A brief sketch of the Records of the IoM (1765)

Overview

This manuscript is held at the Manx National Heritage Library under reference MS470 and was almost certainly written in 1765 at the time of the Revestment for the benefit of the new administration. It summarises the then existing Records. This document is stored together with and is almost certainly contemporary with several other related manuscripts (MS469, MS471-MS473) and I have used this to date it.

Transcription

The following is a mostly literal transcription of the manuscript (which is mostly easy to read). The references in the original appear in the margin. Here they are all positioned on the right. Square brackets [] are used to indicate comments. There are many abbreviations in the document (for example Governt for Government). I have not expanded these, although occasionally I use [] to indicate what the expanded word should be. As is typical of documents of the era the spelling is erratic.

Manx National Heritage 
Manx Museum Library
MS470C (Bridge House Papers)

[Cover]

A brief account of the Records of the Isle of Man

[page 1]

A Sketch of the Records in the Isle of Man


1  The Statute Book in which are inrolled the most ancient Laws of the               
   Isle. Several other acts are interspersed in sundry Books
   of Record and latterly have been recorded in Bundles & Rolls

2  In Libir Rotulorum are entred the proceedings & Judgements of                     
   all the Courts of Law & Equity, in a miscelany way, till the year 1580
   when they were branched out into as in the three Books following

3  Libir Cancellari contains the actual proceedings pleading &tc in                  
   Chancery from 1580 to this time. There are also some matters of less consequence
   to be found on the file mentioned in the 6th paragraph, but of late years
   there is a file annually made for them called the Chancery file.

4  Libir Scaccari wherein are recorded all the acts of the Exchequer
   Court, several Statute Laws, orders from the King in Council, orders
   ordinances, judgements, presentments & other Judicial proceedings
   whereby fines accrued to the Lord.

5  Libir plitor. In this Book all actions at Common Laws, Ejectments
   e[t]c are entred, the several anual officers & Inquests sworn at this Court
   are inserted, the Bills of Indictment of felons, sentences, reprieves
   warrants &tc, and other Judicial proceedings.

6  About the year 1698 there was an anual file begun containing
   various matters theretofore interleaved in the sd several Books but
   put upon the same file indiscriminately for about 20 years, and
   then they were divided into two. The one contains verdicts of
   Juries & Inquests relative to the Lords Comons, Boundarys of
   Lands, Roads watercourses presentments of Nusances & verdicts
   of Jurys upon actions at Comon Law Ejectment upon the case &tc &tc
   and several other complicate affairs as well judicial as manerial

[page 2]

   on the other file at first were kept sundry petitions & proceedings
   in the several Courts, Coronor's Inquests Depositions against felons
   verdicts of Setting Quests relative to the partition of Lands and
   assessing the due proportion of Lords Rent upon each parcel
   of Lands alienated.

7  Libir Assedacionis is a Rent Roll of all the Lands in
   the Isle & specifys as well the name of the Tenant as the Rent of
   each & every parcel of Ground as laid down & discribed in the most
   ancient Books of the kind - the first legible date is 1511.

8  Libir Vastar. Herein each Land owner admitted & entred
   has his tenure & title fully recited specifyed & ascertained, and
   he holds his Lands by copy of this Court Roll.

9  Several Books of Composition for fines levyed out of Estates
   in the Isle which only relate to Titles of Land.

10 Books containing the several branches of the Lords
   Revenue viz the Accounts of the Lords Steward of his Demesnes
   & Garrisons, the Stewards of the Abby Lands, the collectors of the
   customs, the receiver's Books of Receipts Sallarys Disbursmts
   fines &tc and the Lords Revenue Books comprehending the
   whole Revenue accounts of the Isle.

11 There are Books containing the oaths administered to
   the several Governors council officers soldiers &tc others
   containing the Inrollments of their comissions & several others
   which do not oocur to memory.

12 There are also Sundry Bundles of Deeds & Articles

[page 3]

   of Marriage Settlement Conveyance Mortgage &tc &tc wch must be
   necessarily comfirmed & recorded here to attest the Lands of the
   Isle. And sundry other Bundles containing matters relative
   to the Government & the [? ?] provisionally without
   any method [?] or design