Cumberland Probate Records

England Cumberland

For an explanation of probate records in England, click here.

Cumberland County Probate Courts

 * Court of the Bishop of Carlisle (Episcopal Consistory)
 * Court of the Archdeaconry of Richmond Western Deaneries - Copeland
 * Court of the Bishop of Durham (Episcopal Consistory) pre-1777

In addition, the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury had jurisdiction over the whole of England. Wealthier individuals, people who owned property in more than one county or lower court's jurisdiction, and Naval personnel often had their estates proven through the Archbishop's court.

Appeals Courts
Any probate that was disputed and could not be settled by the county courts could be sent to these higher appeals courts:


 * Court of Arches
 * High Court of Delegates

Court Jurisdictions
Before 1858, every town and parish in Cumberland was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. When searching for the will of an ancestor in Cumberland, you should find in the jurisdictions lists of name of the town or parish where he/she lived or owned property and search the records of the courts in the order given. Search indexes first. To find indexes, click on a court name.

Go to the list of parishes, and see the probate jurisdictions over them, by clicking on the link to the alphabetical list.

A, B-C, D-H, I-N, O-T, U-Z.

If you don't know where your ancestor lived, search every court. If no will is found, your ancestor may not have left one.

Probate Indexes Online
Before looking for a will, you should search an index.

The University of Central Lancashire has "An index of all surviving probate documents for the Western Deaneries of the Archdeaconry of Richmond, 1748-1858 has been prepared. The deaneries included are Amounderness, Copeland, Furness, Kendal and Lonsdale". The indexes are based on 36,676 wills. Indexes for surnames and for places are free of charge.

Wills of Cumberland: Abstracts of Cumberland Probate Records pre-1858 is being compiled.

Post-1857 Probate Records
Beginning in 1858, the government took over the settlement of estates and all wills are now probated through the Principal Probate Registry system. The system consists of 11 district registry offices and 18 sub-district registries, located throughout England and Wales, and the principal registry office located in London. The records are available through the office of Her Majesty's Courts Service. To learn more, go to the HMCS website.

A country-wide surname index to the records is available, so it is much easier to look for post-1857 wills. The indexes for 1858-1957 and the records for the Principal Registry and the District Registries for 1858-1925 are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.