During the reign of the Conqueror and his im mediate great progress was made in the matter of keeping public records. The elab orate system of feudal tenures introduced by William necessitated records in order to pro tect the King in his rights to military services, taxes, etc.. and also in the interests of the great lords of the realm, whose power constantly en croached upon and abridged that of the King, and records were an effective means of preserving useful precedents. which would thereafter be considered binding on the Crown. The early court records were scattered about in the various palaces where the kings sojourned during their visits to the different parts of the kingdom. This was due to the fact that the principal court. the Curia Regis, followed the King's person, as he was the 'fountain of justice' and originally heard certain petitions. etc., himself. Upon the permanent establishment of the higher at Westminster, the court records were deposited in the cellars of Westminster Hall, which were damp and ill adapted for the purpose. A large number of valuable records were also deposited in the Tower. At various times since the thir teenth century the problem of the preservation.
arrangement, and indexing of the records has been agitated in England. In 1SOff a Parliamentary committee accomplished a great deal in the way of discovering and arranging ancient public records. Various commi—ions supplemented this work between the latter date and IS35, when a Parliamentary committee, appointed for the purpose. made a complete investigation of all that had been previously dime in this regard, and their report was the basis of the subsequent legislation' on the subject. The statute of I and 2 Vict., c. 94. restores to the Master of the Rolls his ancient authority as chief custodian of the court records, giving him iu addition the charge of all the record• of the kingdom. The act also provided for the establishment of a Public Record Office and for the erection of suitable and authorized the :Master of the Rolls to appoint deputies and assistant-, and to take all necessary steps for the careful preservation of all public record-. ln pursuance of this statute, the Master of the appointed a deputy keeper• who has active charge of the Record Office, and who issues yearly reports of the work of his department. Provision has been made for the reasonable inspection of records. and authenticated copies may be obtained, which will be received as evidence by the courts. The main Public Record Office building is situated in Fetter Lane• London.
A committee of the House of Crguunorts in IS37 described the public records of England as com prised under four classes: (I) Independent series of records of territorial surveys at dif ferent periods; (2) series of enrollments com prising on one roll, varieties of distinct entries, classed together according to their formal char acter; (3) records of judicial proceedings: 41 separate documents. as letters, inquisitions. and privy seals. The act of 23 Vict. above referred to defines what is legally a public record. It provides that the term 'public records' shall in clude "all records. writs, books, proceed ings. decrees, bills, warrants, accounts, papers, and documents whatsoever of a public nature be longing to her Majesty."
Some of the collected were obtained in the library of the Vatican at Rome, being records of taxation by the Popes. One clans con sists of the various territorial surveys. beginning, with the Domesday Rook, and including. among others, the Rotuli H undredorum, Extrnto maw- rii, Testa de rill. Pope .Vicholas's Taxation, Henry 11.'s Surrey. and the Surrry of the (tmIntrontrcalth. Another extensive class belongs to the exchequer. including • the Pipe Roll. or great roll of the exchequer, beginning with the second year of Henry 11., containing yearly ac counts of the revenues of the Crown: the Memoranda and (high/a/if/ rolls. records of the First Fruits and Tenths, records of the of A ugm en tot ions. to decide ques tions regarding ple.:essigm, helimging to the Crown on the dissolution of the monasteries: and the Placita. or records of pleadings and judg ments. The Rot Curia' Rt qis contain the record of the proceedings in the King's Court: and there are numerous classes of 'words of the proc•ecdiugs in the v:n•iou- courts of common law and in the Court of Chancery. The record of Fines and 1,', cort ries is on unbroken record of the transfer of lands from 2.t Henry If. down to 133, when this species of conveyance was abol ished. The Charter Rolls are records of charters, of grants of privileges to religious houses, towns, and corporations, and creations of nobility from 11 Edward II. to Edward IV. The Patent Rolls are enrollments of instruments written on open ipate»tes) sheets of parchment, having pendent from them the great seal, and addressed to the liege lords of the kingdom. The ('lose Rolls are records of such letters under the great seal as were dispatched closed or sealed up—royal mandates to particular persons for particular purposes, and not intended for public inspection. The Liberate Rolls contain writs issued out of Chancery ordering the payment of money from the treasury. The Fine Rolls contain accounts of lines paid to the King for license to alienate lands, freedom from knight service, passing or renewal of charters, wardships, safe conduct, pardons. etc. The French Rolls, Yorman Rolls, and Gascon Rolls relate to the affairs of France, Normandy. and Gaseony, when held by the Eng lish; and the Rotuli Scotia. to transactions with the ancient Kingdom of Scotland. An important class of the records are those connected with Parliament. including Statute Rolls, Parliament Rolls, Rerords of Parliament, and Statutes from 1135 to the present time, with the Journals of the Lords and Co»tmons from Henry VIII. to the present time. and the Writs of Summonses and returns to Parliament. The State papers origi nally sprung from Privy Council and Chancery, and include the correspondence of the Privy Council, Secretaries of State, and other public departments, with miscellaneous domestic papers from the time of Henry VIII. to George IL, a mass of correspondence with foreign powers, and an extensive collection relating to ecclesiastical affairs after the Reformation. 1855 the State Paper Office has become a part of the Public Record Office.