Summonsed!

Within the Berwick Borough Archives, there are bundles of 19th century summonses served on people who had to appear at Court. At that time, Berwick had two courts to try criminal cases - Quarter Sessions and Petty Sessions.

The Quarter Sessions met every 3 months and considered more serious cases whilst the Petty Sessions met weekly or more frequently. It dealt with lesser crimes and was presided over by Justices of the Peace without a Jury.

These papers were normally delivered by a member of Berwick Police Force and the individuals were expected to appear at Court.

What crimes did they commit and what was the outcome ?

Thanks go to our volunteer Molly for doing this research!

Click on the image of the summons to read about case it will open in a new window »

James Brown & Joseph Wheatley Blench