Criminal court cases: Middlesex Sessions post 1889

1. About this guide

This guide will help you find the records of criminal cases held at the Middlesex Sessions post 1889. Sessions courts, like courts of Assize elsewhere in the country, dealt with more serious cases than those heard in magistrates' courts.

See Criminal Court Cases: an overview for an introduction to our criminal court records.

2. The geographical area covered

In 1889 the County of London was formed. The formation of this new area meant that the County of Middlesex was greatly reduced in size. The modern Inner London boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Camden, Islington, Hackney, and Tower Hamlets all stopped being considered as parts of Middlesex.

This also had a further impact. The location of Middlesex Sessions trials also needed to move, as the former Sessions House in Clerkenwell was now being used for the County of London Sessions. The Westminster Guildhall, which was also the home of the Middlesex County Council, became the new venue for trials.

In 1965 the County of London was enlarged again to form Greater London. This abolished the old administrative councils of the County of London and the County of Middlesex, however the judicial role of the Middlesex Sessions remained in operation through to 1971.

3. Online Sources

Before you delve into the original records, please gather as much information as possible from the following online resources. It is particularly important to get the date and place of the trial.

• Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935 on Findmypast.co.uk (charges apply)
• UK, Calendar of Prisoners, 1868-1929 on Ancestry.co.uk (charges apply)
• The British Newspaper Archive (charges apply)

4. How to search the records held at The London Archives

4.1. Calendars of Prisoners

The main source are the calendars of prisoners which list prisoners tried at several different courts including the County of London Sessions. The calendars are in chronological order and are indexed on a monthly basis.

The calendars give the following information on individual prisoners:

• name, age and occupation
• previous convictions
• from where committed
• when received in prison or bailed
• the charge, verdict and sentence.

The calendars up to 1929 are available to view on Ancestry.co.uk and Findmypast.co.uk (see links in Section 3). Registers from 1930 onwards will need to be viewed at The London Archives. Use the table below to find the correct reference codes:

4.2. Sessions Rolls

The sessions rolls in MXS/B/02 contain the same information as the calendars of prisoners. They are only really useful when the official charge in the calendar is shortened, for example where a large amount of goods is stolen the calendar may just list a few of the stolen items whereas the sessions roll will likely give the full list.

4.3 Depositions

Depositions (witness statements) are incredibly useful as they give you the most information on a particular case outside of contemporary newspaper accounts.

There is a small series of depositions in MXS/B/01 for the Middlesex Sessions but unfortunately there are no records for 1907-1918 or 1962 and most years are not complete. The survival rate is very sporadic.