Somerset Probate Records

England Somerset

Getting Started
Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. Probate records include wills and administrations. This article is about probate records in Somerset. For a general description of England probate records, click here.

1858 to the Present
Beginning in 1858, the Principal Probate Registry had the authority for probating estates. Click on the link to learn more.

Before 1858
Before 1858, Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process. To search for a pre-1858 probate record in Somerset, follow these steps:

Step 1. Search Indexes
Here are some online indexes to probate records that include individuals who lived in Somerset. Search these indexes first:


 * http://www.familyhistoryonline.net/database/SussexFHGprobate.shtml -- compiled by the Sussex Family History Group which has transcribed the names of 12,300 individuals found in Sussex wills, including testators, executors, beneficiaries or witnesses. The information recorded includes name, date and place.
 * The Sussex Record Society has published four volumes of indexes to Sussex wills, and these can be viewed on their website. They are arranged by parish then by surname.
 * Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (1384-1858).

Did you find a reference to a probate record?


 * If yes, go to Step 4 below.
 * If no, go to Step 2 below.

Step 2. Identify when and where your ancestor died
Determine when your ancestor died. If you aren't sure, use an approximate date.

Determine where your ancestor died. It is easier to find a probate record if you know whether the place where your ancestor lived or died is a parish. To learn whether it is a parish, look it up in a gazetteer. Here is a link to the 1872 Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales online:


 * Vision of Britain

The gazetteer will either tell you:


 * A place is a parish, or
 * What parish it is a part of, or
 * What place it is near.

If the latter, look that place up in the gazetteer and see if it is a parish.

Once you have identified the parish, go to Step 3.

Step 3. Identify court jurisdictions by parish
Once you have identified the parish where your ancestor lived or died, learn which courts had jurisdiction over it then search indexes for those courts. Every town and parish in Somerset fell under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. Click on a link below for the letter the parish begins with.

Somerset Probate Courts
The following ecclesiastical courts had some probate jurisdiction over Somerset prior to 1858. Click on a court name to learn about records and indexes.


 * Court of the Bishop (Consistory) of the Archdeaconry of Wells
 * Court of the Bishop (Consistory) of the Archdeaconry of Taunton
 * Court of the Bishop (Consistory) of the Dean of Wells
 * Court of the Bishop (Consistory) of the Dean & Chapter of Wells
 * Court of the Bishop of Bath & Wells (Episcopal Consistory)
 * Court of the Bishop of Bristol in the Deanery of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory)
 * Court of the Archdeaconry of Salisbury
 * Court of the Peculiar of Banwell
 * Court of the Peculiar of Churchill
 * Court of the Peculiar of Kingsbury with East Lambrook
 * Court of the Peculiar of North Wooton
 * Court of the Peculiar of Pilton
 * Court of the Peculiar of Witham Friary
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Ashill
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Buckland Dinham
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Compton Bishop
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Compton Dundon
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Cudworth & Knowle
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Easton-in-Gordano
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of East Harptree
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Haselbury Plucknett
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Henstridge
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Ilton
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Litton
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of St. Decumans
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Timberscombe
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of West Lydford
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Whitelackington
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Wiveliscombe with Fitzhead
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Wookey
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Fordington and Writhlington
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Prebend of Yatton & Kenn
 * Court of the Royal Peculiar of Ilminster

In addition, the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury had jurisdiction over the whole of England and specifically in the following cases.


 * Wealthy individuals
 * Interregnum, 1649-1660, because the Prerogative Court was the only court.
 * Property in more than one diocese in the Province of Canterbury.
 * Property in both the Province of Canterbury and Province of York.
 * People who died outside England, including British citizens and others who held property in England.

Appeals Courts
Any probate that was disputed and could not be settled by the county courts could be sent to these higher appeals courts:


 * Court of Arches
 * High Court of Delegates

The Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury also served as an appeals court.

Probate Indexes
Before looking for a will, you should search an index. Here is a list of published indexes with broad coverage. (Other indexes will be found on the court pages. Click on the court links above.)


 * Somerset wills II pre-1858 extracted by Olive M. Moger (edited by A. J. Webb)
 * Somerset medieval wills. Contents: v. 16 (1st ser.). 1383-1500 -- v. 19 (2nd ser.). 1501-1530, with some Somerset wills preserved at Lambeth -- v. 21 (3rd ser.) 1531-1558. "The Lambeth wills, from the archiepiscopal registers, are for 1363-1491."
 * Medieval wills from Wells deposited in the diocesan registry, Wells, 1543 to 1546 and 1554 to 1556
 * Somerset wills from Exeter
 * Abstracts of Somersetshire wills, etc.
 * Wells wills : arranged in parishes, and annotated
 * The Genealogists' magazine - v. 5 (1929-1931) has and alphabetical list of Somerset Archdeaconry Court Wills proved at Taunton. Missing from other published lists, almost all these wills are from the 1600's see pages 328-336.

Online Indexes
Here is a list of online indexes.


 * http://www.gomezsmart.myzen.co.uk/ (For wills or probate on this website, look under 'Property.')

This site is concerned with family and social history in the Hundred of Frome. This consisted of the parishes of Beckington, Berkley, Cloford, Elm, Frome Selwood, Laverton, Lullington, Marston Bigot, Nunney, Orchardleigh, Rode (Road), Rodden, Standerwick, Wanstrow, Whatley and Woolverton. It also included the adjacent Liberties of East Cranmore, Leigh upon Mendip, Mells and Witham Friary and the Peculiar of Buckland Dinham (see map).

Information about Somerset Probate Records:


 * http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/Wills.htm
 * Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (1384-1858)

Some Explanatory Notes about the Somerset Probate Courts
"All probate records of the Diocese of Bath and Wells which had been deposited in the Probate Registry at Exeter were destroyed there in 1942. The records destroyed were those of the Consistory Court of Bath and Wells, the Archdeaconry Courts of Wells and Taunton, the Consistory Courts of the Dean and Chapter and of the Dean [of Wells], the Peculiar Courts of the Precentor, the Chancellor and Sub-Dean of Wells, the Royal Peculiar Court of Ilminister, and the various Prebendary Courts."

Estate Duty Records
Starting in 1796, a tax or death duty was payable on estates over a certain value. Estate duty abstracts may add considerable information not found elsewhere. Estate duty indexes may help locate a will. For more information, go to Estate Duty Records.

Probates After 1857
Beginning in 1858, the government took over the settlement of estates and all wills are now probated through the Principal Probate Registry system. For more information, go to Principal Probate Registry.

