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Consistory Court of Ely Probate Records, 1449-1858
British Record Society volumes 103, 106, 107
Published 1994-6

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Probate Glossary

General Abbreviations

Original Volume Introduction

This is a complete index to the probate records of the Consistory Court of Ely, 1449-1858 and the peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Ely 1565-1800.

The Consistory Court of Ely claimed jurisdiction over most of the old county of Cambridgeshire with the following exceptions:

• the probate jurisdiction of the archdeacon of Ely;
• the former monastic enclosures of Thorney and of Ely college (effectively the Cathedral Close);
• the members and privileged .servants of the University of Cambridge; 1
• the deanery of Fordham, which lay in the archdeaconry of Sudbury, in the diocese of Norwich;
• the peculiar of Isleham and Freckenham, which lay in the diocese of Rochester.

The jurisdiction of the peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Ely was confined to the precincts (or close) of Ely Cathedral (see Hierarchy of Courts). Where are the originals held?
The original wills are now held at The Cambridgeshire Archives - www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/leisure/archives/

To purchase a copy of the will contact Cambridgeshire Archives with all of the references from the index including the source i.e. BRS. They will then advise you of the cost etc. Alternatively you can visit Cambridgeshire Archives personally, details of opening hours etc can be found on their website.

What information from the document do I need to locate the original?

• Testator's name
• Year of will or admon
• Register
• Folio

Which court or courts are included?
This volume indexes all of the probate material for the Consistory Court of Ely, 1449-1858 and the peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Ely 1565–1800.

Note - wills proved between 1649 and 1660 will be found in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) 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 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 Ely was within the Diocese of Ely

What does the index include?
All names and places appearing in the will plus incidental information such as occupation where found in the original documents are included in the index.

• Name
• Residence
• Occupation
• Status
• Year
• Volume and Folio number

Surnames are arranged alphabetically and then in alphabetical order of forename. Groups of individuals with identical forenames are listed chronologically. This means some name variants may not appear clustered together.

Dates of pre 1752 wills are given in 'Old Style' or Julian Calendar.

The folio number identifies the group of pages, anywhere from 2 to 16, within which the will's first page appears.


ABBREVIATIONS

1. In list of individuals

Abbreviation	Meaning
(a)	according to administration
als.	alias
B.A	Bachelor of Arts
B.D.	Bachelor of Divinity (often shewn in records as 'S.T.B.')
bach.	bachelor
bd.	requiring burial at
ch.	leaving benefactions to church at
d	died
D.D.	Doctor of Divinity (often shewn in records as 'S.T.P.')
(f)	formerly
gent.	gentleman
husb.	husbandman
(i)	according to inventory
lab.	labourer
LL.D.	Doctor of Laws
M.A.	Master of Arts
M.D.	Doctor of Medicine
(ns)	signs as
(p)	according to record of probate
sp.	spinster
(t)	bequeathes unpaid tithes to
wid.	widow
widr.	widower
yeo.	yeoman

2.In list of documents

Abbreviation	Meaning
Acc	Account in Ely Diocesan Records [A/12]*
AccAP	Account in Administrations Packet
AccVC	Account among records of Vice-Chancellor's Court
AEP	Archdeaconry of Ely Probate
AWP	Administration in Wills Packet
AWR	Administration in Will Register
CA	Original Consistory Administration (with date)
CAP	Caveat in Administrations Packet
CG	Caveat in Ely Diocesan Records [G/2/18-22]; see GV below
CM	Incomplete or copy will, or other variant item in Will Packet
CR	Entry in Ely Diocesan Records: register of caveats [A/7/5]
CW	Original Consistory Court Will (with date)
CWP	Caveat in Wills Packet
EA	Administration in Ely Diocesan Records [A/7/1]*
EDR	Ely Diocesan Records
EI	Inventory in Ely Diocesan Records [A/7/1]*
EW	Will in Ely Diocesan Records [A/7/1]*
GAP	Guardianship papers in Bonds and Inventories
GAR	Records of guardianship in Consistory Administrations Register
GG	Guardianship records in EDR G/2/18-22 (see GV below)
GR	Entry in Ely Diocesan Records: register of tuitions [A/7/4]
GV	Entry in Ely Diocesan registers of administrations, caveats and grants of tuition included in the general licence registers, 1563-1620, 1660-1694; [EDR G/2/18-22]
GWP	Guardianship papers in Wills Packet
GWR	Records of guardianship in Consistory Wills Register
I	Document, other than administration bond or inventory, boxed with Bonds and Administrations
I+	More than one such document
In	Inventory
In+	Inventory and other document (as above)
IT; InT	As I and 'In' above, but filed with Thorney Bonds and Inventories
IWP	Inventory in Wills Packet
IWR	Inventory in Will Register PCC Prerogative Court of Canterbury
PWR	Probate (only) in Will Register
PGR	Probate in EDR G/2/18-22 (see GV above)
RAP	Renunciation in Administrations Packet
RWP	Renunciation in Wills Packet
ThA	Original Thorney Administration bond
ThR	Registers of Thorney Peculiar (with page). Note that the Thorney registers contain copies of both wills and administrations
ThW	Original Thorney Will
VAC	Consistory Administrations Register (with no. and folio or page no.)
VC	Consistory Court Will Register (with no. of register, and of folio or page)
W	see CM
&	indicates that the record next referred to is additional to other, usually routine items, in the same source.
* Lists showing the precise location of these items are held by the County Record Office and the University Archives, University Library, Cambridge

See also:	Help on Searching - BRS Probate Collection
	General Abbreviations
	Name Abbreviations
	Place Name Abbreviations
	Introduction to Original Volume
	Logged in users search the collection