Staffordshire Probate Records

England Stafford

For an explanation of probate records in England, click here. [Page is under Construction]

Getting Started
Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. The Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process until to 1858. Beginning in 1858, authority over probate matters was taken from ecclesiastical courts and put under the civil authority of the Principal Probate Registry. The Post-1857 Probate Records section below contains links to additional information about the records of this court.

To look for a probate record before 1858:


 * 1) Discover when and where your ancestor died. If you don’t know, use the approximate date and place where they lived.
 * 2) Go to Court Jurisdictions section below.
 * 3) Click a letter or span of letters for your place name. This opens a jurisdictions table.
 * 4) Follow the instructions on the jurisdictions table page.

Staffordshire Probate Courts
The following probate courts had some jurisdiction over the county of Staffordshire prior to 1858:


 * Episcopal Consistory Court of Lichfield
 * Court of the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield
 * Peculiar Court of Lichfield
 * Peculiar Court of the Dean of Lichfield
 * Peculiar Court of Alrewas and Weeford
 * Peculiar Court of Bishops Itchington
 * Peculiar Court of Bishops Tachbrook
 * Peculiar Court of Burton on Trent
 * Peculiar Court of Colwich
 * Peculiar Court of Eccleshall
 * Peculiar Court of the Manor of Gnosall
 * Peculiar Court of Hansacre and Armitage
 * Peculiar Court of Hartington
 * Peculiar Court of High Offley anad Flixton
 * Peculiar Court of Longdon
 * Peculiar Court of Merevale
 * Peculiar Court of Peak Forest
 * Peculiar Court of Penkridge
 * Peculiar Court of Prees or Pipe Manor
 * Peculiar Court of Sawley
 * Peculiar Court of Tettenhall
 * Peculiar Court of Whittington and Baswich
 * Peculiar Court of Wolverhampton

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
There were two appeals courts within the Prerogative Court of Canterbury which heard disputes over the administration or probate of an estate. They were the:


 * Court of Arches (records are at Lambeth Palace Library, London; an index from 1660-1857 was compiled by the British Record Society, vol. 85)
 * The Court of Delegates was also a court of appeal for the provinces of Canterbury and York, including their peculiars, royal peculiars, and the Irish probate courts. This court is sometimes also referred to as the High Court of Delegates (records are held at The National archives); records are on microfilm (from 1662-1837) and microfiche with an index, which are available at The Family History Library; The Genealogist has compiled an index in vols. 11 and 12 covering the years from 1651-1857)

Some Explanatory Notes on the Courts in Staffordshire
Probate records for the first nine courts listed above are located at the Staffordshire Record Office.

Records and indexes for each court are also available in the collection of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Search the Family History Library Catalog for the title of the court or the court as an author.

Staffordshire Parishes and Their Probate Jurisdictions
Here are links to an alphabetical list of Staffordshire parishes containing a prioritized list of courts with jurisdiction over each. To see which courts to search for probates of persons living in or owning property in particular parish, click on the letter the parish name begins with.

Probate Indexes
Before looking for a will, you should search an index.

Online Indexes
A general will index for the Diocese of Lichfield exists online, a scanned edition of P.W. Phillimore's publicationby the British Record Society in 1892,Calendars of wills administrations in the Consistory court of the bishop of Lichfield''. This single index consolidates most Staffordshire wills of the various probate court jurisdictions from 1514-1652 for the Diocese of Lichfield and to 1790 for Staffordshire smaller peculiar courts. ''

Printed Indexes
See the above online indexes available at Google.books which is copy of a printed will index for Staffordshire.

The Smethwick Local history Society has published the Probate inventories of Smethwick residents, 1647-1747 : in the Lichfield Joint Record Office.

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.

Court Jurisdictions by Parish
Before 1858, every town and parish in Staffordshire fell under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. When looking for the will of an ancestor, you should search the courts in the order given. For an authoritative treatise on each Staffordshire probate court and the parishes comprising them in pre-1858, see Anthony J. Camp's publication, Wills and Their Whereabouts; also available at the Family History Library, FHL book call #942 S2wa. Search indexes first. For indexes, click on the court name links above [soon to be constructed]. 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 Staffordshire 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-G, H-L, M-S, T-Z.

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.