Pipe Rolls
The pipe rolls of the Exchequer contain accounts of the royal income, arranged by county, for each financial year. They are the earliest series of surviving public records. They are now kept in The National Archives in Kew, Surrey.
The earliest record dates from 1129-30, and then continue in an almost unbroken series from 1155 until 1833. A copy of each pipe roll known as the Chancellor's Roll, was sent to the Chancery. The way in which the membranes were sewn together made them look like pieces of piping when rolled up and so they became known as pipe rolls.
The sheriffs' accounts are the basis for the early pipe rolls. They record expenditure by the sheriffs, and include lists of lands formerly part of the royal estates, which had been given to private individuals. There are also payments of feudal dues and taxes, records of amercements imposed by the justices, and some enrolled charters.
The earliest record dates from 1129-30, and then continue in an almost unbroken series from 1155 until 1833. A copy of each pipe roll known as the Chancellor's Roll, was sent to the Chancery. The way in which the membranes were sewn together made them look like pieces of piping when rolled up and so they became known as pipe rolls.
The sheriffs' accounts are the basis for the early pipe rolls. They record expenditure by the sheriffs, and include lists of lands formerly part of the royal estates, which had been given to private individuals. There are also payments of feudal dues and taxes, records of amercements imposed by the justices, and some enrolled charters.