Court of the Archdeaconry of Essex

History and Background
Probate records of the Court of the Archdeaconry of Essex were once held in the Chelmsford Cathedral Registry. After the set up of civil courts by act of Parliament in 1858, they were removed to Somerset House, London in 1858. In 1958, almost all of Essex wills were transferred back to Chelmsford and at the County Hall, where they reside today.

These records date from 1400 and cover the following 140 parishes in Essex:

Abbess Roding Asheldham Aveley Baddow, Great Baddow, Little Barking Beauchamp Roding Benfleet, North Benfleet, South Billericay Blackmore Bobbingworth Boreham Bowers Gifford Bradwell-juxta-More Brentwood (see S. Weald) Broomfield Bulphan Burnham Burstead, Great Buttsbury Canewdon Chadwell Chignal St Mary Chignal Smealey Chigwell Childerditch Chipping Ongar Colchester St Mary at the Walls Corringham Cranham Creeksea Dagenham Danbury Dengie Doddinghurst Downham Dunton East Ham Eastwood Farnbridge, North Farnbridge, South Fobbing Fryerning Fyfield Grays Thurrock Greenstead-juxta-Ongar Hadleigh Hanningfield, East Hanningfield, South Hanningfield, West Hazeleigh Hawkwell High Ongar Hockley Horndon-on-the-Hill Horndon, East Horndon, West Hutton Ingatestone Ingrave 63Kelvdon Hatch Laindon Hills Lambourne Laver, High Laver, Little Leigh Leighs, Great Leighs, Little Little Ilford Magdalen Laver Malden All Saints Malden St Peter Margaretting Moreton Mountnessing Mucking Mundon Nevendon North Weald Bassett Norton Cold or Cold Norton Norton Mandeville Ockendon, North Ockendon, South Paglesham Pitsea Prittlewell Purleigh Rainham Ramsden Bellhouse Ramsden Crays Rawreth Rayleigh Rettendon Rochford Runwell Sandon Shelley Shenfield Shopland Shoebury, North Shoebury, South Snoreham South Weald with Brentwood Springfield St Lawrence Stambridge, Great Stambridge, Little Stanford-le-Hope Stanford Rivers Stapleford Abbots Stapleford Tawney Steeple with Stansgate Stifford Stock Stondon Massey Stow Maries Sutton Theydon Bois Theydon Garnon Theydon Mount Thundersley Thurrock, Little Tilbury, East Tilbury, West Upminster Vange Wakering, Great Wakering, Little Wanstead Warley, Great Warley, Little Wennington West Thurrock West Ham Wickford Widford Woodham Ferrers Woodham Mortimers Woodham Walter

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Searching for probates in this court
explanation of act books, wills, inventories, etc.

Indexes
general note about indexes and any overlap between indexes

online indexes
list and explanation

printed indexes
list and explanation

original handwritten indexes
list and explanation (difference between calendar and index, identify which this is)

microfilmed copies of indexes
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