Inheritance Disputes Index - The National Archives References

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Except for the relatively small collection of suits calendared in print as Class C3 at The National Archives, all the cases cited fall into the so-called Six Clerks Series (C5 - C10).

The National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office) reference(s) to the relevant lawsuit(s) by Class (C3 - C10), Bundle and Piece No. This reference allows retrieval of the source documents at The National Archives, but is also used automatically for ordering of hard copies of the source document(s). In most cases only one document is referenced, but there are often two or more documents referenced.

Examples:
C8/191/8 - Class C8, Bundle 191, Piece 8
C10/143/104, 144/113 - Class C10, Bundle 143, Piece 104 and Bundle 144, Piece 113
C6/244/89-90, C7/359/47 - Class C6, Bundle 244, Pieces 89 and 90, and Class C7, Bundle 359, Piece 47

The Chancery Court case records at TNA are calendared as follows:

C3	Cases relating to disputed estates have been abstracted from 1642 only: many of the suits cited have been mutilated by long storage in unsuitable conditions.
C5	Bridges Division. All suits in this series are calendared in four printed volumes as Public Record Office Lists & Indexes, Vols. 39, 42, 44 & 45.
C6	Collins Division. Suits in Bundles 1-355 are calendared in 13 manuscript volumes. Later bundles, 356-611 are calendared only by surname of plaintiffs and not by subject; they are therefore not yet capable of inclusion in this database.
C7	Hamilton Division. The series is fully calendared in 14 manuscript volumes.
C8	Mitford Division. The series is fully calendared in 13 manuscript volumes. A significant number of cases included in this series date back to the latter half of the sixteenth century.
C9	Reynardson Division. The one detailed calendar to the actions brought in this Division covers suits in bundles 1-43 only. The principal means of access to the other suits in this Division is by two printed volumes (PRO 1903-1904) listing cases by surname of plaintiffs only with no indication of subject: they are not, therefore, capable of inclusion in this dabase. (The Charles Bernau Index of Chancery Causes, at the Society of Genealogists, lists surnames of defendants.)
C10	Whittington Division. The series is fully calendared in 12 manuscript volumes.

Ordering hard copies of original documents

Most of the entries in the database contain only one document reference, but over 11% contain references to 2 or more documents.

The original documents are very large parchments, and are difficult to photocopy. TNA provide a digital imaging service. You can get estimates for these copies from TNA.

Presented in association with Peter Coldham.