Archives Wales
Has an online searchable catalogue of document collections in record offices, universities, museums and libraries in Wales, with references to material of interest to legal historians.
Cambrian Law Review
Located at Aberystwyth University, the Cambrian Law Review publishes law and law-related articles. Articles are also put online in the E-Cambrian as and when they have been accepted for publication and been formatted in house style.
Canolfan Hywel Dda Centre
'The only garden in Europe dedicated to the Law'.The Hywel Dda Gardens and Interpretive Centre recalls and celebrates the achievements of Hywel Dda, King of all Wales during the first half of the tenth century. The garden consists of six small interconnecting gardens, each representing separate divisions of the Law, and having its own symbolic tree. Extracts of the Laws are illustrated on slate plaques illuminated with enamels. The Interpretive Centre extends the symbolism of the garden.
Centre for Welsh Legal Affairs
The Centre for Welsh Legal Affairs was launched in January 1999 to consolidate, and provide a focus for, the Department's expertise and work on the law as it applies within Wales and on general legal developments of relevance to Wales.
Centre for Welsh Legal Affairs - Bibliography on Devolution and the New Legislative Bodies in the UK.
The bibliography is primarily concerned with secondary sources, including articles, books and reports, which relate to the process of devolution within the United Kingdom and to the working of the various legislative/executive bodies which have been set up within the United Kingdom, namely the National Assembly for Wales, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Greater London Authority.
Irish Legal History Society
The Society's objective is to encourage the study and advance the knowledge of the history of Irish law, especially by the publication of original documents and scholarly works relating to the history of Irish law, including its institutions, doctrines and personalities, and the reprinting or editing of works of sufficient rarity or importance.
The Judges Lodging
Explore the fascinating world of the Victorian judges at this award-winning historic house, in the centre of Presteigne, on the Welsh border just off the B4362.
Legal History Bibliograpy
Compiled by the Information Services Department of Aberystwyth University, this extensive searchable database is a bibliography of published works relating to British and Irish legal history.
National Library of Wales
Located in Aberystwyth, the National Library holds numerous records relating to the history of law in Wales, with a searchable on-line database.
Selden Society
The Selden Society is the only learned society and publisher devoted entirely to English legal history. This includes the history of the law, the development of legal ideas, the legal profession, the courts and legal institutions, individual judges and lawyers, legal literature and records, the languages of the law, legal portraiture and costume; in short, researching the history of everything which is characteristic of our unique English common law and legal system.
Stair Society
The Stair Society is named after Scotland's greatest jurist, James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount Stair, whose Institutions of the Law of Scotland, first published in 1681, was the foundation of modern Scots law. The society was instituted in 1934 to encourage the study and to advance the knowledge of the history of Scots law.
County Archives and other repositories containing legal material
Glamorgan Record Office Alien Registration cards: 'Alien' was formerly the legal terms for an immigrant to Britain. The requirement for aliens aged 16 or over to register with the police was introduced in 1914 and gave the government power to require such individuals to register with the police and to pay a registration fee. A series of cards relating mainly to Merthyr Tydfil have been found amongst police records. They include registration books, cards and travel permits which were issued if the person wanted to travel out of the area. The records cover the period from 1916 to the 1950s. (More details(PDF))
Glamorgan also publish several leaflets about their legal-related collections, one on court records and the other on police records: (More details.)
Dyfed-Powys Police Museum and Archive. The force museum holds an interesting and varied collection of photographs and objects. The website also has a gallery of photographs.
Online resources and databases containing source material
National Library of Wales - Crime and Punishment
The Crime and Punishment database comprises data about crimes, criminals and punishments included in the gaol files of the Court of Great Sessions in Wales from 1730 until its abolition in 1830. The Court could try all types of crimes, from petty thefts to high treason. In practice, most of the petty crimes were heard at the Courts of Quarter Sessions, whose records are held by the Welsh county record offices. View the database
Gwefan Cyfraith Hywel Website
The project has two aims. First, to present a guide to Cyfraith Hywel, medieval Welsh law, by explaining what Welsh law was, how the law worked, and suggesting further reading and listing subject-specific academic publications. The second aim is to look at the law manuscripts, the starting point for working on Cyfraith Hywel. A short description of each manuscript is presented, along with a detailed list of contents for the individual manuscripts. Those keen to learn more about the laws can use these tables to see exactly what is in the manuscripts, and also to see where else those sections may occur. It is possible to use the explanatory sections together with the detailed work on the manuscripts to offer a fuller picture of what the texts of Cyfraith Hywel contain. Gwefan Cyfraith Hywel Website