Court of the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry (Episcopal Consistory)

The diocese of Lichfield was one of the largest in England. Until 1541, it included all of Staffordshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire, parts of Shropshire, Warwickshire and Lancashire, and a few parishes in Flintshire and one in Denbighshire, Wales. The creation of the See (Diocese) of Chester in 1541 removed all of Cheshire and the parts of Lancashire and Wales.

The court was also known as the Court of the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry.

During the Commonwealth Interregnum from 1653 to 1660, the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the form of a civil court, had sole probate or testmentary jurisdiction over all of England and Wales.

Finding the Records
The original records are deposited at:

Lichfield Record Office (formerly Lichfield Joint Record Office) The Friary' Lichfield Staffs WS13 6QG England Telephone: U.K. 01543 510720 Overseas: (+44) 1543 510720

The original records include:


 * Register copy wills, 1516-1771
 * Original wills, administrations, and inventories, 1472-1858 (not continuous until about 1540)
 * Act books, 1632-1638

The records have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and through family history centers. These include:


 * Registered wills, 1516-1771
 * Original wills, administrations and inventories, c1530-1857
 * Act books, 1532-1638

Starting Your Search in Indexes
1. First search each index (see below) to help you more quickly find the will, writing down each detail cited in the indexed entry.

2. Proceed then to the "Probate Records of This Court" section (see below) to determine what original probate records exist for this court.

3. Contact or visit the Staffordshire Record Office to hire a professional record searcher to view these records on your behalf, citing information obtained from the index[es]. Officials may send upon request a list of record searchers.

4. 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 Episcopal Consistory Court of Lichfield probate records have mostly been indexed to a very considerable extentwith the following ones:

Online Indexes
Some of Staffordshire's wills have been published and in print and have been made available online. This index contains the names of the deceased as well the placename at the time of the will or admon probate action.

Printed and Published Indexes
Original will indexes 1514-1858 are available in print by Index Society (vol. 7). This contains numerous indexes to the wills and administrations for this major probate court jurisdiction as well as for Staffordshire's many peculiar courts. This publication series are often available at many major archives in the United Kingdom such as at the Lichfield Record Office, The Society of Genealogists, The Borthwick Institute in York, etc., and other like institutions.

Original Handwritten Indexes
Indexes to wills and admons (administrations) exist for the years 1494 to 1860. The actual Registered wills themselves are also somewhat alpha-ordered in their arrangement in the original collection (and on microfilm).

Microfilmed Indexes at the Family History Library
The above named index published by the indexes as listed in the above are also available covering the years 1514-1652 at The Family History Library and they are on microfilm and may be circulated to each of its satellite Family History Centers worldwide.

As per the above "Original Handwritten Indexes",the actual registered wills themselves have been indexed and have been alpha-ordered in their arrangements on the copies of the Family History Library's microfilmed collection of same.

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

When a search of this court's probate records fails to provide the desired probate record, be sure to search the Prerogative Court of the Exchequer of the Archbishop of York as well.