Middlesex Probate Records

For a explanation of England probate records, click here.

Return to the main Middlesex page.

Court Jurisdictions
Before 1858, every parish was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. For an alphabetical list of Middlesex parishes and the courts that had jurisdiction over them, click on the link for the letter that a parish name begins with:

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.