Buckinghamshire Probate Records

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

Return to the Buckinghamshire page.

Buckinghamshire Probate Courts
The following courts had some jurisdiction over Buckinghamshire before 1858:


 * Court of the Bishop of Lincoln (Episcopal Consistory) -- Archdeaconry of Buckingham
 * Court of the Bishop of London (Episcopal Consistory) -- Archdeaconry of St. Albans
 * Courts of the Bishop and Archdeaconry of Oxford (Episcopal Consistory)
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln
 * Court of the Peculiar of Aylesbury
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Provost of Eton
 * Court of the Peculiar of Buckingham
 * Court of the Peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury
 * Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Court Jurisdictions
Below is a list of Buckinghamshire parishes beginning with the letter A, and the courts that had jurisdiction over them. In every case, there was a primary court that should be searched first, then secondary courts that should be searched second, third, and so on.

Once you have identified a court, you should search an index first. Click on the links for the courts above to see indexes.

See also parishes B-C, D-J, K-P, and Q-W.

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.