Table of contents - Blackpool Council

124 Localstu/geneabib/Aug12
Section H
WILLS
Introduction. Before 1858 the proving of Wills came within the jurisdiction of the courts of the
Established Church: some of these Wills are searchable online. See Sections H1, H3, H4 and H5
below for more information.
From 12 January 1858 probate became the responsibility of a centralised system of civil probate
registries. For information about probate and how to obtain a copy of a will probated after 1858, see
the website:
www.justice.gov.uk/courts/probate
and Section H2 below.
H1 BASIC GUIDES
H1.1 COLLINS, Audrey
Basic facts about using Wills after 1858, and First Avenue House.
F.F.H.S., 1998 Arranged by County. Microfilm Cabinet 2 LG13
H1.2 GIBSON, Jeremy and CHURCHILL, Else
Probate jurisdictions: where to look for wills [before and after 1858 in the UK and Ireland]. 5 th edn.
F.F.H.S., 2002 Arranged by County. Microfilm Cabinet 2 LG13
H2 NATIONAL INDEX, 1858 onwards
H2.1 NATIONAL PROBATE CALENDAR
The Library holds the national index to Wills proved and Administrations granted in England
and Wales on microfiche from 1858, when the present centralised system of records was
introduced, to 1943. It is kept in Microfilm Cabinet 2.
Entries for the years between 1858 and 1966 are also accessible online on Ancestry.
Registered copies of the actual wills can often be viewed in the relevant local Record Office.
H3 NATIONAL INDEXES BEFORE 1858: some suggested sources
H3.1 Ancestry. On the Home Page, click Search, then Card Catalogue; in the Keywords(s) box type
Probate and click Search. This will bring up a list of Records, including, for example, “The National
Probate Calendar” as well as “UK Extracted Probate Records”, which is a collection of probate
registers “ranging in date from the early 1500s to the mid- to late-1800s”.
H3.2 Familysearch. On the Home Page, click Learn, then Research Wiki, then, in the search box,
type Lancashire probate (or any other county) and go from there.
H3.3 Origins.net is compiling a National Wills Index in partnership with the British Record Society,
the Mormon Church and other organisations. (The Library’s subscription to Origins is pending.)
H3.4 The Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills can be downloaded from The National Archives,
who also have a list of online probate indexes for most pre-1974 English counties: it also includes
some Irish and Scottish sources.
H3.5 CALENDAR of Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Prerogative
Court of Canterbury from 1 January 1853 to 31 December 1857, both dates inclusive.
64 microfiche