Very few records of courts of law are held by the Manuscripts Section, as the records of those funded and operated by the City of London Corporation are held by London Metropolitan Archives, including those of the Court of Husting, the Mayor's Court, the Sheriffs' Court, the Old Bailey, and Guildhall magistrates. Some evidence, copy decrees and antiquarian notes are held of several London and national courts. To find these records, do a Classification search for L 44.1.
To find the full catalogue entries for the Piepowder Court, do a Classification search for Ms 00095.
The catalogue is available in hard copy at the Manuscripts Section's enquiry desk.
For manorial courts see Section 19. For ecclesiastical courts see Section 15.
PIEPOWDER COURT, ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S FAIR. In 1445 the City of London became joint Lords of Bartholomew Fair, taking full control from 1604. In the seventeenth century the fair became more important as a centre of general entertainment than a cloth fair, and there were numerous booths offering different attractions. The Piepowder Court recorded persons licensed to run stalls or attractions and dealt with disturbances during the Fair. The City authorities, however, increasingly saw the fair as encouraging public disorder, and the fair was suppressed in 1855 Court books 1790-1854 and notes on Court 1804-48. L 44.19 Ms 95-
Last updated 15th November 2007