VPRS 16199 Supreme Court Adoption Register (Records Not Transferred)

The adoption of children was first regulated by legislation with the commencement of the Adoption of Children Act 1928. This Act established adoption as a legal transfer of custody and of parental responsibility, and gave responsibility for making adoption orders to the courts. Prior to this time, adoptions were informal arrangements often made by private infants' homes.Under the 1928 Act an adoption application could be heard by the Supreme Court, County Court or Court of Petty Sessions. The choice of court depended upon the circumstances of the case and the wishes of the parties:* The Supreme Court could grant an adoption order in any circumstance* The County Court could grant an adoption order in any circumstance if the applicant(s) (ie the prospective adoptive parent(s) chose to use this avenue* The Court of Petty Sessions closest to where either the applicant(s) or the child resided could grant an adoption order if several parties gave their written consent to the adoption, namely:-The child's natural parent(s) or guardian(s)-The person having custody of the child-Any person liable to contribute to the support of the child-Where the applicant was married, the applicant's spouse.If the consent of any of these persons could not be obtained in writing, a higher court had to be used.This system remained in place until the passing of the Adoption of Children Act 1958 which removed the jurisdiction of the Court of Petty Sessions to grant adoption orders. Since that time the County and Supreme Courts have had the power to grant adoption orders, although in practice most have been granted by the County Court.This series contains adoption register created to register applications for adoptions received and dealt with by the Supreme Court. The adoption case files are located in VPRS 11846 Supreme Court Adoption Case Files.Entries in the register are arranged in chronological order. For each case determined by the court the following details were recorded: case number; date of application; names, ages and occupations of the applicants (usually couples); name, sex, and age of infant; names of other respondents (usually mother or both parents, or guardian); minute of decision; and remarks.Related RecordsCourt of Petty Sessions Adoption RegistersBetween the years 1928 and 1958, Courts of Petty Sessions maintained Adoption Registers to record the details of adoption applications and decisions made by the court. Only adoption applications heard by the Court of Petty Sessions were recorded in these registers; many orders were heard by the County Court.