by Nathan W. Murphy, MA, AG®
Probate records and parish registers are the most valuable genealogical sources in pre-Victorian Great Britain and Ireland. Like parish registers, the creation of probate records fell under the jurisdiction of state churches. In England and Wales, the Church of England held this responsibility until 1858; in Ireland, the Church of Ireland until 1857; and in Scotland, the Presbyterian Church until 1823.
In England and Wales, single villages and towns belonged to multiple probate jurisdictions. Several jurisdictions existed in each county making it necessary to search a variety of probate courts in order to locate wills, inventories, and administrations. Some align with boundaries of dioceses (consistory courts), others with old monasteries (peculiars).
The Family History Library in Salt Lake City provides free-online guides to searching probate records. Click on the nation of interest to learn more: England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Under the table of contents of each place, click on the section titled "Probate Records" to learn idiosyncrasies between the English, Irish, Scots, and Welsh record-keeping practices.
The following table identifies which probate courts have been indexed and are searchable online. It will be updated as new indexes become available. Click on titles of probate courts for links to web sites. Most of these web sites require subscriptions. Our researchers are experts in finding and reading old wills. If you find an old will that you'd like to obtain, they can help you upon request.
| Probate Court |
Years |
Coverage (Multi-County) |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| England (Nationwide) |
|
Includes Wales |
| Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills |
1384-1858 |
|
| Wills Proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury |
1383-1700 |
Gaps |
| Administrations in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury |
1396-1660 |
Gaps |
| Index to the Act Books of the Archbishops of Canterbury |
1663-1859 |
|
| Bank of England Will Extracts |
1717-1845 |
|
| Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills |
1750-1800 |
|
| Death Duty Index |
1796-1891 |
[Currently in limbo] |
| Berkshire, England |
|
|
| Wills Proved and Administrations Granted in the Court of the Archdeacon of Berks |
1508-1652 |
Includes Glamorgan, Wales
|
| Cheshire, England |
|
|
| Lancashire & Cheshire Wills |
1301-1752 |
Includes Lancashire
|
| List of the wills, inventories, administration bonds, and testamentary depositions preserved at the diocesan registry, Chester |
1487-1620 |
|
| Consistory Court of Chester |
1492-1940 |
Excellent site! |
| Cheshire: Stockport - Probate Records |
1578-1619 |
|
| Cheshire: Wills and Inventories |
1681-1720; 1741-1820 |
|
| Cheshire: Supplementary Index to the "Infra" Wills and Administrations |
1693 |
|
| Cheshire: Chester - Calendar of Wills, Diocesan Registry of Chester |
1701-1800 |
|
| Cheshire: Wills and Administrations |
1821-1837 |
Includes Lancashire |
| Lancashire & Cheshire - Calendar of Parsons Commemorated in Monumental Inscriptions, Abstracts of Wills, and Administrations |
|
|
| Cornwall, England |
|
See also Devon |
| Calendar of Wills, Administrations and Accounts relating to the counties of Cornwall and Devon in the Consistorial Archdiaconal Court of Cornwall |
1569-1799 |
Includes Devon
|
| Devon, England |
|
See also Cornwall |
| Wills and Administrations Proved in the Consistory Court of the Bishop of Exeter |
1532-1800 |
Includes Cornwall, Gloucestershire
|
| Wills and Administrations Proved in the Bishop of Exeter |
1559-1799 |
Includes Cornwall
|
| Dorset, England |
|
|
| Dorset: Wills and Administrations |
|
|
| Wills and Administrations |
1312-1799 |
Includes Somerset
|
| Dorset, Somerset: Wills and Administrations |
1313-1799 |
Includes Somerset
|
| Essex, England |
|
|
| Chelmsford Wills |
1400-1720 |
Includes Hertfordshire
|
| Gloucester, England |
|
See also Devon |
| Wills Proved in the Court of Bishop of Gloucester |
1541-1650; 1660-1800 |
|
| Wills Proved at Gloucester |
1541-1858 |
|
| Bristol Wills |
1572-1792 |
|
| Hampshire, England |
|
|
| Wills Proved at Winchester |
to 1858 |
|
| Hertfordshire, England |
|
See also Essex |
| Huntingdonshire, England |
|
|
| Calendars of Huntingdonshire Wills |
1479-1652 |
|
| Kent, England |
|
|
| West Kent Wills |
<1650 |
|
| Lancashire, England |
|
See also Cheshire |
| Lancashire Wills proved at Archdeaconry of Richmond (Yorkshire) |
1457-1858 |
|
| Lancashire Wills |
1531-1652 |
|
| Lancashire Probate Index (7 courts) |
1541-1858 |
|
| List of the Wills, Inventories, at the Diocesan Registry, Chester |
1621-1700 |
Includes Cheshire
|
| Chester Wills and Inventories, Court of Probate |
1660-1680 |
|
| Lancashire & Cheshire - Miscellanies and an Index of Infra Wills |
1834-1837 |
Includes Cheshire, Wales
|
| Leicestershire, England |
|
|
| Index to the Wills and Administrations Proved and Granted in the Archdeaconry Court of Leicester and in the Peculiars of St. Margaret, Leicester, and Rotblen and the Rutland Peculiars of Caldecott, Retton and Tirover, and Liddington |
1660-1750 |
Includes Rutland
|
| Lincolnshire, England |
|
|
| Calendar of Lincolnshire Wills |
1320-1652 |
|
| London, England |
|
|
| Inquisitiones Post Mortem for the City of London, Wills and Administrations |
1561-1577 |
|
| Archdeaconry Court of London |
1700-1807 |
|
| Middlesex, England |
|
|
| Archdeaconry Court of Middlesex |
1609-1810 |
|
| Norfolk, England |
|
|
| Wills among the Norwich Enrolled Deeds |
1286-1508 |
|
| Index to Wills, Consistory Court of Norwich |
1370-1603; 1751-1818 |
|
| Northamptonshire, England |
|
|
| All local courts |
1469-1857 |
Includes Rutland |
| Calendar of Wills |
1510-1652 |
Includes Rutland
|
| Administrations, Archdeaconry of Northampton |
1667-1710 |
|
| Rutland, England |
|
See also Leicestershire and Northamptonshire |
| All local courts |
1469-1857 |
Includes Nhants |
| Shropshire, England |
|
|
| Lichfield - Wills and Administrations |
1516-1652 |
|
| Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Wills |
1858-1940 |
Includes Montgomeryshire, Wales
|
| Somerset, England |
|
See also Dorset |
| Calendar of Wills and Administrations in the Court of the Archdeaconry of Taunton |
1537-1799 |
|
| Somerset Death Duty Wills |
1812-1857 |
|
| Staffordshire, England |
|
|
| Burslem Stoke on Trent Wills and Administrations |
1534-1858 |
|
| Suffolk, England |
|
|
| Lewkenor Wills |
|
|
| Little Saxham, Some Wills and Inquitions Post Mortem |
|
|
| West Stow Wills |
|
|
| Denham Wills |
|
|
| Rushbrook Wills |
|
|
| Whelnetham Wills |
1350-1724 |
|
| Wills of the Archdeaconry of Sudbury |
1439-1461 |
|
| Ipswich Probate Inventories |
1583-1631 |
|
| Wills of the Archdeaconry of Suffolk |
1620-1626 |
|
| Sudbury Archdeaconry Wills |
1630-1638 |
|
| Suffolk Probate (Testator and Beneficiary Indexes) Probated at Ipswich |
1847-1857 |
|
| Sussex, England |
|
|
| Wills and Administrations preserved in the District Probate Court of Lewes |
|
|
| Calendar of Wills in the Consistory Court of the Bishop of Chichester |
1482-1800 |
|
| Calendar of Wills and Administrations in the Peculiar Court of the Dean of Chichester |
1577-1800 |
|
| Calendar of Administrations in the Consistory Court of the Bishop of Chichester |
1555-1800 |
|
| Wiltshire, England |
|
|
| Wiltshire Wills Project (forthcoming) |
1540-1858 |
|
| Wiltshire Peculiar Courts (19 courts) |
1800-1858 |
|
| Worcestershire, England |
|
|
| Wills and Administrations in the Court of the Bishop of Worcestershire |
1451-1652 |
|
| Yorkshire, England |
|
|
| York Medieval Probate Index |
1267-1500 |
|
| York Peculiars (54 courts) |
1383-1883 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Ireland (Nationwide) |
|
|
| Vicar's Index to Prerogative Wills |
1536-1810 |
|
| Irish Wills Indexes |
1536-1858 |
|
| Irish Records Extraction Database |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Scotland (Nationwide) |
|
|
| Scotland: Wills and Testaments |
1513-1901 |
|
| Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
|
See also Lanarkshire |
| Ayrshire, Scotland |
|
See also Lanarkshire |
| Commissariat Record of Glasgow, Register of Testaments |
1547-1800 |
Includes Lanarkshire, Stirling
|
| Banff, Scotland |
|
See also Lanarkshire |
| Clackmannan, Scotland |
|
Se+C141e also Lanarkshire |
| Dumfries-shire, Scotland |
|
|
| Dumfries & Kirkcudbright: The commissariat record of Dumfries, Register of testaments |
1624-1800 |
Includes Kirkcudbright
|
| Edinburgh, Scotland |
|
See also Midlothian, West Lothian |
| Fife, Scotland |
|
See also Kincardineshire |
| Forfar, Scotland |
|
See also Kincardineshire |
| Inverness-shire, Scotland |
|
|
| Commissariot Record of Inverness, Register of Testaments |
1630-1800 |
|
| Kincardineshire, Scotland |
|
|
| Commissariat of St. Andrew's, Register of Testaments |
1549-1800 |
Includes Fife, Kinross, Perth, Forfar
|
| Commissariat Record of Kirkendbright, Executry Papers |
1663-1800 |
Includes Perth, Forfar
|
| Commissariat Record of Dunkeld, Register of Testaments |
1682-1800 |
Includes Perth, Forfar
|
| Kinross-shire, Scotland |
|
See also Kincardineshire |
| Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland |
|
See also Dumfries |
| Lanarkshire, Scotland |
|
See also Ayr |
| Commissariat Record of Hamilton and Campsie, Register of Testaments |
1564-1800 |
Includes Aberdeenshire, Banff, Ayr, Stirling
|
| Commissariat Record of Lanark, Register of Testaments |
1595-1800 |
Includes Stirling, Clackmannan
|
| Commissariat Record of Stirling |
1607-1800 |
Includes Stirling, Clackmannan
|
| Midlothian, Scotland |
|
See also West Lothian |
| Commissariat of Argyll |
1693-1702 |
Includes Edinburgh
|
| Perth, Scotland |
|
See also Kincardineshire |
| Stirling, Scotland |
|
See also Ayr, Lanarkshire |
| West Lothian, Scotland |
|
|
| Commissariat Record of Edinburgh, Register of Testaments |
1514-1600 |
Includes Midlothian, Edinburgh
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Wales (Nationwide) |
|
See also England: Nationwide |
| Glamorgan, Wales |
|
See also Berkshire, England |
| Montgomeryshire, Wales |
|
See also Shropshire, England |