The following guide is designed to help you search the Cause Papers and understand the record screen. The guide is divided into three main sections:-
The database allows you to search for key information contained in the cause papers. Searching combinations of fields will return all records which match all of your search terms. You can also use the Excluded Keyword box in the Advanced Search Screen to restrict your search to results which do not contain that term. It is not possible to enter more than one search term in the same field. However, you can enter a second term in the Keyword box to accomplish this. Users should not use quotation marks when searching, or employ terms such as AND or NOT.
In order to account for variations in language and spelling across time, all surnames and place-names in the cause papers were matched to a standard form of those names. Searching these fields (or Keyword) with the 'include variants' box ticked will bring up records which match the term you entered and all recorded variants of it. It is recommended that users employ this setting, which is set as default. To search for a specific spelling, turn off the 'include variants' option.
The ability to search for variant spellings of surnames and place-names substantially reduces the need to employ wildcards when searching. However, a limited wildcard function can be applied by using the percentage sign (%) at the beginning and end of words. Searching Mar% will return hits for both Mary and Margaret. Similarly searching %field in the relevant box will return all place-names ending in field. To employ wildcards, the 'include variants' option (if available) must be turned off.
Records within the Cause Papers Database are indexed by case type. Each record was assigned to a generic type of case. Where known more specific case details were also provided, using sub-categories. A list of the generic case-types is provided below, alongside the sub-categories of specific case details most commonly encountered in the database. A cause may relate to more than one sub-category. Note that the exact wording and punctuation of the specific case details in the database does not always reflect that below and that this list is not exhaustive.
Case Type (Generic) | Case Details (Specific Sub-Categories) |
---|---|
Appeals | OTHER GENERIC AND SPECIFIC TYPES LISTED BELOW, AND abuse of power inhibition of official jurisdictional dispute tuitorial appeal |
Benefice cases |
admission to benefice adultery annual pensions clerical deprivation desertion of benefice disputed presentation drunkenness fornication holding in plurality irregular performance of sacraments neglect of duty non-admission non-residence non-subscription obligation of appropriators offences as master of hospital possession of benefice possession of prebend provision of curate provision of services in dependant chapel quarrelling with parishioners refusal to admit to sacraments salary sequestration simony |
Breach of faith |
agreement to become servant agreement to bring witnesses to court appeal breach of recognisance debt failure to carry out service as parish chaplain goods and sustenance non-payment of proctors' fees perjury refusal to accept award in case violation of oath |
Defamation |
adulteration bribery character child cruelty cuckold cursing dog excommunication false charges of defamation forgery fraud heresy murder parentage perjury religious sexual slander simony slanderer sooth sayer theft usury witchcraft |
Immorality |
acknowledgement of illegitimate child adultery blasphemy fornication incest sexual assault sodomy |
Matrimonial |
annulment annulment: abduction annulment: adultery annulment: affinity annulment: appeal annulment: bigamy annulment: consanguinity annulment: forced marriage annulment: frigidity annulment: idiocy annulment: minor annulment: pre-contract bigamy enforcement of marriage contract gifts relating to marriage illicit marriage (parties) impeding marriage jacitation of marriage payment of expenses and alimony pre-contract publishing of banns restitution of conjugal rights separation from bed and board: adultery separation from bed and board: cruelty separation from bed and board: cruelty & adultery separation from bed and board: desertion validity of marriage |
Testamentary |
debt dilapidations of property disputed administration disputed legacy disputed value of goods disputes concerning intestacy embezzlement by executors failure to administer estate failure to follow procedure failure to render account false inventory forged will fraud minor claiming inheritance mis-management of goods of wards refusal to produce will for probate right to prove wills unpaid dues to estate validity of will wardship/guardianship widow claiming dower withholding legacy withholding testator's goods |
Tithes | Case details list types of crop / livestock mentioned in cause |
Undefined | |
Violation of church rights |
abduction of nun alterations to church furniture appropriation of church appropriation of church goods assault against ecclesiastical official assault against prioress assault in church assault on clergy assessment associating with a excommunicate chapelwardens: neglect of duty churchwardens: neglect of duty clergy: profanation of Sabbath debt to church demolition of church destruction of church furniture dilapidations dilapidations: church/chapel dilapidations: outbuildings dilapidations: rectory/vicarage disorder during divine service dispute concerning office of parish clerk dispute over pension disputed churchwardens accounts disputed dues disputed election of churchwardens disputed election of chapelwardens disputed election of parish clerk disputed election of schoolmaster disputed faculty jurisdiction disputed profession of religious disputed sequestration ecclesiastical process: failure to attend court ecclesiastical process: false citation ecclesiastical process: in contempt of process of court ecclesiastical process: irregular proceedings ecclesiastical process: objection to process ecclesiastical process: obstructing process of court encroachment on churchyard excessive bell ringing excommunication expulsion of schoolmaster from office failure to baptise children failure to pay poor relief failure to provide service books felling trees in churchyard forging marriage licence general fitness for office harbouring priests / recusants heresy: nonconformity heresy: recusancy illicit marriage [clergy for conducting] irreverence in service time jurisdiction in peculiar lease of advowson lease of land lease of vicarage merger of parishes mortuary non-payment of parish clerk's wages papistry parish clerk: neglect of duty parishioners: absence from church parishioners: brawling in church parishioners: brawling in churchyard parishioners: disorder during Holy Communion parishioners: disturbance of service parishioners: profanation of Sabbath parochial rights patronage of benefice payment for church furniture pew dispute pollution of churchyard possession of hospital possession of illegal books provision of clergy refusal to admit to communion removal of church roof repairs of church retention of Catholic objects / images in church right of burial schoolmaster - neglect of duty schoolmaster - revocation of license to teach sequestrator - failure to render account status of chapel/church unlicensed clergy unlicensed physician unlicensed preacher unlicensed schoolmaster violation of appropriated fruits wrongful arrest |
The following section is designed to help you make sense of the record screen. It is divided into the following sections, corresponding to those on screen.
If you can't understand why your search returned a record, please refine your search terms or consult the help buttons on the search screens for guidance. You can also contact us for help searching or to report technical faults. For a more detailed account of how data was entered and standardized when constructing the catalogue, please see the Cause Papers Project Standardization Guide(PDF, 332kb)
Dates are given as they appear in the documents. This means that before 1752 (when Britain adopted the modern, Gregorian calendar) they appear in the Julian calendar format, in which the year starts on March 25th. In this system, December 1690 is followed by January 1690, not January 1691. It is thus entirely possible to have a cause which starts in, say, October 1530 and finishes in February 1530.
View the Case Abstract: If available, this button indicates that you can read a short abstract of the cause: a summary compiled from research on the original documents.
Order copies of this document This link to an on-line form allows you to order copies of the original documents relating to this cause at the Borthwick Institute for Archives. Please remember to include the cause reference. If you wish to arrange a visit to see the documents in person, please contact us.
This section provides information about the participants in the cause. Only fields for which the database holds information are shown.
The project team recorded surnames in the way they appeared in the documents. These surnames were then standardized to correct for variations in language and spelling. The second piece of information in the participant field shows the standardized form attached to the participant's surname, highlighted in bold - in this example Elland. If you asked the database to search for names including variants, you may return some unexpected results: for instance searching 'Green' will also return hits for 'Grene'. Turn off the 'include variants' box in the search screen to look for a specific version of a surname.
The final piece of information in this field shows you how the name is spelt in the original documents. This is seen in brackets after the standard form, and may be the same as this. If there is more than one spelling listed in the brackets, it indicates that this variation was observed in the original documents. In our example, [Eland; Elande] shows that the participant's name was recorded as both Alice Eland and Alice Elande.
All locations mentioned in each cause were recorded by the project team. Places associated with participants appear under their data. Locations which featured in the documents but which were not attached to a particular individual appear in the 'Associated Places' section. Searches for place-names can lead to either or both sections of the record. To understand how locations are presented, it is necessary to bear in mind that place-names have been standardized to account for historic variations in language and spelling.
For each place, the project team recorded a modern version of the place-name. Listed after this in brackets is the original spelling of that name (and any noted variations in spelling), as given in the documents for that cause. If obvious, the project team also noted what type of place it was, such as a field, town or parish; otherwise this was left as 'undefined'. Note that if a place is listed as a 'field name', this may indicate either a specific field or group of fields.
The team then assigned each place to a standardized, large, modern location: normally a parish, town, city or county. These standard locations appear in bold type in the database. Each place listed after a standard location indicates that it is either within that location or identical to it.
An example might be:
Robin Hood's Bay (Robin Hood Bay): township
In this example, the project team identified two places in the cause associated with the modern, standardized place of Whitby. These were the parish of Whitby (spelt Whitbie and Whiteby in the original documents) and Robin Hood's Bay (spelt Robin Hood Bay in the original documents), a township within Whitby.