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 "¡;=. .< CHESTER? OLD LAW COURTS i SOME INTERESTING RECORDS. LECTURE BY SIR HORATIO LLOYD. At a mating of tho. Chaster and Nrth Wal? Archaeological and Historic SocJety ] held on Tuesday evening at the Grosvenor Museum, Sir Horatio Lloyd read an interesting paper upon the sub- ject of "The Pcntice and other Ancient Law j Courts in Chester." The Archdeacon of Chester presided over a largo attendance. Sir Horatio, who illustrated his paper by several interesting drawings, said thoee who locked at the advertisements in the local Press might have seen periodical announcements that the "Pentice and Portmote Courts" would bo held on certain dates, to which all parties interested wore summoned to attend. These courts had been in existence for several centuries, certainly as far back as the reign of King Henry III. (1210-1272). Tho Court of "Portmote" was mentioned in a charter of that reign as then existing. That was the earliest known refer- ence to the Court of Portmote. As to the "Pcntice" Court (traditionally said to be the oldest) the first reference to it which had been discovered in the old records was in the time of King Richard II. (1377-1399), and was of a proceeding "in appentioeCe-str. The records relating to these courts, as well as to other documents of great interest and value, were kept in the muniment room at the Town Hall. They were very numerous, consisting of more than 200,000 separate writings. They were now admirably arranged and carefully pre- served in a fireproof room. But many of them had in tinie, past suffered grievously from fire and damp and general neglect. They were ar- ranged in their present order by Mr. Fergus- son Irvine, who was well known in that society, and was the editor of the "Cheshire Sheaf." He had had access to these documents, but for reference to many of them, and particularly to the ancient charters relating to the city, he was indebted to Canon Morris's book "Chester during the Plantagenet and Tudor Periods," a work full of meet interesting and valuable in- formation; and albo to the Harleian M. SS., chiefly those of Randle Holme in tho British Museum. In these old records, in addition to a COURTS OF PENTICE AND I PORTMOTE, mention is made from time to time of the "Crown Mote" and the "Countie Court." It was somewhat difficult to determine the exact limits of the jurisdiction which was exercised by these oourts, but it might be generally asserted that the Peritice Court which was held before the Sheriffs in early times, was chiefly concerned with debts, although it had also cognizance of misdemeanour'>,nd lesser crimes. In the Portmote the greatest number of cases related to binding over to keep the peace, but it also dealt with cases relating to the Port of Chester. The Crown Mote dealt with more serious cases of felony. The Countio Court had been revived in recent years in another form, and with largely extended jurisdiction and limits. Although there were references to these courts in various old charters and docu- ments, the principal one, which granted and confirmed the benefits of the courts and con- ferred other and additional privileges on the city of Chester was what was known as the Great Charter of King Kenry VII., which was granted to the city in the year 1506. The first provision of this cha.rter was the creation of the city into a county of itsel:. The charter 'abbreviated ran thud :Henry by the Grace of God, King, etc., for the great affection which we have and bear to our citye of Chester and in consequence of the good behaviour and great expenoes of the inhabitants of the same city, as also the voluntary service many ways rendered by them against our adversaries and rebels of our eepecial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion do give and grant. and by these presents have con- firmed for Us and our heirs to the aforesaid citizens their successors for ever, that the said citye and all the, grounds within the ditch of the- said citye axid all tho grounds in the precinct and compass of the carno. (wholly except- ing our Castle within the Walls of the said citye) be exempted and separated from our shire of Chester, a.nd that the said cityo and the suburbe and hamlets of the same, and all the ground within the precinct and com- pass of them (except as before excepted) be henceforth a county by and in itself, distinct and separate from our county of Chester, and that from henceforth it shall be called and named "the County or the Citye of Chester." Then this charter provided for the election by the citizens of 24 aldermen and 40 citizens for the Common Council; and then it proceeds to enact that "of the 24 a-ldermen one, by the unanimous consent and assent of the Mayor, Aldermen, Sheriffs and other citizens of the Common Council shall 00 chosen and ap- pointed Recorder of the citye aforesaid." Then it directed that a Mayor should be appointed in these terms "W e also will and, grant that the aforesaid citizens and commonalty shall appoint and choose from among themselves every successive year for ever a Mayor of the Mud city." and "We also will and grant that the aforesaid citizens shalli appoint and choo.ie from among themselves every suc- cessive year two citizens for Sheriffs of the said city." Then followed elaborate pro- visions for the mode of election of the Mayor and Sheriffs. And then came the provision which was essentially germane to the present subject—the confirmation of the courts of the city and the recital of their CONSTITUTION AND JURISDICTION. I The charter directed the Sheriffb "to hold their oourts in like manner as other Sheriffs of Us or our heirs in ether countics of our realm hold or shall hold their. and the aforesaid Sheriffs of the city of Chester and their successors for ever 6hail in like manner keep their courts there that they may determine all pleas and assizes by plaints (without our writ) concerning all con- tt-act.s and cases arising within the city afore- said in the limits thereof in manner and form as in time past they have been accustomed." After further quotation from the charter, Sir Horatio said that although the history of these Chester courts went back to a far earlier date than this charter of 1506, it was evident from the terms of the charter itself the jurisdiction claimed and exercised by them substantially rested upon this charter, and by virtue of it each court of Pentice and Portmote enjoved a jurisdiction exercised by its own inherent authority "without (as the charter expressed it) our writ," which meant an original juris- diction. In Lmgua?e more conformable to proceedings of the present day the jurisdiction of th? courts of Pentice and Portmote might bo stated to extend to all actions (without limit as to amount) of contract and tort where the I cause of action arose within tho city or its limits. And the court of Portmote had in addition jurisdiction in action (also without I limit as to value) of ejectment for lands and tenements within the city or its limits. The Crown Mote had long died out apparently from disuse, the criminal courts of assize and quarter sessions having rendered a separate jurisdiction unnecessary. The notice calling the court to- get lie r ran thus: "City of Chester to wit. John Bed ward, Esqrc., Mayor. D. F. Jones, Esq re., Recorder. Notice is hereby given that the Crown Mote and Portmote Courts and general quarter sessions of the peace will be held in the same city in the Gornmonhal'] of IMeas on Thursday, the 30th day of March, 1815, at eight o'clock in the morning." The constitution of the courts of Pcntico and Port- mote had been from time to time somewhat altered. The Recorder was now (by virtue of the Municipal Corporations Act) the sole judge of the local Courts of Record. The practice and procedure had also been varied as occasion required, but the courts still possessed the ancient jurisdiction granted and confirmed to them by the charter of King Henry VII. The last alteration in the rui-xs and regulations of the Pent;co and Portmote Courts was made by himself (tho lecturer) in the year 1870, shortly after he .succeeded to the office of Recorder. He found the existing I RULES AND PROCEDURE had become very cumbrous and out-of-date. A new and complete set of rules was framed, which was in accordance with the law approved by the judges of the High Court, and "applied by ,Lii Order in Council to the Courts of Pen- tice and Port mate, to be exercised by the Re- corder for the time being of the city and bor- ough of Chester." The charter of Henry VII. •croatcd, ¿p far as Chester was concerned, the office of Recoidor. In early times the Re- corder was elected fiom among the aldermen, and the first Recorder was so elected in 1506. He had been unable to find the minute record- ing- his election, but there was a very precise entry in the seventeen'.h year of Queen Eliza- beth's reign (that would be in 1574) of the elec- tion of Richard Birkenhead as Recorder. Since the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act the Rccoider had been appointed by the Crown. There was a clerk of the Pentioe, an office of some importance, and as the language of his appointment was somewhat quaint, tho lec- turer quoted an extract from one of them to illustrate the old-world phraseology, though he could not convoy to them any account of the peculiar spelling. Now a word about the designation of the titles by which, for at least seven centurice, these ancient oourts had been known to the citizens of Chester. It had al- ways been understood that the. tlfTm Pentice was derived from the building in which the court was held. The name was an abbreviated form of tho French "Appentis"—"a pent houto. and from the Latin "appenticium," which frequently occurred, according to Canon Morris, in the ear lv records, a-id meant a shed attached to a building—a "lean-to." In King's Royal (temp 1656) it was stated that the Mayor "remaineth most part of the day at a plaoo called the Pentice-which is a brave plac? builded for the purpose at tlto High Cross %t tito lll,, Ii Ciow, under St. Peter's Church in the middest of tlie citye" The only existing illustration of the building here referred to was one about tho year 1650—a drawing by Randle Holme pre- served in the Ilarleian M.SS of which he had made an en'argement. This building extended tbo whole length of the "JOuth side of St. Peter's Church, and heyond it at the eastern end. "in such sort (according to King's Vale Royal) that- a man might stand therein and see. into the markets a.nd the four principal strocits of the citv. SITE OF THE PENTICE. It had, ho Ixlievod, b2en thought by some that th, Pentioe was at the east end of the church in Northg-ate-strcot. This was clearly an erix>iM:ous idea. Assuming that the line of buildings on the opposite sido of Noithgate- stroet was much as it is now, the street would have been blocked, and all the references to the Pentice in tho documents wo no inconsistent with it. being at the cast end. Sir Hoeatio then shewed his audience a copy of Ralldk. Ilo'mo's drawing- made nearly throe hundred years ago, which put the actual site beyond doubt on the .?outJi sid.? of th? church. Th? buiidins; w?s .).utli of t-h?, (?litii bit,?ding w,?, built (at all (vents in Randle Holme's time) of timber. It was in two stoiies—the upper ap- parently being used as the Court House, as there were references in tho old documents to shops being on the ground floor. Randle Holme's drawing depicted the place about the middlo of the 17fJi century, but this or some (yt h,i- building of a similar lean-to kind had undoubtedly existed on that site a very long timo before that. Assuming that the Pentice OHlli. derived its name from the lean-to nature of the building they had. I'> ialready mentioned, knowledge of the existence of the couit in the 13th century. With reference to the High Cross which formerly stood opposite tho door of St. Peter's Church, it would be observed from Randle Holmes drawing that he had in- dicated th.) exact site. His drawing was sup- posed to be of the date 1650. and the absence of the High Cross from it was accounted for by the fact that it bad hoon thrown down and defaced by the Parliamentarians in the year 1648. The lecturer shewed an enlarged copy of the Cross, as it was believed to ltave origin- ally appeared. fmm Gannon Morris's book and Hemingway's History of Chester. The mutrila- ted remains of it gave- but little indication of its original decoration, which might now be seen in th,) Museum To return to the Pen- tice Court, they learned from the Harleian M.SS. that, in 1497 a portion of tho Pentioe. was "new bULilclcd" and that in the year 1573 tho BUILDING WAS ENLARGED, the inner Pentice made higher tho "naner" made lower, and the Sheriffs' CoUlt- removed to the Common Hall. He thought there had bean a little confusion created between this Common HaH inf erred to, and tho one known by the same name, which existed years before in the street off Bridge-street to which it gave its name. In the Harleian M.SS. it wae stated that "the citizens of tho Plantagenet (period 1165-1399) made another 'moothall' which gave its name to Mothralle-lano out of Biidge-strcet, aftorwards called (IDiiunonhall-lane." The new Commonhall-e-troc't (St. Nicholas Chapel) was not used, at all events before the year 1488. and the old Common hall was taken down about the end of the 15th century The mistake between tho two Commonballs was not unnatural, for an investigation of some of tho old records of the proceedings (in their m-inutes) disclosed the fact that it was usual to describe the sitting of any court as t.hc "Common Hall of Pleas." This practice was continued for many years after both the real Common Halls had ceased to exist, or to bo used for public purposes. There could be littilo doubt that I.Ii?. Pentioe Court was from tho earliest times held in the lean-to buildings by St. Peter's Chinch, and that it derived its name from the character of the building, it appeared from the extract he had road that after the citizens had purchased the St. Nicho- las' Chapel, in 1438. con-iiderablo alterations were made in it and wome time aftoi-wards (tho exact date of which it was difficult to ascer- tain, it became) the home of the Courts of Pen- tice and Portmote, and so remained until the old Town Hall or Exchange was finished in the yo&r 1701. They .knew that the Pentice' and otlIDr Gm: t5 and the municipal business goner- ally wero I REMOVED TO THE EXCHANGE .1 on ita comp'etion in 1701. The Pentice Court I building, however, remained at the Crok-o, in the condition presumably represented in Handle Holme's drawing, down to the year 1803. The building of the Exchange was finished in the year 1701, and then everything was removed from St. Nicholas' Chapel to the new Exchange, which from that date for 160 years became the home of all the remaining Courts and of all the municipal butdneso. The business of the Courts of Portmote and Pentjoe was carried on in the new Exchange from this time, 1701, to its destruction by fire in 1862. Many cases of interest were tried there, and many abie men who afterwards rose to considerable rank in their profession were heard there, among them being Mr. Leyoceter (afterwards Recorder), Mr. Bcarcroft, Mr. Richards, Mr. Topping and Mr. Abbott; and in one case, which he (the lecturer) had had the. advantage of reading by the kindness of the Sheriff, Mr. Erekine ap- pe.ared specially in an action in the Portmote Court to establish a will. It wae interesting to note the hour,-) at which he Court sat in those days. The ca.se to which he referred took two days, and began the first, morning at eight o'clock, eat till ten at night, and resumed ihe next morning at seven o'clock. He was afraid that the sitting of Courts at 10.30 and the rising soon after four was a modern inventiozi- ( (laughter)—not that, there wa« not, a good deal to be .said in favour of the movement. In 1862 the Exchange was destroyed by fire. and as that event took place nearly 50 years ago, there were comparatively few living who ever saw that building. The lecturer at this point shewed a view of the old Town Hall, which stood on the open space now known <!f5I the Town Hall Square. Tlii- building was begun in the reign of William and Mary and finished in the early part of the reign of Queen Anna When it wa6 I burnt down THE COURTS WERE HOMELESS, and temporary accommodation had to be pro- vided in all kinds of places, suitable and un- suitable, such aa the Masonic Hall, the Re- fectory, and the Corn Exchange, all of which had to be fitted up for the purpose. When he (the lecturer) became Recorder in 1866 the foundation stone of the present Town Hall had juat been laid, and .an it was not to be com- pleted for four yeara, the late Duke of West- nlliwwr-mcniber for tlie, cliy--was good enough, at his (the locturer's) rcqucet, to pilot a Bill through Parliament enabling the city courta to be held for five years at the Castle. An Act of Parliament was necessary to legalise this, as the sittings of the Courts were neccs- oorilywithin the city, and as they would remember the charter of King Henry VII. excepted the Castle from being part of the city. The Courts were held at t.he Cattle until the present Town Hall was ready in 1869. Before this Act was passed it had been tho duty of the Sheriff of the city of Chester to carry into effect the execu- tion of all persons upon whom sentence of death had been passed at any assizes for the county of Chester, and to, of course, the great majority of such cases came from the county, it wan naturally considered a hardship on the city Sheriff to have that duty cast upon him. The pawsago of this Biil through Parliament afforded an opportunity of getting rid of this disagree- able duty, and a clause was inserted in the Act which thereafter plac-od the obligation on the Sheriff of the county. On being located at the Town Hall, the Pentice and Portmote Courts were regularly held every quarter, and for a few years there was a certain amount of business done, but it gradually fell off, and he thought he was right in saving that the LAST CASE HEARD in these Courts was in the year 1875. As the Courta etill existed in name, the formality of holding them was obliged to be observed, but it was obvious that they were now of little or no utility. Other Courts were held frequently N,h ose jurisdiction had been so largely extended, ,Iii withi n t,he not only as to the amount brought within their cognizance, but also in the jurisdiction and the I nature of the business brought, within their! competency, that they were sufficient for all pur- poses. Ho thought another reason for the decay oi Uie Pentice and Portmote Courts might be found in the change in pub.ic opinion as to the limited areas, in former days, as ihey had seen, the citizens wore cXOLding,y jealous as to the intrusion by others, and were careful to preserve their right to determine their own disputes; but in t.h<o" days the present feeling seemed to be that it wao better to have a somewhat wider, a;.d possibly more independent tribunal, and 1 i lecti likely to be influenced by local knowledge obtained beforehand—the facilities for which wer. so great in the present day. Sir llorano pro- oeeded to refer to similar Courts in other cities, mentioning the To.6eY and Pie Pondre at Bristol, the Sheriff's Court at York, cahed ilio Sheriff's "Turn," the County Court and tho Court of Common Pleas, the Court of Hustings and Court, of Passage in the city of Liverpool. The Recorder explained the powers of liioso Courts, a-nd in conclusion thanked them for the patience with which they had listened to him in explaining this somewhat dry subject, and expressed the hope that he had not wearied them with too much detail. (Applause.) A discussion which followed the paper waa taken part in by the Chairman, tho Sheriff (Mr. H. B. Dutton), Dr. Bridge, Coioncl Evans- Lioyd. Mr. Henry Taylor, Mr. F. E. Roberts and Mr. G. W. ILaswell. The Archdeacon said it would be interesting to know what had be- come of the Pentice bell in the tower of St. Peter's Church, which they were told was for- merly rung to call the magistrates to their duty, and whenever the Corporation attoonibkxl. With regard to the High Cro.-N. they had been in treaty with Mr.^ Robertson, of Piae Ncwydd, who was supposed to be in possession of the shaft of the Cross: and he hoped they would see the restoration of the Chester Cro.w>, and its re-erection, not, on its o!d site, but on some other conspicuous site in the city. (k>oriel Evansi-Lloyd asked whether the old building in front of St. Peter's Church was not once used by the people of Chester to witness t.he bull-baiting which tozik place near tJio church. He believed that the Mayor used to assemble there in state and see bub-fighting. (Laughter.) Mr. Henry Taylor said the Corporation had in their custody many extremely valuable his- torical documents reJaiing to the city, and if they could see their way year by year to lay aside a small sum for printing the contents they would lay Cc-triani in time to come under a deep obligation, and would be following the example of the Corporation of Manchester. lie proposed a hearty vole of thanks to Sir Horatio Lloyd for his abi-c azid interesting paper, which would be the nucleus of further research into those old (JourIs. Mr. G. W. Ilaswcli asked whether other Pentice Courts were known to have existed in the city, because a map of CJwr>tcr about the year 1700 shewed a building on the Roodea called The Pentice." In or about the year 1600 the Admiralty called a jury of Chester citizens to adjudicate upon a case at the Pentice Court, on the Roodoe. The Sheriff remarked how circumscribed mast have been the space in the building against St. Peters Church, and what an obstruction it must have formed in the street. It was not generally known that the obelisk in tiie centre of Abbey Square was re.ally one of the pillars that sup- ported the north-east corner of the old Exchange.

ATHLETIC TTEWS,1

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