Enquest Files

The Great Enquest was a jury of twelve men which were drawn from the corresponding sheading each six months. Members of this jury would serve in both civil and criminal cases relating to their sheading. The Enquest files (which begin in 1688) are bound volumes of disparate documents which describe the business of the Enquest itself. In particular they typically records details of trials (called Inquisitions) including the names of those involved, summaries of each of the witness statements and a formal record of the verdict.

It is not clear to me whether such documents survive prior to 1688. (The Libri Placitorum or Libri Scaccarii typically appear only to report on the consequences of a guilty verdict.) The Libri Causarum and (to an extent) Libri Cancellarii contain the corresponding details for the Consistory and Chancery Courts respectively.

An index

There is a manuscript multi-volume chronological index to the Entrust files and various other record series (including petitions). This begins in 1687 and in held in accession MS10071.