Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of York

England Cheshire Probate Records,  Yorkshire Probate Courts,  Lancashire Probate Records

To read general information about English probate records click here

Description
Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. The term probate refers to a collection of documents, including wills, administrations (also called admons), inventories, and act books. The Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process until to 1858.

Step By Step
1. Search indexes to help you more quickly find the will, writing down each detail given in the index.

2. Go to the Archive Records below to determine what original probate records exist for this court.

3. Obtain the records to search. Use one of these methods to find indexes and records.


 * Contact or visit the Archive (see below) or hire a professional record searcher to view these records on your behalf.
 * Order microfilm copies of the indexes and records listed in the Family History Library Records (see section below) by visiting the Family History Library or one of its family history centers and search indexes and records.

Step by Step

 * 1) First search each index (see below) to help you more quickly find the will, writing down each detail cited in the indexed entry.
 * 2) Proceed then to the "Probate Records of This Court" section (see below) to determine what original probate records exist for this court.
 * 3) Contact or visit the Borthwick Institute of Historical Research (see address below), or, hire a professional record searcher to view these records on your behalf, citing information obtained from the index[es]. Officials may send upon request a list of record searchers.
 * 4) You can also visit The Family History Library, or, one of its 4,500 satellite family history centers worldwide and search indexes (see the Family History Library's cataloged entries providing the microfilms so you can have them circulated to the center near you for searching the wills). The information obtained from the index[es] will help you more quickly search the wills and admons which can also be circulated on microfilm via any family history.

Indexes
Surviving wills and admons to the Court of the Bishop (Consistory) of the Commissary of the Archdeaconry of Richmond Western Deaneries - Amounderness probate records have to some extent been indexed with the following ones:&lt;br&gt;

Printed and Published Indexes
Index of Wills, etc., from the Dean and Chapter's Court at York, A.D. 1321 to 1636; [also containing] Original wills, administrations and tuitions from 1524-1724, and Register copy wills from 1557-1638 in the Yorkshire Archaeological Society Record Series volume 38. Held at the Society of Genealogists; the Family History Library.

Online Indexes
Indexes to Yorkshire wills are beginning to come online. Yorkshire will indexes are online only available at britishorigins for the following years:


 * Medieval Probate Index - 1267- 1500
 * Peculiar Courts Probate Index - 1383-1883
 * York Prerogative &amp; Exchequer Court Probate Index - 1842-1858

Original Handwritten Indexes

 * Manuscript indexes exist from 1438-1728 and, 1650-1858.

Microfilmed Indexes at the Family History Library
The indexes as listed above, plus and index covering the years 1688-1731 are all available at The family history library and they are on microfilm and may be circulated to each of its satellite family history centers worldwide.

Archive Location
Borthwick Institute for Historical Research University of York Heslington York YO10 5DD England

Telephone: (0)1904 321166

Email: [mailto:bihr500@york.ac.uk bihr500@york.ac.uk]

Website

Opening Times: Mon-Fri 9:15am - 4:45pm

Archive Records

 * ORIGINAL WILLS, ADMINISTRATIONS (ADMONS)
 * INVENTORIES, TUITIONS 1383-1858
 * REGISTER OF COPY WILLS 1321-1558;1557-1638
 * ABSTRACT BOOK 1774-1847 INVENTORIES 14th - 17th Centuries

Family History Library Records

 * Wills and administrations, 1530-1857

Jurisdiction
This court's jurisdiction applies to more than 25 parishes in Yorkshire and the city of York. Boundaries of this probate jurisdiction include parishes in portions of counties Cumberland and Yorkshire.