About British Record Society Probate Collection
Wills at Chelmsford (Essex and East Hertfordshire) Vol. III 1721-1858
British Record Society Volume 84
Published 1998
About the index
This is a composite index of testators whose wills were proved 1721–1858 in one of the following probate courts
- Court of the Archdeacon of Essex covered 140 parishes in SW, S and SE Essex
- Court of the Archdeacon of Colchester covered 107 parishes in NE Mid NW Essex.
- Court of the Archdeacon of Middlesex (Essex and Hertfordshire jurisdiction) covered 39 parishes in W and N Essex and 25 parishes in E Herts
- Court of the Bishop of London's Commissary (Essex and Hertfordshire jurisdiction) extended in theory to 101 parishes in all parts of Essex and to six parishes in E Herts, but in practice the court was; used for probate of wills in almost every Essex parish, not excepting the Peculiars.
- Courts of the Peculiars of Writtle with Roxwell (New College, Oxford) and of Good Easter, which coincided with those parishes.
- Court of the Peculiar of the Deanery of Bocking (Archbishop of Canterbury) covered Bocking, Borley, Little Coggeshall, Latchingdon, Southchurch and Stisted in Essex, and Hadleigh, Monks Eleigh and Moulton in Suffolk.
- Court of the Peculiar of the Liberty of the Sokens covered Kirby-le-Soken, Thorpe-le-Soken, and Walton-le-Soken.
The place indexes include a number of entries outside of the county of Essex, including some places overseas. Please note that this index does not include administrations.
Locating the original documents
Where are the originals held?
The original wills are held at the Essex Record Office -
www.essex.gov.uk/Libraries-Archives/Record-Office/Pages/Record-Office.aspx
Copies of the original wills can be downloaded online (for a fee) via the Seax computerized catalogue of the Essex Record Office -
seax.essexcc.gov.uk/
Alternatively you can visit Essex Record Office personally, details of opening hours etc can be found on their
website.
FamilySearch -
www.familysearch.org/#form=catalog - 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.
What information from the document do I need to locate the original?
- Testator's name
- Status / Occupation
- Residence
- Year of will or admon
- Folio
- References (includes court)
Understanding the index
Which court or courts are included?
Court of the Archdeacon of Essex,
Court of the Archdeacon of Colchester,
Court of the Archdeacon of Middlesex (Essex and Hertfordshire jurisdiction),
Court of the Bishop of London's Commissary (Essex and Hertfordshire jurisdiction),
Courts of the Peculiars of Writtle with Roxwell (New College, Oxford) and of Good Easter,
Court of the Peculiar of the Deanery of Bocking (Archbishop of Canterbury),
Court of the Peculiar of the Liberty of the Sokens.
Which diocese is involved?
Essex was in the diocese of London.
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.
- Testator's name
- Residence
- Occupation
- Year of will or admon
- Document jurisdiction reference
- Folio
Names are arranged alphabetically with spelling standardized to the most usual spelling. This means some name variants may not appear clustered together. Where there is an alias or alternative surname the entry is given under both names.
Parish names have also been standardized.
Dates of wills are given in New Style Calendar.
The
folio number identifies the group of pages, anywhere from 2 to 16, within which the will's first page appears.
Reference letters and figures in the composite Index
The following letters identify the wills according to the court in which they were proved:
- A: Peculiar of the Deanery of Bocking.
- B: Bishop of London's Commissary (Essex and Herts.).
- C: Archdeacon of Colchester
- E: Archdeacon of Essex
- GE:Peculiar of Good Easter.
- M: Archdeacon of Middlesex (Essex and Herts)
- S: Peculiar of the Sokens.
- W: Peculiar of Writtle with Roxwell.
- The letter ' R' following the letter(s) given above denotes a registered will, and * W' the original will or a loose copy. In this third volume, the registered copies have been used in the case of all courts except the peculiars of Bocking and the Sokens, for both of which the original wills are more complete than the registers.
- The right-hand number in the right-hand column is that of the register or box;
- the left-hand number, that of the register folio or original will number.
- Dating is in the 'New Style' (i.e no double dating is given for dates between 1st January and 24th March). An asterisk (*) placed against the date signifies that no date of probate is noted in either place, and the date is therefore that of the making of the will. All the parishes named are in Essex unless otherwise stated.
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