Gem From The Archive
Petty-sessions case papers, 1859–1914
When we research our ancestors, we typically turn to the sources that document the key events in their lives – namely records of births, marriages and deaths.
However, sometimes our forebears were caught up in more unusual incidents, resulting in their personal details being recorded in places you might not expect. Much like forensic evidence, their involvement in a crime – whether as a felon, victim or innocent bystander – may have left a trace that survives to this day.
This month, Kate Hallett from Conwy Archive Service tells Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine about a vast collection of court records from North Wales that is rich in such information, and could help you break down stubborn brick walls.
Which Records Have You Chosen?
I have chosen the pettysessions case papers for the Llandudno, Conwy and Nant Conwy divisions of Caernarfonshire, spanning the mid-Victorian period right through to the outbreak of the First World War. Covering areas located in the modern Conwy County Borough, the papers were created to provide a record of cases heard at the local petty sessions, which dealt with minor offences and performed a similar role to modern magistrates’ courts.
You’re not going to find any murders in the records – more serious crimes would have been transferred to the courts of quarter sessions or the assizes. However, you may find evidence that an ancestor was the victim of theft or assault, or had perhaps been fined for failing to send their children to school.
How Many Case Papers Are In The Collection?
We look after approximately 6,000 petty-sessions case
The papers provide a glimpse into stories that might have otherwise been lost
papers in total, so it’s quite a substantial collection. Thankfully, however, they were all catalogued a number of years ago by a team of helpful volunteers.
So, although researchers are welcome to come along to Conwy Culture Centre and view the papers in person, carrying out a free search of our online catalogue at calmview.conwy.gov.uk/calmview will actually provide most of the details from each case.
The entries not only include the names of the accused, but details of where the crime took place and the names of victims, witnesses and policemen. Sometimes they provide precise street addresses, which can be particularly helpful.
And even though there are a lot of common surnames in North Wales, you’ve always got plenty of contextual information within the entries, such as dates and locations. This will allow you to work out whether someone is ‘your’ John Williams or not.
Why Did You Choose The Papers As Your ‘Gem From The Archive’?
I especially like the case papers because they provide a glimpse into stories that might have otherwise been lost, or would be difficult to uncover from some of the more ‘classic’ family history records, such as parish registers.
In front of me, for example, I’ve got a case regarding someone who was accused of duck theft, and another in which a 13-yearold was ‘birched’ for stealing tobacco from a village shop.
Crucially, the case papers
might also be the only place in which you can find your ancestor quoted, using the words they actually spoke in court. Suddenly, the person is not just a statistic on a census record – you’re getting much more of a human snapshot.
Do You Have Any Other Favourite Cases?
One of my favourite cases in the collection dates from 1902 and concerns a servant at the Great Hotel in Llandudno, who was found guilty of stealing a diamond ring that was owned by a wealthy guest from London. However, the person mentioned in the records who I find the most interesting is not the culprit or even the victim, but the hotel’s manager Ethel Robinson, who appeared before the court as a witness. After first coming across Ethel in the case papers, we had enough information to find out her entire life story. Through further research, we discovered that she later went on to manage a hotel in Kent, and that she owned a dog named Blighty!
We also know from probate records that Ethel was quite a wealthy woman by the time that she died.
We actually used Ethel Robinson as a case study for one of our ‘story boxes’, which we created in order to show visitors just how much information you can find out about someone using historic records. As well as the case papers, Ethel’s box contains material like newspaper reports, census returns and records of her two marriages.
Overall, I think that the papers are a fantastic springboard for learning more about someone’s life.
What Other Collections Does The Service Have?
Conwy Archive Service holds material you would expect to find in most county record offices, such as parish records, which have been made available to access on Ancestry ( ancestry.co.uk) and Findmypast ( findmypast. co.uk). However, we’ve got lots of other ‘bread and butter’ material that isn’t yet online, such as maps, plans, land tax records and electoral registers.
The archive service has a large number of school records, too – the admission registers have been digitised, but we’ve also got plenty of and school photographs that can add extra value to your research into your tree.
It’s worth pointing out as well that we’ve only been in our current home for a short period of time. We were previously housed in an old Victorian school in Llandudno, but we recently moved to the new Conwy Culture Centre located by the ancient town walls, which boasts a library, a café and a community and arts space.
We transferred our collections to the site in February last year, but we were only able to open to the public in September. It’s great that we can finally welcome visitors to the archives, and we’re hoping to expand our opening times as Covid-19 restrictions ease.