Norfolk Probate Records

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:

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.
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.

Norfolk Probate Courts

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 Archbishop's court.

Appeals Courts

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

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

Some Explanatory Notes on the Norfolk Probate Courts

Court Jurisdictions

For other Parishes click on the appropriate letter B, C-F, G-H, I-N, O-S, T-Z

PARISH	PRIMARY COURT	SECONDARY COURTS - IN SEARCH ORDER
Acle	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norwich	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Acre, South	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Acre, West	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norwich	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Alburgh	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Alby	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norwich	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Aldborough	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Aldeby	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Alderford	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norwich	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Alethorpe	Search the courts of the surrounding parishes	.
Anmer	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norwich	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Antingham	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Arminghall	Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Norwich	2 - Court of the Bishop of Norwich (Episcopal Consistory) 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashby St Mary	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashby with Oby and Thurne	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norwich	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashill	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norwich	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashmanhaugh	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashwellthorpe	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Ashwicken	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norwich	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Aslacton	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Attleborough	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Attlebridge	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norwich	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Aylmerton	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Aylsham	Court of the Archdeaconry of Norwich	2 - Court of the Consistory of Norwich 3 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Probate Indexes Online

Before looking for a will, you should search an index.
http://www.norfolksources.norfolk.gov.uk/

Probate 1800 – 1857

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 1858-1925 are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.