Criminals, miscreants and misdemeanours

Two centuries of Isle of Ely court records illuminate the darkest corners of the region's past

Ely Cathedral print by Thomas Higham, after JMW Turner. ©Trustees of the British Museum.

Ely Cathedral print by Thomas Higham, after JMW Turner. ©Trustees of the British Museum.

Murder, highway robbery and a child killed by witchcraft: more than 200 years of crime and punishment in the Diocese of Ely is to be catalogued and made available to the public for the first time in a partnership between Cambridge University Library and the Cambridgeshire Family History Society.

Eliz: Jeffryes & Jno. Swan condemn'd at Chelmsford-Assizes for the Murder of Mr. Josh. Jeffryes, 1752. ©Trustees of the British Museum.

Eliz: Jeffryes & Jno. Swan condemn'd at Chelmsford-Assizes for the Murder of Mr. Josh. Jeffryes, 1752. ©Trustees of the British Museum.

Dating from 1557-1775, nearly 270 files and rolls from the Isle of Ely Assizes court – where the region’s most serious crimes were tried – will be catalogued after a £40,000 gift by the Society to help preserve these extraordinary records.  

Featuring a rogues’ gallery of criminals, miscreants and their misdemeanours, the records bear testament to the capital offences that came before the Ely Assizes at a time when to be branded a criminal could mean the most severe punishments – up to and including death.

The courts, which tended to be overseen by professional judges rather than the local gentry, survived until 1972 when they were replaced by Crown Courts. Cases heard in Ely and Wisbech over the centuries often featured the gravest offences of the day including: murder, witchcraft, theft, highway robbery, rape, assault, coining, forgery, trespass, vagrancy, recusancy (failure to attend Anglican services) and infanticide.

"Tyler thy husband is a knave, a rascall & a thief for he stole my goodes thefyshely in the night."

This roll and the quote above from 1580 details a case of slander against John Webbe, a yeoman from Thetford.

“The Assizes collection is a vitally important source for the period. It enables us to hear the voices of people from all backgrounds whose names come tumbling out of the records. Many of these people, long dead and forgotten and for whom there is no other surviving record, will now have a small piece of their story told.  

“Courts were an option for a surprisingly large proportion of the population at this time and the records are a cornucopia of information about everyday life and communities. It is both fascinating and touching to see the names and words of people who have no other memorial.”


Sian Collins, Cambridge University Library archivist

South East view of Ely Cathedral, by Matthew Dubourg, after William Anslow. ©Trustees of the British Museum.

South East view of Ely Cathedral, by Matthew Dubourg, after William Anslow. ©Trustees of the British Museum.

Among the records is the case against Margaret Cotte of Haddenham, who was accused in 1577 of causing the death of Martha Johnson, the daughter of John Johnson, a blacksmith in Haddenham, by witchcraft. 

Although Margaret was found not guilty of causing the death, the records leave room for historians to wonder about the effects of the accusation and the acquittal on those involved and their community.

Also in the 1577 roll is an entry giving brief details about Cecilia Samuel, a spinster who was found guilty of drowning her new-born baby in a ditch in Wisbech. The entry records that she was hanged.

In 1515, the records reveal that Richard Beckett, a labourer, assaulted Robert Coward so violently that Robert’s life was ‘despaired of’. In another case, the 1564 rolls record an intriguing robbery in Wisbech: Ralph Carter from London, a brewer, robbed John Pollard of Wymondham, worsted weaver, of 15 yards of ‘Russell Worsted’ cloth worth 20 shillings.

“Although we appreciate their research value it’s hard not to be affected by the sadness and tragedy within the records,” added Collins. “In 1642, Joanne Tylney of Newton, wife of Simon, a labourer, cut the throat of her 18-week-old baby because it would not stop crying.  She was found by neighbours sitting quietly next to the child’s body and the knife that she had used. 

“All that she said when asked why she had killed the child was that now it would be quiet, although she later retracted her confession. Records such as this can be challenging and upsetting, but their value for helping us understand this period in time for everyday lives is incalculable.”

The Isle of Ely Assizes records are important because this information is not available elsewhere. There are no surviving minute books or summary records for the Assizes during this period. While many of the early records are written in Latin, there is some use of English from the early 1600s.

Although there are gaps in the run, the records cover 218 years of significant criminal activity and civil suits in the Isle of Ely.

Apart from the names of individuals, which have high value in themselves, it is possible to use the records to study a wide variety of topics, including the pattern of offending, serious criminal activity within parishes, male/female offending, the application of royal justice (as administered through the diocesan officials), and the quirkiness and individuality of the court system in the Isle of Ely. 

The records for the diocese are particularly rich because Ely’s bishops were granted fiscal and judicial privileges over a large swathe of Cambridgeshire until 1836.

Ely was the only diocese in England and Wales other than Durham to hold this extraordinary control over royal jurisdiction within its boundaries. The collection contains an extraordinarily broad collection of court records, including one of only two significant sequences of Assize records held outside The National Archives. 

The Assize records cover the period from 1557 to 1775 with a number of gaps. They comprise court proceedings and court papers, including depositions, gaol delivery, jury lists, inquests, and examinations.

Although the records have been available previously, only the most intrepid researchers have ventured into this uncatalogued world.  The completed catalogue will include the names of those being tried and their alleged offences.

The project has only been made possible thanks to £40,000 funding from Cambridgeshire Family History Society.

Mr Page's House, Ely, by Lucy Brightwell. ©Trustees of the British Museum.

Condemned criminals receiving the sacrament at Newgate Prison. Print by W Thompson. ©Trustees of the British Museum.

The interior of Winchester Assizes, 1798. Print by Charles Williams. ©Trustees of the British Museum.

Mr Page's House, Ely, by Lucy Brightwell. ©Trustees of the British Museum.

Condemned criminals receiving the sacrament at Newgate Prison. Print by W Thompson. ©Trustees of the British Museum.

The interior of Winchester Assizes, 1798. Print by Charles Williams. ©Trustees of the British Museum.

Dr Paul Cavill, Lecturer in Early Modern British History at Cambridge’s Faculty of History, said: “The Isle of Ely Assize records are a major untapped resource for lives and deaths of ordinary people over centuries.”

David Copsey, Chairman of the Cambridgeshire Family History Society, said: “At the end of this project there will be a full catalogue of 218 years’ worth of Assize records for the first time. Names of the accused and information about their alleged offence will be recorded and made available through our website and we will have a full list of each court sitting with an index to all cases held at the Assizes over the period.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for the Society to work in partnership with the University, and to provide new opportunities for doctoral and other research in one of the world’s great research libraries.

"There is a vast wealth of knowledge and skills in communities and we are thrilled to be connecting community and academic researchers, all of whom will benefit from better access to these records. The University Library is an extraordinary resource for the community as well as students and academics and we hope that this project will encourage more people through the door!”

The full catalogue of the Assize Court records is scheduled to be available to family historians and researchers in September 2020.