Court of the Archdeaconry of Essex

[Return to the Essex Probate Records page.]

History and Background
Probate records of the Court of the Archdeaconry of Essex were once held in the Chelmsford Cathedral Registry. After the setup of civil courts by act of Parliament in 1858, they were removed to Somerset House, London in 1858. In 1958, almost all of Essex wills were transferred back to Chelmsford and at the County Hall, where they reside today.

These records date from 1400 to 1858 and cover 140 parishes in Essex.

Searching for probates in this court
CALENDAR

Calendar (first-letter-of-surname index) of Wills and Administration Acts are divided in to four calendar books:


 * First Calendar 1400-1603
 * Second Calendar 1604-1725
 * Third Calendar 1726-1794
 * Fourth Calendar 1795-1858

In addition to the general index above, most of the filmed volumes also contain a separate index to the wills and administrations

REGISTERED WILLS

Alpha Indexes precede the Wills 1420-1858 Wills from 1420-1858

ORIGINAL WILLS

Original Wills (unindexed) 1400-1637

ACT BOOKS Indexes mostly at end of each Act Book for the preceding entries Act Books are often in Latin and in chronological order 1558-1858

Indexes
The Archdeaconry Court of Essex probate records is well-covered with the following indexes:

Online indexes
A general will index for Essex County is available  online. This single index consolidates just about all Essex county wills of the various probate court jurisdictions into one database.

Printed Indexes
In the 1960s, the Essex County Record Office compiled a complete surname index covering wills and administrations from the first eight Essex County probate court jurisdictions listed above (through the Liberty of Sokens):


 * Emmison, F. G., ed. [Index to] Wills at Chelmsford.  (FHL book 942 B4b vols. 78, 79 &amp; 84; also on microfilms 0962739 and 0962740).

Original Handwritten Indexes
Calendars to the Probate Acts of Wills and Administrations (Admons) exist from 1400-1858.

Also, a slight majority of the original (unregistered) wills and the registered wills are alpha-arranged. Visit the Essex County  Archives determine availability]

Indexes Microfilmed at the Family History Library
Original (Unregistered) Wills and Registered Wills as well as extant indexes for this court are available on microfilm at the Family History Library and may be circulated to each of its satellite Family History Centers, see Court of the Archdeaconry of Essex) court, or go to this Family History Library Catalog  page

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