| Document Reference | MS 49 |
| Title | Precedent book containing legal documents relating primarily to Derbyshire, c.1676-1708 |
| Date | 1676-1708 |
| Extent | 1 volume |
| Abstract | A manuscript legal book comprising in part a legal formulary drawing on documents involving people from Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, together with transcripts of documents relating to the Manor of Brassington, Derbyshire. The volume was probably compiled during the reign of William III. |
| Level | Fonds |
| Access Conditions | Accessible to all readers. |
| Admin History | The texts are written into a volume, from which the bulk of the pages have been cut out. What is left, in two distinct sections, reads from both ends of the volume. The compilers of the notes are not recorded. Their work seems to have been done in Derbyshire, England, which is the location for many of the identified documents. Content and handwriting suggest that the volume was compiled during the reigns of William III, Mary II and Queen Anne, probably by somebody engaged in the study or practice of law. |
| Custodial History | Details of the volume's provenance or its acquisition by the University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections are not certain. A partially removed modern label on the spine reads 'Lot '835', possibly from a sale room listing. The volume seems to have been part of the University library by 1948. |
| Description | This manuscript legal book, hard bound in vellum, contains over 300 pages of manuscript text. The volume has two parts, the first reading from the front cover and the second, with volume inverted, reading from the back cover.
The first section is in English and contains transcripts or extracts from deeds and settlements, apparently provided as a formulary for the correct drafting of legal documents. Most of these deeds relate to people resident in south Derbyshire and south Nottinghamshire, and can be dated from 1688-1708. In some cases only initials of names and places are given. A number of pages at the front and in the middle of this section have been cut out. After another set of cut pages, there are some transcripts of a bill of complaint and related legal papers, 1688.
The second section of the text, at the other end of the volume, consists of extracts from the court roll of the manor of Brassington, Derbyshire (in Latin), dated 1676, 1688 and 1689. At the end of this section, in a court hand, are copies of records of legal cases, again apparently for formulary purposes with details of names and places commonly given by initials. |
| MgtGroup | Genealogical and local history |
| Arrangement | No archival arrangement has been necessary. |
| Language | Latin |
| English |
| Term | manors, Brassington (Derbyshire) |
| Lawyers - Handbooks, manuals, etc. |
| Law - Cases |
| Actions and defenses - Cases |
| Manorial courts - England - Derbyshire |
| FindingAids | This description is the only finding aid available for the volume. Copyright in the description belongs to The University of Nottingham. |
| Copyright | Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk). |
| ReprodnNote | Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents. |
| Condition | Good |