Legal Definitions - state paper office

The State Paper Office was a historical government department established in London in 1578. Its primary purpose was to act as the official repository for important government documents and records, ensuring their secure storage, organization, and preservation. This office was overseen by a designated official known as the Clerk of the Papers.

Here are some examples illustrating the function of the State Paper Office:

• Imagine a significant treaty signed between England and another European power during the late 16th century, outlining terms of peace or a new alliance. This crucial international agreement, being a vital "state document," would have been entrusted to the State Paper Office. The office would meticulously catalog and securely store the original signed treaty, ensuring its long-term preservation as a permanent record of the nation's diplomatic history.

• Consider the official correspondence exchanged between an English ambassador stationed in a foreign court and the Privy Council in London during the reign of James I. These letters, containing sensitive intelligence, diplomatic instructions, and reports on international affairs, were critical government records. The State Paper Office would have been the designated location where these original dispatches and copies of responses were carefully filed and maintained, safeguarding this essential diplomatic communication.

• During the Elizabethan era, royal proclamations or official decrees issued by the monarch concerning new laws, public health measures, or military mobilization were fundamental expressions of state authority. After being publicly announced, the official engrossed (finalized) copies of these proclamations would have been transferred to the State Paper Office. Here, they would be preserved as part of the permanent record of the Crown's governance, accessible for future legal or administrative reference.