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Don't know when and where your ancestor was tried?
Even if you are not sure of the trial details, we can still help, providing you know what ship he/she was transported on. By referring to the Register of Convicts Transported, held at the PRO, we can find the trial information. There is a flat GB£5 charge for this. This is non-refundable (for example, in the extremely rare occasions we can't find the entry for some reason), but the £5 will be deducted from any further Trial record research.

Scottish and Irish Trials
We regret we do not research trials which took place in either Scotland or Ireland. Scotland operates a different legal system, and records are held in Edinburgh. Irish records are held in Dublin, and many were destroyed in a fire in 1922. We can, however, look for any newspaper reports for Scottish or Irish trials - email us for details

English Trials
For our purposes, there are three categories of trial - The Courts of Assize, Old Bailey (including the Central Criminal Court), and Quarter Session Courts.

Courts of Assize
Courts of Assize were held around the country, and all the surviving records are held at the PRO at Kew, where we are regular visitors. The assize records vary enormously, from year to year, and from court to court. There are no transcripts of trials, but it is often possible to build up a comprehensive picture of events from the minute books, Indictment files, gaol books and other documents. One notable area where records are extremely sparse relate to the Midland Circuit, pre 1818. So if your ancestor was tried in Nottingham, Leicester or elswhere in the Midlands prior to this date, it is unlikely that we (or anybody else) will be able to help you.

Old Bailey/Central Criminal Court
If your ancestor was tried here, you are one of the lucky ones. Old Bailey records tend to be the most detailed. Session Papers give a mini-transcript of the trial, sometimes as short as a paragraph, sometimes as long as a page or more. For trials up to 1834, these are available online at www.oldbaileyonline.org . Post 1834, we will need to search these manually for you. There are also Calendars of Prisoners at Newgate and other documents which can help build up a comprehensive picture.

Quarter Sessions
Like Assize trials, Quarter Sessions took place around the country. However, unlike Courts of the Assize, Quarter Session records remain in the various County Archives around the country. For this reason, Pastfinders only research Quarter Session trials in the following counties: Surrey, Kent, Essex, Hampshire, Sussex, Berkshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Whatever the format of the trial, we shall advise you on the level of detail you are likely to find. Please bear in mind, though, there are never any guarantees in any research, and we cannot give details about individuals without looking at the original documents (i.e. doing the work!). The information is not indexed on any other media. On the plus side, we have researched many trials, and have never failed to find the relevant person. Whatever we find, will be all that there is!

Other Documents
There are often other, peripheral documents, not directly relating to the trial, which can help in tracing your ancestor's story. Hulk records, for example, or petitions for clemency. We will advise as to what is available, along with our quote to view.

Copies
Pastfinders endeavour to provide copies of all relevant entries from original documents. Unfortunately, on extremely rare occasions, this is not possible, if the document involved is physically too big, or too fragile.