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 Help & ResourcesHelp with collectionsNational Wills Index collectionsAbout BRS Probate CollectionMoreWills and Administrations Exeter Principal Registry 1559-1799 (Devon and Cornwall) Wills and Administrations Archdeaconry of Exeter (Devon) 1540-1799 British Record Society volume 35 Published 1914 Search this Collection
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About the index
The Principal Registry of the Bishop of Exeter had jurisdiction throughout the county of Devon and sole jurisdiction in 14 Devon parishes, which were peculiars of the bishop. Whilst the consistory court of the Archdeaconry of Exeter had jurisdiction over that particular archdeaconry.
This is an alphabetical calendar of original wills and administrations, which were in existence for both of these courts in 1914 when this volume was originally published. Locating the original documents
Where are the originals held?
All of the probate records for the county of Devon and Diocese of Exeter including the Exeter Principal Registry and the Archdeaconry of Exeter were destroyed by enemy action in 1942, when the Probate Registry was destroyed in the bombing during the Exeter Blitz of WWII. As an ongoing process, a very small number of copies of wills and administrations have been deposited at both Cornwall Record Office and Devon Record Office, since then usually as part of family, estate or solicitors' collections. For more details for Devon see www.devon.gov.uk/locating_wills_and_admin.htm#copywills Any surviving wills for Cornwall will be listed in their online catalogue. To contact Cornwall record Office or to search their catalogue follow the links from www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=15977 What information from the document do I need to locate the original?
Understanding the index
Which court or courts are included?
Exeter Principal Registry 1559-1799 (Devon and Cornwall) and the Archdeaconry Court of Exeter (Devon) 1540-1799 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(s) is involved? The Court of the Principal Registry of the Bishop of Exeter Exe and the Archdeaconry of Exeter (Devon) were both within the diocese of Exeter. What does the index include? All names and places appearing in the will or administration plus incidental information such as occupation where found in the original documents are included in the index. Names are arranged alphabetically by first letter only. Names in the index are according to the spelling used in the documents, usually based on the signature of the testator. 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.
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