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The Roberts & Evans archive included an incomplete annual series of bundles of drafts, sometimes further arranged into draft conveyances, leases, mortgages and reconveyances, abstracts of title, wills, and miscellaneous draft papers. Of these, the draft wills have been retained (SD 1), as well as draft deeds relating to public undertakings (SD 2), and a small sample of miscellaneous draft papers (SD 3). The rest were returned to the depositor, the successor in business to Roberts & Evans. A list is available in hard copy at the reader’s desk containing a lightly edited version of an uncompleted preliminary list of the drafts in Roberts & Evans boxes 64-76 before they were weeded; this is the only record of the drafts in those boxes that were returned to the depositor. Further drafts and executed final versions of some of these deeds may well be among the clients’ papers (C).

Volumes of notes of instructions, mainly relating to conveyances, probates and wills, but also including annulments, contracts, divorces, family disputes, leases, maintenance etc. There are clearly several series of books, eg SB 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, probably relating to the various partners.

‘Major clients’ are generally those that had a continuing relationship with Roberts & Evans; where the solicitors acted, for example, as agents of a landed estate or trustees of a settlement. The papers of major clients will amount to several files.

Original bundles and loose papers gathered together by record type (deeds, posters, plans etc.) or by subject (debt collection, inclosure papers etc.), rather than by client (as per CB and CM).

‘Minor clients’ are generally those that did not have a continuing relationship with Roberts & Evans; where the solicitors acted, for example, in the writing or proving of a will, or in the sale or purchase of a property. The papers of minor clients will amount to one file each.