Oxfordshire Probate Records

England Oxfordshire  Oxfordshire Probate Records

Getting Started
Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. Probate records include wills and administrations. This article is about probate records in Oxfordshire. For a general description of England probate records, click here.

1858 to the Present
Beginning in 1858, the Principal Probate Registry had the authority for probating estates. Click on the link to learn more.

Before 1858
Before 1858, Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process. To search for a pre-1858 probate record in Oxfordshire, follow these steps:

Step 1. Search Indexes
Here are some online indexes to probate records that include individuals who lived in Oxfordshire. Search these indexes first:


 * | Index of Probate Inventories, Oxfordshire 1550-1590 -- three files, based on an original document "Household And Farm Inventories In Oxfordshire, 1550-1590" published by the Historical Manuscript Society (1994.)
 * | Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (1384 - 1858)

See also indexes on the individual court pages. Did you find a reference to a probate record?


 * If yes, go to Step 4 below.
 * If no, go to Step 2 below.

Step 2. Identify when and where your ancestor died
Determine when your ancestor died. If you aren't sure, use an approximate date.

Determine where your ancestor died. It is easier to find a probate record if you know whether the place where your ancestor lived or died is a parish. To learn whether it is a parish, look it up in a gazetteer. Here is a link to the 1872 Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales online:


 * Vision of Britain

The gazetteer will either tell you:


 * A place is a parish, or
 * What parish it is a part of, or
 * What place it is near.

If the latter, look that place up in the gazetteer and see if it is a parish.

Once you have identified the parish, go to Step 3.

Step 3. Identify court jurisdictions by parish
Once you have identified the parish where your ancestor lived or died, learn which courts had jurisdiction over it then search indexes for those courts. Every town and parish in Oxfordshire fell under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. Click on a link below for the letter the parish begins with.

Step 4. Obtain a copy of the probate record
Once you have found an index reference to a probate, obtain a copy of the record. Do so by one of these methods:


 * Visit or contact the record office that has the original records in its collection.
 * Visit the Family History Library or a family history center and obtain a copy of the record on microfilm. For more information, click on a court name below.

Oxfordshire Probate Courts
Most of Oxfordshire was under the pre-1858 probate jurisdiction of the combined Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Oxford. The majority of probate searches will be in the records of this court and its superior courts. However, the following courts also had some pre-1858 jurisdiction within the county. Click on a court name to learn about records and indexes.


 * Court of the Archdeaconry of Buckingham
 * Court of the Bishop of Gloucester
 * Court of the Bishop of Lincoln
 * Court of the Bishop of Worcester
 * Court of the Bishop of Hereford
 * Court of the Peculiar Parish of Banbury
 * Court of the Peculiar Parish of Langford
 * Court of the Peculiar Parish of Dorchester
 * Court of the Peculiar Parish of Monks Risborough
 * Court of the Peculiar Parish of Thame
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln
 * Court of the Manor of Sibford
 * Court of the Chancellor of the University of Oxford
 * Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury

The Origins Network has an index to Oxfordshire Peculiars for 1547-1856.