Kitrina Bevan
BA (History) University of Ottawa, Canada
MA (Medieval History) University of Ottawa, Canada
Clerks and Scriveners: Legal Literacy and Access to Justice in Late Medieval England
Kitrina’s doctoral project focuses on the lives and livelihoods of scriveners operating in England’s southwest circa 1300-1500. More than mere scribes or copyists, scriveners possessed specialised knowledge of the law and legal formulae which were essential tools of the scrivening trade. Although scriveners ranked bottom of the legal profession’s hierarchy, this should not be viewed as a reflection of the significance of their work. On the contrary, in medieval towns scriveners fulfilled an important role in urban society as easily accessible and affordable legal professionals. By examining scriveners’ written instruments and documents and in situating this work within the context of England’s litigiousness, Kitrina’s research aims to demonstrate the essential social and legal functions performed by local scriveners. Consequently, this comprehensive study will contribute to an existing body of knowledge on the practical and administrative aspects of accessing justice and grace in provincial England in the later medieval period.
Craig Newbery-Jones
LLB (Hons) University of Exeter
LLM (Law in History) Lancaster University
Shaping the Public Image of the Legal Profession and its Effects on the Delivery of Legal Services in the Nineteenth-Century
When we consider how often access to justice and the delivery of legal services have come under the scrutiny of policy makers, regulatory bodies and the media, it is clear that these matters are a major concern of the government, the legal profession and the public. Craig is currently researching what image of the legal profession was reflected in governmental, professional and popular sources in Victorian Britain. By analysing these sources, he will investigate whether the portrayal of the legal profession in the Victorian period created a specific image for the public that affected the accessibility and efficacy of legal services in nineteenth-century Britain. This project will provide an historical examination of the public image of lawyers and how this affected the delivery of legal services in the nineteenth century. Therefore, parallels can be drawn between the historical representation of the legal profession and the negative public image of the legal profession in contemporary society.
John Pearce
BA (History) Caius College, University of Cambridge
Associate of the Institute of Taxation
Solicitor
The Development of the Income Tax during the First Half of the Twentieth Century
During the first half of the Twentieth Century, Government expenditure in the United Kingdom increased greatly. Receipts from taxation rose; and so did the importance of income tax as a source of revenue. During these same years income tax ceased to be a flat-rate tax and became a graduated tax; it also ceased to be a “class tax” and became a “mass tax”. It was possible to think in terms of a major recasting of income tax legislation. But, for the most part, this did not happen: there was no recasting of the primary legislation relating to income tax. On the other hand, new forms were sometimes adopted – and notably with the making of the PAYE Regulations. Why did the challenge receive such a patchy response?
