Medieval source material on the internet: Chancery and other equity suits

For a brief guide to chancery and other equity suits, click here

For some medieval records in Ancestry's UK and Ireland Collection, click here

• The Anglo-American Legal Tradition (Robert Palmer, University of Houston Law Center)
  A huge project to digitise medieval and early-modern English legal records, and to make the images freely available through the Internet. The site currently contains more than 6 million images of documents, covering records covered from the period 1217-1800. The records include plea rolls, memoranda rolls, pipe rolls, liberate rolls, feet of fines, early chancery proceedings, exchequer accounts, some 13th-century patent rolls, some 16th-century close rolls, fine rolls and state papers, and a number of others. The classes of pre-1603 records covered include C 1, C 33, C 54 [1509-1540], C 60 [1529-1573], C 62, C 66 [1237-1281], C 78, CHES 14, CHES 29, CP 21, CP 25 [to 1509], CP 40, DL 5, E 9, E 13, E 101, E 123, E 124, E 126, E 159, E 361, E 364, E 368, E 372, JUST 1, JUST 2 [to 1483], JUST 3 [to 1483], KB 9 [to 1560], KB 21, KB 26, KB 27, KB 29, LR 1, REQ 1 and SP 12 [to 1580]. In addition to reference material, the site includes a wiki section with abstracts of some records, and some indexes compiled by volunteers.
• Chancery:
  • List of Early Chancery Proceedings. Volume 1. (reprinted 1963 with amendments) (Internet Archive, Text Archive)
    Lists and Indexes, number 12. C 1. Included in the National Archives online catalogue.
  • List of Early Chancery Proceedings. Volume 2. (reprinted 1963 with amendments) (Internet Archive, Text Archive)
    Lists and Indexes, number 16. C 1. Included in the National Archives online catalogue.
  • List of Early Chancery Proceedings. Volume 3. (reprinted 1963 with amendments) (Internet Archive, Text Archive)
    Lists and Indexes, number 20. C 1. Included in the National Archives online catalogue.
  • List of Early Chancery Proceedings. Volume 4. (reprinted 1963 with amendments) (Internet Archive, Text Archive)
    Lists and Indexes, number 29. C 1. Included in the National Archives online catalogue.
  • List of Early Chancery Proceedings. Volume 5. (reprinted 1963 with amendments) (Internet Archive, Text Archive)
    Lists and Indexes, number 38. C 1. Included in the National Archives online catalogue.
  • List of Early Chancery Proceedings. Volume 6. (reprinted 1963 with amendments) (Internet Archive, Text Archive)
    Lists and Indexes, number 48. C 1. Included in the National Archives online catalogue.
  • List of Early Chancery Proceedings. Volume 7. (reprinted 1963 with amendments) (Internet Archive, Text Archive)
    Lists and Indexes, number 50. C 1. Included in the National Archives online catalogue.
  • List of Early Chancery Proceedings. Volume 8. (reprinted 1963 with amendments) (Internet Archive, Text Archive)
    Lists and Indexes, number 51. C 1. Included in the National Archives online catalogue.
  • List of Early Chancery Proceedings. Volume 9. (reprinted 1963 with amendments) (Internet Archive, Text Archive)
    Lists and Indexes, number 54. C 1. Included in the National Archives online catalogue.
  • List of Early Chancery Proceedings. Volume 10. (reprinted 1963) (Internet Archive, Text Archive)
    Lists and Indexes, number 55. C 1. Included in the National Archives online catalogue.
  • Miscellaneous Chancery Records enrolled at Common Law (WAALT: the Wiki for the Anglo-American Legal Tradition Website)
    List of stray documents from chancery enrolled in common law records, with links to images of original documents. In progress; currently covering 1342-1590 (few entries so far).
  • Chancery Final Decrees [1534-1880] (The Anglo-American Legal Tradition)
    Chronological lists of covering C78 and C79, including personal and place names, with links to images of original documents.
  • [J. Bayley, ed.] Calendars of the Proceedings in Chancery in the reign of Queen Elizabeth [1558-1603]. Volume 1. (1827) (Google Books [Hints and tips])
    English calendar of documents from series C 2. With examples of earlier proceedings (from C 1) from 1377. The entries for C 2 are included in the online National Archives catalogue, but with the spelling of names altered.
    [Other copies at: Internet Archive - Text Archive.]
  • [J. Bayley, ed.] Calendars of the Proceedings in Chancery in the reign of Queen Elizabeth [1558-1603]. Volume 2. (1830) (Google Books [Hints and tips])
    English calendar of documents from series C 2. With examples of earlier proceedings (from C 1) from 1377. The entries for C 2 are included in the online National Archives catalogue, but with the spelling of names altered.
    [Other copies at: Internet Archive - Text Archive.]
  • [J. Bayley, ed.] Calendars of the Proceedings in Chancery in the reign of Queen Elizabeth [1558-1603]. Volume 3. (1832) (Google Books [Hints and tips])
    English calendar of documents from series C 2. The entries for C 2 are included in the online National Archives catalogue, but with the spelling of names altered.
    [Other copies at: Internet Archive - Text Archive.]
  • Inheritance Dispute Index 1574-1714 (Findmypast)
    Index compiled by Peter Coldham, searchable on a pay-per-view basis, to over 26,000 Chancery suits relating to inheritance of money or real estate.
  • Indexes to C 33 (Chancery entry books) of the reign of James I. (The Anglo-American Legal Tradition)
    Transcripts of contemporary indexes; in progress.
  • Equity Pleadings Database (The National Archives)
    A searchable database covering over 30,000 records from series C 6 ("Court of Chancery, Six Clerks Office: Pleadings before 1714, Collins"), mainly come from dates between 1648 and 1722, was previously available. A search form allowed queries for names, places, subjects, case details or a combination of these. For some unknown reason this has now been withdrawn. Instead, the National Archives catalogue can be searched for items in C 6, but only general keywords and phrases can be used.
• Chester, Palatinate:
  • Welsh Records. Calendar of Bills and Answers, etc., Henry VIII, Edward VI and Philip and Mary. [Cheshire and Flintshire.] (HathiTrust Digital Library)
    From CHES 15/1, equity proceedings of the Exchequer of Chester. Arranged alphabetically by surname of first plaintiff, with an index of other surnames. (25th Annual Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records, Appendix, p. 23; 1864)
• Exchequer:
  • Exchequer Records. Calendar of Depositions taken by Commission. 1 Elizabeth to end of James I. (Internet Archive - Text Archive)
    From E 134. Included in the National Archives online catalogue. (38th Annual Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records, Appendix, p. 150; 1877)
  • Notices of tythe-suits enrolled in the Exchequer of Pleas, being a selection abridged from the calendar begun in 1837. [Mainly Elizabethan and later.] (HathiTrust Digital Library)
    From the Exchequer of Pleas Plea Rolls, E 13. Arranged alphabetically by place-name. (2nd Annual Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records, Appendix II, p. 249; 1841)
• Lancaster, Duchy:
  • [R. J. Harper, J. Caley and W. Minchin, editors] Ducatus Lancastriæ, Part 2. A Calendar to the Pleadings [Henry VII - Philip and Mary] (1823) (FamilySearch)
    List (starting at page 111) of pleadings relating to suits in the Court of Duchy Chamber, apparently from National Archives DL 1, giving names of parties and places and brief details of the dispute. There are indexes of place-names and personal names, starting at page 343. This information is not included in the National Archives online catalogue.
  • [R. J. Harper, J. Caley and W. Minchin, editors] Ducatus Lancastriæ, Part 3. Calendar to Pleadings, Depositions, &c [Henry VII - 13 Elizabeth I] (1827) (FamilySearch)
    Records from National Archives DL 1 and 3. Not included in the National Archives online catalogue.
  • [R. J. Harper, J. Caley and W. Minchin, editors] Ducatus Lancastriæ, Part 4. Calendar to the Pleadings [14-45 Elizabeth I] (1834) (FamilySearch)
    Records from National Archives DL 1. Not included in the National Archives online catalogue.
• Requests, Court of:
  • List of Proceedings in the Court of Requests, preserved in the Public Record Office. Volume 1. (originally published 1906; reprinted with amendments, 1963) (Internet Archive - Text Archive)
    Lists and Indexes, number 21. Records in REQ 2, covering 1485-1558, with some Elizabethan proceedings. Because of its format, the default online version is not searchable, but the "full text" version is.
  • I. S. Leadam, ed., Select cases in the court of requests, A.D. 1497-1569 (1898) (Google Books [Hints and tips])
    Selden Society, volume 12. English transcripts, with an introduction including a list of judges.
    [Other copies at: Internet Archive - Text Archive:  1 ;  2 .]
  • Court of Requests: Books and draft books of Orders, Final Orders, Decrees, Memoranda (October 1594 - November 1598) (Dave King, The Anglo-American Legal Tradition)
    List of entries, in progress, giving names and some details of suits with links to images of original documents.
    • REQ 1/18: October 1594 - March 1596
    • REQ 1/47: April 1596 - February 1597 (draft book)
    • REQ 1/48: April 1597 - June 1597 (draft book)
    • REQ 1/19: October 1597 - November 1598 (in progress)
  • Modern indexes to REQ 1 (registers of the Court of Requests) of the reign of Charles I. (The Anglo-American Legal Tradition)
    Lists of parties, sorted by first plaintiff, first defendant and date; in progress.
• Star Chamber:
  • Calendar of Star Chamber Proceedings. [Henry VIII-Edward VI.] (Internet Archive - Text Archive)
    Calendar to STAC 2/17/1-2/26/478. Contains some details not included in the National Archives online catalogue. (49th Annual Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records, Appendix, p. 376; 1888)
  • Percy D. Mundy, ed., Abstracts of Star Chamber proceedings relating to the county of Sussex. Henry VII to Philip and Mary (1913) (Sussex Record Society)
    Sussex Record Society, volume 16.
  • Elizabethan Star Chamber Project (WAALT: the Wiki for the Anglo-American Legal Tradition Website)
    Listing of cases, in progress, from STAC 5. Unlike the National Archives catalogue, the list includes forenames. This continues the work begun by the University of Hull State Papers Project.
• Wards, Court of:
  • WARD 2: Court of Wards and Liveries: Deeds and Evidences (National Archives)
    Catalogue details of supporting documents in cases heard before the Court of Wards and Liveries, c. 1200 - Charles I. Around 2000 of the 9000 documents are medieval.