Probate

Overviews

• Wills and administrations before 1858 Research guide by The National Archives.
• Wills and administrations after 1858 Research guide by The National Archives.
• The probate process in Medieval England and Wales and the documents which it generated by Heather Falvey [2022] (page 8) is an excellent introduction with much content relevant for the period until 1858 when probate was removed from the jurisdiction of church courts.
• The Scribes of Villager's Wills in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries and their Influence by Margaret Spufford [1971] Supported by numerous examples with great human interest, this article discusses the types of individuals who inscribed wills for others. They often, but not always, had influence on religious and other content. The specific wills mentioned are from Cambridgeshire but their layout and ingredients reflect many of features that can be found in contemporary wills from Northamptonshire.

Church courts

Before 12 January 1858, probate was a matter for church courts. Those with jurisdiction for the estates of residents of Northamptonshire were the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) and a number of local probate courts. During the period 1653-1660, all the ecclesiastical probate courts in England and Wales were temporarily abolished. Instead, probate could only be granted by a secular Court of Civil Commission in London. The probate records created during that period are included with the records of the PCC, although that court itself did not operate during that time.

Prerogative Court of Canterbury

More than 11,000 wills of Northamptonshire people were proved at the PCC, which was based in London, from 1391 to 1858. These are generally, but not always, wills of the more affluent testators. The National Archives has digitised the registered copies of all these wills. You can see and download as PDFs those of interest without charge if you create a free account there. Some, but by no means all, of the original wills that were proved at the PCC also survive; they have not been digitised but can be consulted in person at The National Archives.

Local probate courts

The main local probate courts that served Northamptonshire until 1858 were Northampton Archdeaconry Court and Peterborough Consistory Court. There were also three 'peculiar' courts which operated in limited geographical areas within the county.

The records of the local courts that served Northamptonshire include over 87,000 wills, administrations, inventories and associated documents, the original documents being kept at Northamptonshire Archives. They have been digitised by FamilySearch and can be seen and downloaded by visitors in person to a FamilySearch Centre or an Affiliate library. All public libraries (including the community libraries) in North and West Northamptonshire are Affiliate libraries. So is Northamptonshire Archives at Wootton Hall Park. The locations and other details of Affiliate libraries and FamilySearch Centres in the UK and elsewhere across the world can be found by using the search and zoom facilities on the FamilySearch location map.

How can I find a particular will at an Affiliate library or FamilySearch Centre?

(1) First, sign into your own account on the FamilySearch website (if necessary, you can create one immediately, free of charge).

(2) Then, use these links at FamilySearch to go to the sections of its catalogues for the main local probate courts in Northamptonshire:

• Archdeaconry of Northampton
• Peterborough Consistory Court

Scroll down the list and choose the series & book, or date range & type (eg will or administration) that includes the document you are seeking.

Sometimes parts of a document, such as details of the grant of probate, may be a few frames away from images of the will itself.

These links go to catalogues for the peculiar courts, which had authority to grant probate for the estates of people from the particular places in Northamptonshire that are shown in brackets:

• Banbury (Grimsbury & Kings Sutton)
• Gretton (Duddington & Gretton)
• Nassington (Apethorpe, Nassington, Woodnewton & Yarwell)

Inventories

A substantial minority of wills are accompanied by inventories. These were drawn up shortly before or sometimes after probate was granted. They listed the goods and chattels owned by the deceased and assessed their values. Debts owed to or by the person concerned are often mentioned. Land and buildings never appear but standing crops do.

• 'Orderly made': re-appraising household inventories in seventeenth-century England by Donald Spaeth [2016] A study with extensive footnotes of probate inventories from Thame, Oxfordshire. Its insights and conclusions are also applicable to such documents from elsewhere.

Reading the records

When you find a will or other record of interest, the handwriting may be unfamiliar - the more so, the earlier its date. The vast majority of wills were written in English, but until 1732 records of actions taken by probate courts were composed in Latin.

Advice on how to understand the sort of handwriting and Latin that you may encounter can be found in our Old handwriting and Latin section.

Dictionary of Traded Goods and Commodities 1550-1820 explains nearly 4,000 terms found in documents relating to trade and retail and is useful for understanding wills and inventories.

Glossary Information The meanings of 130 words and phrases that may be encountered in manorial records, wills, inventories and other documents.

Publications

• A calendar of wills relating to the counties of Northampton & Rutland proved at the Court of the Archdeacon of Northampton, 1510-1652 edited by W P W Phillimore [1888]. This is a reprint with an introduction by Henry Isham Longden added.
• Administrations of the Archdeaconry of Northampton 1546-1676 by Henry Isham Longden [1939] The main body of surviving administrations and inventories from this court begin in 1660. The author abstracted the details of about 160 additional administrations from other sources and summarised them in this book. There is a full index of the names mentioned.
• Administrations in the Archdeaconry of Northampton (1667-1710) by Henry Isham Longden edited by Lucy Drucker [1947] Abstracts with short details of inventories. There is a full index of names mentioned.
• Early Lincoln wills: an abstract of all the wills & administrations recorded in the episcopal registers of the Diocese of Lincoln 1280-1547 by Alfred Gibbons [1888] Contains details for Northamptonshire residents as the county was part of the Diocese of Lincoln until 1541. There are separate indexes of persons, places and subjects.
• Early Modern Blakesley: a Study Based on Wills 1543-1700 by Carmel Biggs [2005] (page 37)
• Early Northampton Wills is a book which contains the text of 145 wills of Northampton residents that were proved during 1462 to 1509 along with a detailed introduction.
• Helmdon Wills 1603-1760 by Edward Parry [1975] (page 235)
• Index of names in Brixworth wills proved at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury by Francis Howcutt [2026] Index of all names mentioned as these wills, which were proved between 1498 and 1857. The introduction explains how to obtain copies of the wills free of charge.
• Kinship, community, piety and gender: an analysis of the surviving wills within three Northamptonshire parishes 1543-1705 by J Carmel Biggs [2001] The parishes concerned are Blakesley, Castor and Kingsthorpe.
• The Parish Churches and Religious Houses of Northamptonshire: Their dedications, altars, images and lights by R M Serjeantson & Henry Isham Longden [1913] Originally published in Archaeological Journal, volume 70, issue 1, pages 217-452, this paper explores relevant references found in Northamptonshire wills dating from 1510-1558. There are detailed alphabetical lists of parish churches and religious houses with extracts from wills relating to them.
• The Will of Clemence Stock of Boughton by P I King [1959] (page 283)