About Wills Database Online
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More About Cheshire Wills From at least the early 13th century until the Court of Probate Act, 1857, jurisdiction in wills and testamentary matters was held by the church. In Cheshire, this jurisdiction was exercised initially by the consistory court of the bishops of Lichfield: there are original wills from 1472 and register copies from 1516 in the Lichfield Joint Record Office.
From the establishment of the diocese of Chester in 1541 until 12 January 1858, jurisdiction was held by the consistory court of Chester for the Archdeaconry of Chester, with the exception of the period from 1650 to 1660 when a national civil court was established. The wills proved in the latter court are filed with the Prerogative Court of Canterbury series at the National Archives and are indexed by the Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society (Vol 4).
The archdeaconry of Chester originally included south Lancashire as well as Cheshire and some Welsh parishes: when the probate records were divided in 1949, wills relating to Welsh parishes went to the National Library of Wales, and those relating to Lancashire (in its pre-1974 boundaries) were deposited in the Lancashire Record Office.
Probate records consist of three main types: wills, either original or registered copies; inventories of the testator's goods and chattels, often listed room by room; and administration bonds which were guarantees of fair dealing, given by those who were charged with administering the estates of people who died without leaving a will.
In the Cheshire Record Office there are two principal series of original wills up to 1858: the 'supra' series relating to estates valued at £40 and over, and the 'infra' series for those below £40. Both series include administration bonds and inventories as well as wills.
In addition to those found in the main series, wills of many Cheshire people can be found in the registers of the archiepiscopal courts of University of York Borthwick Institute for Archives and Canterbury, and in family, estate and solicitors' collections.
From January 1858, probate no longer an ecclesiastical function, was granted by the civil principal and forty district probate registries in England and Wales. We hold registered copies of the wills proved in Chester Probate Registry 1858-1940.
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