Staffordshire Probate Records

England Staffordshire Staffordshire_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 Staffordshire. For a general description of England probate records, click here.

1858 to the Present

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

Before 1858

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

Step 1. Search Indexes

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

• http://www.familyhistoryonline.net/database/SussexFHGprobate.shtml -- 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 Staffordshire 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-G

H-L

M-S

T-Z

Staffordshire Probate Courts

The following probate courts had some jurisdiction over the county of Staffordshire prior to 1858; note that most of Staffordshire was covered by its largest court jurisdiction, called--the Court of the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry (Episcopal Consistory), but the county also had numerous concurrent smaller jurisdictions called "peculiars" courts as well (see the "Staffordshire Court Jurisdictions By Parish" section below to determine the correct court jurisdiction for the parish in which you may be searching for a will):

• Court of the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry (Episcopal Consistory)  
• Court of the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield
• Court of the Peculiar of the Dean of Lichfield
• Court of the Peculiar of Alrewas and Weeford
• Court of the Peculiar of Burton on Trent
• Court of the Peculiar of Colwich
• Court of the Peculiar of Eccleshall
• Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Gnosall
• Court of the Peculiar of Hansacre and Armitage
• Court of the Peculiar of High Offley and Flixton
• Court of the Peculiar of Longdon
• Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Pattingham
• Court of the Peculiar of Penkridge
• Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Prees or Pipe Minor
• Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Sedgely
• Court of the Peculiar of Tettenhall
• Court of the Peculiar of the Manor of Tyrley
• Court of the Peculiar of Whittington and Baswich
• Court of the Peculiar of Wolverhampton

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

• Wealthy individuals
  
• Interregnum, 1649-1660, because the Prerogative Court was the only court.
• Property in more than one diocese in the Province of Canterbury.
• Property in both the Province of Canterbury and Province of York.
• People who died outside England, including British citizens and others who held property in England.

Appeals Courts

There were two appeals courts within the Prerogative Court of Canterbury which heard disputes over the administration or probate of an estate. They were the:

• Court of Arches which held jurisdiction over 13 parishes in the City of London and concurrent jurisdiction over the whole of the provinces of York and Canterbury (records are at Lambeth Palace Library, London). 
• High Court of Delegates or sometimes known as the Court of Delegates, also heard appeals cases regarding probates and administrations.

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

Probate Indexes

Before looking for a will, you should search an index. It will save time and give a reference to finding a copy of a will.

Online Indexes

There is a brand new index for 1650-1700 for Staffordshire at this link Will and administsrations

A general will index for the Diocese of Lichfield exists online, a scanned edition of P.W. Phillimore's publicationby the British Record Society in 1892,Calendars of wills administrations in the Consistory court of the bishop of Lichfield.  This single index consolidates most Staffordshire wills of the various probate court jurisdictions from 1514-1652 for the Diocese of Lichfield and to 1790 for Staffordshire smaller peculiar courts. 

Printed Indexes

See the above online indexes available at Google.books which is copy of a printed will index for Staffordshire.

The Smethwick Local history Society has published the Probate inventories of Smethwick residents, 1647-1747 : in the Lichfield Joint Record Office.

Probate Calendars

Registered wills and original wills, administrations and inventories, 1494-1860, and, act books, 1532-1638 for Diocese of Lichfield Episcopal Consistory Court. [1] These are calendars.  They cover most of the county of Stafford.

Some Explanatory Notes on the Courts in Staffordshire

Records and indexes for each court are also available in the collection of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  Search the Family History Library Catalog for the title of the court or the court as an author. 

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.