter Sessions played a major role in the local administration of Monmouthshire until the early 19th century, by which time it was breaking down, and was not re-established after the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. The Borough Justices however held Petty and Licensing Sessions, and from 1840 the Petty Sessions was called the Police Court. The Court of Quarter Sessions heard a broad range of cases including burglary, assault, drunkenness, poaching, vagrancy, rioting, unlawful cutting of timber, and encroachment. Forms of punishment handed down by the justices were fines, flogging, imprisonment and transportation. The Court also heard disputes between individuals, such as non-payment of debts, and was responsible for the administration of the Poor Laws. There were numerous administrative matters overseen by the courts, including licensing alehouses, determining wage-levels, and controlling registration of charities and nonconformist meeting houses. In addition, the Court had responsibility for overseeing the upkeep of bridges, gaols and houses of correction.

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Compiled by Richard Burman for the ANW project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Gwent Record Office, Newport Borough Court of Quarter Sessions, catalogue; Jones, Gareth Elwyn, Modern Wales: A Concise History, c. 1485-1979 (Cambridge, 1984).

A hard copy of the catalogue is available in Gwent Record Office.

Usual copyright regulations apply.

All records deposited at Gwent Record Office have been retained.

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