Most names in the Proceedings and the Ordinary's Accounts have been separately tagged and indexed. Tags, normally hidden from the reader, identify forenames and surnames, as well as other information. Depending on how much information you possess you can create both narrow and wide searches using this search facility.

Entering Newbold in the Surname Search Box, will result in all instances in which someone with the surname Newbold appeared in the Proceedings or the Ordinary's Accounts. It is important to note, however, that only names which included both a forename and a surname have been tagged, and that later repetitions of the same name within a single trial or Account have not always been tagged.

You may use all the strategies available with the Advanced radio button selected for keyword searches. Plus (+) and Minus (-) signs for AND/OR, exact phrases defined by double quotation marks (" "), and wild cards can all be applied. In the case of hyphenated names, such as Adam-Smith, the hyphen is treated as a space so both parts of the name should be included within quotation marks (" ") to define the name as a phrase.

Most names in the Proceedings and the Ordinary's Accounts have been separately tagged and indexed. Tags, normally hidden from the reader, identify given names and surnames, as well as other information.

Entering James in the Given Name Search Box, will result in all instances in which someone with the Given Name James appeared in the Proceedings or the Ordinary's Accounts. In the normal course of things, entering only a Given Name will generate an unusably high number of hits, so you will need to combine Given Name searches with either Keyword or Surname searches, or to limit your searches by date, or text category. It is important to note that forenames have only been tagged when both a forename and a surname were provided, and that later repetitions of the same name within a single trial or Account have not always been tagged.

It is important to remember that eighteenth- and even nineteenth-century spelling was at best erratic, and that Given Names were often shortened. Elizabeth, for instance, could be shortened to Liz or Bet, Beth or Betty, Izzy, Lizzy, Let or Letty, just to name a few possibilities.

You may use all the strategies available with the Advanced radio button selected for keyword searches. Plus (+) and Minus (-) signs for AND/OR, exact phrases defined by double quotation marks (" "), and wild cards can all be applied. In the case of hyphenated names, such as Marie-Jean, the hyphen is treated as a space so both parts of the name should be included within quotation marks (" ") to define the name as a phrase.

Aliases in the Proceedings and the Ordinary's Accounts have been separately identified and indexed by tags normally hidden from the reader.

Entering the alias Newcomb in the Alias search box will result in all instances in which someone ascribed the alias of Newcomb appeared in the Proceedings. In the nature of an alias, these names are most likely to appear associated with either a defendant or a witness, rather than a judge or juryman. The Ordinary's Accounts have not been separately tagged to allow searching on specific aliases, and if you are searching for an alias in the Ordinary's Accounts the best strategy is to use the Keyword Search box. To narrow your search you may want to combine Alias searches with either Keyword or Surname searches, or to limit your searches by date or text category.

It is important to remember that eighteenth- and even nineteench-century spelling was at best erratic, and that aliases were if anything more likely to be spelled in a variety of ways than were normal names.

You may use all the strategies available with the Advanced radio button selected for keyword searches. Plus (+) and Minus (-) signs for AND/OR, exact phrases defined by double quotation marks (" "), and wild cards can all be applied. In the case of hyphenated names, such as Cork-Eye, the hyphen is treated as a space so both parts of the name should be included within quotation marks (" ") to define the name as a phrase.

Most full names in both the Proceedings and the Ordinary's Accounts have been tagged to allow you to search on Surnames and Given Names, but beyond this, in the Proceedings each name has also been given an attribute indicating the context in which the name appears. These contexts or name types include the following:

• Judiciary Name: Includes Judges and court officers, and is normally restricted to information in the Sessions Front Matter. It does not include those acting as legal counsel.
• Juror Name: Includes jurors as listed in the Front Matter of each Session.
• Witness Name: This category includes individuals recorded as giving evidence in court, except those who are also listed as Defendants.
• Victim Name: This category includes persons identified as victims of offences.
• Defendant Name: This category includes individuals charged with offences.

The Default Setting for this box is ANY. If you are searching for names in the Ordinary's Accounts please leave this box unchanged and in the default setting.

A gender has been ascribed to almost every one of the names that appears in the Proceedings and the Ordinary's Accounts. Limiting your search to one sex or the other will substantially increase the accuracy of your results. There are cases, however, in which a gender could not ascribed. For given names where the gender is unclear, and in cases where the victim of a crime was an institution such as the Bank of England, an Indeterminate tag has been used. In cases where aliases mean that a single individual has two or more names, the gender tag has only been associated with the first.

The age of defendants found guilty is consistently recorded in the Proceedings from January 1789 onwards; and from the late 1830s is also occasionally but not consistently recorded for defendants found not guilty. Some victim ages, particularly when the victim was under the age of 20, are also given. Age is usually, but not always, recorded in the Ordinary's Accounts. Where the age is given as a number it has been tagged, and can be used to refine your searches. To search for a specific age select the same number from the list in both the From and To boxes.

It is important to remember that the ages involved are as they are given in the Proceedings and the Ordinary's Accounts, and are often only rough estimates. Many younger and older defendants lied about their age to secure the sympathy of the court. The haphazard way in which age was recorded prior to 1789 means that this information needs to be treated with care. Descriptive words reflecting on age - infant, child, old man, youth, have not been tagged, but can be located by using the keyword search facility.

Occupation and status labels given in both the Proceedings and the Ordinary's Accounts can be searched for separately by using this box. In the case of the Proceedings occupations have been tagged for defendants, victims, and judges and other court officers. All names where occupation information is provided in the Ordinary's Accounts are tagged to allow searching on this information.

If, however, you wish to search for every instance of a particular label in the entire text, you should conduct a keyword search.

When using the Occupation search box, it is important to understand that you are searching on the precise words and phrases used in the Proceedings and Ordinary's Accounts. This means that the original text with its different forms and variable spelling has been preserved, and you are in fact searching on a collection of words and phrases that could include the single word porter, or the phrase Lord Chancellor's porter, and any number of mis- and variable spellings of each individual word.

You may use all the strategies available with the Advanced radio button selected for keyword searches. Plus (+) and Minus (-) signs for AND/OR, exact phrases defined by double quotation marks (" "), and wild cards can all be applied. In the case of hyphenated occupations, such as clock-maker, the hyphen is treated as a space so both parts of the name should be included within quotation marks (" ") to define the name as a phrase. This search will not, however, locate the single word clockmaker.

Specific place names associated with individual defendants in the Proceedings and all place names mentioned in the Ordinary's Accounts have been tagged. If you wish to search for every instance of a particular place name in the entire text, you should conduct a keyword search.

The site map search is currently unavailable, but to see place names associated with individual defendants located on contemporary maps of London, use Locating London's Past

When using the Person Location search box, it is important to understand that you are searching on the precise words and phrases used in the Proceedings and Ordinary's Accounts. This means that the original text with its different forms and variable spelling has been preserved, and you are in fact searching on a collection of words and phrases that could include the single word Lincoln, or the phrase Lincoln's Inn Fields, and any number of mis- and variable spellings of each individual word.

You may use all the strategies available with the Advanced radio button selected for keyword searches. Plus (+) and Minus (-) signs for AND/OR, exact phrases defined by double quotation marks (" "), and wild cards can all be applied. Hyphens are treated as spaces. As a result a search for Spittle-Fields will produce the same results as a search for Spittle Fields, and will locate all text in which either word, Spittle or Fields, can be found. This search will not, however, locate the single word Spittlefields.

By filling in the From and To date boxes you can specify the period you wish to search. The dates of all trials are recorded as the first day of each Sessions in which they were heard, although most meetings of the court lasted several days. The execution date as given in the Ordinary's Accounts is used in respect to these pamphlets.

Please note that up until 1753 England and Wales still used the Old Style, Julian calendar. As a result, prior to 1753 dates in the Proceedings and the Ordinary's Accounts were between 10 and 11 days out of kilter with the Gregorian calendar used on the continent and adopted at mid-century. In the material reproduced here, the start of the year has been taken to be 1 January throughout, rather than 25 March. Please note that many editions of the Proceedings prior to 1714, and of the Ordinary's Accounts throughout the period 1679-1772, were either never published, or do not survive. To see which editions are available, please consult the Proceedings by Date and Ordinary's Accounts by Date search pages.