Starting in 1897, the government levied taxes on estates over a specific value. Starting in 1796, a tax or death duty was levied by the government on estates over a certain value. These estate duty or death duty records may add considerable information not found elsewhere. Information found in them includes the following.
- Name and address of the deceased
- Date of death
- Place and date of probate
- Names, addresses and occupations of the executors
- Details of estates and related matters
- Amount of the duty paid
They also included information about the people who received bequests (beneficiaries), or who were the next-of-kin, such as exact relationship to the deceased.
To learn more about these records, read The National Archives (England) online leaflets.