Buckinghamshire Probate Records

England  Buckinghamshire

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

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:

1. When did your ancestor die?
2. 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. 
• 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.

Once you have answered the two questions 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.

Buckinghamshire Probate Courts

The following courts had some jurisdiction over Buckinghamshire before 1858:

• Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) -- Archdeaconry of Buckingham
• Court of the Bishop of London (Episcopal Consistory) -- Archdeaconry of St. Albans
• Courts of the Bishop and Archdeaconry of Oxford (Episcopal Consistory)
• Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln
• Court of the Peculiar of Aylesbury
• Court of the Peculiar of the Provost of Eton
• Court of the Peculiar of Buckingham
• Court of the Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury

In addition, the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury had jurisdiction over the whole of England. Wealthier individuals, people who owned property in more than one county or lower court's jurisdiction, and naval personnel often had their estates proven through the Archibishop's court. 

Appeals Courts

Any probate that was disputed and could not be settled by the county courts could go to these high appeals courts:

• Court of Arches
• High Court of Delegates

The Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury could also serve as an appeals court.

Court Jurisdictions

Before 1858, every town and parish in Buckinghamshire was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts.  If you are looking for the probate or will of an ancestor in Buckinghamshire, look for the name of the parish in which your ancestor lived or owned property.  Search the courts in the order given.  Search indexes first.  To see a list of indexes, click on a court name or go to the Probate Indexes section below.

For a list of Buckinghamshire parishes and the pre-1858 courts that had jurisdiction over them, click on a letter link:

B-C, D-G, H-J, K-P, Q-T, U-Z.

Probate Indexes Online

Before looking for a will, you should search an index.

http://apps.buckscc.gov.uk/eforms/wills/search.aspx

Wills database
Between 1483-1858, the Archdeaconry of Buckingham court proved over 35,000 wills of ordinary people of Buckinghamshire. This is an index of those wills held at the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies. The index includes wills and some administrations of people who may have died without leaving a will (administrations not complete). 

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.