The National Library of Wales has just launched "Trosedd a chosb / Crime and punishment", a database of the criminals, crimes and punishments in the gaol files of the Court of Great Sessions in Wales from 1730 until its abolition in 1830:
http://www.llgc.org.uk/sesiwn_fawr/index_c.htmThe Court of Great Sessions was Wales's equivalent to the English assizes. It also had part of the jurisdiction of the Kings Bench in Wales, and so could try all types of crimes, from petty thefts to high treason.
The records of the court do not include cases tried in Monmouthshire since that county formed part of the Oxford Assize circuit (the origin of the canard that Monmouthshire was part of England). There are, however, a number of cases of Monmouthshire, English and other foreign interest on the database.
There are just shy of 21,000 cases. Most of the fields are free-text, so there is no need for wild-cards. So for example, Ben in one of the names fields (accused and prosecutor) will return the forenames/surnames
Benjamin and Ebenezer, and the surnames Benion and Dolben.
(By Stephen Benham)
