Court of the Archdeaconry of Colchester

[Return to the Essex Probate Records page.]

History and Background
The probate records of the Court of the Archdeaconry of Colchester date from 1496 to 1858 and cover 104 parishes in Essex. The records were transferred to the Diocese of London in 1858 and held there until 1958 when they were transferred back to the Chelmsford County Hall, where they reside today.

Before looking for a will, be certain to search for available indexes. County Essex is well-covered with comprehensive indexes for most of its probate court as listed below.

Online Indexes
A general will index for Essex County is available online. This single index consolidates Essex county wills of the various probate court jurisdictions, including the various smaller Peculiar Court jurisdictions into one database.

Printed Indexes
If the indexes on the Internet do not produce possible wills for your ancestors, look in the published indexes listed here.

The Essex County Record Office compiled and published a complete surname index covering wills and administrations from eight Essex County probate courts including this court. The index is available in three volumes at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City:


 * Emmison, F. G., ed. [Index to] Wills at Chelmsford.  London: s.n., 1961, by the British Record Society.  (FHL book 942 B4b vols. 78, 79 &amp; 84; also on microfilms 0962739 and 0962740, and on microfiche 6073796, 6073797, and 6073802.)

Other printed indexes are found listed on the court pages. Click on the court name links above.

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Searching for probates in this court&lt;br&gt;
Calendar (first-letter-of-surname index) of Wills and Administration Acts are divided in to four calendar books: &lt;br&gt;


 * Calendar Vol. 1:  1495-1585 &lt;br&gt;
 * Calendar Vol. 2:  1585-1621 &lt;br&gt;
 * Calendar Vol. 3:  1621-1725 &lt;br&gt;
 * Calendar Vol. 4:  1670-1726 &lt;br&gt;
 * Calendar Vol. 5:  1688-1783 &lt;br&gt;
 * Calendar Vol. 6:  1784-1858 &lt;br&gt;

In addition to the general index above, most of the filmed volumes also contain a separate index to the wills and administrations &lt;br&gt;

REGISTERED WILLS &lt;br&gt;

Alpha Indexes precede the Wills 1420-1858 &lt;br&gt;Wills from 1420-1858 &lt;br&gt;

ORIGINAL WILLS &lt;br&gt;

Original Wills (unindexed) 1400-1637 &lt;br&gt;

ACT BOOKS &lt;br&gt;Indexes mostly at end of each Act Book for the preceding entries Act Books are often in Latin and in chronological order 1558-1858 &lt;br&gt;

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Indexes&lt;br&gt;
The Archdeaconry Court of Essex probate records is well-covered with the following indexes: &lt;br&gt;

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Online indexes&lt;br&gt;
A general will index for Essex County is available &amp;nbsp; online. This single index consolidates just about all Essex county wills of the various probate court jurisdictions into one database.

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Printed Indexes&lt;br&gt;
The Essex County Record Office compiled and published a complete surname index covering wills and administrations from&amp;nbsp;eight Essex County probate courts including this court.


 * Emmison, F. G., ed.&amp;nbsp; [Index to] Wills at Chelmsford.&amp;nbsp; (FHL book 942 B4b vols. 78, 79 &amp;amp; 84; also on microfilms 0962739 and 0962740; also on microfiche 6073796, 6073797, and 6073802.)&lt;br&gt;

Original Handwritten Indexes
Calendars to the Probate Acts of Wills and Administrations (Admons) exist from 1400-1858. Calendars are a kind of index to the day to day probate court procedures in which wills and admons (administrations) are processed. &lt;br&gt;

In addition to the calendars, a majority of the original (unregistered) wills and the registered wills are alphabetically arranged at the Record Office and are likewise organized on the microfilmed probates for this court at the Family History Library. Visit the Essex County &amp;nbsp; Archives or the Family History Library Catalog under Essex, England to determine availability of records.

Microfilmed Indexes at the Family History Library
Original (Unregistered) Wills and Registered Wills as well as extant indexes for this court are available on microfilm at the Family History Library and may be circulated to each of its satellite Family History Centers (see Court of the Archdeaconry of Essex), or go to this Family History Library Catalog&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;page&lt;br&gt;

Strategies, Tips, Other?
There are no indexes on microfilm for the years 1718-1858 for the Archdeaconry Court of Essex. See the above general countywide index online (see "online Indexes) or available through the Family History Library's&amp;nbsp;(see "Printed Indexes) many family history centers worldwide for an index to this court.