Northamptonshire Probate Records

For an explanation of probate records in England, click here.

Probate Courts

The following probate courts had some jurisdiction over the county of Northamptonshire prior to 1858:

• Court of the Peculiar Parish of Banbury
• Court of the Peculiar Parish of Gretton
• Court of the Peculiar Parish of Nassington
• Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton
• Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory)
• Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln (Cathedral)
• Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory)
• Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
• Court of Arches
• High Court of Delegates

Post-1857 Probate Records

Beginning in 1858, the government took over the settlement of estates and all wills are now probated through the Principal Probate Registry system.  The system consists of 11 district registry offices and 18 sub-district registries, located throughout England and Wales, and the principal registry office located in London.  The records are available through the office of Her Majesty's Courts Service.  To learn more, go to the HMCS website.

A country-wide surname index to the records is available, so it is much easier to look for post-1857 wills.  The indexes for 1858-1957 and the records for 1858-1925 are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.

Some explanatory notes on the courts in Northamptonshire:

Since civil and ecclesiastical boundaries were not necessarily one and the same, it is important in pre-1858 probate searches to consider nearby courts including those situated across county boundaries. Also, ecclesiastical boundaries and rights were not always observed or may have been changed over the years.

Many peculiar courts closed before 1858. When this occurred jurisdiction reverted to the local archdeaconry and/or diocesan courts.

Before 1541 Northamptonshire was in the diocese of Lincoln, and from 1541 to 1858 (except for peculiars) was in the diocese of Peterborough. It appears that from 1541 to 1598 the court of the Bishop of Peterborough and the Court of the Archeacon of Northampton exercised concurrent Jurisdiction in the county.

The rolls of the Burgess Court of Higham Ferrers contain the texts of many wills which were registered in respect of property there (See Historical Manuscripts Commission Report xii, appendix part 9, page 530), but the wills were actually proved in the Archdeaconry of Northampton and are found in the records of that court.

The original records of the Court of the Bishop of Peterborough and the Court of the Archdeacon of Northampton are at the Northampton Record Office, Delapre Abbey, Northampton. Those for the Courts of the Peculiar Parishes of Gretton and  Nassington are at the Lincolnshire Archive Office, The Castle, Lincoln.

PARISH	PRIMARY COURT	SECONDARY COURTS - IN SEARCH ORDER
Abington	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Abthorpe	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Addington, Great	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Addington, Little	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Adstone	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Alderton	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Aldwincle All Saints	Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory)	Pre-1541 2 - Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton 3 - Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 4 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 1541-1597 2 - Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury Post-1597 2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Aldwincle St Peter	Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory)	Pre-1541 2 - Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton 3 - Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 4 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 1541-1597 2 - Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury Post-1597 2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Althorp	Search the courts of the surrounding parishes	.
Apethorpe with Woodnewton	Pre-1851 - Court of the Peculiar of Nassington; Post-1850 - Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	Pre-1851 2 - Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter on Lincoln 3 - Court of the Commissary of the Bishop of Lincoln and of the Archdeacon in the Archdeaconry of Huntingdon 4 - Pre-1837: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 4 - Post-1836: Court of the Bishop of Ely (Episcopal Consistory) 5 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury Post-1850 2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Arthingworth	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashby St Ledgers	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashby, Canons	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashby, Castle	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashby, Cold	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashby, Mears	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashley	Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory)	Pre-1541 2 - Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton 3 - Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 4 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 1541-1597 2 - Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury Post-1597 2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashton	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Aston le Walls	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Aynhoe	Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton	2 - Pre-1541: Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) 2 - 1541-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2 - Post-1597: Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Pre-1541 & Post-1597: Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury