The Court of the County of Durham was a court that exercised jurisdiction within the County Palatine of Durham. It was abolished,^[1] subject to certain savings, on 5 July 1836.^[2]

The sole roll of this court known not to have been lost is DCM Misc Ch 5722.^[3] It includes material from the years 1403 and 1404.^[4]

Abolition

Section 2 of the Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836 provided:

That from and after the Commencement of this Act all the Power, Authority, and Jurisdiction of the Court called "The Court of the County of Durham" and of the Clerk of the Court of the County of Durham as Judge of the same Court or otherwise shall cease and determine; subject nevertheless and without Prejudice to any Proceedings then depending in such Court, as to which the Authority and Jurisdiction of the said Court and of the present Clerk of the said Court shall continue in full Force and Effect, notwithstanding the passing of this Act; and in case of Death or Removal from Office of the present Clerk of the said Court whilst any such Proceedings as aforesaid shall be still depending therein, the Under Sheriff of the said County shall and may for the purpose of such Proceedings, act as Judge of the said Court, and exercise the same Power, Authority, and Jurisdiction as the present Clerk of the said Court might have exercised if still living and continuing in Office: Provided always that the Sheriff for the Time being of the said County Palatine shall and may have and exercise the same Power of holding a County Court, and the same Jurisdiction therein, as is usually had and exercised by Sheriffs of other Counties in England.

Compensation

See sections 4 and 5 of the Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836.

References

Kenneth Emsley and Constance Mary Fraser. The Courts of the County Palatine of Durham from the Earliest Times to 1971. Durham County Local History Society. Durham. 1984.
"The Durham County Court" in "The courts and their records" in "Palatinate of Durham Records". Durham University.
William Parson and William White. History, Directory, and Gazetteer, of the Counties of Durham and Northumberland. Printed for W White & Co by Edward Baines and Son. 1827. Volume 1. Page 187. 1828. Volume 2. Page 60.
Eneas Mackenzie and Marvin Ross. An Historical, Topographical, and Descriptive View of the County Palatine of Durham. Mackenzie and Dent. Pilgrim Street, Newcastle. 1834. Volume 2. Page 423. Google Books: [1] [2]
William Hutchinson. The History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham. Printed for S Hodgson and Messrs Robinsons. Newcastle. 1787. Volume 2. Page 279.
Gailard Thomas Lapsley. The County Palatine of Durham: A Study in Constitutional History. (Harvard Historical Studies, volume 8). 1900. Pages 71, 111, 126, 127, 195 and 206. Internet Archive: [3] [4]
Christian Drummond Liddy. The Bishopric of Durham in the Late Middle Ages: Lordship, Community and the Cult of St Cuthbert. The Boydell Press. Woodbridge. 2008. Pages 127, 132, 155, 167 and 200 to 202. Google Books
Peacock v Bell and Kendall (1667) 1 Wm Saund 69. See also glosses on this case by Vernon and Raithby [5] and Coventry and Hughes [6] and Barbour [7]
Jewett v Summons. The Law Journal For The Year 1825. Volume III. Court of King's Bench. Page 220.
Henry Donkin. "Return of all writs issued out of the County Court of Durham from 1st of January 1826 to 31st December 1835". 22 April 1836. Return to an Address of the House of Commons. Ordered to be printed 9 May 1836. Parliamentary Papers. Volume 43.

^ The Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836, section 2
^ The Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836, section 8
^ This abbreviation stands for "Durham Cathedral Muniments, Miscellaneous Charters"
^ Christian Drummond Liddy, The Bishopric of Durham in the Late Middle Ages, 2008, p 200. Christian Drummond Liddy and Richard H Britnell (eds), North-east England in the Later Middle Ages, The Boydell Press, 2005 p 107. J S Hamilton (ed), Fourteenth Century England, The Boydell Press, 2006, vol 4, p 66. Matthew L Holford and K J Stringer, Border Liberties and Loyalties, Edinburgh University Press, 2010, p 59.

Abolition

See also

References