What is this?
This is the Private Bill Witness database, an index to the names of individuals who gave evidence before Opposed Private Bill Committees in Parliament in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and to other sources of evidence about private bills.
The Parliamentary Archives holds 5,400 volumes of evidence on private bills, relating to the building of roads, railways, canals and other public works, dating from 1835 onwards and these records are a rich resource for family and local historians. They consist of verbatim accounts, directly taken from shorthand notes of the examination of promoters, engineers and other expert witnesses, and of property holders and other members of the public who would be affected by the bill.
The Private Bill Witness database is primarily an index of the names of individuals who gave evidence, but it can include further information about them, such as their occupation, place of residence or place of work. It also gives the name of the bill which they were giving evidence about and ties them to the specific volume or range of volumes held by the Parliamentary Archives, in which they appear. (Please note, it is necessary to search through the volume or range of volumes to find an individual's evidence.)
As well as the 5,400 volumes of evidence, there are a variety of other sources of evidence about bills which are included in this database. Some of these other sources are records held by the Parliamentary Archives, but others are in printed, published material, or held by other organisations, like The National Archives. Each record should direct you to the source of the information.
What dates does this site cover?
The vast majority of the records covered by this database date from between 1835 and 1917. However, the earliest record to be found in the database is dated 1771. This is because before 1835, evidence regarding private bills may be found in Committee Books (Parliamentary Archives reference HL/PO/CO/1), Journals of the House of Lords (Parliamentary Archives reference HL/PO/JO/1) or Main Papers (papers laid on the table of the House - Parliamentary Archives reference HL/PO/JO/10). Evidence on bills post 1917 in date does exist and is held by the Parliamentary Archives - it just hasn’t been indexed.
How do I search it?
Enter search terms into boxes on the search screen. You can search for specific individuals who may have given evidence, for specific bills by title, by year or place and also for occupations.
Are new records being added?
No, the Private Bill Witness site is not being added to. We are correcting typos and other information which is found to be inaccurate or unclear though, so if you find something which you think is wrong, please report it to us by emailing the details.
How do I view the original record?
This database is an index to information which can be found in volumes of Private Bill Evidence which are held by the Parliamentary Archives. You can either make an appointment to visit our search room to view the original volume, or request a quote for the cost of a copy of the original be sent to you, by emailing us with the information you find in this search tool. The Parliamentary Archives is open Monday-Friday, 9.30am-5pm and more information about our collections, location and services can be found on the Parliamentary Archives website.
If the record you've found isn't held by the Parliamentary Archives, it should tell you and direct you to the correct organisation.
How do I report an error?
Email the Parliamentary Archives, providing as much of the information that is contained in the record as you can and we will look into it.