Northamptonshire Probate Records

For an explanation of probate records in England, click here.

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


 * Court of the Peculiar Parish of Banbury
 * Court of the Peculiar Parish of Gretton
 * Court of the Peculiar Parish of Nassington
 * Court of the Archdeaconry of Northampton
 * Court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory)
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln (Cathedral)
 * Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory)
 * Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
 * Court of Arches
 * High Court of Delegates

Some explanatory notes on the courts in Northamptonshire:
Technically the courts of the Bishop of Peterborough and the Archdeacon of Northampton did not have superior jurisdiction over these courts, but as the larger courts of original jurisdiction they will often contain probate records of persons who resided in the other jurisdictions.

Since civil and ecclesiastical boundaries were not necessarily one and the same, it is important in pre-1858 probate searches to consider nearby courts including those situated across county boundaries. Also, ecclesiastical boundaries and rights were not always observed or may have been changed over the years.

Many peculiar courts closed before 1858. When this occurred jurisdiction reverted to the local archdeaconry and/or diocesan courts.

Most of Northamptonshire was under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Bishop of Peterborough and the Court of the Archdeacon of Northampton, hence the majority of genealogical searches will be in the records of these courts and their superiors.

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.

Before 1541 Northamptonshire was in the diocese of Lincoln, and from 1541 to 1858 (except for peculiars) was in the diocese of Peterborough. It appears that from 1541 to 1598 the court of the Bishop of Peterborough and the Court of the Archeacon of Northampton exercised concurrent Jurisdiction in the county.

The rolls of the Burgess Court of Higham Ferrers contain the texts of many wills which were registered in respect of property there (See Historical Manuscripts Commission Report xii, appendix part 9, page 530), but the wills were actually proved in the Archdeaconry of Northampton and are found in the records of that court.

The original records of the Court of the Bishop of Peterborough and the Court of the Archdeacon of Northampton are at the Northampton Record Office, Delapre Abbey, Northampton. Those for the Courts of the Peculiar Parishes of Gretton and Nassington are at the Lincolnshire Archive Office, The Castle, Lincoln.