Berkshire Probate Records: Difference between revisions

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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 Berkshire. 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; index — How to Use this Collection

Before 1858

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

Step 1. Search Indexes

Here are some indexes to probate records that include individuals who lived in Berkshire. Search these indexes first:

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

Berkshire Wills Index, 1480-1857. The Berkshire Record Office
Berkshire Probate Index at Findmypast, index ($)
Wills and Administrations 1508-1652 at Findmypast, index ($)
Berkshire Probate Records 1653-1710 at Findmypast, index ($)
Berkshire wills in Wiltshire. This index is in Wiltshire, but has over 11,000 probate records in this online court index.
Hungerford and Wantage. This is a collection of about 1000 abstracts of probate documents relating to people residing in the neighbourhood of the towns of Hungerford and Wantage in Berkshire. Since Hungerford is on the County boundary there is some spread into Wiltshire and to a lesser extent into Hampshire and Oxfordshire.
Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (1384-1858)
Berkshire Archdeaconry Probate Records 1480-1652 Contents: v. 15. Part 1, Index to personal names -- v. 16. Part 2, Index to place names -- v. 17. Part 3, Index to occupations
Court of the Archdeacon of Berkshire An index to the surnames, other than those of testators ... occurring in the registered wills of the Archdeaconry of Berks ... : registers A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I & 19 and parts of register J (pp. 1-578) & register M (pp. 1-245), ca. A.D. 1480-1710
Index to wills proved and administrations granted in the Court of the Archdeacon of Berks, 1508 to 1652 The link takes you to a book version of the index. The book has been microfilmed several times but the copy on the FS Library microfilm number 88088 has additional comments in it.
Archdeaconry of Berkshire. Wills and administrations, 1508-1857(*) at FamilySearch Catalog; Wills, 1525-1857(*) at FamilySearch Catalog.
Index of the probate records of the Court of the Archdeacon of Berkshire : volume 2, 1653-1710

Here is a list of Berkshire parishes with peculiar jurisdictions for probating wills at a more local level:

Registers of grants of admonitions, 1547-1857. FS Library film 1849335 (first of 25)(*). Some of these films include indexes.
Parish register transcripts, 1508-1837, for the parish of Appleford in Berkshire. FS Library film 1278815, item 5 - images.
Parish register transcripts, 1508-1837, for the parish of Drayton in Berkshire. FS Library film 1278815, item 8 - images.
Wills and administrations, 1547-1853)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog. The jurisdiction of this court included the parish of Faringdon which included Little Coxwell, Littleworth, Thrupp, Kindell Weare, Wadley, Port, Puckety, Westbrooke and Little Wickensham. This court is a Salisbury Prebend.

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 Berkshire fell under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. Most of the places in Berkshire were under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Archdeaconry of Berkshire. Click here to see an alphabetical list of Berkshire parishes that were the exceptions, and the courts that had jurisdiction over them.

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:

Berkshire 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.

Berkshire Probate Courts

Most of Berkshire was under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Archdeaconry of Berkshire. The majority of probate searches will be in the records of this court and its superior courts, which were the Court of the Bishop of Salisbury (Episcopal Consistory) until 1836 and the combined Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Oxford from that time on. The courts should be searched in that order.

However, the following courts also had some pre-1858 probate jurisdiction within the county. Click on a court name to learn about records and indexes.

Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory)
Court of the Bishop of Gloucester (Episcopal Consistory)
Court of the Peculiar of Banbury
Court of the Peculiar of Faringdon
Court of the Peculiar of Langford
Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury (Sarum)
Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Windsor
Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Canons of Windsor in Wantage
Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Free online index from Berkshire Record Office to all Berkshire Archdeaconry probates 1480-1857 Berkshire records

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-[[England]]&nbsp;[[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Berkshire]]
+{{Berkshire-sidebar}}
+{{breadcrumb
+| link1=[[England Genealogy|England]]
+| link2=[[Berkshire, England Genealogy|Berkshire]]
+| link3=
+| link4=
+| link5=[[Berkshire_Probate_Records|Probate Records]]
+}}
-For an explanation of probate records in England, click [[England Probate Records|here]].
+==Getting Started==
-== 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 [[W genealogical glossary terms|wills]] and [[A genealogical glossary terms|administrations]]. This article is about probate records in Berkshire. See [[England Probate Records]] for a general description of probate records in England.
-Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is&nbsp;distributed to his/her&nbsp;heirs.&nbsp;
+===1858 to the Present===
-In order to find a probate record for your ancestor, you must answer&nbsp;two questions:
+Beginning in 1858, the [[Principal Probate Registry|Principal Probate Registry]] had the authority for probating estates. Click on the link to learn more.
-#When did your ancestor die?
+====Online Records====
-#Where did your ancestor live or own property?
-A key date is 1858, when probate&nbsp;authority&nbsp;was&nbsp;taken&nbsp;from the ecclesiatical courts of the Church of England and given to&nbsp;the civil government.&nbsp;
+*'''1858-1957''' {{RecordSearch|2451051|England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957}} at FamilySearch; index — [[England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]
-*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.&nbsp;
+===Before 1858===
-*If you know where your ancestor lived before 1858, you should go to the '''Court Jurisdictions'''&nbsp;section below&nbsp;to determine what courts had jurisdiction over your ancestor's place of residence.&nbsp;
-*Beginning in 1858, probate authority was&nbsp;vested in&nbsp;the '''Principal Probate Registry''' system.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; Indexes will be found on the individual court pages (when you click on a court name) or in the '''Probate Indexes''' section below.<br><br>
+Before 1858, Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process. To search for a pre-1858 probate record in Berkshire, follow these steps:
-== Berkshire Probate Courts  ==
+====Step 1. Search Indexes====
-*[[Court of the Archdeacon of Berkshire]]
+Here are some indexes to probate records that include individuals who lived in Berkshire. Search these indexes first:
-*[[Court of the Archdeacon of Wiltshire]]
-*[[Court of the Bishop of Bristol]]
+Before looking for a will, you should search an index.
-*[[Court of the Bishop of Gloucester]]
-*[[Court of the Bishop of Salisbury]] (Episcopal Consistory)
+*[Https://www.berkshirerecordoffice.org.uk/wills-index Berkshire Wills Index, 1480-1857]. The Berkshire Record Office
-*[[Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeacon of Oxford]]
+*[https://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/berkshire-probate-index Berkshire Probate Index] at Findmypast, index ($)
-*[[Court of the Peculiar of Banbury]]
+*[https://www.findmypast.com/articles/england-and-wales-published-wills-and-probate-indexes-1300-1858-volumes-available/berkshire/berkshire-wills-and-administrations-1508-1652-original-volume-introductionBerkshire Wills and Administrations 1508-1652] at Findmypast, index ($)
-*[[Court of the Peculiar of Faringdon]]
+*[https://www.findmypast.com/articles/england-and-wales-published-wills-and-probate-indexes-1300-1858-volumes-available/berkshire/berkshire-probate-records-1653-1710-original-introduction Berkshire Probate Records 1653-1710] at Findmypast, index ($)
-*[[Court of the Peculiar of Langford]]
+*[http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/heritage/index.php Berkshire wills in Wiltshire]. This index is in Wiltshire, but has over 11,000 probate records in this online court index.
-*[[Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury (Sarum)]]
+*[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/BRKwills/ Hungerford and  Wantage].  This is a collection of about 1000 abstracts of probate documents relating to people residing in the neighbourhood of the towns of Hungerford and Wantage in Berkshire. Since Hungerford is on the County boundary there is some spread into Wiltshire and to a lesser extent into Hampshire and Oxfordshire.
-*[[Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Windsor]]
+*[https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/wills-or-administrations-before-1858/ Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (1384-1858)]
-*[[Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Canons of Windsor in Wantage]]
+*{{FSC|1928673|item|disp=Berkshire Archdeaconry Probate Records 1480-1652}} Contents: v. 15. Part 1, Index to personal names -- v. 16. Part 2, Index to place names -- v. 17. Part 3, Index to occupations
-*[[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury]]
+*Court of the Archdeacon of Berkshire An index to the surnames, other than those of testators ... occurring in the registered wills of the Archdeaconry of Berks ... : registers A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I &amp; 19 and parts of register J (pp. 1-578) & register M (pp. 1-245), ca. {{FSC|392490|title-id|disp=A.D. 1480-1710}}
+*Index to wills proved and administrations granted in the Court of the Archdeacon of Berks, {{FSC|208103|title-id|disp=1508 to 1652}} The link takes you to a book version of the index.  The book has been microfilmed several times but the copy on the FS Library microfilm number 88088 has additional comments in it.
+*Archdeaconry of Berkshire. {{FSC|278280|title-id|disp=Wills and administrations, 1508-1857}}(*) at FamilySearch Catalog; {{FSC|200522|title-id|disp=Wills, 1525-1857}}(*) at FamilySearch Catalog.
+*Index of the probate records of the Court of the Archdeacon of Berkshire : {{FSC|341898|title-id|disp=volume 2, 1653-1710}}
+Here is a list of Berkshire parishes with peculiar jurisdictions for probating wills at a more local level:
+*Registers of grants of admonitions, 1547-1857. {{FSC|708256|title-id|disp=FS Library film 1849335 (first of 25)}}(*). Some of these films include indexes.
+*Parish register transcripts, 1508-1837, for the parish of Appleford in Berkshire. {{FSC|593525|title-id|disp=FS Library film 1278815, item 5}} - images.
+*Parish register transcripts, 1508-1837, for the parish of Drayton in Berkshire. {{FSC|593677|title-id|disp=FS Library film 1278815, item 8}} - images.
+*{{FSC|291460|title-id|disp=Wills and administrations, 1547-1853)}}(*) at FamilySearch Catalog. The jurisdiction of this court included the parish of Faringdon which included Little Coxwell, Littleworth, Thrupp, Kindell Weare, Wadley, Port, Puckety, Westbrooke and Little Wickensham. This court is a Salisbury Prebend.
+Did you find a reference to a probate record?
+If ''yes'', go to '''Step 4''' below.
+If ''no'', go to '''Step 2''' below.
-== Some Explanatory Notes on the Berkshire Probate Courts  ==
+====Step 2. Identify when and where your ancestor died====
-== Court Jurisdictions  ==
+Determine ''when'' your ancestor died. If you aren't sure, use an approximate date.
-Before 1858, every parish was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary and several secondary courts.&nbsp; To see an alphabetical list of Berkshire parishes and the courts that had jurisdiction over them, click on the link for the letter that a parish name begins with:
+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 [[P genealogical glossary terms|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:
-{| style="width: 201px; height: 24px" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="201" border="1"
+*[https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/descriptions/index.jsp Vision of Britain]
-|-
-| &nbsp;[[Berkshire Probate Jurisdiction, Parishes A|A]]
-| &nbsp;[[Berkshire Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes B & C|B-C]]
-| &nbsp;[[Berkshire Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes D-I|D-I]]
-| &nbsp;[[Berkshire Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes K-R|K-R]]
-| &nbsp;[[Berkshire Probate Jurisdictions, Parishes S-Z|S-Z]]
-|}
-<br>
+The gazetteer will either tell you:
-&nbsp;
+*A place is a parish, or
+*What parish it is a part of, or
+*What place it is near.
-== Probate Indexes Online  ==
+If the latter, look that place up in the gazetteer and see if it is a parish.
-Before looking for a will, you should search an index.
+Once you have identified the parish, go to '''Step 3'''.
-[http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/heritage/index.php http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/heritage/index.php]
+====Step 3. Identify court jurisdictions by parish====
-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.
+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 Berkshire fell under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. Most of the places in Berkshire were under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Archdeaconry of Berkshire. Click [[Berkshire Probate Jurisdictions|here]] to see an alphabetical list of Berkshire parishes that were the exceptions, and the courts that had jurisdiction over them.
-<br>
+====Step 4. Obtain a copy of the probate record====
-[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/BRKwills/ http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/BRKwills/]
+Once you have found an index reference to a probate, obtain a copy of the record. Do so by one of these methods:
-This is a collection of about 1000 abstracts of probate documents relating to people residing in the neighbourhood of the towns of Hungerford and Wantage in Berkshire. Since Hungerford is on the County boundary there is some spread into Wiltshire and to a lesser extent into Hampshire and Oxfordshire.<br>
+*{{FSC|463786|subject_id|disp=Berkshire England Probate Records}}(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - some images may only be available at a [https://www.familysearch.org/centers/locations/ FamilySearch Center or FamilySearch Affiliate Library.]<br>
+*Visit or contact the record office that has the original records in its collection.
-&nbsp;<br>
-== Estate Duty Records<br> ==
+<br><br>
-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. Between 1813-1858 estate duty indexes may help locate a will. For more information, go to [[Estate Duty Records]].<br>
+==Berkshire Probate Courts==
+Most of Berkshire was under the jurisdiction of the [[Court of the Archdeaconry of Berkshire]].  The majority of probate searches will be in the records of this court and its superior courts, which were the [[Court of the Bishop of Salisbury (Episcopal Consistory)]] until 1836 and the combined [[Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Oxford]] from that time on.  The courts should be searched in that order.
+However, the following courts also had some pre-1858 probate jurisdiction within the county. Click on a court name to learn about records and indexes.
-== Post-1858 Probate Records  ==
+*[[Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory)]]
+*[[Court of the Bishop of Gloucester (Episcopal Consistory)]]
+*[[Court of the Peculiar of Banbury]]
+*[[Court of the Peculiar of Faringdon]]
+*[[Court of the Peculiar of Langford]]
+*[[Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury]] (Sarum)
+*[[Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Windsor]]
+*[[Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Canons of Windsor in Wantage]]
+*[[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury]]
+*Free online index from Berkshire Record Office to all Berkshire Archdeaconry probates 1480-1857  [https://www.berkshirerecordoffice.org.uk/wills-index Berkshire records]
-Beginning in 1858, the government took over the&nbsp;settlement of estates and all&nbsp;wills are now probated through the Principal Probate Registry system.&nbsp; The system consists of 11 district registry offices and&nbsp;18 sub-district registries, located throughout England and Wales, and&nbsp;the principal registry&nbsp;office located in London.&nbsp; The records are available through the office of Her Majesty's Courts Service.&nbsp; To learn more, go to the [http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/civil/probate/index.htm HMCS website].
+{{Place|Berkshire|Probate}}
+{{England Probate Records}}
-A country-wide surname index to the records is available, so it is much easier to look for post-1857 wills.&nbsp; The [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=208102&disp=Calendar+of+the+grants+of+probate+and+le%20%20&columns=*,0,0 indexes] for 1858-1957 and the records for the [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=517092&disp=Record+copy+wills%2C+1858%2D1925%20%20&columns=*,0,0 Principal Registry] and the [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=517092&disp=Record+copy+wills%2C+1858%2D1925%20%20&columns=*,0,0 District Registries] for 1858-1925 are available on microfilm at the Family History Library. <br>
+[[Category:Berkshire Probate Records]]