Sussex Probate Records

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Probate Records

Getting Started

Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. Probate records include wills and administrations. This article is about probate records in Sussex. See England Probate Records for a general description of probate records in England.

1858 to the Present

Beginning in 1858, the Principal Probate Registry had the authority for probating estates. Click on the link to learn more.

Online Records

• 1858-1957 England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1858-1995 England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 at Ancestry ($); index
• 1858-2018 England and Wales Government Probate Death Index, 1858-2018 at Findmypast ($) index

Before 1858

Before 1858, Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process. To search for a pre-1858 probate record in Sussex, follow these steps:

Step 1. Search Indexes

Wills from various parishes in Sussex have been indexed and made available online for free. See Sussex Online Parish Clerks to find these indexes.

• 1482-1858 West Sussex, England, Wills and Probate, 1482-1858 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1518-1858 East Sussex, England, Wills and Probate, 1518-1858 at Ancestry — index & images ($)

• https://sfhg.uk/resources/indexes/wills/names-from-wills-- compiled by the Sussex Family History Group which has transcribed the names of 12,300 individuals found in Sussex wills, including testators, executors, beneficiaries or witnesses. The information recorded includes name, date and place.
• The Sussex Record Society has published four volumes of indexes to Sussex wills, and these can be viewed on their Website. They are arranged by parish then by surname.
• Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (1384-1858).

Did you find a reference to a probate record?

• If yes, go to Step 4 below.
• If no, go to Step 2 below.

Step 2. Identify when and where your ancestor died

Determine when your ancestor died. If you aren't sure, use an approximate date.

Determine where your ancestor died. It is easier to find a probate record if you know whether the place where your ancestor lived or died is a parish. To learn whether it is a parish, look it up in a gazetteer. Here is a link to the 1872 Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales online:

• Vision of Britain

The gazetteer will either tell you:

• A place is a parish, or
• What parish it is a part of, or
• What place it is near.

If the latter, look that place up in the gazetteer and see if it is a parish.

Once you have identified the parish, go to Step 3.

Step 3. Identify court jurisdictions by parish

Once you have identified the parish where your ancestor lived or died, learn which courts had jurisdiction over it then search indexes for those courts. Every town and parish in Sussex fell under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. Click on a link below for the letter the parish begins with.

A

B

C

D-F

G

H-K

L-M

N-P

Q-R

S

T-Z

Step 4. Obtain a copy of the probate record

Once you have found an index reference to a probate, obtain a copy of the record. Do so by one of these methods:

• Sussex England Probate Records(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - some images may only be available at a FamilySearch Center or FamilySearch Affiliate Library.
  
• Visit or contact the record office that has the original records in its collection. Sussex has two record offices, the East Sussex Record Office and the West Sussex Record Office. If you are unable to visit a record office, they both provide a research service for a fee.

Sussex Probate Courts

Here is a list of all of the pre-1858 ecclesiastical courts that had probate jurisdiction over Sussex. For more information, click on a court name.

• Court of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) of Chichester for the Archdeaconry of Chichester
• Court of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) of Chichester for the Archdeaconry of Lewes
• Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Chichester
• Court of the Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury for the Exempt Deaneries of Pagham and Tarring
• Court of the Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury for the Exempt Deanery of South Malling
• Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury