The usual procedure for proving a will was for the executor to
take the will to the appropriate court. Occasionally the Court came
to them in the person of the Rector of the parish who could be
licensed by the Bishop as his Commissary to grant Probate or
Administration
If the Court was satisfied that the will was in order, it passed
a Probate Act which was recorded in a Probate Act Book, the
original will that had been proved would then be endorsed,
impounded and filed. A Probate copy of the will was made and sealed
and given to the executors as authorisation to carry out the terms
of the will. Another copy of the will and probate act was often
made and put in a bound volume for office use and for consultation
by interested parties. If there was no will and letters of
administration had been granted, then an Administration Act was
entered in an Administration Act book and the administration bond
was filed.
Wills held at Northamptonshire Record Office:
The Church Courts of the Diocese of Peterborough
The Archdeaconry Court of Northampton existed before the
creation of the Diocese of Peterborough, when Northamptonshire and
Rutland were still part of the Diocese of Lincoln. After 1541 the
Archdeaconry Court continued to have jurisdiction over the whole of
the Diocese. (The Archdeaconry of Oakham was only created in 1876.)
However it was a lesser court to that of the Bishop the Consistory
Court of Peterborough.
Normally wills would be proved in the lowest court the
archdeaconry court. Only applications for letters of
administration, disputed wills and other problems would be referred
to the consistory court of the Bishop. However, in the Diocese of
Peterborough the Archdeaconry Court of Northampton and the
Consistory Court of Peterborough had concurrent jurisdiction and
divided the work topographically by deaneries.
From medieval times some parishes and groups of parishes had
managed to obtain exemption from the authority of the archdeacon
and even the bishop. They were known as 'peculiars' and the courts
which did have jurisdiction over them as Peculiar Courts.
If a testator held land in more than one diocese, the will was
proved in the Archbishop of Canterbury's Prerogative Court. Such
wills are now held in the National Archives.
District Probate Courts:
In January 1858 the Northampton archdeaconry court was
superseded by the Northampton Court of Probate and Registry for
probate jurisdiction, and at the same time, the Consistory Court of
Peterborough was superseded by the Peterborough Court of Probate
and Registry. The records were transferred to the Northamptonshire
Record Office in 1962.
No restrictions were placed on where wills could be proved so
records of the two District Probate registries can and do contain
wills of testators who lived in any of the counties around
Northamptonshire. Until 1930 there was also a District Probate
registry in Northampton.
The records fall naturally into 4 main groups (which can all be
found at Northamptonshire Record Office):
- Records of the Archdeaconry of Northampton from 1469
- Records of the Consistory Court of Peterborough from 1541
- Records of Northampton Court of Probate and Registry from
1858
- Records of the Peterborough Court of Probate and Registry from
1858
Records of the Archdeaconry Court of Northampton:
Until the creation of the diocese of Peterborough in 1541,
Northamptonshire and Rutland (except for peculiars and exempt
jurisdictions) were part of the diocese of Lincoln, and while a few
wills were proved at Lincoln, wills were generally proved in the
court of the Archdeacon of Northampton.
- Wills: 1469 - 1858
- Unproved wills: 1627 - 1857
- Nuncupative wills: 1725 - 1800
- Administrations and inventories
Records of the Consistory Court of Peterborough:
- Wills: 1541 - 1858.
- Administrations and Inventories: 1570-1858. A number are
available for 1570-1571 and for 1670-1689 when the series really
begins, continuing to 1858 (Northamptonshire Record Office list
available for consultation at Peterborough Central Library)
Records of the Northampton Court of Probate and Registry
- 1858 - 1862 2 volumes of copies of wills and also of grants of
administrations
- 1863 - 1930 34 volumes of copies of wills
Records of the Peterborough Court of Probate and Registry
- 1858 - 1941 54 volumes of copies of wills
Northamptonshire Record Office do not hold the wills proved in
the various Peculiar Courts of the Diocese. However they do have
microfilm copies (M 132 and 133) and a guide to their
whereabouts.
A composite index to wills, administration bonds and inventories
from 1469 to 1676 has been produced. Its contents are described in
the introductory pages in the first of the three volumes. This is
available at Northamptonshire Record Office.
Peterborough Central Library has microfilm copies of wills
proved in and granted by the Consistory Court of Peterborough from
1820-1858.
- Peterborough Central Library also holds the following indexes
for local wills and probate:
- Archdeaconry of Northampton 1510-1652; 1711-1800, PRINTED
- Archdeaconry of Huntingdon 1479-1652, PRINTED
- Diocese of Lincoln 1280-1547, 1320-1600; 1660-1700,
PRINTED
- Lincoln Consistory Court, index of wills 1700-1900, CD-ROM
- Vice-Cancellor's Court, Cambridge, 1501-1765, PRINTED
- Archdeaconry of Ely 1513-1857, PRINTED
- Consitory Court of Ely 1449-1858, PRINTED
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