Occupation on 1851 census

[Big Dave R]

Need some help deciphering an occupation on 1851 census please.
First word as often happens has a line through it making it hard to read, it looks like "l**e officer at Southwark court" followed by what looks like "of requests".   So I get the gist of it but intrigued by what the specifics might be.


Page details
HO107/1698/43 p18


Enumeration District: 1b
Heston part of Hounslow
Robert B Riches B1804

[Dundee]

Late officer at Southwark court of requests.

Debra 

[Dundee]

He is also an officer of the court of requests in 1841, and when Samuel was baptised in 1837.

Debra 

[ShaunJ]

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century small claims courts were established in various parts of England called "court of requests". The first of these was found(ed) in Southwark by 22 George II ch.47. They were abolished by the County Courts Act 1846.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Requests

[ShaunJ]

The SOUTHWARK COURT of REQUESTS has a more extensive jurisdiction than that of Westminster. It embraces the town and borough of Southwark, Lambeth, and the eastern half of the hundred of Brixton. It possesses the power of imprisoning the person in execution, but not for a longer period than one hundred days. It is competent to hear and decide all cases under five pounds. Five commissioners are necessary to constitute a Court when the debt is above forty shillings; and three, when the debt is under that sum. The number of commissioners is 152. They are chosen in the same way as the commissioners for the Westminster Court of Requests. When the Court was established, I have not been able to ascertain. The average number of suits instituted in this court every year, is rather above 16,000. Perhaps there is no other Court of Requests in the kingdom in which there is so slight a variation in the number of cases tried, as in the Court of Requests for Southwark. This fact will appear from the following statement of the respective numbers for the five consecutive years preceding the year 1835. In 1830, the number was 16,441 ; in 1831, 16,751; in 1832, 16,192; in 1833, it was 16,250; and in 1834, it was 16,450. The total average amount of debts sued for each year is about 22,000l.; and the annual average expenses of prosecuting this amount of debts is close on 4000l., giving, as in the case of the Westminster Court of Requests, the expenses of each case at somewhere about three shillings and sixpence. The Southwark Court usually sits two days each week. It begins its sittings at ten o’clock, and rises at half-past three. It is divided into two branches; an arrangement indispensable for getting through the great quantity of business, the transaction of which devolves on the commissioners. Instead of the chief bailiff for Southwark, [-324-] and the two principal clerks, as in the case of the Westminster Court of Requests, deriving their emoluments from fees on the cases which are tried before the Court, they have severally a fixed yearly salary. That of the chief bailiff is 500l., while one of the two principal clerks, namely, Mr. Meymott, has 750l. The other chief clerk, viz., Mr. George Drew, receives the same amount of yearly salary as the chief bailiff, which I have stated to be 500l. The Court sits in Swan-street.

https://www.victorianlondon.org/legal/requests.htm

[Big Dave R]

Thanks for the detailed replies, I hadn't realised Court of Requests was a thing.
I assume the "late" just means formerly.