The Court of Great Sessions in Wales was the main court for the prosecution of

felonies A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

and serious misdemeanours in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

between the second Laws in Wales Act of 1542 and the court's abolition in 1830. It had the same powers in civil law as the King's Bench in England, (it also had

equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

jurisdiction) and its

criminal jurisdiction Criminal jurisdiction is a term used in constitutional law and public law to describe the power of courts to hear a case brought by a State (polity), state accusing a defendant of the commission of a crime. It is relevant in three distinct situati ...

was equivalent to the English county

assizes The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

. The Court was established under the 1542 Act which formally incorporated Wales within the English legal system. Of the 13 Welsh

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, 12 – that is, all except the County of Monmouth – formed new court circuits. These were Chester (comprising the counties of

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

Denbigh Denbigh (; cy, Dinbych; ) is a market town and a community in Denbighshire, Wales. Formerly, the county town, the Welsh name translates to "Little Fortress"; a reference to its historic castle. Denbigh lies near the Clwydian Hills. History ...

and Montgomery); North Wales ( Anglesea and the counties of Caernarvon and

Merioneth , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

); Brecon (the counties of

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

, and Radnor); and Carmarthen (the counties of Kayermarthen, Cardigan, and Pembroke). Monmouthshire was added to the

Oxford circuit The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

of the English Assizes. The Sessions met twice a year in each county, administering English law but in English language, excluding much of the population from direct access. Of the 217 judges who sat on its benches in its 288 years of existence, only 30 were Welshmen and it is likely only a handful of the latter members of the higher gentry additionally spoke the native Welsh, in continued exclusion of the native culture and population. According to historian John Davies, the continued treatment of Monmouthshire in this arrangement was the cause of the "notion" that "the county had been annexed by England" and attempted to be treated as though no longer part of Wales by the English. The

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million boo ...

holds the surviving historical records of the Court of Great Sessions.National Library of Wales
Crime and Punishment database
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References

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References

Further reading