The Tolzey Court was a court with civil jurisdiction that was held in the English city of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. First mentioned in 1344, it may have developed out of the borough hundred court. It was originally held in a room on

Corn Street Corn Street, together with Broad Street, Wine Street and High Street, is one of the four cross streets which met at the Bristol High Cross, the heart of Bristol, England when it was a walled medieval town. From this crossroads Corn Street an ...

but later moved to the

Bristol Guildhall Bristol Guildhall is a municipal building in Broad Street, Bristol, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. It was built in the 1840s on the site of the previous guildhall and used as a courthouse from the 1860s to 1993. Various plans for it ...

on Broad Street. The court absorbed the Mayor's Court and at least one of Bristol's court of piepowders. The Tolzey Court was limited in jurisdiction to actions arising in Bristol or its liberties and could award costs with no upper limit. It was valued by plaintiffs for its use of some aspects of ''

lex mercatoria ''Lex mercatoria'' (from the Latin for "merchant law"), often referred to as "the Law Merchant" in English, is the body of commercial law used by merchants throughout Europe during the medieval period. It evolved similar to English common law as ...

'' law, including the ability to try cases in the absence of a defendant and apply the principle of

foreign attachment Attachment is a legal process by which a court of law, at the request of a creditor, designates specific property owned by the debtor to be transferred to the creditor, or sold for the benefit of the creditor. A wide variety of legal mechanisms are ...

to recover costs from defendant's debtors. In the Victorian era it commonly used juries, which were otherwise unusual in civil trials. The Tolzey Court became popular in the 1960s as its fees were lower than the High Court or

county court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...

. It was prevented from hearing repossession cases by the Protection from Eviction Act 1964 and abolished by the

Courts Act 1971 The Courts Act 1971 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the purpose of which was to reform and modernise the courts system of England and Wales. It established the Crown Court, introduced the posts of circuit judge and recorde ...

Origins

The Tolzey Court is said to have originated in the Anglo-Saxon period but is first mentioned by name in 1344. It was possibly a development of the borough's original hundred court, which was confirmed in its jurisdiction by the Bristol town charter of 1188. The Tolzey Court was mentioned by a charter of 1373 that granted additional powers to the Mayor's Court, without affecting the jurisdiction of the Tolzey Court. The Tolzey Court is named after a room in a building on

used for the collection of tolls, and where it presumably first sat, though for much of the medieval era and later it sat in the

on Broad Street. The earliest surviving record of a case in the Tolzey Court held by the National Archives is one relating to rent of a house in Broad Street in 1476. By the 15th century the hundred court was in decline and the Tolzey Court sat more frequently, often sitting 3-5 times a week. During the town's three annual fair weeks the court did not sit, as a court of piepowders tried offences occurring at the markets. Later at least one of the piepowders courts was merged into the Tolzey Court. The Mayor's Court was merged with the Tolzey Court in the mid-18th century.

Jurisdiction and procedure

The court had jurisdiction over civil disputes where the action leading to the dispute arose within the boundaries of Bristol, or its liberties. In 1450 an ordinance defined the work of the Bristol courts. The Tolzey Court was to have jurisdiction over all civil matters except those relating to the export of wool, hides and lead which were to be tried at the Court of Staple and in matters of trespass and deceit where the Mayor's Court had jurisdiction. Bristol was one of the few places, London being another, whereby the King's Justices were excluded from jurisdiction (in Bristol this was by a 1373 charter). The Tolzey Court was therefore entitled to claim precedence over the King's Courts for matters arising within its area. The Tolzey Court was a

court of record A court of record is a trial court or appellate court in which a record of the proceedings is captured and preserved, for the possibility of appeal. A court clerk or a court reporter takes down a record of oral proceedings. That written recor ...

and was able to order costs as it saw fit, not being bound by an upper limit. The court was originally presided over by the

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

s of the hundred but when Bristol became a royal residence the court was probably united with that of the palace and presided over by a

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

steward Steward may refer to: Positions or roles * Steward (office), a representative of a monarch * Steward (Methodism), a leader in a congregation and/or district * Steward, a person responsible for supplies of food to a college, club, or other ins ...

of the royal household. It later came under a

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

and, after their number was increased to two by Henry VII, the court became known as the Sheriffs' Court. The court was probably brought under the control of the Common Council of Bristol by a 1461 charter of

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

. The court was attended by a legal officer known as a prothonotary, who probably played a similar role to that of a modern registrar. The court was authorised by four sergeants at mace, officers who carried out the court's orders, though these only had powers within the area of the court's jurisdiction. The court was popular for its adaptability in procedure when compared with

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

courts. By the 13th century it had adopted some aspects of ''

'' (law merchant) law. In particular it allowed judgements to be made against absent defendants which was not possible under the common law. It also adopted the principle of

under which action could be taken to recover costs from debtors of defendants. This was particularly useful where defendants had no recoverable property within the court's jurisdiction and was described by the 1830 prothonotary as a great advantage to citizens of the town. In cases where the defendant had no property in the court's jurisdiction they, if present, could be detained ahead of trial.

Post-1835 reform

The court was reformed by the

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legisl ...

. The city's sheriff was designated as the presiding officer of the court, though he took no part in the proceedings. The city

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

became the judge of the court and the prothonotary was renamed the registrar. It was common after this time for juries to be used by the court, unusual in civil trials in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

, though this was limited by the Juries Act 1918. The court survived in use well into the 20th-century perhaps because of the usefulness of the law merchant and foreign attachment procedures. During the 1960s the court saw a surge in popularity as its court fees were lower than those charged in the High Court or

; in the first half of 1962 some 275 actions were commenced in the Tolzey Court. Around this time it became a popular court for landlords' cases, though this ceased when the Protection from Eviction Act 1964 limited repossession actions to the county court. The Tolzey Court was abolished by the

and its last hearing took place on 3 December 1971, a claim for repairs to the roof of a house, and was presided over by Recorder Joseph Malony. Many of the court records are held in the

Bristol Record Office Bristol Archives (formerly Bristol Record Office) was established in 1924. It was the first borough record office in the United Kingdom, since at that time there was only one other local authority record office (Bedfordshire) in existence. It ...

Origins

Jurisdiction and procedure

Post-1835 reform

References

Further reading