Hanaper Office

An office on the common-law side of the English court of chancery, in which the writs relating to the business of the subject, and the returns to them, were anciently kept.

3 Bl. Comm. 48.

So called, according to Blackstone, because the writs were kept in a basket or hamper, but Spelman says that the basket was for keeping the fees of the office, and not the writs. This and the petty bag office (q. v.) were offices in which writs relating to the interests of the subject and the crown, respectively, were kept. For a discussion of the historic origin of the names, see 6 Johns. (N. Y.) 337, 363.