Kent, England Probate Jurisdictions

Return to Kent Probate Records.

Probate Courts
These are the probate courts that had some jurisdiction over the county of Kent prior to 1858:


 * Court of the Bishop (Episcopal consistory) of Canterbury
 * Court of the Archdeaconry of Canterbury
 * Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal consistory) and Archdeaconry of Rochester
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Deaneries of the Arches, Croydon and Shoreham
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Rector of Cliffe
 * Court of the Exempt Jurisdiction of Wingham
 * Court of the Prior and Chapter of Christ Church, Canterbury
 * Court of the Bishop of London
 * Prerogative Court of Canterbury (the highest court in the land which had final jurisdiction when necessary, such as in the case of a wealthier person who owned property in more than one area or county, or when a will was disputed.)

Appeals Courts
In addition to the above, two other courts had jurisdiction as appeals courts. You may wish to search the records of these courts if nothing can be found in the records of the above courts:


 * The Court of Arches was the appeals courts for the Prerogative Court of Canterbury to which disputed cases could be sent from the lower courts in the province of Canterbury.
 * The High Court of Delegates was the final appeals court for disputed cases from both the provinces of Canterbury and York.

Court Jurisdictions
Here is the list of Kent parishes beginning with the letter A, with the probate courts that had jurisdiction over each.

To go to another letter, click on a link: B   C   D   E   F-G   H  I-K   L   M-N   O-R   S   T-V   W-Z

Search an Index
Now that you have identified the courts with jurisdiction over your parish of interest, return to the list of indexes.