Cheshire Probate Records
Return to the Cheshire_Probate_Records page.
For an expanation of probate records in England, click here.
Cheshire Probate Courts
For a explanation of England probate records, click here.
Return to the main Cheshire page.
- Court of the Bishop of Chester (Episcopal Consistory)
- Exchequer and Prerogative Courts of the Archbishop of York
- Chancery Court of the Archbishop of York
- Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of York
- Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Appeals Courts
Any probate that was disputed and could not be settled by the county courts could be sent to these higher appeals courts:
Historical Background
Probate records of Cheshire, incorporating Cheshire and Lancashire commence from as early as 1474 up to 1857. Cheshire has one central probate court jurisdiction, which holds extensive probate record coverage for the county. There are no smaller or peculiar court jurisdictions in the county. There are several higher probate court jurisdictions which hold concurrent jurisdiction over Chesire. To identify these courts, see the "Cheshire Probate Courts" links above to each Cheshire probate court jurisdictions in order to obtain further information for researching each probate court for a will.
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:
- When did your ancestor die?
- 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.
- Once you have answered the two questions above 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.
- 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.
Probate Indexes
Cheshire's probate jurisdictions are well-covered with indexes; look in this section in each court jurisdiction to find valuable indexes to Cheshire's probate records.
Starting Your Search in Indexes
1. First search each index (see below) to help you more quickly find the will, writing down each detail cited in the indexed entry.
2. Proceed to the "Probate Records of This Court" (below) to determine what original probate records exist for this court.
3. Contact or visit the Chester Record Office, or hire a professional record searcher to view these records on your behalf. Officials may send upon request a list of record searchers.
4. Visit The Family History Library, or, one of its 4,500 satellite family history centers worldwide and search indexes to probate records then with the information obtained from the index[es] you can search more quickly the original wills and admons also on microfilm via any family history center near you.
Probate Indexes Online 1492-1940
Before looking for a will, be certain to search the comprehensive and county-wide Wills index compiled by the Cheshire local government.
This index covers the years 1492 - 1940 and contains 130,000 entries. It covers probate documents proved at Chester mainly for Cheshire residents.
The following website specifically covers the parishes of Disley, Lyme Handley; Taxal & Whaley in Cheshire:
http://www.disley.net
Printed Indexes
Several printed indexes exist for Cheshire's probate court jurisdictions.
Original will indexes 1545-1858 are available in print by both the Lancashire & Cheshire Record Society and the Chetham Society. These two large publications series contain for both Cheshire and Lancashire counties, helpful indexes to most of the wills and administrations for this major probate court jurisdiction. These volume series are often available at many major archives in the United Kingdom such as at the British Library, and Guildhall Library, London, and other like institutions. The Family History Library likewise has most all of these volumed indexes in these series available on microfilm (the last three volumes below are available in book form only) as follows:
The Lancashire & Cheshire Record Society
Volume 2: 1545-1620 - on FHL film #823501; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 2
Volume 4: 1621-1650 - on FHL film #823502; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 4
Volume 15: 1660-1680 - on FHL film #82354; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 15
Volume 18: 1681-1700 - on FHL film #823505; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 18
Volume 20: 1701-1720 - on FHL film #823505; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 20
Volume 22: 1721-1740 - on FHL film #823506; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 22
Volume 25: 1741-1760 - on FHL film #823506; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 25
Volume 37: 1761-1780 (A-M) - on FHL film #823509; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 37
Volume 38: 1761-1780 (N-Z) - on FHL film #823509; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 38
Volume 44: 1781-1790 - on FHL film #823511; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 44
Volume 45: 1791-1800 - on FHL film #823511; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 45
Volume 62: 1801-1810 (A-L) - on FHL film #823515; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 62
Volume 63: 1801-1810 (M-Z) - on FHL film #823515; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 63
Volume 78: 1811-1820 (A-L) - on FHL film #823519; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v.
78 Volume 79: 1811-1820 (M-Z) - on FHL film #823519; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v.79
Volume 107: 1821-1825 - on FHL film #823525; also FHL book call #942.7 B4Lc v. 107
Volume 113: 1826-1830 - in FHL book call no. 942.7 B4Lc v. 113 only
Volume 118: 1831-1833 - in FHL book call no. 942.7 B4Lc v. 118 only
Volume 120: 1834-1837 - in FHL book call no. 942.7 B4Lc v. 120 only
Also:
Volume 2: Index of Enrollment Book Wills 1512-1635
Volume 4: Wills and Administrations for Lancashire and Cheshire during Interrugnum, 1650-1660
Volume 30: Abstracts of Wills not found in any Probate Registry 1301-1752
Volume 33: Probates formerly found in diocesan office registry, 1487-1620
Volume 43: Probates formerly found in diocesan office registry, 1621-1700
Volume 52: Probates formerly found in diocesan office registry, 1701-1800
Volume 52: Infra (Inferior court) Wills 1590-1665 Volume 63: Wills and Administrations (Admons) for the years 1670 and 1693
The Chetham Society
Volume 37: Lancashire and Cheshire wills and inventories, 1563 to 1807, now preserved at Chester
Volume 3: Lancashire and Cheshire wills and inventories at Chester : with an appendix of abstracts of wills now lost or destroyed
Volume 33: List of Miscellaneous wills 1487-1800
Volume 51: List of Miscellaneous wills 1487-1800
Volume 54: List of Miscellaneous wills 1487-1800
Volume 124 & 131: Stockport Probate Records 1578-1619
Original Handwritten Indexes
Indexes and calendars to the Probate Acts of Wills and Administrations (Admons) exist from 1492-1857. Calendars are a kind of index (of the first letter of each surname) to the probate records and admons (administrations).
Microfilmed Indexes at the Family History Library
The Family History Library has many will and admon (Administration) indexes and calendars which are available on microfilm at the Family History Library covering the years as above mentioned 1492-1858. These microfilms may be circulated to any of its 4,500 satellite Family History Centers worldwide. To determine film numbers, go to this Family History Library Catalog [page]
Some Explanatory Notes on the Cheshire Courts
1. Probate research has become more simplified in recent years with the availability of wonderful indexes covering most of Cheshire's probate records.
2. Only four probate courts held concurrent jurisdiction with one another over Cheshire's parishes. The single largest and most likely one to search first is the Consistory Court of the Bishop of Chester.
3. The Consistory Court of the Bishop of Chester is sub-divided into basically two courts--a higher or what is termed, a "Supra" court and, a lower or "Infra" court. A majority of Cheshire wills and admons were probated in the "Infra" court.
3. To identify the names of all courts holding jurisdiction over the whole of Cheshire, see the "Cheshire Parishes and Their Probate Jurisdictions" section (below) in order to determine in which probate court jurisdiction to search.
Cheshire Parishes and Their Probate Jurisdictions
Before 1858, all of Cheshire was under the primary probate jurisdiction of the Court of the Bishop of Cheshire. Secondary courts are also listed in the table below. When looking for the will of an ancestor in Cheshire, search the courts in the order given. Search indexes first. For an online index to Cheshire wills, click here.
| PARISH | PRIMARY COURT | SECONDARY COURTS - IN SEARCH ORDER |
|---|---|---|
| All parishes | Pre-1541 - Court of the Bishop of Lichfield(Episcopal Consistory)
Post-1540 - Court of the Bishop of Chester (Episcopal Consistory) |
Pre-1541 2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury Post-1540 2 - Exchequer and Prerogative Courts of the Archbishop of York |
Estate or Death Duty Wills and Administrations
Beginning in 1796 a tax was levied on probates of estates valued over £10. Copies of the probate documents were filed with the Estate Duty Office in London when the tax was paid. These records are especially helpful for research in counties where local probate records have been destroyed.
For more information, see England Probate Records.
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 the Principal Registry and the District Registries for 1858-1925 are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.