The Cause Papers

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CONS.CP.1855/2

Reference:This field gives the reference for the cause. Please use this when ordering copies of documents or in citations.

Repository:Indicates which archive repository holds the original documents for the cause.

Court:Indicates in which court the case was held. Different courts had different functions, but overlapped in procedure and personnel.

Case: Shows what type of case this record relates to. For instance, the case might involve an accusation of Defamation or a Violation of Church Rights. If known, this field also provides some more specific details about the case, given in brackets. For example, a Defamation case might relate to sexual slander, in which instance you would see 'Defamation (sexual slander)' on screen. A list of both general and specific types of case can be found in the background information referred to at the top of this page. For Tithe cases, the specific details indicate the types of crop or livestock on which tithes were being claimed.

Details:In order, this shows how many pieces (separate manuscripts) the original documents comprise, and whether these include depositions (written statements, generally from witnesses), a libel (a written accusation made by the plaintiff or defendant), and a sentence (issued by the judge and giving the outcome of the case).

Outcome:This shows the outcome of the case (if known). Except in a few instances, this is restricted to a statement of who won and whether the sentence was appealed against.

Date This field shows the start and end date of the cause. This can differ from the events to which it referred, sometimes by years or even decades. If provided in the format day/month/year or month/year, this information is exact and has usually been taken from the citation ordering the defendant to come to court (for start dates) and the sentence (for end dates). If just a year is given, this information may be exact or approximate. Sometimes the project team were unable to accurately date the documents, in which case they either left this field blank or estimated a century (thus some records seem to span a whole century).
Dates are given as they appear in the documents. This means that before 1752 (when Britain adopted the modern, Gregorian calendar) they appear in the Julian calendar format, in which the year starts on March 25th. In this system, December 1690 is followed by January 1690, not January 1691. It is thus entirely possible to have a cause which starts in, say, October 1530 and finishes in February 1530.

View the Case Abstract: If available, this button indicates that you can read a short abstract of the cause: a summary compiled from research on the original documents.

Order copies of this document This link to an on-line form allows you to order copies of the original documents relating to this cause at the Borthwick Institute for Archives. Please remember to include the cause reference. If you wish to arrange a visit to see the documents in person, please contact us.

Reference:CONS.CP.1855/2

Repository:Borthwick Institute GB 193

Court:Consistory

Case:Matrimonial (separation from bed and board: cruelty)

Details:95 Pieces; Has deposition; Has libel; No sentence

Outcome:

Date: 1855 — 1856

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Understanding a cause paper record

People & Places

This section provides information about the participants in the cause. Only fields for which the database holds information are shown.

Participant: This field provides a number of details about the participant's name. To understand this information, it is necessary to appreciate that names in the database have been standardized. Standardization was necessary to cope with the fact that the older records were written in Latin, and the fact that historically spellings of names were inconsistent (sometimes even in the same document). An example of a participant field might be:

Participant:Alice Elland [Eland; Elande]
The first piece of information shown is the participant's given name. These were always recorded in a standard form, if necessary translating from Latin. Accordingly in some instances the record does not reflect the spelling in the documents. For example variants of forenames were converted to one standard, e.g. Maria was always rendered as Mary. Short versions of names (such as Allie for Alice) were also converted to a standard form. Your search may therefore not work if you use a given name which has more than one form. The Given Name field was also used to record corporate names such as 'Churchwardens of X'.
The project team recorded surnames in the way they appeared in the documents. These surnames were then standardized to correct for variations in language and spelling. The second piece of information in the participant field shows the standardized form attached to the participant's surname, highlighted in bold - in this example Elland. If you asked the database to search for names including variants, you may return some unexpected results: for instance searching 'Green' will also return hits for 'Grene'. Turn off the 'include variants' box in the search screen to look for a specific version of a surname.
The final piece of information in this field shows you how the name is spelt in the original documents. This is seen in brackets after the standard form, and may be the same as this. If there is more than one spelling listed in the brackets, it indicates that this variation was observed in the original documents. In our example, [Eland; Elande] shows that the participant's name was recorded as both Alice Eland and Alice Elande.

Alternative Name: This field shows any alternative names identified for this participant. These might arise, for instance, from recording a married woman's maiden name.

Role: Shows the participant's role in the cause, such as defendant, plaintiff or witness. In some instances it was not possible to identify a role: these are listed as 'undefined'. In testamentary (and some other) cases, the name of the deceased person whose estate was in dispute was recorded as 'testator', but this does not necessarily mean that they left a will. If the role is recorded as appellant or appellate, this indicates that the judge's decision (in favour of the appellate) was appealed against by the appellant. These parties are thus usually the plaintiff or defendant in the original cause. It was possible to promote a case without being the official plaintiff (in which instance the role is given as 'promoting parties'), or to intervene in a case being contested by someone else ('intervening parties'). The role of 'executor' indicates that the individual acted as executor/trix of an estate. The role of 'guardian' shows that the participant acted as legal guardian to a minor (sometimes just for the purposes of the cause). If a guardian or executor acted in a more important role in the cause (such as plaintiff or defendant), that role has taken precedence in the description.

Details: If known, this field shows (in order) the sex and age of the participant and any information about their status. Ages show the participant's age at some point during the period bounded by the start and end dates of the cause, but it may be possible to identify this more exactly by consulting the original documents, from which the information is taken. If two ages are given this is reflected in the record. The participant's recorded age may not be their actual age. They may, for instance, have given an approximation. Additionally, if they are recorded as being 21, this may merely indicate that they are 21 and over (this was a legally significant age) and not that they were actually 21.

Status: Status is one of the most wide-ranging categories in the database. Information given here may include that relating to family relationships; obvious designations of noble status such as 'Esquire'; details of marital status such as 'widow' or 'married to X'; imprecise references relating to age/name, such as 'junior', 'senior' or 'the younger'; clerical titles such as 'clerk'; statements in the original documents indicating poverty or ill-health (such as 'infirm'); information about legal status (such as 'minor'), and a record of whether the participant filled an unpaid role such as church or chapel warden. In addition, 'Yeoman', an ambiguous title indicating something of both status and employment, is included here.

Employment: Indicates the participant's recorded employment. These details were generally recorded in a standard form, modernizing spelling and translating from Latin if necessary. This field sometimes contains brief descriptions from the project team describing the occupation, or their decisions on translation and standardization if problematic.

Location: Provides information on locations associated with the participant, most commonly relating to place of residence (either current at the time of the case or previous). There may therefore be more than one location listed for each person. For further information on how to interpret the information on this field, please see the section on places below.

Notes: This field was used by the project team to provide any significant additional information about the participant, and sometimes to highlight unusual or problematic features about the cause.

Participant:Jane Harding [Harding]

Alternate name:Jane Wrigley [Wrigley]

Role:plaintiff

Details:female; 40; Wife of John Harding

Location:The Ark (The Ark, Noah's Ark) : habitation
In Broughton - former residence

Place(s):Manchester (Lancashire)
Ramsdale House (Ramsdale House) : habitation

Participant:John [Harding]

Role:defendant

Details:male

Employment:Cotton Thread Manufacturer

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Broughton (Broughton) : undefined
The Ark (The Ark, Noah's Ark) : habitation
Manchester (Lancashire)
Ramsdale House (Ramsdale House) : habitation

Participant:George Lawton [Lawton]

Role:defence proctor

Details:male; The Elder

Employment:Notary Public

Location:York (York) : city

Participant:William Lawton [Lawton]

Role:defence proctor

Details:male

Employment:Notary Public

Location:York (York) : city

Participant:George Brown [Brown]

Role:prosecution proctor

Details:male

Employment:Notary Public

Location:York (York) : city

Participant:Willam Hotham [Hotham]

Role:prosecution proctor

Details:male

Employment:Notary Public

Location:York (York) : city

Participant:Edwin Dunn [Dunn]

Role:witness

Details:male; 34

Employment:Coachman

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Broughton (Broughton) : undefined

Participant:George Gregory [Gregory]

Role:witness

Details:male; 62

Employment:Gardener

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Didsbury (Didsbury) : undefined

Participant:Robert Staniford [Staniforth]

Role:witness

Details:male; 55

Employment:Bookkeeper

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Wellington Square (Wellington Square) : undefined

Participant:John MacLean [McLean]

Role:witness

Details:male

Employment:Size Manufacturer; Formerly a Bailiff

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Collyhurst (Collyhurst) : undefined

Participant:Thomas Hopkin [Hopkins]

Role:witness

Details:male; 75; Esquire

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Broughton Lane (Broughton Lane) : undefined

Participant:Jeremiah Garnet [Garnett]

Role:witness

Details:male; 62; Esquire

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):The Mount (The Mount) : undefined

Participant:Thomas Sowler [Sowler]

Role:witness

Details:male; 65; Esquire

Employment:Bookkeeper

Location:Bowdon (Cheshire)

Place(s):Bowdon (Bowden) : ecclesiastical parish
Manchester (Lancashire)
St Ann's Squre (St. Ann's Square) : undefined

Participant:John Millington [Millington]

Role:witness

Details:male; 43

Employment:Agent

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Prestwich (Prestwick) : undefined

Participant:Catherine Millington [Millington]

Role:witness

Details:female; 34; Wife of John Millington, Agent

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Prestwich (Prestwick) : undefined

Participant:Robert Bradley [Bradley]

Role:witness

Details:male; 66

Employment:Agent

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Longsight (Longsight) : undefined

Participant:Margaret Bradley [Bradley]

Role:witness

Details:female; 59; Wife of Robert Bradley, Agent

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Longsight (Longsight) : undefined

Participant:John Oakden [Ogden]

Role:witness

Details:male; 62; Gentleman

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Didsbury (Didsbury) : undefined

Participant:Edward Dudley Jackson [Jackson]

Role:witness

Details:male; 52; Reverend

Employment:Rector of Heaton Norris

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Heaton Norris (Heaton Norris) : undefined
Broughton (Broughton) : undefined

Participant:George How [Hough]

Role:witness

Details:male; 57; Clerk (Reverend)

Location:Almondbury (YorkshireWestRiding)

Place(s):South Crosland (South Crosland) : undefined

Notes:At some stage incument of the district church of South Crosland

Participant:James Mellor [Mellor]

Role:witness

Details:male; 36

Employment:Stone Delver

Location:Almondbury (YorkshireWestRiding)

Place(s):Crosland (Crosland) : undefined

Participant:Elizabeth Wrigley [Wrigley]

Role:witness

Details:female; 73; Widow; Mother of the plaintiff

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Talavera Place (Talavera Place) : street name

Participant:John Robertson [Roberton]

Role:witness

Details:male; 58

Employment:Surgeon

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Brighton Place (Brighton Place) : undefined
In Oxford Street

Participant:Joseph Brotherton [Brotherton]

Role:witness

Details:male; 72; Esquire; Member of Parliament

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Rose Hill (Rose Hill) : undefined
London

Westminster : undefined
7 Manchester Buildings (7 Manchester Buildings) : habitation

Participant:John Eldershaw [Eldershaw]

Role:witness

Details:male; 58

Employment:Post Office Clerk

Location:Lancashire

Place(s): 5 Bank Street (5 Bank Street) : habitation

Participant:John Hannah [Hannah]

Role:witness

Details:male; 62; Reverend; Doctor of Divinity

Employment:Theological Tutor at the Wesleyan Theological Institution, Didsbury

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Didsbury (Didsbury) : undefined

Participant:John Bower [Bowers]

Role:witness

Details:male; 58

Employment:Governor of the Wesleyan Theological Institution, Didsbury

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Didsbury (Didsbury) : undefined

Participant:John Cropper [Cropper]

Role:witness

Details:male; 52; Formerly a Sheriff's Officer [Bailiff]

Employment:Dyer

Location:Lancashire

Place(s): Myrtle Grove (Myrtle Grove) : undefined

Participant:George Blagrave Snel [Snell]

Role:witness

Details:male; 51

Employment:Shorthand Writer

Location:London : city

Place(s):36 Chancery Lane (36 Chancery Lane) : habitation

Participant:Harriet Townend [Townend]

Role:witness

Details:female; 54; Wife of Robert Townend, Worsted Spinner; Sister of the plaintiff

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Park Place (Park Place) : undefined

Participant:Martin Newton [Newton]

Role:witness

Details:male; 52

Employment:Sheriff's Officer

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):15 Queen Street (15 Queen Street) : habitation

Participant:William Christopher Hardy [Hardy]

Role:witness

Details:male; 45

Employment:Carrier's Agent

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Didsbury (Didsbury) : undefined

Participant:Lucy Robinson [Robinson]

Role:witness

Details:female; 27; Wife of George Frederick Robinson, Cotton Spinner and Manufacturer

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Didsbury (Didsbury) : undefined

Participant:Alfred Wrigley [Wrigley]

Role:witness

Details:male; 37; Clerk (Reverend); Brother of the plaintiff

Location:Surrey

Place(s): St James' Road (Saint James' Road) : undefined

Participant:Thomas Middleton [Middleton]

Role:witness

Details:male; 52; Clerk (Reverend)

Employment:Formerly incument of Saint George's in Manchester

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):30 Cross Street (30 Cross Street) : habitation
Didsbury (Didsbury) : undefined

Participant:Elizabeth Barnes [Barnes]

Role:witness

Details:female; 33; Spinster

Employment:Formerly servant to the plaintiff and defendant

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Withington (Wirthington) : undefined
Ramsdale House (Ramsdale House) : habitation

Participant:Anthony William Close [Close]

Role:witness

Details:male; 45

Employment:Surgeon

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Lower Broughton (Lower Broughton) : undefined

Participant:Samuel Millner Barton [Barton]

Role:witness

Details:male; 31

Employment:Solicitor

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Higher Broughton (Higher Broughton) : undefined

Participant:James Worsley [Worsley]

Role:witness

Details:male; 46

Employment:Carpenter

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Didsbury (Didsbury) : undefined

Participant:Thomas Cockill Wrigley [Wrigley]

Role:witness

Details:male; 50; Brother of the plaintiff

Employment:Woolen Manufacturer

Location:Huddersfield, St Peter (YorkshireWestRiding)

Place(s):Woodfield Lodge (Woodfield Lodge) : undefined

Participant:Henry Mappleton [Mapleston]

Role:witness

Details:male; 31

Employment:House Agent

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):15 Queen Street (15 Queen Street) : habitation

Participant:Stephen Ellis [Heelis]

Role:witness

Details:male; 53

Employment:Solicitor

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Manchester (Manchester) : undefined

Participant:Isabella Wright [Wright]

Role:witness

Details:female; 39; Spinster

Employment:Servant

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Hope Hall (Hope Hall) : habitation
Salford (Salford) : undefined
Former residence
Summer Hill (Summer Hill) : undefined
Former residence. Cannot identify

Notes:Formerly housemaid to the defendant

Participant:Anne Irlam [Irlam]

Role:witness

Details:female; 40; Wife of John Irlam, Labourer

Employment:Gatekeeper

Location:Alderley (Cheshire)

Place(s):Alderley (Alderley) : ecclesiastical parish

Notes:Gatekeeper at Alderley Edge

Participant:Catharine Hollingsworth [Hollinsworth]

Role:witness

Details:female; 25; Spinster

Location:Bowdon (Cheshire)

Place(s):Bowdon (Bowden) : undefined
Manchester (Lancashire)
Ramsdale (Ramsdale House) : habitation

Notes:Formerly housemaid to the defendant

Participant:Maria Evans [Evans]

Role:witness

Details:female; 44; Widow

Location:Mottram (Cheshire)

Place(s):Matley (Matley) : undefined
Manchester (Lancashire)
Ramsdale House (Ramsdale House) : habitation

Notes:Formerly housemaid to the defendant

Participant:Thomas Brownhill [Brownhill]

Role:witness

Details:male

Participant:William Jeppeson [Jepson]

Role:witness

Details:male

Participant:John Makinson [Makinson]

Role:witness

Details:male

Participant:Thomas Bright [Bright]

Role:witness

Details:male

Participant:Caroline Bright [Bright]

Role:witness

Details:female

Participant:Elizabeth Molineux [Molineux]

Role:witness

Details:female

Associated Places

All locations mentioned in each cause were recorded by the project team. Places associated with participants appear under their data. Locations which featured in the documents but which were not attached to a particular individual appear in the 'Associated Places' section. Searches for place-names can lead to either or both sections of the record. To understand how locations are presented, it is necessary to bear in mind that place-names have been standardized to account for historic variations in language and spelling.

For each place, the project team recorded a modern version of the place-name. Listed after this in brackets is the original spelling of that name (and any noted variations in spelling), as given in the documents for that cause. If obvious, the project team also noted what type of place it was, such as a field, town or parish; otherwise this was left as 'undefined'. Note that if a place is listed as a 'field name', this may indicate either a specific field or group of fields.

The team then assigned each place to a standardized, large, modern location: normally a parish, town, city or county. These standard locations appear in bold type in the database. Each place listed after a standard location indicates that it is either within that location or identical to it.

An example might be:

Location:Whitby (YorkshireNorthRiding)

Place Names:Whitby (Whitbie, Whiteby): ecclesiastical parish
Robin Hood's Bay (Robin Hood Bay): township

In this example, the project team identified two places in the cause associated with the modern, standardized place of Whitby. These were the parish of Whitby (spelt Whitbie and Whiteby in the original documents) and Robin Hood's Bay (spelt Robin Hood Bay in the original documents), a township within Whitby.

Location:Almondbury (YorkshireWestRiding)

Place(s):South Crosland (South Crosland) : undefined

Location:Huddersfield, St Peter (YorkshireWestRiding)

Place(s):Huddersfield (Huddersfield) : undefined

Location:Broughton (YorkshireWestRiding)

Place(s):The Ark (The Ark, Noah's Ark) : habitation

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Ramsdale House (Ramsdale House) : habitation
Didsbury (Didsbury) : undefined

Location:North Meols (Lancashire)

Place(s):Southport (Southport) : undefined

Location:Cheadle (Cheshire)

Place(s):Cheadle (Cheadle) : ecclesiastical parish

Location:London : undefined

Place(s):LondonWestminster : undefined
17 Manchester Buildings (7 Manchester Buildings) : habitation

Location:Whalley (Lancashire)

Place(s):Pendleton (Pendleton) : undefined

Location:London (London) : undefined

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Fountains Street (Fountains Street) : street name

Location:Surrey

Place(s): Croydon (Croydon) : undefined

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Manchester (Manchester) : undefined

Location:Bolton Le Moors (Lancashire)

Place(s):Belmont (Belmont) : undefined

Location:Liverpool (Lancashire)

Place(s):Liverpool (Liverpool) : undefined

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):The Palatine Hotel (The Palatine Hotel) : habitation

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Higher Broughton (Higher Broughton) : undefined
The Clarence Hotel (The Clarence Hotel) : habitation

Location:Brighton (Brighton) : undefined

Location:Derbyshire

Place(s): Derbyshire (Derbyshire) : undefined

Location:South Wales (South Wales) : undefined

Location:Alderley (Cheshire)

Place(s):Alderley Edge (Alderley Edge) : undefined

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Salford (Salford) : undefined
Garside Street (Garside Street) : street name
Spring Field Mill (Spring Field Mill) : undefined
Deansgate (Deansgate) : undefined
Stockport (Stockport) : undefined

Location:Almondbury (YorkshireWestRiding)

Place(s):Netherton (Netherton) : undefined

Location:Manchester (Lancashire)

Place(s):Broak Oak Lane (Broad Oak Lane) : street name
Ardwick (Ardwick) : undefined

Location:Cambridgeshire

Place(s): Cambridge (Cambridge) : undefined

Location:Derbyshire

Place(s): Chatsworth (Chatsworth) : undefined

Location:Wales : country

Place(s):WalesAbergele (Abergele) : undefined

Location:Cumberland

Place(s): Carlisle (Carlisle) : undefined

Location:Whalley (Lancashire)

Place(s):Brindle Heath (Brindle Heath) : undefined

'The Cause Papers' was developed by The Borthwick Institute for Archives at The University of York Library and Archives with technical development provided by The Humanities Research Institute at The University of Sheffield