Worcestershire Probate Records

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

Getting Started[edit | edit source]

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.

Worcestershire Probate Courts[edit | edit source]

Some Explanatory Notes on the Worcestershire Probate Courts[edit | edit source]

Courts Jurisdictions[edit | edit source]

Before 1858, every town and parish in Worcestershire fell under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. When looking for the will of an ancester, you should search the courts in the order given. Search indexes first. For indexes, click on the court name links above.

Here is a list of Worcestershire parishes beginning with the letter A and the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdiction over them. For other parishes, click on a letter link: B, C, D-G, H-J, K-N, O-R, S, T-V, W-Z.

PARISH	PRIMARY COURT	SECONDARY COURTS - IN SEARCH ORDER
Abberley	Court of the Bishop of Hereford (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Abberton	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Abbots Morton	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Acton Beauchamp	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Alderminster	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Alfrick	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Alvechurch	Court of the Peculiar of the Rector of Alvechurch or Allchurch	2 - Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)
Areley Kings	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Astley	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Aston Magna	Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)	2 - Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Probate Indexes
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Episcopal Consistory Court of the Bishop of Worcester Calendar of wills administrations, 1661-1858 Family History Library Books 942.47 P2e Contents : v. 1. 1661-1699 -- v. 2. 1700-1749 -- v. 3. 1750-1799 -- v. 4. 1800-1858.

Worcestershire wills index, 1858-1928
"The index is arranged in alphabetical order of surname followed by the forename. Then the date of probate is cited, thus leading one to the register concerned, together with the relevant page number. It will be noted that there is some slight variation in style of the date of probate quoted. This is because this index was compiled from the existing indexes in each register and the amount of detail in each varied slightly, particularly in the first few volumes." -- from foreword.
CD-ROM no. 1671 at The Family History Library<br

Calendar of wills and administrations in the Consistory court of the Bishop of Worcester, 1451-1652 : also marriage licenses and sequestrations now deposited in the Probate registry at Worcester
The Index library (British Record Society) : v. 31, 39
Family History Library Call Numbers
942 B4b v. 31 1968 942 B4b v. 39 1968
Contents: v. 31. 1451-1600 -- v. 39. 1601-1652.

Also available 942.47 S2c [1]

Family History Library

A calendar of wills and administrations preserved in the consistory court of the bishop of Worcester, l45l-(l652) [2]

PECULIAR COURTS

Many Counties have peculiar court records. These records can cover just one parish or many parishes. They cover pre-1858 probate records. The following is an index to these Worcestershire Peculiar Probate Court records.
Index to Wills Proved in Peculiars 1712-1788 [3]

Contents: Fladbury, 1721-1775 -- Ripple, 1721-1729 -- Hanbury, 1720-1769 -- Bredon, 1717-1772 -- Tredington with Shipston (upon Stour), 1717-1788 -- Hartlebury, 1720-1784 -- Allchurch [i.e., Alvechurch], 1718-1773 -- Stratford, 1718-1773 -- Hampton, 1712-1760.

Some of the Peculiar Courts have indexed and undexed portions of the records. The following follows this:

Wills and administrations, 1441-1788 of the Court of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester which covers Berrow, Kempsey, Norton near Kempsey, St Michael In Bedwardine and College Precincts, Stoulton, and Tibberton. [4]

Not all the peculiar court records are indexed and need to be located differently. The following links can help in finding these unindexed peculiar probate records
Wills for the Peculiar Court of Bredon, 1668-1791 which covers the parishes of Bredon, Norton (Bredons Norton) and Cutsdean. [5]

Wills and administrations for the Peculiar Court of Fladbury, 1662-1795 This covers the parish of Fladbury and its chapelries of Stock and Bradley, Throckmorton and Wyre Piddle. [6]

Wills for the Peculiar Court of Ripple, 1663-1771 which covers the parishes of Holdfast, Queenhill and Ripple [7]

Index of Probate from January-March 1660 for the Bishop of Worcester Original Wills

Name Place Date

John Allen Wixelsford 6 Mar

William Averill Broadway 20 Mar

Thomas Baker Juichfieh? 28 Feb

Roger Barnard Stratford Upon Avon 16 Mar

William Beaver Combrook, Warwickshire 8 Mar

Ferdinand Bentley Wick by Pershore 27 Feb

Thomas Bonnar Alderminster 13 Feb

Francis Buck Oddingley 28 Feb

John Butler Swale 6 Feb

William Butler Cateshill, Bromsgrove 28 Feb

Robert Caldecote or Coldecott or Colicoal Hunington 28 Feb

Thomas Clarke City of Worcester 21 Feb

William Climer Shenston in Stone 23 Feb

Mathew Collet Alderminster or Aldermarston 7 Mar

John Cooke St Peter, Worcester 28 Feb

John Cookes Stoke Prior 25 Feb

Symon Corbett Defford 6 Feb

Thomas Crowe Chadwich, Bromsgrove 16 Feb

Richard Dannce Wick by Pershore 20 Feb

Mary Dawks or Dawlks Himbleton 23 Feb

Henry Day Pinvin 27 Feb

Margaret Desmastres Pershore 20 Feb

Thomas Edgcock Kinerton, Warwickshire 16 Mar

Frances Elcoxe St Martins, Worcester 22 Mar

Elizabeth George Eckington 8 Mar

Thomas George the Elder Naunton in Severn Stoke 2 Mar

Gyles Gilbert Longdon 18 Mar

William Griffin Clifton in Severn Stoke 16 Mar

Thomas Gyles Powick 7 Feb

George Hall Broadway 7 Mar

John Hall Tarbecke 10 Mar

Ellinor Hay Eckington 13 Mar

John Hay Alchurch 28 Feb

William Hopkins Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire 16 Mar

Anne Horsham Wicke in Pershore 27 Feb

Richard Hurlston Ilmington, Warwickshire 28 Feb

Katherine Inones or Jnones? Mathon 28 Feb 1660

Anne Jennings Moseley 21 Mar

Robert Knight Charlecott, Warwickshire 20 Mar 1660

Cicilia Lee Alveston 6 Feb

Edmond Ligon 12 Mar

Richard Marshall Inkberrow 27 Feb

William Phillips Church Lench 28 Feb

Maria or Mary Phipps Aldermarston or Alderminster 10 Feb

Alice Pratt Wick near Pershore 6 Feb

William Quinton Hunnington, Warwickshire 27 Feb

John Rainolds or Reynolds Kidderminster 27 Feb

John Richardson Shottery in Stratford on Avon Warwickshire 20 Mar

Julie Shawe Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire 16 Feb

Stephen Sitch Shefferie, Warwickshire 13 Mar

Mary Smith Eckington (Eskington) 11 Mar

Thomas Smith Vifford 9 Mar

Margery Symonds Elmley Castle 14 Mar

William Taverner Pinvin or Pembry 27 Feb

Mary Tonerton or Towerton Holt 6 Mar

Richard Walker Ridmington 8 Mar

Michael Warne Alvechurch or Alchurch 28 Feb

William Washborne Tibberton 23 Feb

Henry Whatley Tanworth, Warwickshire 9 Mar

Thomas Whopper Tibberton 23 Feb

Estate Duty Records
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Starting in 1796, a tax or death duty was payable on estates over a certain value. Estate duty abstracts may add considerable information not found elsewhere. Between 1813-1858 estate duty indexes may help locate a will. For more information, go to Estate Duty Records.

Post-1857 Probate Records[edit | edit source]

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.