Wednesday 9 July 2025, 10:00 – 13:00
With Dr Charlotte Smith, of The National Archives
In this in-person workshop, which has been made possible by a grant from the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation and the kind support of the University of Toronto, Dr Charlotte Smith (Modern Legal Records Specialist, The National Archives UK) and Prof Ray Cocks (Professor Emeritus, Keele University) will lead researchers in exploring the printed appeal papers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
This informal and collaborative workshop will provide participants with the opportunity to learn more about the records, to think about their uses in research, to chat to other researchers about using the records, and to feed into discussions shaping future endeavours at The National Archives, both to enhance the existing catalogue data, and even to digitise the records.
ABOUT THE PRINTED APPEAL PAPERS OF THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was created by statute in 1833. Sitting in Downing Street in London, it was the highest court of appeal for the British Empire. The printed appeal papers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, along with printed papers relating to some earlier appeals dating back to the 1790s, were transferred by the Ministry of Justice to The National Archives, UK in 2019. While partial sets of these printed appeals can be accessed at the British Library, Lincoln’s Inn, the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in London, and elsewhere worldwide, the set of Printed Appeal Papers transferred to The National Archives as record series PCAP 6 is the most complete set available.
Previously held at the Privy Council Office in Downing Street, the printed appeal papers in PCAP 6 have been relatively little used until quite recently. Since their arrival at The National Archives, UK initial work has been done to catalogue them. This means that they are now searchable on the online catalogue, Discovery, in a range of ways, including by the names of the parties, date, originating court, and colony. To access the records themselves, however, researchers must come to The National Archives, meaning that a rich source of shared legal and cultural history is accessible to far fewer researchers than could potentially use it. Given this, The National Archives, UK is currently evolving a project both to enhance the online catalogue data (e.g. by improving descriptions and better mapping linkages to other record series) and to digitise the records.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
The workshop will be divided into three fluid, responsive, and interrelated sessions:
Session One – Making Sense of the Printed Appeal Papers:
- Understanding the printed appeals in the context of the legal system within which they were created.
- Understanding the printed appeals in the context of the British Empire.
- Thinking about the printed appeals as records of a shared legal and cultural history.
Session Two – Uses and Usability
- Thinking about the sorts of information, narratives and voices captured in the printed appeals.
- Reflecting upon how printed appeal papers can be used to support different types of research and different research questions, and the different user groups who might engage with them.
Session Three – Data and Digitisation
- Considering how best to support the use of printed appeal papers, including ways of improving accessibility and supporting diverse research uses through enhanced cataloguing and the creation of research guidance.
- Thinking about the benefits and challenges which arise from digitisation and transcription – learning from the experiences of others and understanding the place of such a project within the digital humanities/digitisation “ecosystem”.
- Reflecting upon how an awareness of different/diverse research uses and audiences might shape choices around digitisation, platform and search design and the creation of supporting user resources.
If you would be interested in attending this in-person workshop, please register for it using our Eventbrite page (https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/legal-histories-of-empire-empires-in-touch-registration-1048130244777?aff=oddtdtcreator&lang=en-ca&locale=en_CA&status=30&view=listing).
You are also welcome to contact Dr Charlotte Smith at Charlotte.Smith@nationalarchives.gov.uk.