Dorset ;^$st^c5 in t\)c ^^c\)cntccx\t\) 

 Ccnturp. 



By F. J. POPE, F.R.Hist.S. 



^ i^ i tf*"^ 



niHE fact that the Assize-Records of this period 

 have been but little used for historical purposes 

 is not surprising. So long as the books of the 

 Court remained in the custody of the clerks of 

 the various circuits, they seldom or never saw 

 the light, and it is only within the last year 

 or two that the transfer of the books to the 

 Public Record Office has rendered them easily 

 accessible. The maxim that " Record-makers 

 are not good Record-keepers " seems true at least as regards 

 these books, of which only a remnant still exists. The Bail 

 Books for Dorset do not begin till 1654, the Gaol Books not 

 till 1670, while the Order Books cover only the period 1629 

 to 1687, with a gap during the Civil War, 1642 to 1646. The 

 first are of no great value, merely containing the names of 

 a certain number of Dorset people and indicating some of 

 the less serious indictments. The Gaol Books are of greater 

 interest, since they show the crimes prevalent in the county 

 and the punishments inflicted. The Order Books deal with 

 a great variety of subjects, including matters connected ^^■ith 



