Every court of quarter sessions had a clerk called the clerk of the peace. For county quarter sessions, this person was appointed by the "custos rotulorum" of the county – the justice of the peace for the county charged with custody of its rolls and records. There was a large fee income for the clerk, and he was usually a friend or relative of the "custos." The clerk rarely discharged the duties of the office himself, but appointed a solicitor to act as his deputy in return for a share of the fees. After 1852, payment by salary was gradually brought in instead of fees.