Courts Leet, Constables and the Township Structure in the West Riding, 1540–1842

Abstract

The significance of the township, and of the township constable, in local administration in the West Riding from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries is described. The appointment until 1842 of constables in manor and wapentake courts leet ensured the continuing centrality of these courts in local administration. The involvement of the principal inhabitants in the appointment and oversight of constables and other officers is discussed. Changes in the structure of local administration depended on evolving change in manorial structures and courts, even as late as the nineteenth century. Such changes were affected by the existence of overlapping areas of quarter sessions jurisdiction, and also by the expanding volume of small-claims litigation in both manor and wapentake courts baron before the establishment of county courts.