David Wright's LONDON PROBATE INDEX:

NEW!!! The London Probate Index on CD-ROM Surnames A - E This is the first in a new series committing my London Probate Index to CD-ROM. The price for this CD is £20.00 including postage and packing to any address. order form (pdf format) | order form (text format)

The locating of a will or administration for a Londoner (or for one of the many non-Londoners whose affairs were also wound up in the capital) before the advent of the centralised system at Somerset House in 1858 is far from easy. Although wills for the supreme court for southern England and the whole of Wales, the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC), are now fully indexed, its administrations are not, and a researcher will need great stamina and patience to search its vast annual calendars.

There were, however, nine other courts exercising jurisdiction within London and Middlesex (north of the river, as at that time Surrey extended right up to the River Thames) whose records are today scattered around four separate archives. All their wills and administrations are now brought together into a single alphabetical sequence, and cover the following courts:

1.	The Royal Peculiar of St Katherine by the Tower: entries 1750-1772, and one in 1818. Records held at the Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, London EC2P 2EJ.
2.	The Royal Peculiar of the Commissary Court of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster: entries 1750-1780s, with a few later to 1829. Records held at the City of Westminster Archives, 10 St Anne’s St, London SW1P 2XR.
3.	The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Peculiar of the Deanery of Croydon: most entries relate to Kent and Surrey, but those for residents of Harrow with Pinner and Hayes with Norwood have been extracted, 1750-1780s with a few later 1800-1832. Records held at Lambeth Palace Library, London SE1 7JU.
4.	The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Peculiar of the Deanery of the Arches: entries 1750-1780s, and a few later to 1806. Records at Lambeth Palace Library.
5.	The Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral: entries 1750-1837. Records at the Guildhall Library.
6.	The Archdeaconry Court of Middlesex: entries 1750-1785, with a few later to 1810. Records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R OHB.
7.	The Archdeaconry Court of London: entries 1750-1785, with a few later to 1807. Records held at The Guildhall Library.
8.	The Consistory Court of London: entries 1750-1858. Records at the London Metropolitan Archives.
9.	The Commissary Court of London: entries1750-1858. Records at the Guildhall Library.

The remaining part of the surname index, letters F-Z may still be searched by applying to me, pending the issue of further disks in this series. Search Fees: SAE + £5 per surname for up to 10 entries. An estimate will be given for the balance at 50p each.

For details and quotes, please use the information contained on this page