02 February 2021
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FindMyPast has added more than 92,000 court and prison indexes to its England & Wales Crime, Prisons & Punishment (1770-1935) collection.
You can use the records to find out where your ancestor stood trial, the sentence they were given and what life was like in prison. The collection holds 22 series of records from The National Archives.
Each record comprises a transcript and an image of the original document. Other information can include aliases, birth town, place of residence, occupation and court where the case was heard.
Find a photo of your criminal ancestor
The image will often have even more detail and you might be lucky enough to find a photograph of your ancestor or an example of their handwriting.
TOP TIP: Many records have several images attached so do make sure you explore all the connected pages and documents if you see an arrow at the side of the image viewer.
The new records include:
- Herefordshire Prison Register Index 1849-1915 – over 17,000 new records
- Court of Great Sessions in Wales 1730-1830 – over 20,000 new records
- Bedfordshire Gaol Registers – over 51,000 new records
- Kirkby Stephen Petty Sessions 1874-1901 – over 2,000 new records
Explore the records at FindMyPast
QUICK LINK: 5 ways to find your criminal ancestors