January 2003

Magistracy in the Archives - by Terry Hearing

Due to illness, our invited speaker Iain Swinnerton was unable to come, and his place was ably taken at short notice by Terry Hearing, a retired Dorset magistrate and historian. Iain's talk will now be given in October. Terry described some of the duties undertaken by the magistracy, both now and in the past. These Justices of the Peace were formerly appointed by the Lord Chancellor on the recomendation of the Lord Lieutenant of the County, but nowadays the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committtee supervises the selection of candidates. They were originally created in 1361 by the King, and being recruited from the 'middle classes', were expected to act as a barrier between himself and the powerful Barons of the time.

Terry has researched just some of the many documents relating to the Quarter Sessions for Dorset which are held at the CRO, these contain many names of interest to family historians but are largely unindexed. He has unearthed many of the duties which were formerly undertaken by magistrates, but are now the responsibility of the County or Town Council.. Among these duties were the maintenance of roads and bridges, the latter being particularly contentious at inter-county boundaries. The application of the Poor laws and the provision of relief for the destitute was coupled with the issuing of licences for ale-houses and dealing with paternity claims for illegitimate children. Before 1850, peace was maintained by the Parish Constable, but with a rising crime rate in growing towns, the Justices pressed for the introduction of a county-wide force which has become the basis of our present Constabulary. Among the less popular tasks was that of reading the Riot Act in the event of local riots, and then having to face the mob for one hour before the militia could be called to protect them. Terry ended by emphasizing his conviction that justice provided by local, unpaid magistrates continued to be a great asset to the community, and they should be allowed to use their discretion when imposing fines or sentences.