Source Citation: The National Archives; London, England, UK; Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, later Supreme Court of Judicature: Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Files, J 77; Reference Number: J 77/914/7764; Series Number: J 77; Piece Number: 914.
In our last blog we outlined how to find Divorce Court records, so that you can use them in your own research, whether that’s for academic study or to explore your own family history. Once you start to delve inside the case files, you’ll find some fascinating information that can tell you a great deal about the lives of your ancestors, their marriages, their divorces and their family in the past. But what information is held within the case files? According to The National Archives the case files may contain:
- the original petition and response
- relevant marriage certificates
- birth certificates of children
- a record of the court process
- copies of decrees (from about 1870- c1937)
- evidence (infrequently)
In future blogs we’ll explore these different elements of a divorce case file, but today we’re going to focus on the front cover that contains a summary of important information related to the case (see our example image of the front cover of a case file). This includes the Case File Reference, usually found at the top of the page, which is usually one to five digits long, including numbers and in earlier examples even letters. These correlate with the last digits of the J77 reference the case file has been given in The National Archives Discovery Catalogue. In our example image, the front cover of a case file, the numbers 7764 are written at the top, the last digits of the J77 reference which is J77/914/7764.
Names of the main litigants in the case can also be found on the front cover of every file. The litigant’s names sometimes only include the surname, but later case files contain a surname followed by the forename/s. For a divorce case, the names of the husband and the wife are always included, but the order they appear varies depending on their role in the litigation. The ‘petitioner’, the spouse who has petitioned for the divorce, is always listed first on the front cover. In our example, this is the husband, Frederick James Lodge. The ‘respondent’, the spouse who’s being accused of committing a marital offence (the grounds for the divorce), is listed second. In our example, this is the wife, Mary Ann Lodge. In cases like this, where the husband petitioned for divorce, the front cover of the case file usually also includes the name of a ‘co-respondent’ who is the person (or persons) who the husband alleged committed adultery with his wife. In our example, Joseph Dudley is named as a ‘co-respondent’. In contrast, when a wife was petitioning for a divorce and alleging her husband had committed adultery with a woman, her name would not appear on the front cover of the case file even if she was named in the documents within the file. This was because a female petitioner could not claim damages from a female co-respondent (in the same way a male petitioner could from a male co-respondent), and so they are not named as parties to the legal suit.
Important Dates and the court’s Decision are also included on the front cover of a case file. A date when the petition was filed (the first stage of the case) is always included, in our example this was on 3 July 1907. Sometimes, but not always in earlier case files, the date when the cause was set down (the case was put in the calendar to be heard) is included. Our example does include this date as the 6 September 1907, two months after the petition was filed. This is followed by two further dates, the Decree Nisi and Final Decree stage of the process. The Decree Nisi was the point when the case was heard in the Divorce Court and a divorce was denied or agreed to in principle, but the spouses were not legally able to remarry. In our example the Decree Nisi was granted on the 11 November 1907. If you’re looking for newspaper reports on the case, you’re most likely to find them in the days and weeks following this stage of the process. The Final Decree was the point where a Decree Absolute was granted, officially dissolving the marriage and allowing the former spouses to legally remarry. This stage happened in the Divorce Court, but the litigants weren’t required to attend, as it only took a few minutes for a Decree Absolute to be declared. In our example, the date the Decree Absolute was granted was 18 May 1908. This was in line with the six-month mandatory waiting period required between the Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute.
Of course, as we saw in our last blog, the Divorce Court also heard other types of cases including petitions for judicial separations, orders of protection, the restitution of conjugal rights and decrees of nullity but the same cover sheet was used for all cases. This means that you will often see the words ‘Decree Nisi’ or Final Decree’ crossed out, and handwriting added indicating the type of case. For example, a Decree of Nullity also had two stages which will say ‘Decree Nullity’ (when the case was heard in the Divorce Court and agreed to in principle) and ‘Final Nullity’ (when the nullity was finalised and both litigants allowed to legally remarry). You might also see the words ‘Decree RCR’ (a Decree for Restitution of Conjugal Rights) or ‘Decree JS’ (a Decree of Judicial Separation). For these types of cases there was only one date listed, this was when the case was heard in the Divorce Court, and if successful granted. If dates are missing this indicates that the case failed to proceed further, and it will usually be made clear why, with words such as ‘Dismissed’ or King’s Proctor Intervened’ written on the front alongside a date.
The front cover usually includes a form of coding to show the type of case that the file contains, although the coding isn’t always correct so it’s best to check what’s inside to be sure. Earlier case files are less consistent in the form the coding takes, with a ‘D’ for Divorce or ‘JS’ for Judicial Separation sometimes noted, without any indication of whether it was a husband or a wife petitioning. This developed into ‘WX’ or ‘HX’ sometimes being used which meant ‘Wife’s Petition’ or ‘Husband’s Petition’, which doesn’t tell you the type of case. When you’re faced with this, it’s important to read the case file itself for clarification. From 1906 we start to see more consistency in the coding, this page on The National Archives website includes a handy index of these codes to help you in your own research.
- HD: Petition by husband for decree of divorce
- WD: Petition by wife for decree of divorce
- HN: Petition by husband for decree of nullity
- WN: Petition by wife for decree of nullity
- HJS: Petition by husband for decree of judicial separation
- WJS: Petition by wife for decree of judicial separation
- HRCR: Petition by husband for decree of restitution of conjugal rights
- WRCR: Petition by wife for decree of restitution of conjugal rights
- Legit: Petition for declaration of legitimacy
- Div Ct: Appeal to Divisional Court from Justices
- Prot: Application for order for protection of wife’s earnings and property
Our example has the initials HD handwritten in the top right-hand corner, showing that this is a husband’s petition for divorce. In the coming weeks blogs we’ll explore the different types of cases heard at the Divorce Court in more detail, including what they were, the grounds on which they could be obtained, and the legal, financial and emotional impact they could have on unhappily married spouses trying to navigate their way through the court process.
If you’d like any help reading a divorce case, please contact us via social media or our website. You can find us on the projects website, on X (formerly Twitter) @Divorce_History , Threads, Instagram or Facebook where we regularly post news about the project and helpful advice on how to use divorce court records in your own research.