Formerly, the highest court of common law in England;
   -- so called because the king used to sit there in person. It consisted
   of a chief justice and four puisne, or junior, justices. During the
   reign of a queen it was called the Queen's Bench. Its jurisdiction was
   transferred by the judicature acts of 1873 and 1875 to the high court
   of justice created by that legislation.