• Reference
    QSR1839/1/5
  • Title
    Depositions
  • Date free text
    January 1839
  • Production date
    From: 1839 To: 1839
  • Scope and Content
    Depositions were testimonies of the accuser and witnesses taken before magistrates prior to the crime being indicted or prosecuted. Examinations were the statements of the accused. They were written in English. The deposition hearing would usually take place in the magistrates’ personal residence in the presence of a clerk. They are written under formulaic headings: Person, Place, Social Status, Magistrate, Clerk, Date, Witnesses account of the crime, deposition ‘examinations’ (The examination was the deposition of the accused). Witnesses were usually neighbours of the victim. The documents do not include the list of questions asked by the magistrate, when writing the document the Clerk weaves the questions and answers together. They are not the spontaneous words of the witness. Depositions were used to construct a case.
  • Level of description
    file