Shropshire Probate Records

Return to Shropshire.

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

Court Jurisdictions
Before 1858, every town and parish in Shropshire was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary ecclesiastical court and several secondary ecclesiastical courts. Search the courts in the order given. Search indexes first. To find indexes, click on a court name link.

Here is a list of Shropshire places beginning with A and the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdiction over them. For other places, click on a letter link: B-E, F-P, Q-Z.

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 1858-1925 are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.