Wills

Wills are one of the most important sources for tracing family history and putting flesh on the bones of ancestors. Since 1858 all wills and letters of administration in England and Wales have been granted in District Probate Registries or the Principal Probate Registry in London. The National Probate Index covering 1858 to 1943 is available on microfiche here at The National Archives and many local record offices.

The Principal Registry of the Family Division, First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London www.courtservice.gov.uk/cms/wills.htm holds the indexes from 1858 to the present, access to the indexes is free, but there is a fee to see a copy of the will or letters of administration, and have it copied and posted to you. Postal applications should be sent to the Postal Searches and Copies Department, The Probate Registry, Castle Chambers, Clifford Street, York YO1 9RG.

Before 1858, probate jurisdiction belonged to ecclesiastical courts, and some liberties and peculiars outside church jurisdiction. If the deceased´s property lay in one or two parishes within an archdeaconry the will could be proved in the Archdeacon´s Court, unless a Bishop´s visitation was in progress, in which case it was proved in the Bishop´s Commissary Court. If the individual held property in more than one archdeaconry the will would be proved at the Bishop´s Consistory Court. For the wealthy who might have property in more than one diocese the will could be proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) or the Prerogative Court of York (PCY). Distinctions became blurred over time and the wills of people with only a small estate in one parish might be proved in the Bishop´s Consistory Court or even one of the Prerogative Courts.

Wills proved in the Bishop´s and Archdeacon´s Courts and in other probate jurisdictions can be found in the relevant county record offices. Records of the Prerogative and Exchequer Courts of York and of forty five peculiar courts from the 14th century to 1858 are at the Borthwick Institute, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, www.york.ac.uk/inst/bihr.

Wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury from 1384 to 1858 are held here in the series PROB 1, PROB 10 and PROB 11. PROB 1 contains the wills of famous people, extracted from the original wills in PROB 10. PROB 11 contains the registered copies of wills. PROB 1 and PROB 11 can be searched for free and downloaded for a fee from DocumentsOnline.

Administration Grant Books from 1559 to 1858 for letters of administration are in series PROB 6, copies of which are on microfilm at The National Archives. Other records of the PCC are held at The National Archives in the PROB group.

Scottish wills from 1500 to 1901 can be searched for online at http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/. Information on Irish wills is available at the National Archives of Ireland website at www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy/willsandadmin.html and on the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland website at www.proni.gov.uk/records/wills.htm. The National Archives Resource Centre and Library has a CD-ROM Index to Irish wills from 1484 to 1858.