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Manuscripts

Calendars of prisoners in the county jail of Stafford, England

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Description
A collection of forty-two lists of prisoners held in the Staffordshire County gaol (jail) from March 1661 to July 1689. Each document was carefully folded into a small, tight packet and uniformly endorsed with the date, indicating a consistent and intentional filing system. The collection is arranged into six bundles with the dates 1661 to 1665, 1666 to 1669, 1670 to 1674, 1675 to 1679, 1680 to 1684, and 1685 to 1689. Prisoners on these lists were awaiting trial in the Oxford Assize courts; these lists were prepared by gaolers for clerks of the court and served a function in triggering action for the Oxford Assize courts. The prisoners were being held pending trial for numerous crimes, including theft, murder, sexual assault, mariticide, infanticide, witchcraft, bigamy, arson, and illegal religious assembly; women feature with surprising frequency, both on the charge-sheet and as victims. The collection does contain graphic descriptions of violent crimes such as sexual assault, murder, and infanticide.
Type
Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date
1661 March-1689 July.
Call number
mssHM 84533
Provenance
Purchased for The Huntington from Bernard Quaritch Ltd in part by the Library Collectors' Council, March 2026.
Restrictions
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining permission rests with the researcher.
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