Durham Probate Records

England Durham

The following article is about probate records in the county of Durham. For general information about English probate records click here.

Getting Started

Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. The Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process until to 1858. Beginning in 1858, authority over probate matters was taken from ecclesiastical courts and put under the civil authority of the Principal Probate Registry. The Post-1857 Probate Records section below contains links to additional information about the records of this court.

To look for a probate record before 1858:

1. Discover when and where your ancestor died. If you don’t know, use the approximate date and place where they lived.
   
2. Go to Court Jurisdictions section below.
   
3. Click a letter or span of letters for your place name. This opens a jurisdictions table.
   
4. Follow the instructions on the jurisdictions table page.
   

Durham Probate Courts

The following court had jurisdiction over county Durham before 1858.

• Court of the Bishop of Durham (Episcopal Consistory)
  
• Exchequer and Prerogative Courts of the Archbishop of York
• Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of York
• Chancery Court of the Archbishop of York

In addition the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury hadjurisdiction over the whole of England and specifically in the following cases.

1. Wealthy individuals
2. People who owned property in more than one county
3. Military and naval personnel
4. People who lived or owned property outside England
   

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

The Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury also served as an appeals court.

Some Explanatory Notes on the Courts of Durham

The earliest original wills for Durham date from 1540, but there are some registered copy wills for 1526-1534. There are earlier records filed with the superior courts, some dating back to 1311, in the bishop's general serices of act books. There are gaps in the records for early periods; others in poor condition.

Inventories were prevalent from the earliest period through th efirst quarter of the 18th century. They may be filed with the administration bonds as well as with the original wills. Registered copies are usually indexed and arranged chronologically. Page numbers appear in the upper right corner and testators' names are frequently written in the margins. There may be an inventory written at the end of the copy will and almost always there will be a probate act in Latin indicating when the will was proven.

Court Jurisdictions by Parish

The whole of the county of Durham was under the primary jurisdiction of the Court of the Bishop of Durham also known as the Episcopal Consistory Court of Durham. This court should be searched first when looking for the probate of a deceased person who lived or owned property in Durham. Additional courts listed above also had jurisdiction over Durham. If you do not find a probate in the Court of the Bishop of Durham, search those courts. 

If you haven't found a will, search the appeals courts listed above. Information about these courts is in the England Probate Records page. 

Probate Indexes Online

• Durham and Northumberland probate records, 1527-1857. The planned completion date is summer 2009.
• Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills 1383-1858 [1]

Estate Duty Records

Starting in 1796, a tax or death duty was payable on estates over a certain value. Estate duty abstracts may add considerable information not found elsewhere.  Estate duty indexes may help locate a will. For more information, go to Estate Duty Records.

Probates After 1857

Beginning in 1858, the government took over the settlement of estates and all wills are now probated through the Principal Probate Registry system. For more information, go to Principal Probate Registry.