Page "Court of Chancery" Paragraph 13

According to many academics, the Court of Chancery really began to expand its caseload during the 15th century ; Margaret Avery reports a massive increase in cases during the 1440s, while Nicholas Pronay suggests that the real expansion came during Yorkist rule ( 1461 – 85 ), when the number of cases submitted each year quadrupled.

He gives complaints about the perversion of justice in the common law courts, along with growing mercantile and commercial interests, as the main reason for the growth, arguing that this was the period when the Chancery changed from being an administrative body with some judicial functions to " one of the four central courts of the realm ... the growth in the number of is a primary indicator of the changing position of Chancery ".

This increasing role was assisted by the changing function of the court: until the late 14th century, private parties could not bring cases to the Chancery as they could to the other courts, while by the 15th century the number of private cases had increased to the point where there were many complaints in Parliament.

Marsh writes that another reason for the Chancery's growing influence was the remedies available ; through orders of specific performance and injunctions, the Court could not only rectify previous wrongs but prevent future wrongs from occurring, while the common law courts were limited to awarding damages.