A SEVENTEENTH century manor court book is now on display in Wimborne Minster after repairs and restoration work.
The manuscript book holds records of court proceedings from 1624 to 1689 and is now displayed in the Wimborne Minster chained library.
It contains details of more than 90 courts held in the name of three Lords of the Manor - Thomas Hanham, his son John Hanham and his son William Hanham.
The book was purchased by Dorset Archives for the Dorset History Centre and was loaned to the library after completing repairs and restoration to the manuscript.
Wimborne Minster chained library was founded in the Minster in 1685 and was a public library from 1695.
The 266-page book is mostly written in Latin except for the period between 1651 and 1672, when the records were in English during Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth and the early restoration of the monarchy.
The court records cover a variety of local events such as the election of new officers, Jurors of the Court, as well as local incidents including violence, wandering beasts and offences against beer selling regulations.
The book was welcomed into the library by The Revd Canon Andrew Rowland (Rector of Wimborne Minster), Judith Monds (head librarian), Peter Cook (churchwarden) and some of the library volunteers on March 27, 2023.
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