Court of the Bishop of Bristol in the Deanery of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory)

England Somerset  Somerset Probate 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 to the "Probate Records Held in This Archive" (below) to determine what original probate records exist for this court. Also see "Probate Records of This Court in The Family History Library".

3. Contact or visit the Bristol Record Office or, hire a professional record searcher to view these records on your behalf. Officials may send upon request a list of record searchers.

4. Visit The Family History Library, or, one of its 4,500 satellite family history centers worldwide and search indexes to probate records then with the information obtained from the index[es] you can search more quickly the original wills and admons also on microfilm via any centers near you.

Online Index
Here is an online index of Gloucestershire wills 1541-1857

Printed Indexes
Wills [index] 1572-1792 by Index Library vol. 17, &amp; 22

Administrations 1770-1792 by Index Library vol. 17

Indexes at the Family History Library
Also try the following index at the Family History Library: Index to wills 1571-1886

Archive Location
Bristol Record Office 'B' Bond Warehouse Smeaton Road Bristol BS1 6XN Tel: 0117-922 4224 [mailto:bro@bristol.gov.uk bro@bristol.gov.uk] www.bristol.gov.uk/recordoffice

Probate Records of This Court Held in This Archive

 * Original Wills 1546-1858
 * Copy Wills 1677-1721
 * Register Copy Wills 1767-1857
 * Administration Bonds 1661-1857
 * Registers of Administrations 1767-1857
 * Inventories 1611-1767

Probate Records of This Court In The Family History Library
The Family History Library has some of the probate records for this court on microfilm. Here are:


 * Wills, 1560-1858
 * Probate records, 1726-1857
 * Original Wills &amp; Administrations 1571-1857
 * Registered Wills 1767-1857
 * Administration Bonds 1661-1857

The Family History Library has very few original probate records for Bristol on microfilm. Most of the what the library has is various published abstracts. These include:


 * Estate Duty Wills 1805-1811
 * Estate Duty Wills Index 1812-1857
 * Death Duty Register for Abstracts of Administrations and Probates of Wills 1796-1811

Others
The Society of Genealogists in London has copies of published abstracts of wills and other probate documents for Bristol. To see a list of titles, search their library catalogue for the Subject of "Gloucestershire - General: Wills."

Jurisdiction
The court held jurisdiction over the parish of Abbotts Leigh in Somerset. This court held concurrent jurisdiction over just about all the City of Bristol parishes and several surrounding parishes as well.

England Somerset  Somerset Probate Records== Indexes ==

Archive Records
These include:

Family History Library Records
The Family History Library has the following probate records for the court:

Jurisdiction
Before the formation of the Diocese of Gloucester in 1541, this court was under the Diocese of Worcester and had jurisdiction over the Somerset parishes of St. Thomas, St. Mary Redcliffe, Temple or Holy Cross, and Abbots Leigh. After 1541, it had jurisdiction solely over the parish of Abbots Leigh.