Roman Catholic Records from England and Wales, 1717
This collection of records from The National Archives features deeds, claims, correspondence, and related documents produced before the Commissioners of the Forfeited Estates, concerning properties forfeited to the Crown from Roman Catholics (known as ‘Popish recusants’) during and after the 1715 rebellion.
Key facts
1,717
Date range
More than
8,500
Images
More than
107,000
Transcribed entries
Source
Letter by deputy clerk James Goodall regarding Catholics (‘Popish recusants’) in Cambridgeshire (The National Archives, FEC 1/1128)
About this series
This series contains over 200 records from the FEC 1 series at The National Archives, relating to the work of the Forfeited Estates Commission in the early eighteenth century. The Commission was established after the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 to manage estates forfeited to the Crown by those convicted of treason, including many ‘Popish recusants’, that is, Catholics prosecuted for refusing to attend Anglican services.
The records in this series include:
- Abstracts of estates, which usually incorporate alphabetical lists of convicted ‘recusants’, by county and town in England and Wales. These list the convicted recusants and describe their estates. The returns include those estates which were described in the register, but for which no valuation was given.
- Deeds and supporting documents relating to forfeited estates produced before the Commissioners of the Forfeited Estates, some dating back as far as the sixteenth century. These are mostly organised by the names of the attainted individuals. They include original claims of the various persons upon the several estates forfeited to the Crown.
- Proceedings of the commissioners, including correspondence, minutes and memoranda, accounts, lists and schedules, and inventories of documents.
- Claims, proceedings, and correspondence of the Commission, including minutes, memoranda, schedules, and inventories of documents.
- Returns by ‘clerks of the peace’ listing the names and estates of Catholic recusants in England and Wales, arranged by county.
- Particulars and rentals of estates sold, and information on lands given to ‘superstitious uses’ (a term then used for property endowed for Catholic religious purposes).
These materials provide a rich insight into the social and religious landscape of post-rebellion Britain, with a particular focus on Catholic landowners. A full list of archive references can be downloaded below.
This series contains over 200 records from the FEC 1 series at The National Archives, relating to the work of the Forfeited Estates Commission in the early eighteenth century. The Commission was established after the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 to manage estates forfeited to the Crown by those convicted of treason, including many ‘Popish recusants’, that is, Catholics prosecuted for refusing to attend Anglican services.
The records in this series include:
- Abstracts of estates, which usually incorporate alphabetical lists of convicted ‘recusants’, by county and town in England and Wales. These list the convicted recusants and describe their estates. The returns include those estates which were described in the register, but for which no valuation was given.
- Deeds and supporting documents relating to forfeited estates produced before the Commissioners of the Forfeited Estates, some dating back as far as the sixteenth century. These are mostly organised by the names of the attainted individuals. They include original claims of the various persons upon the several estates forfeited to the Crown.
- Proceedings of the commissioners, including correspondence, minutes and memoranda, accounts, lists and schedules, and inventories of documents.
- Claims, proceedings, and correspondence of the Commission, including minutes, memoranda, schedules, and inventories of documents.
- Returns by ‘clerks of the peace’ listing the names and estates of Catholic recusants in England and Wales, arranged by county.
- Particulars and rentals of estates sold, and information on lands given to ‘superstitious uses’ (a term then used for property endowed for Catholic religious purposes).
These materials provide a rich insight into the social and religious landscape of post-rebellion Britain, with a particular focus on Catholic landowners. A full list of archive references can be downloaded below.
A page from the ‘Forfeited Estates Commission: abstracts of estates of Popish recusants’ record from Lincoln (The National Archives, FEC 1/1197)
A list of lands of Richard Arundell registered at the Forfeited Estates Commission (The National Archives, FEC 1/1132)
