Kent, England Probate Jurisdictions

Probate Courts

These are the probate courts that had some jurisdiction over the county of Kent prior to 1858:

Court of the Bishop (Episcopal consistory) of Canterbury
Court of the Archdeaconry of Canterbury
Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal consistory) and Archdeaconry of Rochester
Court of the Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Deaneries of the Arches, Croydon and Shoreham
Court of the Peculiar of the Rector of Cliffe
Court of the Exempt Jurisdiction of Wingham
Court of the Prior and Chapter of Christ Church, Canterbury
Court of the Bishop of London
Prerogative Court of Canterbury (the highest court in the land which had final jurisdiction when necessary, such as in the case of a wealthier person who owned property in more than one area or county, or when a will was disputed.)

Appeals Courts

In addition to the above, two other courts had jurisdiction as appeals courts. You may wish to search the records of these courts if nothing can be found in the records of the above courts:

The Court of Arches was the appeals courts for the Prerogative Court of Canterbury to which disputed cases could be sent from the lower courts in the province of Canterbury.
The High Court of Delegates was the final appeals court for disputed cases from both the provinces of Canterbury and York.

Court Jurisdictions

Here is the list of Kent parishes beginning with the letter A, with the probate courts that had jurisdiction over each.

To go to another letter, click on a link: B C D E F-G H I-K L M-N O-R S T-V W-Z

PARISH	PRIMARY COURT	SECONDARY COURTS - IN SEARCH ORDER
Acrise	Court of the Archdeaconry of Canterbury	2 - Court of the Bishop of Canterbury (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Addington	Pre-1845 - Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Rochester; Post-1844 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury	Pre-1845 2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury Post-1844 2 - Same
Adisham	Court of the Bishop of Canterbury (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Aldington	Court of the Bishop of Canterbury (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Alkham	Court of the Archdeaconry of Canterbury	2 - Court of the Bishop of Canterbury (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Allhallows	Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Rochester	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Allington	Pre-1845 - Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Rochester; Post-1844 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury	Pre-1845 2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury Post-1844 2 - Same
Appledore	Court of the Archdeaconry of Canterbury	2 - Court of the Bishop of Canterbury (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ash (near Ridley)	Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Rochester	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ash (near Sandwich)	Pre-1547 - Court of the Exempt Jurisdiction of Wingham; Post-1546 - Court of the Bishop of Canterbury (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashford	Court of the Archdeaconry of Canterbury	2 - Court of the Bishop of Canterbury (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashurst	Pre-1845 - Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Rochester; Post-1844 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury	Pre-1845 2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury Post-1844 2 - Same
Aylesford	Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Rochester	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Search an Index

Now that you have identified the courts with jurisdiction over your parish of interest, return to the list of indexes.