Skip to main content

News

Explore Archives – Quarter Sessions

  • 11th June 2016

People stealing acorns, roads needing repairs and families being removed from one parish to another are among the many stories contained within Quarter Sessions.

The Quarter Sessions were both a court and a forerunner of the county council. Middling crimes which didn’t carry the death penalty were heard before it, and various county issues such as disputes between parishes, roads and permissions for new railways came before it. There are a host of stories contained within the boxes of papers, such as Thomas Hemmings who was charged with stealing 21 ducks, with his shoe print being used as evidence.

Thousands of people were involved across the county as victims, constables, witnesses, surveyors, and the accused. These records can be invaluable for family and local historians, potentially containing information about an ancestor or local community. However they are rarely used as many people either don’t know about them or don’t know how to access them. Our wonderful volunteers have helped index 200 years worth of records making them easier to search.

The next Explore Archives workshop will be looking at Quarter Sessions and will include lots of stories. It takes place on Wednesday, 22nd June from 2 to 4pm in The Hive. Tickets cost £6 and you can book your place online here.  

2 responses to “Explore Archives – Quarter Sessions”

  1. Are the indexes to quarter sessions available online or do your volunteers provide a lookup service for researchers at a distance (Canada, for instance)?

  2. C Taylor says:

    We do have some indexes available on our own website: http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20189/search_our_records/321/indexes_and_guides

    You can also check The National Archives' catalogue, Discovery, which has many of our Quarter Session records available to search: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

    If you would like to enquire further or order copies of any of our records, please send us an enquiry through our website: http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/waas.

    Best regards,
    Worcestershire Archive Service

Related news


  • 27th August 2025
The 1921 census and its insight into rural life

In our latest blog about the 1921 census, the story of Alvie’s family gives a fascinating insight into life in rural Lincolnshire. Both sides of my family have lived in rural Lincolnshire for centuries. In 1921 most of my relatives were living around the villages of Benington and Leverton in South Lincolnshire, which is about...

  • 26th August 2025
Women, War and Bankruptcy

Amongst the Magistrate Court records held with us on behalf of Worcestershire County Council as part of The Public Records Act are Bankruptcy records from the early 20th century. Whilst they detail the financial situation of individuals and businesses, individual case files which are outside the 100-year closure period can provide insight into the circumstances...

  • 21st August 2025
Newspapers online

Excellent News! Your wait is nearly over – our newspaper collections is set to return! Not only that but, thanks to our partnership with Ancestry.com, our  collection has been digitised and there is free access to it from The Hive via newspapers.com. Unless you want to, gone are the days of having to search date...