Nature of Source
What Are Calendars of Prisoners?
Calendars of Prisoners are records listing individuals held in county prisons awaiting trial for serious indictable offences at the Quarter Sessions or Assizes (court sessions) outside of London. The records offer valuable information for family historians as they often include the names of prisoners, the charges against them, and in some cases, the verdict and sentence. The records may be pre-trial, naming the accused and their alleged offense, or post-trial, recording the verdict and sentence. At the assizes, these calendars were presented to the judge and grand jury, who reviewed them to confirm indictments before full trials.
How the Records Were Created
Many of the cases included in the Calendars of Prisoners were first heard by a magistrate in lower Petty Sessions courts before being referred to the Quarter Sessions or Assizes. From the 19th century onwards, the Home Office became more involved in criminal cases, especially those involving transportation so expect to find Calendar records in The National Archives.
Accessing the Records
- Most calendars are closed for 75-100 years. Records from 1969 onwards remain closed for 30 years.
- Pre-1733 calendars are written in Latin or English. After 1733, they are entirely in English.
- Whilst many were handwritten, some calendars were printed and published.
For a more detailed account of the trial consult the Session minute books, sometimes known as order or court books and the depositions or witness statements held amongst the Quarter Session or Assize records.
The Newgate Calendar
The Newgate Calendar is an essential resource for criminal research in London. It originated as a monthly bulletin of executions produced by the Keeper of Newgate Prison but later evolved into a series of biographical accounts of notorious criminals. The collected editions began in in mid-18th century with a standard five-volume edition in 1774. Further editions were subsequently released throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Many cases featured in the Newgate Calendar were tried at the Old Bailey, providing details of sentences, imprisonment, transportation or execution.
A digitised version of the 1795 edition is available at the Public Domain Review. Additionally, various editions can be found online at the Ex-Classics, The Internet Archive, the HathiTrust and Google Books.
Additional Resources
The following GenGuide sources could assist in researching crime and criminal ancestors:
- Criminal Petitions
- Criminal Registers
- General Eyre
- License Registers/’tickets of leave’
- Petty Sessions
- Quarter Session Records
- Prison/Hulk/Gaol Registers
- Registers of Habitual Criminals
- Transported Convicts
Where Found
- Series HO 16, Returns of Committals for Trial at the Old Bailey and Central Criminal Court, 1815-1849.
- Series HO 77, Newgate Prison Calendar, 1782-1853.
- Series HO 140, Calendar of Prisoners, 1868-1971.
- Series HO 130/1, Calendar of Prisoners at Winchester, 1830
- Series CRIM 5, Calendars of indictments at the Central Criminal Court, 1833-1971. Search within or browse this series to find specific records of interest.
- Series CRIM 9, After Trial Calendars of Prisoners at the Central Criminal Court, 1855-1949. Search within or browse this series to find specific records of interest.
- Series PCOM 2, Registers of prisoners and habitual criminals.
County Record Offices
Printed and indexed calendars.
British Library
Law and Legal Studies. Historical and current resources for the study of law, legislation and society. The Library has a wealth of material to support research on law including legislation, cases and traditional legal commentary.
Period Covered
1350 – 1971
Genealogical Value
- Prisoner’s name, number, age and occupation.
- Prisoner’s previous convictions, date of warrant and date taken into custody.
- The offence (including the name of victim before 1969), verdict and sentence might be noted after the trial.
- In cases of theft, the victim’s name will be noted.
Further References
- Bard, Robert. Tyburn: The Story of London’s Gallows: Amberley Publishing, 2012
- Bard, Robert. Death in London: Places of Execution, Then and Now: Historical Publications, 2007
- Bevan, Amanda. Tracing Your Ancestors in the National Archives: The National Archives, 2006
- Brandon, David & Brooke. Alan. London West End 1800-1850 Murders And Misdemeanours: Amberley Publishing, 2009
- Brandon, David & Brooke. Alan. Olde London Punishments: The History Press (30 April 2010
- Cale, Michelle. Law and Society : an introduction to sources for criminal and legal history from 1800: PRO Publications, 1996
- Campbell, Charles. The Intolerable Hulks: British Shipboard Confinement 1776-1857 Fenestra Books, 2001
- Decharne, Max. Capital Crimes : Seven Centuries of London Life and Murder: Arrow Books, 2013
- Eatwell, Alison. Crime, Clemency and Consequence in Britain 1821-1839: A Slice of Criminal Life: Pen & Sword History, 2017
- Emsley, Clive. Crime and Society in England: 1750-1900: Routledge, 2010
- Emsley, Clive. Crime and Society in Twentieth Century England: Routledge, 2011
- Gilfillan, Ross. Crime and Punishment in Victorian London: A Street-Level View of the City’s Underworld: Pen & Sword Books, 2014
- Gray, Adrian. Crime and Criminals of Victorian England: The History Press, 2011
- Hall, Malcolm. Gloucestershire Murders and Misdemeanours 1820-1829: Amberley Publishing, 2008
- Hawkings, David. Criminal Ancestors: A Guide to Historical Criminal Records in England & Wales: The History Press, 2009
- Hawkings, David. Bound for Australia: A Guide to the Records of Transported Convicts and Early Settlers: The History Press, 2012
- Herber, Mark. Criminal London: A Pictorial History from Medieval Times to 1939: Phillimore & Co, 2002
- Higgs, Michelle. Prison Life in Victorian England: The History Press, 2007
- Hitchcock, Tim & Shoemaker, Bob. Tales from the Hanging Court: Hodder Arnold, 2006
- Howse, Geoffrey. A History of London’s Prisons: Wharncliffe True Crime, 2012
- Jack, Elizabeth. A Victorian Prisoners of Gloucester Gaol: A Rogues’ Gallery: The History Press, 2009
- Jeaffreson, John Cordy (ed). Middlesex County Records. 4 Vols: Greater London Council, 1972 (1886) (Volumes available to download and view at the Internet Archive or at British History Online)
- Knapp, Andrew & Baldwin, William. The Newgate Calendar: London, 1828 (Available from: Google Books)
- Marson, Edward. Prison: Five Hundred Years of Life Behind Bars: The National Archives, 2009
- May, Trevor. Victorian and Edwardian Prisons: Shire, 2008
- Oates, Dr Jonathan. Tracing Villains and Their Victims: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword Books, 2017
- Paley, Ruth & Fowler, Simon. Family Skeletons: Exploring The Lives of our Disreputable Ancestors: The National Archives, 2005
- Reake, Janet. How to Trace Your Convict Ancestors: Their Lives, Times and Records: Hale & Iremonger, 1999
- Stevens, Mark. Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum: Pen and Sword Books, 2013
- Storey, Neil. The Victorian Criminal: Shire Publications, 2011
- Wade, Stephen. Tracing Your Criminal Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen & Sword Books, 2009
- Wade, Stephen. Tyranny and the Lash : Prisoners & Punishment in British History: Robert Hale Publishers, 2011
- Watson, Katherine. Poisoned Lives: English Poisoners and their Victims: Hambledon Continuum, 2006
- Woolf, Alex. Past In Pictures : A Photographic View of Crime and Punishment: Wayland Publishers, 2013
Websites
The National Archives Research Guide
How to look for records of prisoners and convicts. This guide will help you to search for records of prisoners serving sentences in England and Wales.
Our Criminal Ancestors
Our Criminal Ancestors is a public engagement project, led by the University of Hull in collaboration with Leeds Beckett University, that encourages and supports to explore the criminal past of their own families, communities, towns and regions. Source guides include researching prison ancestors and tracing transported criminals.
Society of Genealogists Guide
Finding Criminal Ancestors
London Lives
Researching Crime. London Lives allows users to link together the records of several different courts to trace individual criminal careers, or at least an individual’s repeated encounters with the law, over a number of years.
London Picture Archive
Search over 250,000 photographs, prints and drawings as well as over 1,000 maps of London from the collections at The London Archives and Guildhall Art Gallery. Search for people or places or browse subject areas such as ‘Law & Crime’.
Proceedings of the Old Bailey
Crime, Justice and Punishment: The Historical Background to the Proceedings of the Old Bailey including a glossary of judicial terms, explanations of types and categories of indictable offences, trial procedures, verdicts, punishments and other topics.
Guildhall Library
Tracing London criminals. The Library has many sources for tracing London Criminals, including an extensive collection of Old Bailey Sessions Papers. The history and the changing nature of the information found in these is described in some detail with notes on London criminal courts, transportation, indictments and guidance on further research.
The London Archives Research Guide
Law and Crime. Our records on law and crime cover obvious things like criminal cases and prison records, as well as topics which can reveal much about family history like the records of the Court of Orphans and Coroner Inquests.
Register of Qualified Genealogists
Researching Criminal Ancestors.
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine
The 14 best websites for tracing prisoners in your family history, by Jonathan Scott.
Family Tree
Researching “Black Sheep” Ancestors with Criminal Records, by David A. Fryxell.
Family Tree
5 ways to find your criminal ancestors, by Emma Maxwell.
Family Tree Resources
Tracing Your Criminal Ancestors.
Findmypast Blog
How to find criminal ancestors in the newspaper archives, by Alex Cox.
Digital Panopticon
A Guide to Researching Family History. Learn about crime and criminal justice with research guides covering the historical background to crime and punishment and the courts.
The Victorian Web
Crime in Victorian England. Explore crime related essays covering Victorian England.
Capital Punishment U.K.
The resource site for the history of death penalty in Britain. History of the death penalty in Britain.
Victorians
Victorian Crime and Punishment.
National Records of Scotland
Research Guide: Crime and Criminals. The archives holds many records relating to crime and criminals. Information about crime and criminals can be found in the records of criminal courts, criminal investigations and prisons.
ScotlandsPeople Guide
Prison registers. Read how to search prison registers and understand their contents.
Bodleian Libraries
Broadside Ballads Online. The site features a digital collection of 30,000 English printed ballad-sheets from between the 16th and 20th centuries with links to other resources for the study of the English ballad tradition
National Library of Scotland
Digital Gallery: The Word On The Street: Online collection of nearly 1,800 Scottish broadsides between 1650 and 1910.
Harvard Law School Library
English Crime and Execution Broadsides. Explore This collection of nearly 600 broadsides highlighting crime and capital punishment, primarily in England, as seen through the popular press in the 18th and 19th century.
Online Databases
- UK, Calendar of Prisoners, 1868-1929. These calendars, usually recording prisoners ‘after-trial’ are lists, for the most part printed, of prisoners tried at Assizes and Quarter Sessions. The original documents are held in series HO 140 at The National Archives.
- UK, After-Trial Calendar of Prisoners, 1855-1931. These ‘after-trial’ calendars are lists, for the most part printed, of prisoners tried at Assizes and Quarter Sessions. The records are held in series CRIM 9 at The National Archives.
- Birmingham, England, Calendar of Prisoners, 1880-1891 and 1906-1913. This collection is a calendar or list of prisoners from Birmingham as recorded from the Quarter Sessions and Assizes.
- Dorchester Prison Admission and Discharge Registers, 1782-1901.
- Dorset, England, Quarter Sessions Order Books, 1625-1905.
- Dorset, England, Calendars of Prisoners, 1854-1904.
- Yorkshire, Quarter Session Records, 1637-1914.
- Lancashire, Quarter Session Records and Petitions, 1648-1908.
- Warwickshire, Occupational and Quarter Session Records, 1662-1866.
- Worcestershire, Calendar of Prisoners, 1839-1921.
- Glamorgan, Wales, Calendar of Prisoners, 1850-1920. Search lists of prisoners held while awaiting trial at gaols and houses of correction in Cardiff and Swansea, Wales. Trial sessions were held quarterly each year.
Follow these steps to search the datasets.
- Fill out the search form on the ‘Court, Governmental & Criminal Records’ start page
- Click on ‘Collection focus’ and change if needed
- Click on search
- Click on the relevant dataset under ‘Filters’
- Shropshire Quarter Sessions Rolls Index, 1831-1920
- Wiltshire Quarter Session Calendars 1728-1890
- Surrey Quarter Sessions 1780-1820
- Hampshire, Portsmouth Quarter Sessions Browse
- Yorkshire, Sheffield Quarter Sessions, 1880-1912
- Northamptonshire Quarter Sessions Licences 1689-1932
- Yorkshire, Sheffield Crime Courts and Convicts 1769-1931. Search over 200,000 records which cover both the perpetrators of crime in and around Sheffield, and those who helped bring them to justice including prison calendars
- City of York Calendars of Prisoners 1739-1851. Records of prisoners held at York Castle
- Devon, Plymouth Prison Records 1832-1919. The collection is formed from a variety of sources including prisoner registers, calendars of prisoners and registers of prison officers
To restrict and filter your search to a county or place or dataset click on ‘Browse Record Set’ on the Institutions & organisations search page.
Heritage and Culture Warwickshire
Calendars of Prisoners, 1800-1900. The database is an index to the ‘Calendars of Prisoners’ or lists of those held in the County Prisons in Warwick, Birmingham and Coventry for trial at the Assize and the Quarter Sessions courts held in Warwick
The Genealogist
After Trial Calendar of Prisoners. Search over 160,000 records and details of prisoners who were up before the Central Criminal Court/Old Bailey. The original data is held in series CRIM 9 at The National Archives.
Worcestershire Archives
Explore the Past: Worcestershire Quarter Sessions, Calendar of Prisoners, 1839-1849.
Staffordshire Name Indexes
Staffordshire & Stoke On Trent Archive Service: Calendars of Prisoners at Staffordshire Quarter Sessions, 1779-1921.
GENUKI
Calendars of Prisoners extracted from Devon Quarter Sessions, 1655-1882; transcribed by Brian Brassett.
