Dorset Probate Records

England  Dorset

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

Getting Started

Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his/her heirs. 

In order to find a probate record for your ancestor, you must answer two questions:

1. When did your ancestor die?
2. Where did your ancestor live or own property?

A key date is 1858, when probate authority was taken from the ecclesiatical courts of the Church of England and given to the civil government. 

• If your ancestor died before 1858, his/her probate would have been proven by an ecclesiatical court and it is important to know where he/she lived, as that will determine which courts had jurisdiction. 
• If you know where your ancestor lived before 1858, you should go to the Court Jurisdictions section below to determine what courts had jurisdiction over your ancestor's place of residence. 
• Beginning in 1858, probate authority was vested in the Principal Probate Registry system.  For more information, scroll to the Post-1857 Probate Records section at the bottom of the page.

Once you have answered the two questions and determined the courts, look for indexes.  Indexes will be found on the individual court pages (when you click on a court name) or in the Probate Indexes section below.

Dorset Probate Courts

Before 1858, the settlement of the estates of deceased persons was handled by ecclesiastical courts of the Church of England.

Here is a list of ecclesiastical courts that had some jurisdiction over Dorset before 1858:

• Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory Court of Bristol, Dorset Division)
• Court of the Peculiar of Canford Magna and Poole
• Court of the Prebendal Peculiar of Chardstock and Wambrook
• Court of the Peculiar of Corfe Castle
• Court of the Archdeaconry of Dorset
• Court of the Prebendal Peculiar of Fordington
• Court of the Manor and Liberty of Frampton
• Court of the Peculiar of Gillingham
• Court of the Prebendal Peculiar of Lyme Regis and Halstock
• Court of the Peculiar of Milton Abbas
• Court of the Prebendal Peculiar of Netherbury
• Court of the Prebendal Peculiar of Preston
• Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury
• Court of the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury
• Court of the Bishop of Salisbury (Episcopal Consistory)
• Court of the Peculiar of Sturminster Marshall
• Court of the Peculiar of Wimborne Minster
• Court of the Prebendal Peculiar of Yetminster

In addition, the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury had jurisdiction over the whole of England. Wealthier individuals, people who owned property in more than one county or lower court's jurisdiction, and Naval personnel often had their estates proven through the Archbishop's court.

Appeals Courts

Any probate that was disputed and could not be settled by the county courts could be sent to these higher appeals courts:

• Court of Arches
• High Court of Delegates

Some Explanatory Notes on the Dorset Probate Courts

In 1836, the parish of Stockland and the Chapelry of Dalwood were transferred from the Court of the Archdeacon of Dorset to the  Court of the Archdeacon of Exeter and were united with Devon. At the same time, the parish of Thornecombe and part of the parish of Axminster were transferred from Devonshire to Dorset with a corresponding change in ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

The Salisbury prebends were inhibited triennually for six months by the Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury.

It is known that probate records were kept for Fampton, 1678-1755, and evidently none were proved after this date; however, probates of people in this area may well be found in surrounding courts throughout the period, as well as after 1755.

It is said that Burton Bradstock was independent in probate matters, in which case there may be probate information in the Manorial Records which are still in the custody of the Lord of the Manor.

Court Jurisdictions

Before 1858, every town and parish in Dorset fell under the jurisdiction of a primary probate court and several secondary courts.  When looking for the probate of the estate of an ancestor, you should search the primary court first then move on to the secondary courts in the order given.  Search indexes first.  Indexes are found by clicking on the court name above.

Below is a list of the Dorset parishes beginning with A and the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdiction over them.  To see other parishes, click on the letter that begins the parish name.

B, C-D, E-G, H-K, L-M, N-R, S-U, W-Y

PARISH	PRIMARY COURT	SECONDARY COURTS - IN SEARCH ORDER
Abbotsbury	Court of the Archdeaconry of Dorset	2 - Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory) Dorset Division
Affpuddle	Court of the Archdeaconry of Dorset	2 - Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory) Dorset Division
Alderholt	Court of the Archdeaconry of Dorset	2 - Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory) Dorset Division
Allington	Court of the Archdeaconry of Dorset	2 - Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory) Dorset Division
Almer	Court of the Archdeaconry of Dorset	2 - Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory) Dorset Division
Alton Pancras	Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Arne	Court of the Archdeaconry of Dorset	2 - Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory) Dorset Division
Ashmore	Court of the Archdeaconry of Dorset	2 - Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory) Dorset Division
Askerswell	Court of the Archdeaconry of Dorset	2 - Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory) Dorset Division
Athelhampton	Court of the Archdeaconry of Dorset	2 - Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory) Dorset Division

Probate Indexes Online

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

http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/heritage/index.php

This covers many parishes and places. 

This catalogue gives access to wills and other probate records of the diocese of Salisbury which used to cover not only Wiltshire but also Berkshire (under certain circumstances) and parts of Dorset and Devon. You can search for people by name, place, occupation and date. The collection covers 1540-1858. Searching the catalogue is FREE. In addition there are digital images for some of the documents (just over 25%) which can be viewed following on-line payment or free of charge by people visiting the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre. Wills and inventories give useful information about people’s financial status and property, and also their family relationships and friendships, which make them a wonderful resource for family and local history.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~suegar/

FOR RECORDS FROM
SWANAGE - LANGTON MATRAVERS - WORTH MATRAVERS - STUDLAND - CHURCH KNOWLE

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.