Court of the Peculiar of Banbury

Description
Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. The term probate refers to a collection of documents, including wills, administrations (also called admons), inventories, and act books. The Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process until to 1858. This article explains about probate records for this court and how to find a will.

Beginning in 1858, authority over probate matters was taken from ecclesiastical courts and put under the civil authority of the Principal Probate Registry.

Step by Step
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 to the "Records" (below) to determine what probate records exist for this court. Also see "FamilySearch Library Records." 3. Contact or visit the Bristol Record Office or, hire a professional record searcher to view these records on your behalf. Officials may send a list of record searchers upon request. 4. Visit The FamilySearch Library, or, one of its 4,500 satellite FamilySearch centers worldwide and search indexes to probate records; then with the information obtained from the index[es] you can search the original wills and admons available online at a local FamilySearch center or affiliate library near you.

Printed and Published Indexes
Jeremy S. W. Gibson has published an "Index to wills proved in the Peculiar Court of Banbury, 1542-1858," which is available from the Banbury Historical Society, at the Oxfordshire Record Office, at the, and elsewhere.

In addition, a manuscript index to the records of the peculiar courts of Berkshire is available on microfilm at the Society of Genealogists in London, and the FamilySearch Library:



The original and microfilmed records listed below also include indexes.

Archive Location
The original records of this court are deposited at the Oxfordshire Record Office in Oxford, England. They include:


 * Filed wills and administration bonds, 1547-1856 (very incomplete to 1660). The records are filed with those for the peculiars of Cropredy, Horley and Hornton, King's Sutton, Bierton, and Thame.
 * Registered wills and administrations, 1585-1596 (with those for the peculiars of Cropredy, Horley and Hornton, and King's Sutton), and 1698-1733 (with those for the peculiars of Dorchester, Faringdon, Langford, Monks Risborough, and Thame).
 * Wills for 1736-1850 (with those for the peculiars of Bierton and Thame), and 1851-1858 (with those for the peculiars of Aylesbury, Bierton, Buckingham, and Thame).

You may contact the record office for assistance with their collection. Click on the link above.

Archive Records
Add information about the manuscript, printed and digital records in this location.

FamilySearch Library Records
Records have been microfilmed and are available at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City and through FamilySearch centers. They include:


 * (includes indexes)
 * (published transcriptions)
 * (persons named in wills proved 1736-1857)
 * (includes records of Banbury)

Jurisdiction
Banbury parish in Oxfordshire was a peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln (Cathedral). The court of the Peculiar of Banbury had jurisdiction only over the parish of Banbury and its hamlets.