INDEXES TO NORTHAMPTONSHIRE GAOL DELIVERY ROLLS, FILES AND KALENDARS: INTRODUCTION

Copyright Stephen Swailes.

Gaol delivery rolls, files and kalendars

Gaol delivery rolls, files and calendars are held at The National Archives in the JUST 3 series. Some relate to individual counties whereas others include several counties. The records are of variable legibility but those relating to Northamptonshire are mostly in very good condition. According to The National Archives, gaol delivery rolls ceased in the fifteenth century but begin again in 1559 although not for all counties. The National Archives website provides further information on coverage and content of each record.

Files and kalendars contain mostly lists of names of prisoners, officials and jurors. A few inquests are also recorded. The rolls typically contain brief details of the alleged offences, the names of people involved and jury verdicts. A person may therefore appear more than once in these records, for example when an inquest suspected them of a felony (see indexes to coroners' rolls), when they were captured and delivered to gaol, and when they were tried.

Names and places are indexed here to help searchers locate items of interest that may be followed-up using the original source for further information. Indexes are provided in good faith but misreading does occur and the original should always be consulted (links to images of the original records are provided).

Curved brackets contain letters that fit the original but which are guesses. They also contain additional notes. An apostrophe denotes some sort of contraction to a word in the manuscript eg., jur' for juror.