| Description | The origins of all the city courts, except quarter sessions, are obscure. References to the portmote court of Chester occur from the beginning of the thirteenth century. At that date, the court registered land transactions, but the machinery of the court is unclear. By 1295, proceedings in the portmote court were held before the sheriffs, but after 1300, the mayor gradually became associated with the court. As well as pleas of real estate, the portmote dealt with pleas of trespass, covenant and debt as did the pentice court. Actions were commenced by writ or by querela (plaint). Stages in an action included the producing of pledges of prosecution by the defendant or plaintiff; declarations showing the cause of the plaintiff's complaint; responses by the defendant; and replications made by the plaintiff in response to the defendant's plea. Juries were summoned by writs of venire facias followed by writs of habeas corpora if they failed to appear. The portmote always met on a Monday, usually two or three times a month. The court rolls contain both pleas and enrolments of deeds. They exist as a separate series from 1295 to 1563; from 1561, the formal proceedings of the portmote and pentice courts are filed together, making a series known as general court rolls (ZMSR). After 1553, portmote court rolls also contain proceedings in the crownmote court and quarter sessions. The final roll in the series (ZMR/118) covers the years 1600 to 1720 and contains bonds in statute merchant. |