Legal and Exchequer Document Collection
Scope and Content
This is an artificial collection, composed of several distinct accessions. It is primarily comprised of legal documents and Exchequer records from England (after 1707, Great Britain), 1541-1754. The collection features some interesting examples of calligraphy and many documents and fragments bearing the signatures or autographs of key public figures.
The collection includes indentures and other sealed legal documents; inventories and wills; records of jury verdicts; orders on the Exchequer and Exchequer receipts; personal and political correspondence; and drafts and copies of acts of Parliament, correspondence, and legal documents. It also includes a collection of documents regarding land in Sulgrave, the ancestral home of George Washington's family, and several copies of extracts from letters and privileges related to the city of Lille.
Dates
- Creation: 1541-1754
Creator
- William Andrews Clark Memorial Library (Organization)
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
The Clark Library owns the property rights to its collections but does not hold the copyright to these materials and therefore cannot grant or deny permission to use them. Researchers are responsible for determining the copyright status of any materials they may wish to use, investigating the owner of the copyright, and obtaining permission for their intended publication or other use. In all cases, you must cite the Clark Library as the source with the following credit line: The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Historical Note
Indentures
Indentures are legal contracts written in multiple copies (usually in duplicate) on one sheet. The resulting parts of the sheet are separated along a toothed or curved line. The parties to the contract each keep one part of the indenture. The authenticity of the documents is established by realigning the separated parts.
The Exchequer
The Exchequer was responsible for receiving, recording and dispersing the public revenue. It was divided into two parts: the Upper Exchequer, or Exchequer of Account, and the Lower Exchequer, or Exchequer of Receipt.
Four Tellers of the Receipt recorded payments into the Exchequer. In this process, three records of payments were created: one in the Teller's book, one in the Teller's Rolls, and a third in the form of a Teller's Bill or Exchequer Receipt. Payments to be made by the Exchequer, such as repayments of loans, were authorized by Orders on the Exchequer created in the office of the Auditor of the Receipt.
The offices of the Exchequer were abolished in 1834 by Act of Parliament. Their functions were transferred to the Comptroller General of the Receipt and Issue of the Exchequer.
Extent
3 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The bulk of this collection consists of Exchequer records and legal documents from England, 1541-1754. Includes documents and fragments bearing the signatures of Exchequer officials and other public officials. Also includes indentures regarding property in the village of Sulgrave, ancestral home of George Washington's family, and copies of documents relating to the city of Lille, France.
Arrangement
This collection is a composite of several accessions and lacks a clear, organic original order. The arrangement scheme for this collection was therefore imposed during processing. The collection is arranged in twelve series, by monarch's reign or regnal chronology. Within these series items are arranged chronologically. There are three exceptions to this chronological arrangement within series. First, items from different accessions will be found in separate folders within the relevant series. Within the separate folders, items are arranged in chronological order. Second, small sub-collections comprised entirely of a particular document type (e.g. verdicts) are placed in separate folders within the relevant series. Finally, the collection of documents concerning Sulgrave are treated as a subgroup within Series 3 (James I).
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. Henry VIII, 1509-1547
- Series 2. Elizabeth I, 1558-1603
- Series 3. James I, 1603-1625
- Series 4. Charles I, 1625-1649
- Series 5. Charles II, 1649-1685
- Series 6. James II, 1685-1688
- Series 7. William III and Mary II, 1689-1694
- Series 8. Willliam III, 1695-1702
- Series 9. Anne, 1702-1714
- Series 10. George I, 1714-1727
- Series 11. George II, 1727-1760
- Series 12. Undated and Miscellaneous
Physical location
Clark Library
Acquisition Information
Some of the items described in this finding aid originated in accessions MS.1960.013 (Edwards), MS.1976.015 (Hofmann and Freeman), MS.1976.016 (Hofmann and Freeman), MS.1976.016 (Myers), MS.2003.02, and MS.1976.20 (Thomas). Accession MS.2003.02 was the gift of Kenneth Karmiole, 2003. For many items, provenance and accession information is unclear.
- Title
- Finding Aid for the Legal and Exchequer Document Collection 1541-1754
- Author
- Processed by Helen McManus.
- Date
- ©2009
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in: English.
Repository Details
Part of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library Repository