The Old Judicial Archive (ORA) of Bredevoort is described by the Erfgoedcentrum Achterhoek en Liemers as covering the period 1533–1818. It contains the principal surviving registers and files concerning legal acts, property matters and local justice in Bredevoort, Aalten, Dinxperlo and Winterswijk.
The Lordship of Bredevoort comprised the town of Bredevoort and the parishes of Aalten, Dinxperlo and Winterswijk. The drost or judge held court in Bredevoort, Aalten and Winterswijk with local assessors (keurnoten); cases from Dinxperlo were heard in Aalten. The administrative organisation changed substantially during the Batavian-French period. The fact that the archive description continues to 1818 therefore does not mean that the old lordship remained an administrative form until that year.
The ORA contains the registers of the judicial archive of the Manor, including:
- Voluntary protocols (voluntary jurisdiction)
Deeds that citizens had registered voluntarily: transfers of real estate, mortgages/bonds, estate inventories and divisions, prenuptial agreements, wills, powers of attorney, and guardianship/curatorship records. - Civil litigation files
Contentious (civil) cases between parties, including summonses, statements, evidence, and judgments. - Fiscal litigation files
Cases concerning excise duties/imposts and enforcement (including smuggling and collection), containing documents from the fiscal prosecutor and related interrogations and decisions. - Trial and criminal files
Other contentious and criminal cases; these provide insight into the functioning and practice of the court. - Repertories (reference registers)
Contemporary indexes of names and subjects with references to folios and deeds in the main series (including Winterswijk on the reverse side in one volume). - Guardianship & Curatorship
Registrations of guardianship and curatorship (appointments, authorisations, accounts, and receipts). - Breukenprotocol (fines register)
Violations of local ordinances and rules with the imposed fines (“breuken”).