Courts of petty session, established from around the 1730s,[1] were local courts consisting of magistrates, held for each petty sessional division (usually based on the county divisions known as hundreds) in England, Wales, and Ireland.
The session's work dealt with matters such as minor theft and larceny, assault, drunkenness, bastardy examinations, arbitration and deciding whether to refer a case to the quarter sessions.
From 1872 the courts of petty sessions were also responsible for approving licences to sell alcohol in alehouses and public houses.
Section 30 of the same act also abolished the concept of distinct "petty-sessional court-houses".
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