Legal

Acts of the Ecclesiastical Court: II

List of names taken from Edith Carey's full-text extracts of the Acts of the Ecclesiastical Court, Library 41B. 17/18th century. II: Marriages annulled; Disputed Ownership of Pews; Abjurations of Rome; and Forbidding the Banns.

Acts of the Ecclesiastical Court: I

List of names taken from Edith Carey's full-text extracts of the Acts of the Ecclesiastical Court, Library 41B. 17/18th centuries. I: Those charged with Breaking engagements; Paillardize; Incontinence: Seduction under promise of marriage; and Cohabitation.

Scandal! Le Hardy vs Bonamy, 1697

From Edith Carey's extracts from the Acts of the Ecclesiastical Court, Library 41B, pp. 29-30. John Bonamy was made Vice-Dean on the 14th February 1700, and Dean in 1717.

Matthew Herivel wastes his time and money, 1685

More amorous antics from the Acts of the Ecclesiastical Court, transcribed by Edith Carey, Library 41B. He got her in the end!

James Rougier and Jeanne Brouard, 1696; Samuel Le Mesurier and Elizabeth Brett, 1690

A case heard in the Ecclesiastical Court in May 1696 by the Rector, Jean Bonamy.

Des Caudeville and Heirs of Poulson v. Boyrenson,1854

A genealogist's nightmare, from The Comet of February 9, 1854.

Francoise Archenaux: Poisoner

Who put the rat poison in the wine? Françoise Archenaux, who on Saturday sennight was convicted by the Royal Court of having attempted to poison the family of Mr Daniel Grut LE MASURIER, underwent a part of her sentence by being placed in the cage in the public Market from half-past eleven to half-past twelve. On the four squares of the cage was fastened a printed label signifying the crime for which she was punished, it read thus, namely, Empoisonneuse. There was a multitude of both sexes present to witness the exhibition, whom she addressed at some length, but of the purport of her harangue we know nothing.

A Herm tragedy: the drowning of the teenaged Walter St John, August 1597

Inscription from memorial at Lydiard Tregoze courtesy of Lydiard Tregoze house

An inquest into the death of the eldest son of Sir John St John, of Lydiard Tregoze, in Wiltshire, and his young tutor, who died trying to rescue his charge. They were swept away by the current, probably off Belvoir Bay, 18 August, 1597. Walter St John was under the protection of the Governor, Sir Thomas Leighton, and living at Castle Cornet. It is extremely unusual for evidence in a case like this to survive; this was retained because Walter's family connections meant an account of the inquest had to be sent to Chancery. The French text is given in the Second Report of the Commissioners into Criminal Law in the Channel Islands of 1848.

The escape of Avicia Lernaise: from Edith Carey's notebooks

The Bordiers.

11 September 1248, rights of islanders in the time of King John

Extracts from the bound collection of transcribed MSS known as the Nicolas Dobrėe MSS. All in beautiful copperplate, they include versions of charters and other Royal Orders and Acts, and various letters patent and so on that were obviously regarded as highly significant by the volume's owner. Followed by a transcription made in 1730 of the Constitutions of King John, from 'an old translation into French from the original in Latin ... copied from the Book of Mr H Mauger, Comptrolleur,' part of a collection of legal documents probably belonging to former Bailiff Peter de Havilland.

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