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 Help & ResourcesHelp with collectionsNational Wills Index collectionsAbout BRS Probate CollectionMoreBristol Consistory Wills 1572-1792, with wills in the Great Orphan Books 1379-1674 British Record Society volume 17 Published 1897 Search this Collection
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About the index
This is a Calendar of testamentary documents of the Consistory Court, relating to the City and ancient Deanery of Bristol and is taken from the original contemporary calendar (index) and thus no place of residence is included. But due to its quite limited jurisdiction most of the wills and administrations will be of Bristol people only.The jurisdiction of the Bristol Consistory Court included the whole of the City and County of Bristol plus the Gloucestershire parishes of Almondsbury, Alveston, Clifton, Compton Greenfield, Elberton, Filton, Henbury, Horfield, St George Bristol, Littleton on Severn, Mangotsfield, Olveston, Stapleton, Stoke Gifford, Westbury on Trym, Winterborn St Michael and Abbots Leigh (Som), Bedminister (Som) from 1845. The Great Orphan Books These refer to three volumes of Wills, relating chiefly to those persons whose children were minors at the time of the testators' death, and that the Bristol city authorities acted in loco parentis till their coming of age. Although it is to be noted that these wills were proved in a number of different courts - and not just Bristol. Locating the original documents
Where are the originals held?
The original wills for the Bristol Consistory Court are held at Bristol Record Office www.bristol.gov.uk/page/records-and-archives-0 To obtain copies contact Bristol Record Office by letter, fax or e-mail, stating the document's reference number. A detailed quotation (of cost) and copyright form will be sent to you. Alternatively you can visit Bristol Record Office personally, details of opening hours etc can be found on their website. Additionally FamilySearch has filmed the majority of these probate documents, a microfilm copy of which can be ordered and viewed via your local FamilySearch Family History Center. www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp The original wills referred to in the Great Orphan Books were proved in a number of different courts. The Wills in the first volume appear for the most part to have been proved at Bristol. The letters PCC signify that the Will was Proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury and in some instances the reference to the Register at Somerset House is given (eg, Crimes, 10). Other Wills were proved at Lambeth, Worcester or Wells, and, it is probable that with careful search at all these places the original Wills of many of those here calendared would be found. The Bishopric of Bristol was founded in 1542, so that Wills proved previous to this date are likely to be in the Probate Court at Worcester, of which See the City of Bristol till then formed part. What information from the document do I need to locate the original?
Understanding the index
Which court or courts are included?
This volume indexes the wills and administrations of the Bristol Consistory Court 1572-1792 with wills in the Great Orphan Books 1379-1674. Note - wills proved between 1649 and 1660 will be found in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury since during the civil war the church courts were abolished and a single centralised probate system was established. Between this time all wills were proved and all grants of administration made, at one central Court of Probate in London. This was really just the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) under a different name and thus wills etc proved during this period will be found indexed within the PCC. See PCC volumes BRS 54, BRS 61, and Matthews 1-9 for this period. Which diocese is involved? The consistory court of the Bishop of Bristol was in the Deanery of Bristol, which in turn was in the Diocese of Bristol. What does the index include? The Bristol Consistory Wills index includes names and year of probate as appears in the original calendar. The wills in the Great Orphan Books includes
Dates of pre 1752 wills are given in 'Old Style' or Julian Calendar.
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