Court of Chancery: Six Clerks Office: Pleadings
Item
Country
GB
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
eng
Contact information: postal address
Kew, Richmond TW9 4DU
Contact information: phone number
0044 020 8876 3444
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
Reference number
C 1 - C 13
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (official language of the state)
Court of Chancery: Six Clerks Office: Pleadings
Language of title
eng
Creator / accumulator
Six Clerks Office
Date note
circa 1386/1842
Language(s)
eng
fra
lat
Extent
13 series
Type of material
Textual Material
Scope and content
The first thirteen series of the Records of Equity Side: the Six Clerks division of the Chancery (C) collection are composed of pleadings of the Office of the Six Clerks of Chancery. Pleadings were formal written statements made by the parties in a case. They set out the claims of the plaintiff and the defence of the defendant. Anyone wishing to start a suit in Chancery would first get a lawyer to draw up a bill of complaint to submit to the Lord Chancellor. The pleading was followed by the answer (the defendant’s responses to the points raised in the bill of complaint), the replication (the plaintiff’s response to the defendant’s answer), and the rejoinder (the defendant’s subsequent response). Pleadings contain detailed information about the plaintiffs and the defendants: names, relationships and family details, occupations, ranks, places of residence, subject of the dispute, and lawyers' names.
The 13 series are organised by chronological period, document type, or clerk, as follows:
C 1: Early Pleadings and Proceedings, Richard II to Philip and Mary
C 2: Series I, Elizabeth I to Charles I
C 3: Series II, Elizabeth I to Interregnum
C 4: Answers etc., before 1660
C 5: Pleadings before 1714, Bridges
C 6: Pleadings before 1714, Collins
C 7: Pleadings before 1714, Hamilton
C 8: Pleadings before 1714, Mitford
C 9: Pleadings before 1714, Reynardson
C 10: Pleadings before 1714, Whittington
C 11: Pleadings 1714 to 1758
C 12: Pleadings 1758 to 1800
C 13: Pleadings 1801-1842
Throughout these series are numerous pleadings involving Sephardic Jews as plaintiffs or defendants. Even before the resettlement, it is possible to find here interesting information on Iberian conversos living and working in England. As the series are more or less detailedly described at the document level, it is possible to find information about specific persons by searching by name in the National Archives online catalogue.
Some examples of Sephardic Jews and conversos about whom it is possible to find information in Six Clerks of Chancery's pleadings are the following:
Hector Nunes: C 2/Eliz/F1/32 (1558-1603)
Francisco Pinto de Brito and his wife Anne Pinto de Brito: C 3/365/68 (1621-1625)
Simon Francia: C 7/617/35 (1703); C 7/645/19 (1707); C 8/625/9 (1709); C 7/75/57 (1712); C 9/225/39 (1713); C 7/669/26 (1713); C 7/115/24 (1714), etc.
Álvaro de Fonseca: C 8/475/16 (1706); C 9/459/1 (1707); C 11/2345/22 (1715); C 11/2356/50 (1717); C 11/474/26 (1723); C 11/472/12 (1723); etc.
Francis Salvador: C 5/353/30 (1711); C 11/749/28 (1715);
C 11/351/16 (1736); C 11/822/35 (1747); etc.
Solomon de Medina: C 8/496/17 (1712); C 8/496/20 (1712); C 8/375/2 (1713); C 7/666/35 (1713); C 8/500/9 (1713); C 11/2292/6 (1731); etc.
Philip Mendes da Costa: C 11/2364/51 (1715); C 11/2634/51 (1716); etc.
Anthony Mendes da Costa: C 11/2353/26 (1716); C 11/1817/14 (1719); etc.
Abraham de Mercado: C 11/727/34 (1716); C 11/730/31 (1716); C 11/686/20 (1718).
Elias de Paz: C 11/2014/17 (1720); C 12/1202/26 (1730); C 11/2249/9 (1733); etc.
Jacob Franco and other Francos: C 11/698/36 (1728); C 11/1055/8 (1738); C 11/1057/13 (1739); C 11/367/57 (1740); C 11/1658/11 (1751); etc.
Isaac Lindo: C 11/851/144 (1731); C 11/1056/9 (1739); etc.
Solomon de Paz: C 11/2299/21 (1741); C 11/816/17 (1742); C 11/1586/23 (1743); C 11/1850/14 (1741); etc.
Jacob Álvares Pereira: C 11/1071/3 (1742); C 11/1082/8 (1745); etc.
Gabriel Lopes Pinheiro, alias Pedro Forte: C 11/620/44 (1737); C 11/2293/5 (1738); C 11/785/12 (1738); C 11/782/36 (1738).
Maria Aires Monforte, Isaac Lusitano de Pina and Daniel Flores: C 11/1047/8 (1736); C 11/1045/9 (1738).
Joseph da Costa Villa Real: C 11/1523/21 (1735).
John Mendes da Costa: C 11/2572/34 (1721); C 11/2014/22 (1726); C 11/777/15 (1734); C 11/2491/4 (1746); etc.
Benjamin Mendes da Costa: C 11/2024/26 (1728); C 11/1072/5 (1742); C 11/1304/6 (1742); C 11/1072/4 (1743); C 11/1073/17 (1743); etc.
Moses Mendes da Costa: C 11/2475/9 (1742); C 11/2477/9 (1743); C 12/292/23 (1756).
Isaac Rebello de Mendonça, alias Duarte Rebello de Mendonça: C 12/809/16 (1755); C 12/1279/2 (1759-62); C 12/497/5 (1759).
The 13 series are organised by chronological period, document type, or clerk, as follows:
C 1: Early Pleadings and Proceedings, Richard II to Philip and Mary
C 2: Series I, Elizabeth I to Charles I
C 3: Series II, Elizabeth I to Interregnum
C 4: Answers etc., before 1660
C 5: Pleadings before 1714, Bridges
C 6: Pleadings before 1714, Collins
C 7: Pleadings before 1714, Hamilton
C 8: Pleadings before 1714, Mitford
C 9: Pleadings before 1714, Reynardson
C 10: Pleadings before 1714, Whittington
C 11: Pleadings 1714 to 1758
C 12: Pleadings 1758 to 1800
C 13: Pleadings 1801-1842
Throughout these series are numerous pleadings involving Sephardic Jews as plaintiffs or defendants. Even before the resettlement, it is possible to find here interesting information on Iberian conversos living and working in England. As the series are more or less detailedly described at the document level, it is possible to find information about specific persons by searching by name in the National Archives online catalogue.
Some examples of Sephardic Jews and conversos about whom it is possible to find information in Six Clerks of Chancery's pleadings are the following:
Hector Nunes: C 2/Eliz/F1/32 (1558-1603)
Francisco Pinto de Brito and his wife Anne Pinto de Brito: C 3/365/68 (1621-1625)
Simon Francia: C 7/617/35 (1703); C 7/645/19 (1707); C 8/625/9 (1709); C 7/75/57 (1712); C 9/225/39 (1713); C 7/669/26 (1713); C 7/115/24 (1714), etc.
Álvaro de Fonseca: C 8/475/16 (1706); C 9/459/1 (1707); C 11/2345/22 (1715); C 11/2356/50 (1717); C 11/474/26 (1723); C 11/472/12 (1723); etc.
Francis Salvador: C 5/353/30 (1711); C 11/749/28 (1715);
C 11/351/16 (1736); C 11/822/35 (1747); etc.
Solomon de Medina: C 8/496/17 (1712); C 8/496/20 (1712); C 8/375/2 (1713); C 7/666/35 (1713); C 8/500/9 (1713); C 11/2292/6 (1731); etc.
Philip Mendes da Costa: C 11/2364/51 (1715); C 11/2634/51 (1716); etc.
Anthony Mendes da Costa: C 11/2353/26 (1716); C 11/1817/14 (1719); etc.
Abraham de Mercado: C 11/727/34 (1716); C 11/730/31 (1716); C 11/686/20 (1718).
Elias de Paz: C 11/2014/17 (1720); C 12/1202/26 (1730); C 11/2249/9 (1733); etc.
Jacob Franco and other Francos: C 11/698/36 (1728); C 11/1055/8 (1738); C 11/1057/13 (1739); C 11/367/57 (1740); C 11/1658/11 (1751); etc.
Isaac Lindo: C 11/851/144 (1731); C 11/1056/9 (1739); etc.
Solomon de Paz: C 11/2299/21 (1741); C 11/816/17 (1742); C 11/1586/23 (1743); C 11/1850/14 (1741); etc.
Jacob Álvares Pereira: C 11/1071/3 (1742); C 11/1082/8 (1745); etc.
Gabriel Lopes Pinheiro, alias Pedro Forte: C 11/620/44 (1737); C 11/2293/5 (1738); C 11/785/12 (1738); C 11/782/36 (1738).
Maria Aires Monforte, Isaac Lusitano de Pina and Daniel Flores: C 11/1047/8 (1736); C 11/1045/9 (1738).
Joseph da Costa Villa Real: C 11/1523/21 (1735).
John Mendes da Costa: C 11/2572/34 (1721); C 11/2014/22 (1726); C 11/777/15 (1734); C 11/2491/4 (1746); etc.
Benjamin Mendes da Costa: C 11/2024/26 (1728); C 11/1072/5 (1742); C 11/1304/6 (1742); C 11/1072/4 (1743); C 11/1073/17 (1743); etc.
Moses Mendes da Costa: C 11/2475/9 (1742); C 11/2477/9 (1743); C 12/292/23 (1756).
Isaac Rebello de Mendonça, alias Duarte Rebello de Mendonça: C 12/809/16 (1755); C 12/1279/2 (1759-62); C 12/497/5 (1759).
Archival history
The Records of the Six Clerks are part of the Chancery fonds, one of the original fonds of the National Archives.
The pleadings from Elizabeth I to Charles I (C 2) were originally filed in the Six Clerks Office in Chancery Lane, although some may have been kept in private premises, judging by their survival of the fire which destroyed the Six Clerks Office in 1621. In 1671, 122 bundles of pleadings of pre-1660 date (C2 and C3) were sent to the Tower of London, where they were kept in Caesar's Chapel in the White Tower, above a gunpowder store. The Answers series (C 4) was under arrangement for over 150 years and ended up being finally listed in 2001-2008.
The pleadings from Elizabeth I to Charles I (C 2) were originally filed in the Six Clerks Office in Chancery Lane, although some may have been kept in private premises, judging by their survival of the fire which destroyed the Six Clerks Office in 1621. In 1671, 122 bundles of pleadings of pre-1660 date (C2 and C3) were sent to the Tower of London, where they were kept in Caesar's Chapel in the White Tower, above a gunpowder store. The Answers series (C 4) was under arrangement for over 150 years and ended up being finally listed in 2001-2008.
Administrative / Biographical history
The six clerks were originally the clerks subordinate to the master of the rolls in matters dealing with the preparation and safe-keeping of Chancery enrolments. Their subsidiary activities, however, included acting as attorneys for parties appearing before the court of Chancery, and, with the rapid expansion of equitable suits from the late 14th century onwards, these clerkships came to be the principal conduit of this type of business. Consequently, the records prepared by the six clerks (sometimes called "prothonotaries"), or passing through their hands, constitute the main source of information about most equitable suits in Chancery.
The procedure was reasonably standardised and changed little over the centuries except for a secular tendency to increase convolution and verbosity. The plaintiff presented a petition or bill, addressed to the chancellor, detailing the grievance and praying for relief; the defendant submitted an answer, rebutting the plaintiff's case; the plaintiff submitted a replication in response to the answer and the defendant, in his turn, a rejoinder. These written pleadings might be supplemented by exhibits in the form of deeds, accounts, or other documents.
The six clerks received and filed all these pleadings, and entered memoranda of them in books, from which they were to certify to the court, as occasion should require, the state of the proceedings in the various causes. All the records in the office of the six clerks remained in their respective studies for the space of six terms, in order that the sworn clerks might resort to them when necessary without fee; after that time, they were sorted into bundles and deposited in the record room.
The business of the six clerks was enormous; from their first appearance they were expected to have subordinate clerks to assist them, and in time this body of subordinates grew and became officially recognised. From being employees at the will of the six clerks personally, from 1596 the under-clerks became officers of the court in their own right, taking an oath of office and thus becoming known as "sworn clerks". The number of sworn clerks was fixed, under James I, at a maximum of eight for each of the six clerks, but pressure and practice soon increased the maximum to ten, and in 1668 this higher number was officially recognised, and thenceforward they were known as the "sixty clerks", each of whom had to have served a seven-year apprenticeship, thus implying a yet further level of junior clerks supporting their seniors.
Although the six clerks eventually delegated some of their business entirely — by the early 17th century there were separate offices handling their previous duties of filing affidavits and bills and answers — they managed to maintain and increase their bureaucratic functions in Chancery. In particular, the six clerks kept their notional responsibility for examining and conducting all processes in equity suits and derived huge fees because of the ostensible need to supply excessively verbose and elaborate copies of all proceedings to litigants and the court. Not until 1842, with the general reform of court practices, were the offices of the six clerks abolished, and even then the incumbents were compensated from public funds. The effective work, meanwhile, was transferred to the clerk of records and writs.
The procedure was reasonably standardised and changed little over the centuries except for a secular tendency to increase convolution and verbosity. The plaintiff presented a petition or bill, addressed to the chancellor, detailing the grievance and praying for relief; the defendant submitted an answer, rebutting the plaintiff's case; the plaintiff submitted a replication in response to the answer and the defendant, in his turn, a rejoinder. These written pleadings might be supplemented by exhibits in the form of deeds, accounts, or other documents.
The six clerks received and filed all these pleadings, and entered memoranda of them in books, from which they were to certify to the court, as occasion should require, the state of the proceedings in the various causes. All the records in the office of the six clerks remained in their respective studies for the space of six terms, in order that the sworn clerks might resort to them when necessary without fee; after that time, they were sorted into bundles and deposited in the record room.
The business of the six clerks was enormous; from their first appearance they were expected to have subordinate clerks to assist them, and in time this body of subordinates grew and became officially recognised. From being employees at the will of the six clerks personally, from 1596 the under-clerks became officers of the court in their own right, taking an oath of office and thus becoming known as "sworn clerks". The number of sworn clerks was fixed, under James I, at a maximum of eight for each of the six clerks, but pressure and practice soon increased the maximum to ten, and in 1668 this higher number was officially recognised, and thenceforward they were known as the "sixty clerks", each of whom had to have served a seven-year apprenticeship, thus implying a yet further level of junior clerks supporting their seniors.
Although the six clerks eventually delegated some of their business entirely — by the early 17th century there were separate offices handling their previous duties of filing affidavits and bills and answers — they managed to maintain and increase their bureaucratic functions in Chancery. In particular, the six clerks kept their notional responsibility for examining and conducting all processes in equity suits and derived huge fees because of the ostensible need to supply excessively verbose and elaborate copies of all proceedings to litigants and the court. Not until 1842, with the general reform of court practices, were the offices of the six clerks abolished, and even then the incumbents were compensated from public funds. The effective work, meanwhile, was transferred to the clerk of records and writs.
Access points: locations
Access points: persons, families
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
C 1 is arranged chronologically by chancellor and within that by the first letter of the first plaintiff's surname. C 2 is not arranged in date order (except in the broadest of terms) but in bundles grouped in rough alphabetical order by the name of the first plaintiff. C 3 is organised in chronological order by reference to the keepers of the great seal, to whom the pleadings were addressed; within each keepership, records are sorted by the initial letter of the first plaintiff's surname. C 4 is divided into three subseries. C 5 to C 10 are arranged in alphabetical order by the name of the principal plaintiff. C 11 to C 13 are divided by clerk; within each subseries, records are arranged chronologically.
Access, restrictions
Open unless otherwise stated. Records from C 13 require a 3-working-day notice to be consulted.
Finding aids
Many local record societies have published catalogues of Chancery proceedings for their own county.
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2022
Bibliography
Published primary sources
Linked resources
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