Magistrates Court records

The Magistrates Court (or Petty Sessions court) records deal mainly with minor offences and licensing for sale and consumption of liquor.

Records of Sheffield Division cover the borough and City of Sheffield and records of Upper Strafforth and Tickhill Division of West Riding of Yorkshire cover areas outside the borough such as Handsworth, Ecclesfield and Bradfield.

Contact us on archives@sheffield.gov.uk to find out more, book in advance or order archival materials.

The records

Registers of jurisdiction

Including juveniles for Sheffield Division and for Upper Strafforth and Tickhill Division. It includes the:

• names of informants and defendants (addresses also for Upper Strafforth and Tickhill Division)
• age of defendant (only if under 16 in earlier registers)
• offence
• plea (from 1915)
• fine
• decisions

Registers of licences for sale of beer, wines or spirits on or off premises (Upper Strafforth and Tickhill Division)

This register is arranged by the township. It includes the:

• renewal date
• details of licence
• name, situation and annual value of premises
• name and address of owner
• name of licence holder and transferee
• date of transfer
• disqualification of premises and record of conviction
• pawnbrokers’ certificates

Registers of Beerhouse Keepers and Licensed Victuallers (Sheffield Division)

This register is arranged by the township. It includes the:

• name of licence holder
• situation and sign of premises
• name of owner
• convictions on premises
• date of transfer of licence
• plans (incomplete).

The register is indexed by name of licence holder. The Register of Beerhouse Keepers has also been indexed by name of public house. You can download a copy of the index from the bottom of the page.

Precept book

Giving dates and justices for Special Sessions (Sheffield Division) dealing with licensing and mental health issues.

Dates covered

The dates covered in the Magistrates Court records are:

• registers of jurisdiction for Sheffield Division 1888-1976.
• registers of jurisdiction for Upper Strafforth and Tickhill Division 1882-1893, 1898-1948.
• registers of Beerhouse Keepers for Sheffield Division c.1870-c.1935.
• registers of Licensed Victuallers for Sheffield Division c.1870-c.1935.
• registers of Licenses for Upper Strafforth and Tickhill Division 1872-1896.
• pawnbrokers’ certificates for Upper Strafforth and Tickhill Division 1879-1887.
• precept book for Sheffield Division 1918-1935.

Location

The Magistrates Court records are located at\:

Sheffield Archives
52 Shoreham Street
Sheffield

Not all archive material is stored onsite and we may require notice of the items you wish to see. Please contact us to confirm when we can retrieve items for you.

Copies

We can normally supply copies for private study purposes, subject to the usual copyright regulations.

Background information

Sheffield was granted a Commission of the Peace in 1848 but the early registers for this period have not survived. Before 1848 Sheffield was covered by the West Riding of Yorkshire Commission of the Peace.

For further information you need to contact
West Riding Archive Service
Registry of Deeds
Newstead Road
Wakefield
WF1 2DE

Or call: 01924 305980.