Heritage and culture

This database is an index to the calendars of prisoners. These calendars list those held in the county prisons (at Warwick, Birmingham and Coventry) for trial. This includes trials at the Courts of Assize and at the Quarter Sessions courts held in Warwick between 1800 and 1900. Birmingham and (from 1842) Coventry, are included in this database.

The record office holds very few photographs of the people mentioned in the Calendars of Prisoners database. The two photographs are from our Known Thieves Album. Both of these men also feature in our Calendars of Prisoners database.

Read on for further information on the Calendars of Prisoners

Start your search

• View the indexes
• Free-text search

Information contained in the database

As well as listing the prisoners, the database also includes details of the victims. Each case gives the full name of the accused or the victim. The age, degree of literacy, occupation, crime and sentence of the accused are given. Victims list their residence and details of the crime committed against them. Digital images of the calendars are not available on this website.

How to search the database

The database is searchable in two different ways: firstly by “indexes” and secondly by a free text search box. The index can be arranged by the type of crime committed, the location of the crime, the victim’s residence, surname or year of trial. The free text search is useful if you want to find a specific individual.

Tips on searching

• A wildcard is automatically added to the start and end of your search string, so you can search for the first or last few letters of a name or parish.
• If you don’t get enough results, try a less specific search, entering fewer terms or widening the date span.
• If you get too many results, try refining your search by entering more terms and a narrower date span.