Worcestershire Probate Records

England  Worcestershire

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.

Courts Jurisdictions

Before 1858, every town and parish in Worcestershire fell under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts.  When looking for the will of an ancester, you should search the courts in the order given.  Search indexes first.  For indexes, click on the court name links above.

Here is a list of Worcestershire parishes beginning with the letter A and the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdiction over them.  For other parishes, click on a letter link:  B, C, D-G, H-J, K-N, O-R, S, T-V, W-Z.

PARISH	PRIMARY COURT	SECONDARY COURTS - IN SEARCH ORDER
Abberley	Court of the Bishop of Hereford (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Abberton	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Abbots Morton	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Acton Beauchamp	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Alderminster	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Alfrick	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Alvechurch	Court of the Peculiar of the Rector of Alvechurch or Allchurch	2 - Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Areley Kings	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Astley	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Aston Magna	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury

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.