The Middlesex Quarter Sessions was the

quarter session The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

court for the county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, England. Membership was made up of the

justices of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. The quarter sessions heard criminal cases and also had a role in the civil administration of the county. Administrative functions of the quarter sessions lasted from the 16th century to 1889 and included taxation, licensing, prisons, asylums and bridges. The Middlesex sessions area was reduced in 1889.

Jurisdiction

It had overlapping jurisdiction with the Westminster Quarter Sessions within the

City and Liberty of Westminster The City and Liberty of Westminster was a unit of local government in the county of Middlesex, England. It was located immediately to the west of the City of London. Originally under the control of Westminster Abbey, the local authority for the ...

. Following the County Rate Act 1739 there was a single

county rate Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable role ...

for Middlesex, including Westminster. The separate Westminster sessions ended in 1844 and were absorbed by Middlesex. The Middlesex sessions did not have authority over the Liberty of the Tower which had separate sessions. The

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

held the City of London Quarter Sessions at the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

Court sessions

In order to accommodate the burdens of the populous metropolitan area, Middlesex sessions were unusual as they met eight times a year instead of the traditional four. The sessions were location at

Hicks Hall Hicks Hall, or Hickes' Hall, was a courthouse at the southern end of St John Street, Clerkenwell, London. It opened in 1612, and was closed and demolished in 1782. It was the first purpose-built sessions house for justices of the peace of the ...

, St John Street, Clerkenwell from 1601, with the April and October sessions taking place at

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

. A new

Middlesex Sessions House The former Middlesex Sessions House or the Old Sessions House is a large building on Clerkenwell Green in the London Borough of Islington in London, England, built in 1780 as the courthouse for the Middlesex Quarter Sessions. It is a Grade II* lis ...

was opened at Clerkenwell Green in 1780. The area of the Middlesex sessions was reduced in 1889 when the County of London Quarter Sessions were created. The Middlesex sessions moved to Westminster Guildhall, also the location of

Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the coun ...

from 1913. Middlesex Quarter Sessions were replaced by the Greater London Quarter Sessions in 1965, although the Middlesex area continued to be used as a commission area for sessions until 1971.

Local government functions

From the sixteenth century, the court had a role in the local government of Middlesex, which contained many of the metropolitan parishes of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. County functions of the court included maintenance of bridges, responsibility for gaols, the regulation of weights and measures, and supervision of the

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

. During the eighteenth century committees were set up to deal with specific county business. Local government functions passed to the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

and the

in 1889.

Members

The judges of the court were the

. There was no requirement for legal training and after 1835 the county sessions were the only remaining courts where this was permitted. From 1844 it became a requirement that the chairman of the Middlesex sessions must be legally qualified.

Chairmen

* George Jeffreys *

John Hawkins John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(1765–1780) *

William Mainwaring William Henry Mainwaring (1884 – 18 May 1971) was a Welsh coal miner, lecturer and trade unionist, who became a long-serving Labour Party Member of Parliament. Both as a trade unionist and a politician he struggled, largely successfully to cou ...

(1781–1816) *

Sir John Scott Lillie Sir John Scott Lillie (1790 – 29 June 1868) was a decorated officer of the British Army and Portuguese Army who fought in the Peninsular War (1808–1814). He was a landowner, entrepreneur and inventor. He was Deputy Lieutenant of the C ...

(1790-1868) *John George Henry Pownall * Sir Ralph Littler (?–1908) *

Montagu Sharpe Sir Montagu Sharpe KBE DL (28 October 1857 – 23 August 1942) was an English politician, lawyer, amateur archaeologist, antiquarian, and ornithologist. He came from an old Middlesex family that owned Hanwell Park. He was a member of the Midd ...

(1909–1934) *Thomas Forster (1934–1936)

Records

Surviving records are held at the

London Metropolitan Archives The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London: it is the largest county record office in the United Kingdom. It was established under its pr ...

References

{{reflist History of local government in London (pre-1855) History of local government in Middlesex