Wills in London, Middlesex and Surrey before 1858

1. About this guide

This guide explains how to search for a will or administration proved or granted in London, Middlesex and Surrey before 1858.

Before 1858, wills were proved by church courts organised in a hierarchical structure:

• The Prerogative Court of Canterbury – the highest church court in England and Wales
• The Prerogative Court of York
• Bishop's or Consistory Courts
• Commissary Courts
• Archdeacon's or Archdeaconry Courts
• Peculiars

2. Which church court should you check?

When looking for someone's will or administration, you need to determine the likely church court. Consider the following factors:

• where the person died
• how wealthy there were
• how their property was distributed geographically

Here are some broad guidelines:

• The wills of people who died with property within one archdeaconry or commissary court should have been proved by that court
• Wills of people with goods worth at least £5 or property in more than one archdeaconry or commissary court should have been proved in the consistory court
• Wills of people with property in more than one diocese should have been dealt with by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury

You can use these sources to discover which courts covered which areas:

• London Probate Records on FamilySearch (see section 3)
• Middlesex Probate Records on FamilySearch (see section 3)
• The Phillimore atlas and index of parish registers edited by Cecil R. Humphrey-Smith is available in our library under the reference '60.53 PHI'. You can also see this on Ancestry.co.uk - check the Great Britain, Atlas and Index of Parish Registers listing.

3. Online records

The original wills and administrations for the following church courts are available to view on Ancestry.co.uk in the 'London, England, Wills and Probate, 1507-1858' section:

• Consistory Court of London (1507–1858)
• Commissary Court of London (1523–1857)
• Archdeaconry Court of London (1524–1807)
• Archdeaconry Court of Middlesex (1608–1611, 1662–1810)
• Peculiar Court of the Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s (1660–1837)
• Archdeaconry Court of Surrey (1534–1857)
• Commissary Court of Surrey (1663–1856)

4. Records held at The London Archives

You can browse these record series to discover the surviving records for each court.

5. Indexes and Transcripts

There are some useful indexes on Findmypast (charges apply) and British History Online:

• England & Wales Published Wills & Probate Indexes, 1300–1858
• Surrey & South London Wills & Probate Index, 1470–1856
• London, Archdeaconry Court Of London Wills Index, 1700–1807
• London Probate Index
• London, Court Of Husting Will Abstracts, 1258–1688
• London Consistory Court Wills, 1492–1547
• Calendar of Wills Proved and Enrolled in the Court of Husting, London: Part 1, 1258–1358
• Calendar of Wills Proved and Enrolled in the Court of Husting, London: Part 2, 1358–1688

6. Records held elsewhere

You can contact the following archives for records of other courts:

• The National Archives holds records for the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.
• • the Deanery of the Arches
  • the Peculiar Court of the Deanery of Croydon
  • the Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Deanery of Croydon
  Lambeth Palace Library holds:
• Westminster Archives and Westminster Abbey Library for the Royal Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster
• Hampshire Archives and Local Studies for the Consistory Court of Winchester
• Kent Archives for:
  • the Consistory and Archdeaconry Courts of Canterbury
  • the Consistory Court of Rochester
  • the Archdeaconry Court of Rochester