By Fiona Fitzsimons The first-edition Ordnance Survey maps, 1837–46, were printed at the unprecedented scale of six inches to one mile. The maps provide the finest coverage of any nation this early in history and are a key source for family and local history. Here, however, rather than the maps, I’d like to focus on … Read more
By Fiona Fitzsimons The Valuation Office collection contains three distinct sets of records: the Archives (see Kindred Lines, HI 31.6, Nov./Dec. 2023, p. 33), Griffith’s Valuation and the Cancelled Books. The Cancelled Books comprise the largest part of the collection, collated over the longest time, from the mid-nineteenth century to the 1980s. Over a period … Read more
By Fiona Fitzsimons The courts of petty sessions were the lowest courts in the land. They developed independently of manor courts, which they eventually replaced. Petty sessions evolved from the exercise of summary jurisdiction by justices outside the quarter sessions. They heard criminal and civil matters, gave summary verdicts on lesser cases and referred more … Read more