Court of the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield

Return to the Staffordshire Probate Records page.

Location of These Probate Records
Lichfield Record Office (formerly Lichfield Joint Record Office)

The Friary

Lichfield Staffs WS13 6QG

Telephone: U.K. 01543 510720 Overseas (+44) 1543 510720

Historical Background
Return to the Staffordshire Probate Records page.

The Court of the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield held peculiar jurisdiction over the Staffordshire parishes of Cannock, Farewell, Harborne, The Close Lichfield, Regeley and Smethwick, and over the Warwickshire parishes of Arley and Edgbaston, and the Prebends in their absence. When a search of this courts’ probate records fails to provide the desired probate record, be sure to search the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury as well.

You can also visit The Family History Library, or, one of its 4,500 satellite family history centers worldwide and search indexes (see the Family History Library's cataloged entries providing the microfilms so you can have them circulated to the center near you for searching the wills). The information obtained from the index[es] will help you more quickly search the wills and admons which can also be circulated on microfilm via any family history.

Probate Indexes
Surviving wills and admons to the Court of the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield have to some extent been indexed with the following ones:

Printed and Published Indexes
A partial index for the years 1529-1652 was published in the Index Library, vol. 7.

Online Indexes
Here is an online printed (scanned images) from 1516-1652. This is not a complete listing of all wills for this time period, but, it might be helpful for searching this date range.

Original Handwritten Indexes
There is an index (manuscript) from 1516 to 1857 covering most if not all wills in Staffordshire that includes both the Consistory Court of Lichfield and this smaller court.

Microfilmed Indexes at the Family History Library
The indexes as listed in the above are also available in the collection of The Family History Library and they are on microfilm and may be circulated to each of its satellite Family History Centers worldwide.

In addition, the Family History Library has a more comprehensive microfilmed set of Calendars of probate records which partially indexes the surnames (by first letter of surname only) available for the years from 1492 to 1860.

Amazingly, the Lichfield Archives has alphabetically arranged many of the diocesan wills by each letter of each surname as well (see the next section below).

== Probate Records of This Court ==

The available probate records for this court include:

ORIGINAL WILLS 1510-1858

INVENTORIES ("for Lichfield and District") 1568-1680

Strategies, Tips, Other?
See the above Indexes or those available through the Family History Library or its many family history centers worldwide for an index to this court.

To view a list of parishes and their respective probate court jurisdiction, see the "Staffordshire Parishes and Their Probate Jurisdictions" on the main page for Staffordshire Probate Records.

[England: Staffordshire]