manslaughter court case in Newcastle upon Tyn

[bullgoose]

Hi There
Oral family history has it that one of my Great Uncles was convicted or tried for Manslaughter after a man hit his head during a street fight somewhere in Elswick - Newcastle upon Tyne between 1934 & 1950.
can anyone tell me if court records still exist for these years and where they might be archived.
Thanke
Bullgoose

[Jan1954]

Hello Bullgoose,

According to this TNA research guide, local record offices are generally the places of deposit for records relating to quarter and petty sessions, county courts and other courts with local jurisdictions.

However, you may be better off starting with local newspapers of the time to see what was reported.

[Peter Goodey]

I think manslaughter would normally be tried at a Crown Court (formerly assizes). This National Archives Guide should give you a start.

I'm afraid you may have difficulties without a better idea of the date.

Many records of that sort of vintage are likely to be still closed for browsing.

[Coromandel]

Tyne & Wear Archives have a useful guide to law & order records:

https://www.
twmuseums.org.uk/userfiles/UG14.pdf

which may give you some ideas for other possible avenues for research, such as police records and coroners' records. However, as Peter has already mentioned, these records may still be closed. Newspapers are another obvious source. Unless you're lucky and there's one of the right period digitised or subject-indexed, it means a long trawl through the old newspapers. They're endlessly fascinating though, so worth it if you have lots of time and don't mind getting side-tracked!

[bullgoose]

Hi Folks
thanks for your advice and the links
Cheers
Bullgoose

[djones]

Hi, I went through this about a year ago. I spent many afternoon trying to locate a court record for 1936/37 I wa unable to find it in the local newspapers. The local studies department suggested I apply to the court to gain access to the files. After proving the person was dead permission was granted, It then took a day to locate the records from 1935.
Good luck in your search