The Court of King's Bench was an English common law court originally created in the late 12th-early 13th century to follow the monarch and eventually settled at Westminster Hall. It had jurisdiction over criminal cases, unclaimed business, and cases concerning the monarch. In the 15th-16th centuries its caseload declined as equitable doctrines rose but it undertook reforms creating cheaper/faster bills to recover. Between 1560-1640 its business increased tenfold as the reforms took effect, though the Common Pleas grew suspicious and competitive until an equilibrium was reached until the courts merged in 1873.

1. Court of King’s bench
Ensenada, B. C.

2. Court of King’s bench
The Court of King's Bench,[a] formally known as The Court of the King Before the King
Himself,[a] was a court of common law in the English legal system. Created in the late 12th to early
13th century from the curia regis, the King's Bench initially followed the monarch on his travels. The
King's Bench finally joined the Court of Common Pleas and Exchequer of Pleas in Westminster Hall
in 1318, making its last travels in 1421. The King's Bench was merged into the High Court of Justice
by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873, after which point the King's Bench was a division
within the High Court. The King's Bench was staffed by one Chief Justice (now the Lord Chief
Justice of England and Wales) and usually three Puisne Justices.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the King's Bench's jurisdiction and caseload was significantly
challenged by the rise of the Court of Chancery and equitable doctrines as one of the two principal
common law courts along with the Common Pleas. To recover, the King's Bench undertook a
scheme of revolutionary reform, creating less expensive, faster and more versatile types of pleading
in the form of bills as opposed to the more traditional writs. Although not immediately stemming the
tide, it helped the King's Bench to recover and increase its workload in the long term.

3. There was a steep decline in business from 1460 to 1540.
As the new reforms began to take effect the King's Bench’s
business was significantly boosted. Between 1560 and
1640, it rose tenfold. The Common Pleas became
suspicious of the new developments, as legal fictions such
as the Bill of Middlesex damaged its own business.
Fighting against the King's Bench in a reactionary and
increasingly conservative way, an equilibrium was
eventually reached in the 17th century until the merger in
1873. The King's Bench's jurisdiction initially covered a
wide range of criminal matters, any business not claimed
by the other courts, and any cases concerning the
monarch. Until 1830, the King's Bench acted as a court of
appeal for the Exchequer of Pleas and Common Pleas,
and required Parliament to sign off on its decisions. From
1585, the Court of Exchequer Chamber served for appeals
of King's Bench decisions.
Court of King’s bench