The Court of Chancery was the court of equity developed in the 15th century to provide remedies not available in the courts of common law. It was abolished by the Judicature Act of 1873, which formed the Chancery Division, one of the three Divisions of the High Court of Justice, in its place.

The Court of the Exchequer was formed to handle financial matters, but had begun to develop an equity jurisdiction by the mid-sixteenth century. In 1841 it lost this jurisdiction, and any outstanding work was transferred to the court of Chancery. The business of the court included disputes over titles of land, manorial rights, tithes, mineral rights, ex-monastic land, debts, wills, etc.

Photostats of the papers of eight cases brought in Chancery and the Court of Exchequer:

• case brought by William Pulteney against Robert and William Alexander, merchants, involving a number of provincial London bankers, 1776-8
• case brought by John Bindley against Alexander Fordyce, Samuel Roffey, Henry Neale and William James, bankers, 1769
• shipping-insurance case brought by a number of underwriters against John Bindley, 1768
• case brought by Henry Boldero, banker, against his brother John Boldero, 1765
• case brought by John Townson against Gerrit Blaavw of Amsterdam, merchant, who had gone bail for Lauchlin Macleane, 1773
• case brought by John Wilkes trying to evade payment of debt to Joseph Burd and John Elias Jaquery, printers, 1771
• case brought by Lord Ralph Verney against Lauchlin Macleane, 15 Dec. 1769
• case involving assignees of the estate of Sir George Colebrooke, banker under commission of bankruptcy, Laurence Sulivan and Robert Palk against Ambrose Gilbert, Jonas Brown, Isaac Mallison and Henry Sowley, 1778
• entries of Thomas Coutts and Co.'s subscriptions for themselves and to the government, 1759-83.

Given to the Library in 1971.

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card (for admissions procedures see http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/services/admissions/).

A description is available in the Library, where there is also a card index to unpublished catalogues.

Bankers | England

Debt

Insurance, Marine | Great Britain

Alexander | Robert | fl 18th century | Merchant

Alexander | William | fl 1776-1778 | Merchant

Bindley | John | fl 1768-1769 | Distiller and vendor of liquor

Blaavw | Gerrit | fl 1773 | Merchant of Amsterdam

Boldero | Henry | fl 1744-1765 | Banker and goldsmith

Brown | Jonas | fl 1778 | Whitby merchant

Burd | Joseph | fl 1771 | Printer

Colebrooke | Sir | George | 1729-1809 | 2nd Baronet | Politician and statesman

Fordyce | Alexander | fl 1769 | Banker

Gilbert | Ambrose | fl 1778

James | William | fl 1769 | Banker

Jaquery | John Elias | fl 1771 | Printer

Macleane | Lauchlin | fl 18th century | of London

Mallison | Isaac | fl 1778

Neale | Henry | fl 1769 | Banker

Palk | Robert | fl 1778 | of London

Pulteney | Sir | William | 1729-1805 | 5th Baronet | MP

Roffey | Samuel | fl 1769 | Banker

Sowley | Henry | fl 1778 | London merchant

Sulivan | Laurence | 1713-1786 | Director of the East India Co

Townson | John | fl 1773 | of London

Verney | Ralph | 1712-1791 | 2nd Earl Verney | MP

Wilkes | John | fl 1771 | of Westminster

Coutts & Co. | London | bank

Great Britain | Chancery

Great Britain | Exchequer