Heritage and culture

On this page you will find a link to an index of names found in the Quarter Session minute books for Warwickshire between 1850-1900, as well as background information on the minute books, details of how to purchase transcripts of the index and images of the minute books.

What did the Quarter Sessions try?

The Quarter Sessions dealt with serious crimes that did not carry the death penalty (though they could order transportation until the 1850s). More minor matters were dealt with by manorial courts in medieval times or magistrates in Petty Sessions (from the 1730s onwards). Petty Sessions evolved into the Magistrates courts of today. Cases concerning bastardy or settlement were often referred from Petty Sessions to Quarter Sessions on appeal. More serious capital offences (murder etc.) came before a judge at the Assizes. Quarter Sessions and Assizes were amalgamated into Crown Courts in 1972.

Quarter Session Minute books

Warwickshire’s Quarter Session minute books contain not just details of the judicial cases brought before the justices, but also a great many administrative matters that would later fall to the County Council. The series we hold extends to 47 volumes for the period 1674-1970 and covers subjects from county roads and bridges to licencing of trades and societies, settlement law and crimes including theft, bastardy and assault.

As the minute books are such a valuable source of information, the record office volunteers have been working on indexing the volumes for many years. The index covers the minute books between 1850-1900. We hope to extend the index to cover 1800-1850 in the not too distant future.

The Quarter Session papers from 1625-1696 have already been published in 9 indexed volumes that can be consulted at the County Record Office library.

Quarter Session minute book index

Quarter session minutes 1850-1900

Using the index

The index is arranged alphabetically by surname and forename and then by year. There are two levels of contents page to help you navigate the list. Use these pages to narrow your search down to the first three letters of the surname you are looking for. You can then browse the document to find any or all relevant entries. To search for the name ‘Ivens’ for instance:

• From the title page click on ‘Surnames H – K’

• Scroll down the contents page to find and click on ‘Ive’

• Scroll through the list of names to find any relevant entries

Alternatively you can search within the index using Find (ctrl – F).

The index provides the surname, forename and year, as well as an indication of the kind of entry (Court Business, Administration or Trial). You will also see the reference number and page number to allow you to view the full entry in our searchroom, and an ID number which can be used to order a copy of the relevant entry.

Ordering copies

You can order either a full extract of the index entry from our Quarter Sessions minute book database, or a digital copy of the pages of the minute book covering the entry. The database extract will vary in detail depending on the nature of the entry but will include some or all of the following information:

• Quarter

• Status at court

• Nature and details of the crime

• Plea and sentence for the case

• Names of other people mentioned

To request a copy of the database entry and / or digital images of a section of the minute book, please contact us with details of your request and the ID number(s) from the index. The cost of the database entry will be based on our photocopying charges, while images from the minute book will be charged in line with our digital copying service.

Example of a database extract

Example digital image of the minute books