ASSIZES & QUARTER SESSIONS IN EXETER

Prepared by Jean E. Harris

All of the following historical and biographical information regarding the Officers of these old Courts viz: Recorders, Clerk of the Peace, the Sheriffs and Under Sheriffs, is taken from an information booklet published 1971 by the Exeter City Council and the following lists of names are listed here with their kind permission.

Margery Rowe and Andrew Jackson researched all of the old documents and their introduction records that, by the Courts Act of 1971, the City's court of assize and the court of quarter sessions were to be abolished at the end of 1971 and from 1 January 1972 these were to be replaced by a Crown Court. With the abolition of those old courts, the historic offices of Recorder, Clerk of the Peace and Deputy Clerk of the Peace ceased to exist along with the duties as performed by the Sheriff and Under Sheriff in connection with the abolished courts.

Not quoted here are the details given in this booklet of the origins and requirements of each of these offices. However, for clarity of the biographical details that are included here, it is necessary to quote from their introduction.
NOTE: George Oliver's History of Exeter is online at Google Books:

RECORDERS

"The list of recorders from 1354 to 1856 in G.Oliver, History of Exeter (1861). pp235-7, is defective, but for the sixteenth century and later contains some biographical information not included here. There are a few inaccuracies also in the two lists of the early recorders compiled by J.J. Alexander (Transactions of the Devonshire Association, vol. 62, pp. 217-9; T.D.A. vol 70, p. 421). The sources used are the Receiver's Rolls of the city, which include payments of salary to the recorder. In the fifteenth century, the entry often refers only to the name of the office, not to its holder, which has led to some uncertainties. The period of accounting ran from Michaelmas to Michaelmas. From the late sixteenth century, the appointments are regularly included in the Act Books of the Chamber. For some nineteenth century crown appointments, the exact date has not been traced."

CLERK OF THE PEACE

"A list of town clerks from 1511 to 1856 is included in George Oliver, History of Exeter (1861) pp. 241-2. It is accurate, for the most part, and like the list of recorders above includes some additional biographical detail. The list which follows is based on the sources themselves, normally the Act Books of the Chamber, and their successors, the Minute Books of the City Council."

RECORDERS & CLERKS

SHERIFFS & UNDERSHERIFFS

"A list of the sheriffs of Exeter 1537-1860 appears in The History of Exeter by George Oliver, 2nd edition 1861, pp. 237-241, and a list up to 1831 based on the accounts rendered by sheriffs in the Exchequer is given in the Public Record Office's Lists and Indexes, No.IX. The list of sheriffs up to 1552 given in Oliver's list was superseded by an article by J.J. Alexander in Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries, XIX, pp. 297-299 but still leaves some gaps. For other names this author has relied on Hooker's Commonplace Book but Hooker's memory obviously did not serve him correctly in all cases. The present list up tp 1552 is taken primarily from the Mayor's Court Books and Mayor's Court Rolls, entries being supplied from the Act Books where these two are defective and where there are two sheriffs in one year. All three are official sources of the City Chamber. For the names from 1552-1831, the Public Record Office's list has been checked with the official Exeter sources and the local spelling of the name given where possible. The list has been continued from 1831 up to date using the Council Minute Books."

SHERIFFS

Sheriffs appointed for the years 1637 to 1860 are listed in Oliver's book published 1861. The following are those appointed for the years 1861 to 1971.

UNDERSHERIFFS

There is no listing of names for those of the years to 1899 and the following are those appointed for the years 1900 to 1971. The information booklet has:

"The names of Exeter's under sheriffs were not systematically recorded until the nineteenth century but it is assumed that it was an annual appointment made by the new sheriff at Michaelmas. It was reported at the Municipal Corporations Enquiry made at Exeter in 1833 that an under sheriff was generally a solicitor."