Calendar of Prisoners at Quarter Sessions, Stafford

Description:The courts of Quarter Sessions were established in 1362 and sat for over 600 years until their abolition in 1971. The court’s initial function was judicial – to hear criminal cases – but over time the court acquired more and more administrative functions. The justices were drawn from the local gentry, who undertook the work free of charge, as a public service. To be selected to serve as a justice of the peace was a mark of standing in the local community.

As its name implies, the court sat every quarter, usually in January, April, July and October. In Staffordshire the sessions were named after religious festivals – Epiphany (January), Easter (April), Translation (July) and Michaelmas (October). Sometimes the amount of business was so great that some had to be adjourned - put off until a later date - in which case extra sessions were held, usually a week or two later.

The court sat in Stafford and prisoners awaiting trial on more serious charges were housed in Stafford Gaol pending trial.