Rutland Probate Records

England Westmorland

The following text has information about probate records in the county of Westmoreland. To read general information English probate records click here.

The courts listed for each place are those that had jurisdiction over probating wills prior to 1858. To use this table, follow these steps.

1. In the first column, find the place where your ancestor lived.
2. In the second column, click on the court name to learn where to find the records and indexes.
3. If the record isn't found in the primary court, search the records for the secondary courts in the order listed.
4. If the record still isn't found, search the records for the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

If no will is found, your ancestor may not have left one. Go back to the Rutland Probate Records page.

Here is a list of Rutland towns and parishes beginning with A.  For other places, click on a link:

Rutland Probate Courts

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The courts that had jurisdiction over probate matters were:

• Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory)
• Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Caldecote
• Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Empingham
• Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Ketton with Tixover
• Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Liddington

To find the names of the courts over a specific place, click on a letter or span of letters below to go to the jurisdiction tables.

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Court Jurisdictions by Parish

Before 1858, every town and parish in Rutland fell under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court or a secondary court. For an authoritative treatise on each Rutland probate court and the parishes comprising them in pre-1858, see Anthony J. Camp's Wills and Their Whereabouts, available select locations and in the Family History Library (FHL book 942 S2wa).

When looking for the will of an ancestor, you should search the courts in the order given. Search indexes first. For indexes, click on the court name links <[soon to be added>

Here is a list of Yorkshire parishes beginning with the letter A and the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdiction over them. For other parishes, click on a letter to link to the another table.

PARISH	PRIMARY COURT	SECONDARY COURTS - IN SEARCH ORDER
Ashwell	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
Ayston	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

Probate Indexes Online

Before looking for a will, you should search an index.

http://www.familyhistoryonline.net/database/NorthantsFHSprobate.shtml

The Northamptonshire and Rutland Probate Index has been created by Kay Collins, a volunteer at the Northampton Record Office, partially assisted by several others, from several of the earlier indices of probate records held in the Northampton Record Office. This composite index was commenced in 1997 and the records in this database include all work done up to 2005. The project is now largely complete (errors and omissions excepted) and this database may be updated at a future date with corrections and/or omissions.

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.

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)