Convict Database

Below is a list of the convict information we currently hold.  It lists all the people tried and sentenced at Lancaster Assize about whom we have some definite evidence.

• The people mentioned were tried at the castle and sentenced to various punishments, including fines, imprisonment, Transportation to Australia as well as those who were sentenced to death. Please note that often a sentence of death was recorded but not carried out.
• Transportation to America: we have a limited amount of information on people sent to America in the years prior to Independance. We would love to know more!
• If you have further information about any of these people and would like to share it with us we would love to hear from you. This information is for research purposes only, and to help us fill in the many gaps in our records. If you can help please email us lancastercastle@lancashire.gov.uk
• If you want to know more about any of the people mentioned please do get in touch at the email address above. We will be happy to help where we have any original documentation.
• Please note that this database is purely concerned with people who have a definite connection to Lancaster Castle: we cannot offer help on family records, even for the people we do know about (we simply don't have it) nor can we search for information on people who were not tried at Lancaster (for the same reason)

It is worth noting that 'Lancaster' does not always mean the town (as it was then) but rather the county i.e 'The County of Lancaster' rather than the more modern use- 'Lancashire'. This means that these cases were not  tried at the castle at all. Look for another town in brackets (Salford/Manchester/ Liverpool) to see if this applies to your enquiry. Sadly, we do not have any records from these trials and won't be able to help you.

You can search for people by their surname, using the search facility below.

Surname: A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z