This petition, transcribed in full below, was presented to the Lancashire Quarter Sessions at Manchester on 18 April 1678. It was signed by the constables, churchwardens, overseers, and other leading inhabitants of Turton. They complained about Thomas Greene, describing him as an 'idle, suspected and dangerous person' who made his living by encouraging disputes, purchasing rights to lawsuits (a practice known as champerty), and threatening legal action against his neighbours.
According to the petition, Greene habitually used the threat of expensive lawsuits to extract money from people who preferred to pay him rather than face the cost and inconvenience of litigation. After the local constables arrested and bound him over to appear before the Quarter Sessions, Greene allegedly threatened to sue them unless they paid him £20. The petitioners asked the magistrates to require Greene to provide sureties for his good behaviour, or otherwise deal with him as they thought fit, in order to protect the peace of the neighbourhood.
This document shows how local communities in seventeenth-century Lancashire dealt with individuals they regarded as vexatious litigants and troublemakers. It also illustrates the important role of the Quarter Sessions in maintaining local order and supporting parish officers in carrying out their duties.
