London Probate Records

For an explanation of probate records in England, click here.

London Probate Courts

Return to the London Probate Records page.

Historical Background

Probate records of the City of London commence from as early as 1374 up to 1857. There are several probate court jurisdictions for the City of London, some of which hold extensive probate record coverage for the city and there are a few smaller court jurisdictions which only pertain to a small handful of parishes.

If you know in which parish your ancestor may have died or lived, go to the "Middlesex Parishes and Their Probate Jurisdictions" section (below) and search by parish name in order to determine the correct or most likely probate court to search, first.

Next, see the above links to each Middlesex probate court jurisdictions in order to obtain further information for researching in the prime probate court for a will.

If a search in the most likely probate court jurisidiction proves unsuccessful, then search the next court as listed in ranked order, i.e. "no. 2", and etc.

Starting Your Search in Indexes

1. First search each index which you will find listed under the name of the particular probate court jurisdiction (see the "London Probate Courts" listed above) to help you more quickly find the will, writing down all details cited in the indexed entry.

2. Once you have found the name of an ancestor and the probate jurisdiction in which a will or administration (admon) was probated, next proceed to the "Probate Records of This Court" (appears below this section) to determine what original probate records exist for this court and years appertaining.

3. You can also contact or visit the particualr London archives where the original records are held, or, hire a professional record searcher to view these records on your behalf. Officials may send upon written 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 more quickly locate the original wills and admons which are on microfilm, via any family history centers near you.

Some Explanatory Notes on the London Court

London Parishes and Their Court Jurisdictions

Here is a list of London parishes beginning with letter A and the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdiction over them. For parishes beginning with B-G, H-R or S-Z, click on the letter links.

PARISH	PRIMARY COURT	SECONDARY COURTS - IN SEARCH ORDER
All Hallows Barking	Court of the Commissary of the Bishop of London (London Division)	2 - Court of the Bishop of London (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
All Hallows Bread Street with St John the Evangelist	Deanery of the Arches (Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury)	2 - Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral 3 - Court of the Bishop of London (Episcopal Consistory) 4 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
All Hallows Honey Lane	Court of the Commissary of the Bishop of London (London Division)	2 - Court of the Bishop of London (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
All Hallows Staining	Court of the Commissary of the Bishop of London (London Division)	2 - Court of the Bishop of London (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
All Hallows the Great and All Hallows the Less	- Deanery of the Arches (Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury)	2 - Archdeaconry Court of London 3 - Court of the Bishop of London (Episcopal Consistory) 4 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
All Hallows, Lombard Street	Deanery of the Arches (Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury)	2 - Court of the Bishop of London (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
All Hallows, London Wall	Archdeaconry Court of London	2 - Court of the Bishop of London (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - 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 the Principal Registry and the District Registries for 1858-1925 are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.