Kent Probate Records

Probate Courts

The probate courts that have some jurisdiction over the county of Kent prior to 1858 are:

• The Consistory Court of Canterbury
• The Archdeaconry Court of Canterbury
• The Episcopal Consistory Court of Rochester
• The Archdeaconry Court of Rochester
• The Peculiar Jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Deaneries of the Arches, Croydon and Shoreham
• The Peculiar of the Rector of Cliffe
• The Exempt Jurisdiction of Wingham
• The Court of the Prior and Chapter of Christ Church, Canterbury
• The Consistory Court of London
• The Prerogative Court of Canterbury

Some explanatory notes on the courts in Kent:

The Court of the Archdeacon of Canterbury, the Court of the Episcopal consistory of Canterbury, and the Court of the Bishop and the Archdeacon of Rochester technically did not have jurisdiction over the Peculiar of Wingham, the Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Episcopal Consistory and Archdeaconry of Rochester, but as the larger courts of original jurisdiction in the county they will often contain probate records of persons who resided in the other jurisdictions.
In 1846 the diocese of Rochester was reduced in area. Some parishes were transferred to the diocese of Canterbury and others to the diocese of London.

In the diocese of Canterbury, the Commissary-General exercised probate jurisdiction within the diocese. He also exercised the Archbishop’s prerogative throughout the diocese, and prerogative probate records exist from 1397 to about 1759 in the records of the Court of the Episcopal Consistory of Canterbury.
The Court of the Provost of the College of Wingham was closed in 1547. After that date wills of residents living in the parishes of this jurisdiction are found in the records of the Court of the Episcopal Consistory of Canterbury.

Probate Indexes:

Once you know the court that has jurisdiction over the parish where your ancestor died, then you will want to look for indexes the county of Kent wills on the Internet. If the indexes on the Internet do not produce possible wills, then you will want to look in the published indexes listed here: