| Description | Like the fine, the common recovery was a fictitious action designed to break the entail on land and allow it to be sold. Until the late sixteenth century, common recoveries suffered in the portmote court are found on the portmote court rolls (MR and MSR). From 1601, they were consistently filed separately. The first file (MPR/1) includes some earlier enrolments of recoveries (from 1578) as well as enrolments of bonds in statute merchant. The second file (MPR/2) contains some proceedings in the crownmote court. Writs relating to common recoveries are usually found on the mayors' files (MF). The recovery files contain mainly copies of the proceedings in the portmote court and commands to the tenant in tail to render the property to the demandant, the former calling upon vouchees to warrant his title. Common recoveries were abolished by the Fines and Recoveries Act, 1833. |